《The Exiled First-born of the Noble House. Rising to the Top With the Worthless Skill [Null Poison]》


 Prologue

    ¡°Now the next one, please come forward.¡±


    In the church with the divine atmosphere, I was urged to come forward by an elderly priest dressed in divine robes.


    The priest stood on a platform decorated with a cross, which had a large blue crystal placed at the centre; and the priest extended his hands over it.


    The ceremony about to be performed is called the [Heavenly Blessing Ceremony], and is obligatory in the Kingdom of Meldrake for those who reach the age of 16.


    This ceremony is a ritual in which a person receives a suitable job and a special skill ¡ª Truly, a literal gift  from the heavens.


    Jobs range from traditional combat jobs such as warriors, magician and knights to non-combat jobs such as merchants, blacksmiths and farmers.


    Furthermore, advanced jobs such as Sorcerer, holy knights and magic swordsmen can also be granted.


    As for Skills, they are often associated with a job, and if a higher level job is appears through the [Heavenly Blessing Ceremony], no matter how low the status of a person, they receive preferential treatment and assistance from the country ¨C and can turn their entire life around in a swoop. It can be the greatest event of one¡¯s life.


    Most people look forward to this ritual, hoping for a blessing from heaven. ¡­¡­However I, Chris Sparling, am different. [T/n; the surname is read as Sparring, like fighting but that sounds really stupid so I¡¯m going with Sparling instead]


    The Sparling family is famous for its swordsmanship, and its members have received a sword related job across generations. Above all, the job received by the next head of the family greatly affects the influence of the entire family.


    My father, Georc Sparling, had a sword-related occupation, but he was given the lowest-ranked job of all previous heads of the family, the basic [Swordsman].


    Because of this, my father was even more desperate than anyone else to see a great job appear; and coupled with the fact that my twin brother was born frail, I, his eldest son, was forced to train hard with him since I was a small.


    This [Heavenly Blessing] such heavy expectations riding on it.


    I think I¡¯ll be fine considering every member of the family has received some kind of Sword related Job¡­¡­¡­but in the off chance I don¡¯t; my body began to tremble just from the thought.


    Most people envy my background, able to grow up with no discomfort in lifestyle thanks to the family  but from my point of view, I am more envious of tose who could live without any heavy expectations being thrown upon them.


    ¡°Hurry up and go, I¡¯m next after all.¡±


    As I walk slowly, while suppressing the nausea in my stomach, Klaus, my twin brother, calls out to me from behind.


    When he was a child, Klaus was frail and had to be nursed by doctors all the time, but when he turned five he showed signs of recovery and now leads a normal life without any problems.


    By the time we were old enough to understand things, we should have become normal siblings, but ¡­¡­ Klaus doesn¡¯t seem to be fond of me, he doesn¡¯t respond well when I talk to him, and until now we haven¡¯t even had a proper conversation.


    Perhaps because I always seem to get all the attention, and maybe Klaus feels the same.


    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m going.¡±


    Apologising, I took a deep breath and stood in front of the platform at a quickly.


    Confirming that, the Priest holds his hands, which look like dead trees, over the crystal and begins to speak some sort of incantation.


    It was only a few seconds in time, but it felt like an eternity to me.


    Then, as if he had understood the ¡®blessing¡¯ that had been bestowed ¡­.. he removed his hands from the crystal and turned his eyes towards me.


    ¡°Chris Sparling. Appropriate Job is [Farmer]. Unique skill [Poison Resistance].¡±


    The moment I heard the priest¡¯s words, my vision began to sway, and my heart began to hurt, as if it were being crushed.


    Fa, Farmer¡­.?


    Did he just say I¡¯m a farmer ¡­¡­?


    The priest was talking about something, but I couldn¡¯t hear him, and just when all the nausea I had been suppressing was about to leak.


    ¡°Brother, your proper job is a farmer!? We-Well, I¡¯m sorry to hear that, but ¡­¡­ it¡¯s going to be alright! Please cheer up!¡±


    Klaus called out to me from behind with a voice so loud and joyful that it echoed through the church.


    When I reacted to the voice and turned around, there was Klaus with a ecstatic face.


    Reflexively, I almost jumped to cover his mouth, but my job would eventually spread even if I held Klaus¡¯ mouth here.


    As I relaxed my  muscles and slumped my shoulders, Klaus stopped right next to me, lightly tapping me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Thanks to you, I can more comfortably undergo the [Heavenly Blessing]. Thank you.¡±


    As he spoke in a teasing manner, he continued walking with a swagger in his step.


    In contrast to my brother, when I walked to the entrance of the church, shrinking my body, I saw my father dauntingly standing at the entrance.


    His expression was full of wrath , an anger he had never shown before, which could be felt even from a distance, and without a pause he shouted curses at me.


    ¡°You useless worthless fool! I cared for you for so many years yet¡ª[Farmer] and skill is [Posion Resistance]!? What a disgrace!¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    I squeaked out an apology but¨C


    As if to drown it, a huge cheer and applause came from inside the church.


    When I turned around, I saw Klaus being tapped on the shoulder by the priest from earlier, with a radiant smile on his face.


    Soon afterwards, the buzzing gossip reached me and my father at the entrance of the church as well.


    ¡°I heard that the boy just now got [Sword God]. Since the first hero, he¡¯s only the fifth [Sword God].¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ¡­¡­. Isn¡¯t that crazy?¡±


    I panicked to look at my father only to see the anger had long gone and had been replaced by a jubilance that had never been seen before on his face as he looked towards Klaus on the platform.


    I was no longer in his field of vision, and it felt like I was the only one alone in this church overflowing with people.


    ¡°Fa-father, um I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but utter a few words of apology when I saw the situation, but he only turned to me with pity in his eyes


    My heart ached with pain again, and I became unable to even breathe properly.


    I almost collapsed to my knees,  but before I could kneel on the ground, I was supported  from behind and couldn¡¯t even fall.


    I slowly looked up to see the figure behind me, and there was Klaus looking down at me, laughing even more unsightly than before.


    ¡°Brother. If you collapse here, all the attention will move to you. The [Sword God] has appeared in the Sparling family. If you¡¯re going to collapse, at least go cry in some secluded alleyway, Chris-niisan, the farmer.¡±


    I wanted to punch him, but my instincts had already recognised the clear change in position that had been created in the past few minutes, and I just let my fist flop down without rising.


    As soon as Klaus realised that I had no energy to argue with him, he pulls his hand away from mine in satisfaction and walks downstairs to Dad, with cheers from all around.


    ¡°Dad. I have just received the Heavenly Blessing of [Sword God]. My brother was unfortunately a [farmer], ¡­¡­.but it seems that the gods didn¡¯t give up on our family, and I was given the proper job to  save the face of the Sparring family.¡±


    ¡°Really,Truly ¡­¡­ really well done Klaus! You are truly a son of the Sparling family. From now on you will lead the Sparling family in the right direction.¡±


    Klaus and father shared a passionate embrace, with father holding his eyes as if he were overcome with emotion.


    On the other hand Klaus looked simply satisfied, as the people around them applauded loudly at the scene of embrace between father and son.


    I continued to gaze at this, trying to keep myself calm and objective, not allowing all the weird and dark thoughts and emotion to break my heart.


    The selfish desires of my father and the authority of the Sparling family.


    For the sake of such an invisible thing, I had been forced to train hard since childhood, and yet here I am being treated as a useless person because of this pure luck we call [Heaven¡¯s Blessing].


    And my father, with tears in his eyes continues to thank Klaus who, before this, he had barely talked to or paid attention to and had more or less abandoned because he was born with a frail body.


    Klaus had also turned his anger at his father¡¯s neglect towards me, and hugged his father, the biggest culprit of all, while looking all satisfied.


    I¡¯ve done nothing wrong, yet I¡¯m being shouted at and mocked.


    ¡ªAnd above all,  I am disgusted at how pathetic I am, unable to say anything back and unable to do anything but stare.


    Clenching my empty fists as hard as I could, I headed home from the church all alone.

 CH 1

    Sword God


    2 days after the ceremony.


    I was told I must depart the house.


    The anger that he had forgotten from Klaus being revealed as [Sword God] came back after the day had passed and I had to endure spars against the students of the Sparling house while fighting barehanded against them all.


    ¡ª¡ª-but why am I getting scolded?


    The question remained, and once the scolding ended came the statement ¡°A failure like you must leave this house!¡±


    Suppressing the pain from all the swellings across my body, I cried pathetically as I packed my belongings in a small bag.


    There wasn¡¯t much, as I was told that most of my belongings were actually the belongings of the Sparling household and not my own.


    With the bag on my shoulder, I began to leave but at the entrance of the room I stumbled on something and fell face flat on the floor.


    Recognizing a person¡¯s presence, I looked up to see Klaus standing there.


    ¡°And here I managed to cleap up the mess you had brought upon us yet you were about leave without saying a single word to me Brother?¡±


    Klaus continued to look down with mockery filled in his words.


    I tried to think of whether I had actually even done anything to him but¡­..nothing came to mind. We had nothing between us.


    Let alone conflict or fights, we had barely talked before this.


    I wondered if we even qualified as family sometimes.


    ¡°¡­¡­are you expecting me thank you? In the first place, why are you so fixated on me?¡±


    ¡°hahahah! Why you ask?¡±


    He laughed like a madman as his eyes turned hateful as he looked down on me.


    ¡°Think of the treatment I had to deal with up till now? Just because you were born a few seconds earlier, you were the pampered heir. On the other hand, I was abandoned. Is the reason not obvious?¡±


    ¡°That had nothing to with our birth but more to do with your weak constitution¡ª-¡°


    ¡°Silence! I hated how you acted like you were superior coming to talk to poor old me as well. But¡­..kukuku,ahhahah! The heavens have chosen me! A [Sword God] and you a [Farmer]!¡±


    He laughed with his face twisted with anger and madness.


    I felt a bit uncomfortable around this unstable Klaus, but was starting to feel the anger from this mockery as well.


    What have I done to deserve any of this?


    Born frail, he was the one who was pampered by our mother. I would have loved to have had any of that.


    ¡°Raised as the chosen heir, yet the heavens have cursed you to work as a [Farmer]! Tell me, how does it feel to get thrown out of your own house? Tell me Chris!?¡±


    ¡°Enough!!¡±


    I shouted, having had enough of holding my emotions back.


    He recoiled for a second, but he kept his expression unchanged and pulled his sword and aimed it at my face.


    ¡°Stop shouting, its grating on my ears. You ain¡¯t a member of the Sparling family no more¡­¡­seriously annoying. Do you want me to cut you down right here?¡±


    The edge of the sword lightly grazed my forehead and a single drop of blood streamed down my face like a single tear.


    It was a real sword alright, yet perhaps because of my rage, I felt no fear.


    Klaus pulled his sword first. I cant be blamed if I react, right?


    Justifying it to myself, I pulled the wooden sword on my waist.


    Real vs Wood


    I was clearly at a disadvantage as far as the weapon went but¡­¡­but if I aim for the side of the sword, I should be able to fight normally.


    While far from perfect, I didn¡¯t get trained from childhood for nothing.


    ¡°Haha! What? Wanna go with me? ¡­¡­.Fine. You¡¯re on.¡±


    Angry that this ¡°farmer¡± had decided to fight back, Klaus took a stance but both his footing and stance looked shaky at best.


    His sword continued to sway, I could hit from anywhere¡ª-he was full of openings.


    First, I started with a blow to his wrist and then the torso following the momentum.


    As his body began to sway to the right due to the pain, I dealt a blow to his shoulder and then his chest that had been completely opened up, sending him sliding across the floor.


    It was a perfect attack, and it¡¯ll be hard to breathe for him due to hit to the chest.


    Looking down on the unmoving Klaus on the floor for a while, my anger also began to subside and I began to pick up my things¡­¡­..


    ¡°O-Oi. It-It¡¯s not over yet.¡±


    Klaus stood up, grabbing his hurting chest with a distorted expression.


    But any more fighting is useless.


    ¡°Its over. I hate your attitude but I don¡¯t enjoy hurting the injured and weak.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡ª-I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The moment he spoke that, an odd light began to emit from his sword.


    It was hard to describe, but I could feel immense power from it¡­.as the light wrapped around the sword, Klaus began to smile deviously.


    ¡°DIE! [Sacred Slash]!¡±


    The moment he swung his sword, a slash of light was released from his sword.


    In front of such intense power, my legs went numb and I fell on my back, unable to act.


    ¡ª-I¡¯m dead.


    Or so I thought for a few seconds but the slash of light went over my head, missing me, and ripped through the room behind me before disappearing into the horizon.


    The cold wind blew in from behind as sweat poured down my body freezing me to the core.


    My heart was beating faster than it had during any of the hardest training sessions, and I thought it was going to jump out of my mouth.


    ¡°¡­.Tch. I missed because you fell over. I cant control it properly yet because it¡¯s a bit too powerful. But I wont miss a second time.¡±


    Sounding truly disappointed, he went back into his stance.


    ¡­¡­.No way. I cant deal with that kind of an attack.


    I realized how worthless all my training had been when put in front of a skill like that.


    I felt afraid of Klaus who could so easily fire that towards another person as my body began to tremble.


    I will be killed here¡ª¨Crealizing that I bent over and, I chose to run.


    Still lacking strength in my legs, I fell down the stairs, tumbling and hurting through it all, yet glad that I still at least have my life.


    As I reached the bottom floor, I hear the impact of Klaus¡¯ second attack from upstairs. Realizing I had run, I heard his footsteps begin to chase after me.


    Miserable and pathetic as it was, I had to run if I wanted to stay alive.


    Affirming once again, that I am to never return to this house ever again, I grabbed as many valuable things I could see while running towards the entrance and escaped the house I was born and raised in.


    And so I ran, with nowhere to go and no idea where to go, I ran to get away from Klaus.

 CH 2

    Escape


    Having escaped home to get away from Klaus, I left the all too familiar streets of Dezir and ran into the Peixa forests that were close to the town.


    I finally stopped at a small spring in the middle of the forest and slumped down on the ground.


    My heart felt like it was about to burst and I still felt like I was being chased but for the time being, somehow I had lost Klaus for now.


    Being hurt all over, I was sure he¡¯d catch up to me but¡­¡­.


    If it was just physical prowess, just like the first round of their sword bout, I was still above him.


    ¡­¡­¡­.still, my body hurts all over.


    I was desperate while running so I ignored it but now all the wounds I took while tumbling through the staircase had begun to hurt now that I have finally sat down.


    On checking, I had sore blue spots all over and my right ankle was all swelled up.


    Chased by my own family, nowhere to go, and all these wounds on top. It was the worst.


    It was fine to take a breather for now but I needed to figure out what do from here onwards.


    With all things I grabbed on my way out, it wont be a surprise if the Sparling family sent pursuers after me.


    That means I cant leave this forest carelessly.


    That means, I have to stay in this forest till things cool down a bit so¡­¡­


    I opened my bag to see the items I had on me.


    Please have something to eat.


    I made a wish in vain. All I had was my few personal items as well as my Mother¡¯s accessories and Father¡¯s pocket watch that I had nabbed on my way out.


    That and a small pouch with some water and some bland beef jerky.


    I could eat all of it at once. It was only that much.


    Yet, I must, at the very least, spend at least a week in here.


    If I wasn¡¯t so injured, I could at least try and hunt some monsters for food..


    Broken already, I was already considering returning home and begging for forgiveness.


    But soon after, the image of my father¡¯s screams, abuses, punishments of being beaten by the house¡¯s disciples just for being given [Farmer] and getting exiled came to mind.


    And of course, Klaus¡¯ angry face who tried to seriously kill me.


    Only death awaited me there¡­..I wont break here and accept defeat to my father¡ªand him, to Klaus.


    ¡°I will survive no matter what it takes.¡±


    Making a strong resolve, I tore a part of my sleeve and alongside a stick I found, attached it the injured joint that was struggling to move.


    While it wont allow me to fight monsters, at least I can walk properly.


    As for food, I guess I¡¯ll just have to find things that look eatable.


    My skill [Posion Resistance] that I thought would never be of use to me, will at least keep me alive here.


    As far as survival in mountains and forests go, at least its quite useful here.


    Well, though that¡¯s probably where its usage ends as well, but I was still thankful as it was keeping me alive.


    With having resolved to live a few weeks in Peixa forests, I prepared for my long journey towards the centre of the forest, a place that had been deemed forbidden to enter, hoping to find a place to make my base.

 CH 3

    Extreme Circumstances


    A few hours into the forest, avoiding monsters and being wary of my surroundings¨C


    The trees became denser and thicker and less and less light could seep inside making it dark.


    I had come to Peixa forests with father a couple times before to hunt but we had never gone this far deep.


    The deeper I went, the presence of monsters and animals disappeared and all that was left was the sound of my footsteps and the rustling of the trees.


    A fear quite different from the one you get when facing monsters, seeped into me while in this odd atmosphere. And finally I found a place that could become something like a base for me.


    Not exactly the underside of a cliff, more like a space between 2 big rocks.


    2 giant rocks crossed over to make a somewhat makeshit roof, and the entrance is only wide enough for about three of me, so I don¡¯t have to worry about being surrounded by demons, and large demons can¡¯t enter in the first place.


    Strong against rain and wind as well, it was a natural ¡°fort¡±.


    The large amounts of insects crawling around and the moss growing all over is a bit of a negative, but neither is a dealbreaker.


    To quickly make it more habitable, I decided to deal with the aforementioned problems first and foremost.


    Soon enough, I caught some of the insects while exterminating the rest and cleaned up the moss as well.


    Furthermore, I made a simple mat out of leaves and branches to lay on the muddy ground, and thus, my little base was complete.


    Now all I can do is wait for the time to pass but¡­¡­.


    Humans, tend to get hungry when there¡¯s nothing else to focus on.


    Not to mention, I haven¡¯t even had breakfast today and had to run all the way to the deep area of this forest just to run away from Klaus.


    Having exhausted myself beyond anything I had ever experienced in my life, even the ugly, wriggly worms that I captured could make me swallow my spit from sheer hunger.


    Of course, those are my last resort. First I want to try and feed myself with the vegetation growing around the first.


    I left my temp base, grabbed a nearby shrubbery and put it inside my mouth.


    Bitter yet better than nothing, it didn¡¯t matter if it was poisoned thankfully for me, yet was difficult to swallow.


    Still, I needed the energy so I forced myself to eat whatever I could find that looked somewhat edible. From weird looking fruits to odd mushrooms.


    Oddly enough, the weird appearances, most were easy to swallow; the bitterness was still there of course.


    For the time being, I ignored the appearance of things and gathered whatever my stomach said felt tasty until my bag was full.


    .


    Returning to base, I took the edibles out and stored them in a corner.


    All that¡¯s left¡­..is to find a source for drinking water.


    While I was gathering my food, I tried looking for perhaps a nearby stream or such but the best I found a was dirty, muddy pool.


    There was nothing on the way here either so I either had to return to the spring in the middle of the forest where I took a break, or settle for the muddy pool.


    It would take a few hours to go that spring and back, but in the first place, I don¡¯t have a clear route to its location.


    I was averting my eyes from reality and had kept walking on like an airhead, but I have no idea on my bearings, or where I came from in the first place.


    In that case, the muddy pool will have to do¡­.


    Just like the food, [poison resistance] should keep me safe from the muddy water as well but just thinking about how it would taste sent a shiver down my spine.


    Just the liquids from fruits and shrubbery wont give me enough water and if I didn¡¯t use the muddy pool, I¡¯ll certainly die of dehydration.


    Having resolved myself, I headed to that puddle, and used both my hands to scoop up some water and drank it.


    As you would expect from water that was dark enough to look like tea, not just taste but the residue left in my mouth made me want to vomit but I held back to avoid further loss of water from my body.


    No real food, no proper water either.


    I wanted to cry from the extreme situation that I was stuck in and my resolve to survive was already wavering.


    I will give payback to Klaus and my father.


    Using those emotions to well up strength again, I wiped my mouth, and I returned to my base.

 CH 4

    Prey


    Few days had passed since I had entered the Peixa forest and built my base.


    I had managed by storing rainwater, and when it ran out, it was back to the muddy pools.


    As for food, I was surviving by eating worms and insects that I caught on top the plants I found. And yesterday¡­. I succeeded in acquiring some kind of meat in the forest.


    It had no patterns, and had rotten to the point where you couldn¡¯t even tell what animal it was but, it was feast for me.


    It would have been unthinkable for me before, but I had carried this rotting meat back to my base like it was treasure.


    The smell was foul enough to make my nose go crazy but it should get somewhat better after I roast it with leaves and herbs I have.


    Feeling excited, I mulled over which kind of leaves would go well with the meat and prepared the best meal the current me could produce.


    This is without a doubt the worst kind of meat I have ever eaten, can confirm¡­..But it was as good as a first class dish to me for now.


    With tears coming out of my eyes, slowly savoured the meat bit by bit.


    .


    .


    Feeling full for the first time in days, I suppressed my desire to just go to sleep and went off to look for more food.


    The forest was quite low on living things in general, which made it quite safe for me yet as a result it was hard to find anything truly edible easily.


    I was wasting the whole day looking for the next day¡¯s food and the cycle continues. As you can tell it is not very efficient.


    The wound that I had received from Klaus had more or less healed, perhaps thanks to some herb among the many that I ate, and I was now equipped with a makeshift axe made out of a stick and a sharp rock; ready to finally hunt an animal or even a monster.


    Once in a while, I¡¯ll stop and investigate the surroundings but all I¡¯ll hear is the distant chirps of birds or the rustling of trees.


    That¡¯s why even the rotten piece of meat felt like gift from the heavens¡­.


    WHile in my thoughts and continuing my usual gathering of food, I heard a sound that was clearly different from the usual sounds of nature, like the scraping of grass and trees; from the east.


    Slowly something advanced, directly close to me; the perfect prey.


    From the sounds, it should be pretty big, thus dangerous, but now that I have felt the taste of meat I had lost my sense of danger.


    I ran towards the noise directly, afraid to lose sight of the prey.


    With a sense of concentration beyond what I had ever experienced, I sharpened my five sense and searched for the traces of the prey.


    Traces of branches being crushed, footprints, the slight scent of a living animal in the air, I finally traced the prey¡ª¨Ctill I saw it in full.


    The sounds¡¯ origin was none other than the synonym for dangerous monsters¨Can Orc.


    Once before, I had seen an Orc. This one though, was bigger than even that one.


    Did it grow this well because of a lack of natural predators in this forest; or did it simply look bigger it was something I intended to fight?


    Either way, it was dangerous and that was a fact.


    When I was young and ran into an Orc, my father singlehandedly took care of it. But that was my father, a [Swordsman] that had spent day and night working hard, training daily. And even he still had some trouble with it.


    Well I too could give my father some trouble as long as skills are not involved so I should be at least close to the level of that Orc at least.


    But considering the difference in equipment and such, to say it was dangerous for me to fight was an understatement¡­¡­.but all I see right now is tasty meat.


    My hesitation lasted only for a second, and my resolve for victory emboldened once again.

 CH 5

    First Blood


    Having resolved to hunt, I stealthily approached so as to land a surprise attack.


    The moment I felt the distance was right¡ªI rushed to attack the Orc with my axe but¡­.


    The Orc who had somehow sensed my presence rolled on the ground just in time to evade my attack, turning my ambush into a failure instantly.


    Having succeeded at evading my attack, for a second it considered running away but after realizing that its assailant is someone far smaller than itself, showed an evil smile and began to move towards me.


    A complete reversal.


    Now it was my turn to get hunter, but I felt no fear. Why would I fear a piece of delicious meat after all?


    All I felt was happy that it hadnt run away and began thinking of a different way to hunt this Orc.


    It has me beat in physique and raw physical strength but the dense trees should make it hard for it to easily move around.


    On the other hand, I can use the trees as a shield, and use it to break its line of sight, I can certainly find another chance to strike.


    As I figured ways to beat this Orc, the Orc began to move to me as planned and I began to hide among the trees to find a moment to strike.


    The Orc swung its club around but I moved around the trees to guard myself. Close range, its attacks could be deadly but as expected in this thick forest it was struggling to swing its Club around as wildly as it wanted.


    Seeing a chance, I jumped out from behind the trees while finding the right timing.


    Seeing me appear suddenly in front of it made the Orc panic and raise the club and swing with all its might¡­. but before it could bring it down, I rolled and evaded to side.


    It tried to correct its course and aim for me with its swing but it only hit another tree before it reached me.


    The impact of the hit was strong enough to chip the tree but the recoil towards the Orc was also strong.


    Numb from the impact, it stumbled slightly and I was not going to let that chance go. I jumped in with my axe to attack.


    ¡°Focus on speed and slowly accumulate damage over time, and gradually numb its movement.¡±


    With that thought in my head, I attacked the Orc¡¯s back¡ªand ripped straight into its flesh.


    The Orc¡¯s pained cries resounded in the forest and my axe broke from the tip due to impact.


    Only the stick of the axe remained in my hand, which made me panic greatly but the Orc that fell after making its cries, while slightly trembled, showed no signs of getting up.


    Something beyond my calculations happened, and for a while I just stood there frozen with a stick in my hand.


    ¡­¡­..My attack right now was stronger than I thought and killed him in a single attack??


    For a while, I just stared dumbfounded at the fallen Orc, but finally decided to first take care of the corpse and think of what happened later.


    While making sure that it wasn¡¯t just pretending to be dead, I slowly walked over and turned its body over¡­..the exhausted Orc looked directly at me with empty eyes.


    It was NOT dead. The wound was simply so deep it made it unable to move.


    Shocked at its survival, I quickly thought of ways to kill it.


    I raised the stick I was holding, hoping to ends its misery soon, I swung down aiming for its head.


    Under the force of the swing, the Orc¡¯s head burst open and what remained of stick also shattered to pieces.


    How did my attack create so much force? But before all that, I need to quickly deal with the corpse first.


    My [Poison resistance] skill allows me to eat anything no matter how rotten but¡­¡­having taken its life, I should at least eat it fresh as a way of showing gratitude.


    With no tools to really work with a corpse, I used my bare hands to rips its skin off.


    While avoiding its stiff needle like hair, I carefully scraped off its skin. Then I moved to removing its innards from its chest down to the waist.


    Making sure that the intestines don¡¯t rupture while still inside the body and ruin the meat, I carefully pulled it all out and finished the ¡°processing¡± work.


    If there was a stream nearby, I could have done it more neatly and cleanly, but since there wasn¡¯t, I had to make do.


    With the work finally over, now I had to think of a way to carry this back.


    Even with its head destroyed and innards removed, it was still bigger than me and heavier than you could imagine.


    Even if I cut it down to small pieces, all it¡¯ll do is make carrying it more cumbersome. Not that I have a blade to do that in the first place.


    It¡¯ll be heavy as hell but I guess I have no choice but carry it slowly on my back.


    Resolving myself, I buried the wasted innards into the ground, and picked up the remains of the Orc my back.


    As expected, it is very heavy¡­¡­or not? It feels surprisingly light. Lighter than I thought at least.


    The blood still pouring out of its body will cover my whole body as I walk but at least I can walk back normally.


    With the Orc on my back, I slowly and steadily began to walk, making sure that I don¡¯t fall as I headed back to my base.

 CH 6

    First class dish


    It took almost twice as long but I finally made it back to my base.


    Unable to wash anywhere, I was bloody from head to toe but it was a small price to pay for the quality and quantity of meat I was able to procure.


    First, I used a rock to sharpen another rock into a makeshift knife, and then began working on cutting the meat.


    The body of the Orc was pretty big so it took quite the effort and my knife became blunt many times making it take a very long time.


    I defeated the Orc in the morning but by the time my work was done, it was already dark outside and the blood all over my body had all dried up.


    But, again I reiterate, I have meat now. In huge amounts no less.


    I separated today and tomorrows share and decided to dry the rest to preserve it. And then I hung it up to make sure that it doesn¡¯t get insects all over it.


    Finally, all the prep work is finished.


    ¡­¡­..*fuuu*


    It was a hard day of work but the rewards were equal to it.


    My stomach began to make pathetic cries and I too want to eat the Orc meat asap but¡­.I really want to wash my body first.


    Exhausted I moved towards the muddy pool of water and slowly washed the blood out.


    The pool was already muddy in the first place, to not make it worse with all the blood, I slowly scooped the water with my hands and washed myself to the side.


    With most of blood washed away, and refilling my water once more, I returned back to my base.


    Alright.


    Finally, its time to eat the long awaited meat.


    Orcs were closer to animals than human, but they were humanoid in type. So some do consider eating them a bit of a taboo but I frankly could not care a bit about that right now.


    I skewered the meat portion for today and began to roast it over a fire.


    Unlike the rotten meat¡¯s putrid smell, a fragrance befitting fresh meat began to spread around.


    Which made my stomach make even more painful noises but I must be patient, until its fully cooked¡ª¨Cand the moment that happened, I bit into the oily meat.


    ¡°Delicious¡­..¡±


    The flavours and juices burst inside my mouth.


    My brain felt a shock from the violent and intense taste of this delicacy.


    I felt glad for not giving up, for staying alive.


    I truly felt that it was first class dish.


    I lost all sense of reason and began roasting more meat and again, until I had devoured all of it. Even the portion I intended to save for tomorrow.


    I had originally planned, to try it with various herbs and plants and see all sorts of combinations but all of that had disappeared from my head and I focused on just eating.


    I once again gave my gratitude to the Orc from the depths of my heart as I lay down from fulfilment and exhaustion.


    I almost instantly fell asleep but the scene of my earlier fight flashed through my brain.


    The swing of my axe that dealt a fatal blow with a single strike.


    Having personally dismantled its corpse by hand I know exactly how tough and thick an Orc¡¯s skin is supposed to be. Not mention the layers of fat and muscle that was tough as actual armor.


    I know myself better than anyone and so I know it was impossible for me to deal such a powerful blow with a single strike.


    Not to mention a single swing with stick was able to blow its head open as well; and I was able to carry a giant Orc corpse all by myself back here¡­¡­there was only possible answer. Somehow my body¡¯s strength has increased, at an unbelievably rapid pace.


    The only reason I could think of was [Heavenly Blessing] .


    Even as a [Farmer] I suppose it would still give me some level of increase to my physical ability. But this felt way beyond any of that.


    It¡¯s too much. Abnormal even.


    Beyond anything that even my Father, who was a [Swordsman] got.


    That means, did something happen when I fought Klaus?¡ª-seems like the only plausible answer for now.


    In theory, there are times when a body gets hurt or broken, it tries to rebuild itself stronger than before to adapt.


    Perhaps that phenomenon was happening to my body; is the best answer I could come up with.


    ¡­¡­.But even I cant convince myself that that¡¯s true even if I have no other ideas; even though I can feel  that I grown exponentially stronger.


    Whatever the reason, having this kind of strength is the best case scenario for me.


    My hopes of surviving in this forest just increased greatly. And now I just have to wait for time to pass.


    While doubts remained in my mind, I forcefully convinced myself and went into a deep slumber while listening to the soft sounds of the forest.

 CH 7

    Return from the Forest


    It had been over a month since I entered the Peixa forest. I have yet to leave even once and am still living in my base.


    I originally planned to leave after a week but the Orc meat was quite aplenty and it took around a month to eat it all up.


    If I was still the same carefree child that used to roam around the streets of Dezir, I probably would have long thrown the remaining meat and left the forest¡­.


    But having learnt the pain of having no food, and having killed for my selfish desire to eat it, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to throw anything away.


    Well, what was turning out to be a major issue, that is living in this forest, turned quite a lot more simpler with the Orc meat in hand. Not to mention, its not like I¡¯m short on time for anything.


    To stay here for a week was a minimum limit I set for myself, not the maximum after all.


    Having spent this week here has also instilled newfound confidence in me that I can survive anywhere. I have grown and matured, not just physically, but mentally as well.


    If anything, I could  spend the next couple months here as well if I needed to but¡­..with the Orc meat now finished, I¡¯m not exactly looking forward to a return of shitty plants as my diet.


    With my excitement now cooled, I decided to leave the Peixa forests and head to a town.


    I can use a sword better than the common person, so I should be able to make a decent living as an adventurer.


    Anyhow, I must live, train, get stronger and then¡­¡­.get some payback on both Klaus and father.


    Well perhaps getting payback on guy who received [Sword God] might be too much to ask for, but I have to aim high and big, otherwise my will might truly break.


    Psyching myself up, I quickly returned the various random items I had collected back to nature itself, and picked up my small bag. I attached the bag with the remaining jerky and water to my waist and gave my thanks with a deep bow to this natural cave that had been my home for the last month or so.


    I almost felt a bit sad to leave. But I continued on my way to leave the forest.


    .


    .


    Half a day after walking away from my old base.


    While getting lost every now and then, I finally found my way back to the clear spring that I had found on the first day.


    Rainy days aside, all I had to drink until now was dirty water so it really had been a month since I had drunk actually clean water.


    I never thought that drinking just normal water could make me so emotional.


    I dunked my head in the water and drank so much I could drown. With no dirt inside, the clear water truly felt delicious.


    Having filled my stomach to the brim with water, next I took of all my clothes and took a full bath.


    While I had cleaned my body with wet leaves, but to say that my lifestyle for the last month was unhygienic would be an understatement.


    I did feel remorse for dirtying the springs clear water with my body but I needed to be clean before returning to any place with people.


    I immersed myself in the cold water, and desperately scrubbed away a month¡¯s worth of filth


    With my whole body finally washed, I picked up my clothes to wash them next only to finally realize the utter state they were in. They could barely be even called clothes anymore.


    I knew it was torn in places since I could feel the wind as I walked around but I never really paid any attention just how bad it had gotten.


    Appearance and looks were the last thing on my mind while in the forest after all.


    ¡­¡­..that said, I can¡¯t walk around outside the forest in these.


    As I soaked myself in the spring wondering what to do, I finally decided on using the orc skin pouch that I had created for storing items; I opened back to its original state and wrapped it around my waist over my tattered clothes instead.


    It was horrible to look at but much better than looking like an exhibitionist. Probably.


    If only I had grabbed a spare change of clothes from my house as well.


    Feeling regret over the fact that the accessory that I had grabbed had been of absolutely no use to me, I wore my clothes back on and left the forest.

 CH 8

    Realzard


    Having left the forest, I simply walked along the highway to Realzaard, a city neighbouring the royal capital Meldrake.


    Its not exactly far from Dezir, where I ran from, but with one month passed it¡¯s far enough that I shouldn¡¯t run into problems.


    It was a flourishing town, being close to the capital, and was a good plae to hide considering the huge amount of people that went in and out of the city. Considering Klaus, a [sword god] would almost certainly be called to the capital, it was a good place to keep track of his position as well.


    I have no concrete plans, by I plan to make this city my base as I figure out my future.


    I joined the line at the end and waited for the inspection to be entered into the city.


    Dezir technically also had a main gate but things are a bit more free there, and so this was really my first ever time going through one.


    Realzard was about a fourth in size when compared to the capital Meldrake or so I had heard but¡­¡­.looks big enough to me and judging by the number of people in this line waiting to entered inside shows just how prosperous this city is.


    The fact that the capital was supposedly 4 times bigger than this was frankly too much for my brain to comprehend.


    I felt a bit ashamed to be in the tatters and waited while making myself as small and inconspicuous as possible until my turn finally came.


    I looked like completely a runaway as well and my heart started beating faster as I moved to having my belongings searched and my identity checked and verified.


    While the guard looked at me suspiciously, I had nothing dangerous on me, not even a personal sword, and I was quickly allowed to get inside.


    With it being a manual inspection and the guards being understaffed as it is everything happened quick but, if there were less people in line perhaps they would have spent more time and it could have gotten dangerous.


    I feel like I¡¯ve crossed one dangerous bridge but now that I¡¯m inside, I guess its all fine.


    And thus I boldly entered the city.


    .


    .


    The first thing that came to my sight was a huge fountain. The roads were clean and there street lamps attached to the sides all around.


    Every building looked new, and streets looked free of garbage as surprising as it was to me.


    Now my hometown of Dezir was certainly not some rural village, this is on a whole different level.


    While glancing around, enjoying the scenery, I headed towards the busy commercial district.


    Having eaten nothing but the last remaining Orc jerky all day, acquiring food was priority as was to find an inn to stay at.


    Not to mention, I need to fix my clothes, and while I used some makeshift weapons in the forest, I¡¯ll need a proper weapon to fight with Klaus and in general.


    But I need money for all of that¡­¡­.and all I had on hand was 3 silver coins and a couple dozen copper coins.


    I think it¡¯ll cover clothes, food, and a nights rent but its far from making me feel secure.


    I intend to earn money as adventurer but there¡¯s no guarantee it¡¯ll come instantly.


    ¡­¡­..checking my small bag, I looked at the few items I stole during my escape.


    Mom¡¯s accessory and father¡¯s pocket watch.


    I felt uneasy about it but I had no choice but to sell these for money.


    I wanted that to be my last resort, and well, this is the time to use that last resort I suppose.


    Having made my resolve, I decided to look for a merchant store where I could sell items.


    Having made a full round around the main street of the commercial district, I did find one place where I could sell these.


    And there I was, in front of the door of one of the biggest item shops [Goldpawn]


    It had an extravagant entrance, and lots of people were going in and out. Making a quick check I could see they dealt in all sorts of items and even second hand goods.


    Second hand goods mean they¡¯ll definitely purchase things as well and an establishment this big wont try to rip me off too much either. Hopefully.


    Having found the perfect store, I hesitated for a second, then headed inside to start the negotiations.

 CH 9

    Mugging


    ¡°¡ª¨CFuck, that was tough!.¡±


    Leaving [Goldpawn], I cursed in frustration.


    Everything was going fine up till making a request about selling items to the receptionist, but then they took me to a high ranking appraiser in another room.


    I instantly had a bad feeling the moment I looked at him, but on top of that he had the audacity to snort in disgust at the mere sight of me,  shitty clothes and all.


    I tried to ignore his annoying attitude and politely asked to buy my things¡­¡­only to get hit with a ¡°impossible¡±.


    Without even looking at what I wanted to sell, they quickly took me towards a back door and was driven away.


    I was obviously irritated but hearing the said appraiser scolding the receptionist who allowed me to go through inside, I lost even my will to be angry and I left [Goldpawn].


    I thought they dealt in everything but I was way off the mark.


    ¡­¡­..well, I suppose my appearance doesn¡¯t exactly make me very reliable or assuring person to deal with. It¡¯s me who¡¯s off the mark.


    I really should have have fixed my appearance as priority. With regret in my heart, my previously light energetic steps were now heavy as I made my way away from the main street.


    And the place I was headed was the ¡®back streets¡¯, an advice I got from the appraiser.


    When I was looking for a shop that might be willing to buy my things, I had noticed that if you go further south of the main street, which is located in the south of the town, you will find a dirty commercial area with tents lining the streets, almost hard to believe that this is the same Realzaard, which is beautifully paved over.


    For my sanity¡¯s sake I really wanted to finish it in a main street shop but now I don¡¯t exactly have a choice anymore.


    The number of people around also greatly decreased and I looked around restlessly hoping to quickly find a decent store.


    ¡­¡­..yeah. Most of them are built inside tents and I cant tell anything from the outside.


    At least put up a signboard or something damnit, there¡¯s no distinction between the shops at all.


    I couldn¡¯t bring up the courage to peek inside one of the tents to check, and while I just stood paralyzed with my troubles, I felt someone full on my clothes.


    Turning around I saw a kid, shorter than even me, and in clothes as poor as mine standing there.


    ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong?¡­¡­.you lost?¡±


    The kid had a hood covering his face so I couldn¡¯t quite tell his expression but with how tightly he seemed to be gripping on my sleeve, he must be troubled by something, or so I guessed.


    The moment I decided to lower my waist to try directly talking to him¡ª


    ¡°Hey! What are you¡ª¨C! That hurts!¡±


    The kid threw something he was gripping on straight at my face.


    As I recognized what that was, my vision turned red.


    With deft moves, the kid used the opening to grab my small bag and as a finisher kicked me in the chest with full force and began to run away.


    Being in half bent down position, my balance was completely off and I fell to my back even though the kid¡¯s kick wasn¡¯t really that strong.


    Well this is bad¡ª¡ª


    The bag had both my money and my last lifeline that was the accessory in it.


    To have something I stole, stolen from me again is some damn luck.


    I quickly used my water pouch to wash my face and rushed after the kid.


    The kid tried to weave through places with crowds to lose me but I was able to keep up with him just about without losing track.


    Thanks to my life in the Peixa forest, my vision, eye tracking and attention to detail has become a whole lot better than before.


    Feeling my own growth once again, I chased after the kid with full speed.


    The kid was certainly good on his feet and I could tell he had a lot of experience seeing how easily he weaved through crowds but, I simply had a raw physical advantage.


    Pushing the people in my way aside with ease, I caught the kid right before he could slip off into an alleyway.


    ¡°Fuu~ Caught you. You¡¯re quite a shitty kid, aiming to take advantage of one¡¯s kindness.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Ee Yah! Let me go!!¡±


    That voice, huh, guess it was a girl actually.


    I guess she didn¡¯t expect to get caught, she cried with panic in her voice.


    ¡°Oi Keep your voice down¡ª-Or I will hit you.¡± (T/n:I like Chris)


    At my threatening voice, the girl quickly shut her mouth with her hands and gave a nod.


    And I finally got a good look at her face. She looks almost the same age as me or at least close to it actually.


    From her height I was sure she was a kid but I suppose she¡¯s not too short for a girl of her age.


    She had a youthful look about her, and seeing the small tears forming at the edge of her eyes made me almost feel like I was the bad guy. Almost. In reality, it¡¯s all her fault.


    And so, I dragged her into the same alley she was about to escape into to hear what she has to say about this incident.

 CH 10

    Thief


    ¡°So? Wanna explain this?¡±


    Putting her down inside the alley, I looked down at her as I began my questioning.


    The girl with the dark red hair was still keeping both her hands on her mouth, and mumbled something while averting her eyes.


    ¡°I cant tell what you¡¯re saying like that, can I?¡±


    ¡°Bu-But you said you¡¯ll hit me if I made a noise so¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hit you if you don¡¯t talk as well.¡±


    ¡°Hii¡­.There was no reason for it; if I had to pick one¡­¡­to live? I guess?¡±


    Been threatened, the girl began to talk with a trembling voice.


    Ah I see. One of those ¡®must steal to simply survive¡¯ type eh?


    Then why go for a shoddy looking guy like me instead of all the rich folks on the main street. But I can take a guess¡­.


    Having been thrown out of [goldpawn], I was walking around dejected and lifeless which must have made me look like a prime and easy target.


    ¡°I get your situation. Judging by your skill, this wasn¡¯t your first time either right? No parents either I assume?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Any comrades, friends, fellow thieves?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­N-none..¡±


    Asking about her parents got an instant response but the comrades one had her quickly avert her eyes and a bit of silence before answering in negative.


    ¡­¡­..what a shit liar.


    If this was planned group attack, I was planning to give them a full lecture as well, so let¡¯s interrogate her a bit more.


    ¡°Did you just lie to me?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I did not.¡±


    ¡°Your expression says otherwise. Fine, don¡¯t talk. And I¡¯ll just throw you to some soldiers and be on my way.¡±


    ¡°N-No please, anything but that!¡±


    The girl said with a voice filled with sorrow.


    Of course, I was the last person who wanted to meet any kind of soldiers right now, but she doesn¡¯t know that and it makes for a good threat.


    ¡°Then stop lying and speak the truth.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..I do have a friend. We live in a rundown house together.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°Its just the two of us.¡±


    ¡°I see. And you both are working as thieves?¡±


    ¡°Ye-Yes.¡±


    I still had my doubts but it really doesnt look like she¡¯s lying anymore.


    That means, these two friends must have planned to go after me.


    ¡°And? Where is this friend right now? Must be close by no?¡±


    On my asking, she meekly pointed towards a small house inside the alley.


    I see. So she was running back to their little hideout. Hard to track someone once they hide inside a building after all.


    ¡°Alright, take me there¡­¡­..Dont worry, as long as your friend doesn¡¯t try something first, I don¡¯t plan on hurting either of you.¡±


    ¡°Re-Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not lying.¡±


    I¡¯m not exactly free and have ended up getting dragged into this trouble. Need to make sure this doesn¡¯t happen again after which I can let her go¡­..Especially when there¡¯s a partner who might try something else again. A strong warning should be enough. It¡¯s a pain but better than leaving loose ends.


    The girl hardly seemed trusting of me but she wasn¡¯t exactly in a position to refuse me and reluctantly began to lead me towards their little hideout.


    There was chance that the moment I entered, I¡¯ll get mobbed by many so I was on full guard this time.


    ¡°OI, you¡¯re late, I thought you got caught or something!¡±


    The moment we entered, a boy about my age quickly rushed towards us.


    He was a tough looking blonde boy but like the girl his hair colour looked dull.


    By the time the boy stopped talking, he quickly realized that there was another guy behind her, me, and froze in place staring.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I did get caught.¡±


    ¡°W-w-what do you mean!? And why would you bring him here!!?¡±


    ¡°Be-because¡­¡­I¡¯d get hit if I didn¡¯t.¡±


    The boy was panicking and began to reach for the short sword on his waist.


    ¡°Oi. If you attack, I promise you, you¡¯ll get no mercy.¡±


    ¡°Ra-Ralf! Put your weapon away!¡±


    On my threat, and the girl¡¯s persuasion, the boy slid the sword back into its sheathe.


    At a simple glance, he seemed to have some sort of experience with the weapon but how do I say this, his posture, balance were all completely amateurish. I knew instantly he wasn¡¯t worth worrying about for me.


    I could easily deal with him even if he did try attacking but frankly speaking, I¡¯d like to settle this without violence if possible.


    ¡°So, what do you want!? If you want money, we don¡¯t have any! Wouldn¡¯t be going around as thieves if he had any after all!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to give a warning that¡¯s all. That if you try this again, it¡¯ll end very badly for both of you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Eh? i-is that it?¡±


    The boy looked stumped at this anti-climactic resolution.


    ¡­¡­perhaps I should have asked for something as a return for not throwing them to the guards?


    ¡°True, perhaps a warning alone isnt enough.¡±


    When I muttered that, the boy¡¯s expression twisted realizing he¡¯d said too much.


    That said, I don¡¯t see what these kids could have that¡¯d be worth anything to me if they were desperate enough to try stealing from me in the first place.


    Cant be a item then¡­¡­


    Suddenly an idea popped in my mind.


    ¡°In return I want information. I just came to this city you see? I¡¯m not exactly knowledgeable regarding this district; especially the back streets are confusing as hell so I want a guide.¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡¯s fine by me¡­..¡±


    ¡°And you, miss redhead?¡±


    ¡°Eh, me too?¡±


    ¡°Obviously. You¡¯re the main reason we¡¯re here after all.¡±


    They didn¡¯t exactly seemed enthusiastic about it, but I had the two agree to give me a full tour of the district. Forcefully.


    I¡¯m definitely a bit odd in the head to make a deal like this with people that just tried to mug me, but my need for info comes first.


    I was pissed with how things had been going upto now but this might turn out to be a somewhat lucky encounter in its own way.


    With my new tour guides at hand, I once again headed for the back streets.


    ¡°So what exactly are you looking for in this district?¡±


    ¡°A cheap inn, and a good place for food if any¡­¡­.Also, Where were you sell the things you steal.¡±


    ¡°A local pawnshop run by an acquaintance, [Shichifukuya] will take whatever you bring.¡±


    ¡°Heh~so there is a shop that¡¯ll happily taken stolen goods as well huh¡­..good, lead me there.¡±


    When I said that, the two looked at each other in doubt.


    I guess they felt that I might be planning something bad.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not planning on doing something bad. Just need to sell some things. That may happen to be stolen goods.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Ha? So you were a thief as well? You have some gall lecturing us then!¡±


    ¡°Mine was a onetime thing. And I stole from my own parents. Doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean!? Theft is theft! You¡¯re the same as us!¡±


    ¡°Yes yes, that¡¯s why I¡¯m letting you both off with just a little guide job, you see? Not to mention, I only said to not go after me again. I don¡¯t care who else you steal from otherwise. Not my business.¡±


    ¡°So you really don¡¯t plan to call the guards? Or cause trouble at [Shichifukuya]? Really!?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, do what I asked and I¡¯ll do nothing. Let us thieves get along even if for this short time okay?¡­¡­.not that I plan to actually become a thief.¡±


    While placating the boy¡¯s doubts, we continued our little trip around the back streets.


    As expected of kids who had been raised on these very streets, I got introduced to whole lots of interesting and worthwhile shops.


    This area suits my current appearance much better than the glamorous main street and while the quality of things here is an issue, the prices are much cheaper to reflect that as well.


    Quite the drastic difference between the two districts considering there bordering each other, but it was bound to be of great use to someone like me right now.

 CH 11

    Chapter 11 Shichifukuya


    ¡°You two, thanks for the tour. It was a great help.¡±


    ¡°Not like we had a choice but sure.¡±


    ¡°It was a great help nonetheless. For a while I¡¯ll be staying in this city so we might run into each other again. Don¡¯t forget to say hi in that case!¡±


    I gave my heartfelt genuine thanks for their help, only for the two to look at me with a truly disgusted look.


    The red haired girl kept mostly silent throughout our little trip but still seemed hateful of me, especially considering she was the one who tried mugging me in the first place.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll take our leave here.¡±


    ¡°Wait. You haven¡¯t introduced me to the most important place of them all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.We told you the name. Cant you go there by yourself.¡±


    ¡°And how would I know which among these sign-less tents is that place? Not to mention, the owner is acquaintance you said, didn¡¯t you? I¡¯d like a proper referral in that case. Don¡¯t want them to have their guard up or be suspicious of me after all.¡±


    ¡°Tch, fine¡­¡­this is the last one okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    As they reluctantly began walking again, we made our way to the shop.


    Finally, a place where I can sell these stolen items. I¡¯m kinda interested in seeing what kind of person runs a shop like that.


    Inside a small alley with the back streets themselves, the two stopped in front of a little rundown hut. Apparently this was the place.


    On entering, the inside was dim and there was no other presence could be felt.


    But this was certainly the place. I could see various items cramped on a small shelf on display to be sold.


    Bags, watches, books.


    Weapons, shields, magic items; there was no consistency to it all.


    As I looked over the displayed items, I heard a noise come from somewhere inside.


    Turning towards that, I saw an old man with a stick slowly making his way towards me. I presume he¡¯s the owner.


    ¡°Ooh, If it isnt Ralf and Esta¡­¡­and a new face. How can I help you today?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.he is someone we met today. Apparently has things he wants to sell. Can you take care of it?¡±


    ¡°Met today?¡­¡­I don¡¯t mind but these ¡®items¡¯, do they happen to be dangerous by any chance?¡±


    Both looked towards me questioningly.


    Dangerous, eh?


    Well it could qualify as dangerous considering where I stole these from but the items themselves are far from it.


    While I considered how to answer, the boy decided to just talk anyway.


    ¡°Its stolen items. An accessory. Stolen from his folks so probably not dangerous I think.¡±


    ¡°I see. Stolen items, in that case, I¡¯ll take 20% as fees but I will buy them no problem. Now then, can you show the thing?¡±


    On the old man¡¯s prompting, I took the accessory and pocket watch out of the bag and put it on the counter.


    Even while I was in Peixa forest, I made sure that this alone didn¡¯t get scratched or even dirty so it should be fine but I was still a bit nervous.


    ¡°Hoho, now that¡¯s a good quality item. I¡¯ll do a quick appraisal, in meantime please look around the shop while waiting.¡±


    The old pulled out a small hand lens and focused on appraising the items.


    Watching him with a side eye, I continued exploring the little store.


    Lots of items to choose from but the things that had my attention was obviously¡­.weapons.


    I tried looking for a easy to handle sword but even at the cheapest, it cost 5 silver. Far above my current budget.


    For a pawnshop, or maybe because it was a pawnshop, there wasn¡¯t exactly a good range of cheap weapons available for showing.


    But since they were all high quality, even someone who didn¡¯t knew much about weapons outside of swords could tell at a glance that they were quality, and it was fun to just look and admire them.


    .


    After getting bored of just looking at the weapons for some time, I switched my attention towards books.


    Same as swordsmanship, I had been taught reading and writing from a small age and thus could more or less understand most of the written works. As a child, I used to love reading the books of Heroic tales over and over again.


    As I searched for something interesting, a single book caught my eye.


    [The Wandering tales of Otto the Botanist]


    Never heard of the guy ever and the reading about a botanist just sounded dull from the start.


    ¡­¡­Yet, my eyes were stuck to it for some reason.


    I¡¯ll buy it if its cheap.


    Thinking that, I checked its price¡­¡­.almost as expensive as the weapons at 3 silver coins.


    Now I know that some old books that aren¡¯t in publication or circulation now can be very costly, but still this was crazy expensive.


    I thought of buying it if it was cheap, but seeing it be this expensive on the other made me curious as to what the hell were the contents of this book.


    ¡°You, can you read?¡±


    Hearing the sudden voice from behind, I jumped a bit.


    Turning back, it was the red haired girl who spoke to me.


    Having lost myself to thoughts, I didn¡¯t notice her get behind me at all.


    I made a point to myself to reflect on letting my guard down so much, and then replied to the girl.


    ¡°Yeah. I learnt when I was young. You cant?¡±


    ¡°Un¡­..um¡­.not at all.¡±


    She seemed like she wanted to say something more but seemed to give up internally and then walked away.


    It made me ait curious as to what she wanted to ask but I had no reason to continue asking, and I returned my focus back to the book at hand.


    The book was cleanly sealed and it was impossible to take even a peek at its contents. It seemed to be an autobiography of this botanist Otto from what I could tell.


    My curiosity was peaked, but it was not something within my reach. Though I should ask about it from the shopkeeper if I have time.


    Around the same time I had finally given up on it, the shopkeeper had also seemed to have finished his appraisal and called for me.

 CH 12

    Earnings


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. The appraisal is finally done, and as long as you are not dissatisfied with my valuation, I would happily purchase these items.¡±


    His valuations huh¡­..


    He had attached some kind of paper to each item with some markings but that didn¡¯t really tell me how much the price he had decided on. Perhaps, someone used to these things would know what they mean?


    ¡°By valuations, are you referring to these markings? Apologies, but I don¡¯t know how to read these.¡±


    ¡°oo, my bad, then if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll explain orally. First of all, the accessories- this earring is 2 silver coins, the ring is 4 silver coins and this necklace, around 3 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°3 gold!??¡±


    ¡°Though small, there are sapphire pieces embedded around it after all.¡±


    I unexpectedly raised my voice from the surprising valuation.


    My heart began to beat faster realizing this must have been a precious belonging of my mother¡­¡­


    But then again, she barely paid any attention to me and only coddled Klaus. She was the happiest when Klaus ended up becoming the heir to the family as well.


    Remembering I was almost killed by Klaus, I angrily and forcefully killed any sort of guilt I was feeling.


    ¡°3 gold is insane!? A deal like this only happens every few years!¡±


    ¡°Hey Ralf, don¡¯t eavesdrop.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s the one who shouted that out so I ended up hearing it that¡¯s all¡­¡­Hey, were you from some rich family?¡±


    ¡°Hey we¡¯re still in the middle of negotiations, so don¡¯t butt in between. You can talk to him later¡­¡­and lastly this pocketwatch, it¡¯s about 1 gold coin.¡±


    ¡°1 gold eh¡­¡­.¡±


    Turns out Father¡¯s pocketwatch is cheaper than I thought instead.


    Not like I¡¯m an expert in watches or something but he always seemed to take great care of the watch so I was sure it was something expensive.


    To think Mom¡¯s necklace turned out to be more expensive¡­¡­.


    ¡°So? What will you do? Are you okay with selling it all?¡±


    ¡°ehh¡­¡­.I¡¯ll sell everything except the pocketwatch.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Here¡¯s 3 gold and 6 silver coins. And your pocket watch, as it was, of course.¡±


    Money was vital right now, and its not like the pocketwatch was of much use to me but¡­..


    With the price being as underwhelming as it was, I ended up refusing  to sell it.


    Was I still feeling guilty? I wondered as I put it all back inside my bag.


    ¡°Thank you. Seriously, that was a huge help.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, stolen goods go for a bit cheaper than normal and gives me better profit so need to thank me. Anything else, I can help you with?¡±


    ¡°Nothi¡ª¡°


    I recalled the book that piqued my interest. The necklace¡¯s price really had completely blown everything else out of my mind until now.


    ¡°Actually, something caught my eye among your things. There¡¯s this book, [The Wandering tales of Otto the Botanist]? What kind of book is that?¡±


    ¡°Hoho, you have an eye for peculiar things sir. In fact even I¡¯m quite interested in that book. With its contents being a complete mystery, I have put it at that price but it hasn¡¯t quite caught a buyer yet.¡±


    ¡°ahh¡­¡­is that so. WIth that price, I thought it was about someone really famous but I guess I was wrong?¡±


    ¡°Well, it seems so. If they were someone who achieved something truly great, it would have been very famous¡­¡­..But, and call this instinct, but I have a feeling that its contents are much better than some plain old biography.¡±


    The man spoke profoundly with a grin, his words calling to my soul.


    You cant help but show interest. But 3 gold is too much for me.


    Even with all the sales, all I have in total right now is 5 gold coins. If I spent it all on a book here, it¡¯ll be putting the cart before the horse. I came here to make money, not decrease it.


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m very interested but¡­¡­..dont exactly have the leeway to take the gamble, do I? Sorry, I¡¯ll have to pass for now. If its still unsold when I come back next, I¡¯ll gladly take it off your hands.¡±


    ¡°Interesting¡­¡­then how about buying it with instalments instead? I¡¯ll let you take it without paying for now, but you can pay me back when you have earned the money, how about it?¡±


    What a ridiculously insane offer. I couldn¡¯t help but stare blankly at the old man. Has he gone senile? But he was still showing that soft smile, looking straight into my eyes.


    ¡°And how are you okay with that? I might never come back you know? Shouldn¡¯t say this myself but¡­..I¡¯m just some random that just sold stolen goods to you.¡±


    ¡°HO HO HO. I¡¯m not suggesting this without any assurances, trust me. Like I said before, this book hasn¡¯t been sold for many years now, losing it for free now wont make much of a difference at this point.¡±


    ¡°but still¡­..¡±


    ¡°Lets put it this way. If you DO being me money back, doesn¡¯t that mean that I just sold a book I wasn¡¯t able to sell for years at this point?¡­¡­.Also, if you don¡¯t by any chance, I¡¯ll just get Ralf here to pay me instead!¡±


    ¡°WHAT!? Like I ever could do that!¡±


    The poor boy shouted, having been dragged into the crossfire.


    The old man began to laugh seeing his reaction.


    ¡°How about it? Think of it as doing me a favour instead eh?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.If you are okay with it, I quite literally have no reason to reject such an offer.¡±


    ¡°Oi wait! Just to make it clear, I¡¯m not paying for shit okay!!?¡±


    ¡°Ho ho ho, then wait here, I¡¯ll bring it right now.¡±


    On his recommendation, I obviously took up his offer. The boy continued to complain but the book was soon in my hand.


    ¡°When I have the money, I¡¯ll most certainly pay you back. Thank you for everything.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me, like I said. Just pay me back while I¡¯m still alive okay!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, for sure.¡±


    ¡°Oii! I¡¯m not involved in this alright! I¡¯m paying for anything okay!!?¡±


    After I and the old man firmly shook hands, we left the store with the book and money in hand.


    Not just purchasing what I stole, he even showed an odd amount of trust to a stranger and gave me that book with a deferred payment deal. What a gentleman!


    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have more stolen goods to sell ever again but, if I ever find something I wanted to sell in the future, I¡¯ll be sure to make him my first choice. And I swore to myself to pay him back for the book at all costs.

 CH 13

    Dinner party


    ¡°Thanks for showing me around today. Made a lot more money than I thought all thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°What a lucky guy, 3 gold coins is enough to last for a few months at least.¡±


    ¡°How about I take you two to the restaurant you mentioned earlier. My treat.¡±


    ¡°Eh Really!?¡± -(girl)


    ¡°Oi idiot! You failed today¡¯s job, got us involved in this mess meaning no income from today. We have to at least get something for the day!¡±


    ¡°But isnt it simpler to just have him treat us to dinner instead¡­¡­.¡±


    The redhead spoke so.


    The boy wanted to get away from me as soon as possible but quickly realized his own fallacy at the girl¡¯s words.


    ¡°Tr-true, that would make things easier¡­¡­.bu-but, why do you want to treat the people that tried to mug you? That¡¯s weird!¡±


    ¡°Is it? I said it was as thanks no? You should give your thanks to the shopkeeper of [Shichifukuya] for that.¡±


    ¡°Then please. We really have no money right now.¡±


    The girl¡¯s words were final, and the boy also agreed to go along with it.


    Just because I made some money doesn¡¯t exactly put in a place where I can throw it around but¡­¡­after spending a month eating alone in the forest, even thieves would make for decent company. It felt good to talk to people again.


    Not to mention, these two had a lot of connections around the backstreet it seemed. Better to maintain good relations.


    With all that said, we three headed towards a supposedly cheap yet tasty restaurant.


    ¡°You sure look like you¡¯re enjoying it. We¡¯re eating the same thing yet you¡¯re making it look like you got a much better dish.¡±


    ¡°Like I explained, all I have eaten for almost a month is flavourless orc meat inside a forest. Well it was tasty in its own way, don¡¯t get me wrong, but a proper flavoured meal could most certainly make me cry right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m almost envious of your body¡­¡­..It¡¯s amazing how you were able to survive a whole month in that forest.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. For the first few days, it was desperate. I ate, drank whatever I could find just to survive, even muddy water.¡±


    While tasting the dishes , I talked about my time in Peixa forest. Just recalling those first few days made these dishes taste even better.


    ¡°Whatever you could find¡­¡­..if youa ccidentaly ate anything that was poisoned, you¡¯d have been dead in no time you know?¡±


    ¡°That was not really a worry for me. I have a [Posion resistance] skill after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­You sure you should be so casually telling people about your skill?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Barring very unique circumstances, it¡¯s not a skill that¡¯ll make much of a difference in life.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been on my mind, but you are really a carefree guy¡ª¨Cbut wait, I actually know a couple people that have the same skill as you but that doesn¡¯t mean they were completely resistant to every kind of poison though? It¡¯s closer to making your digestion stronger, or more resistant to getting drunk from alcohol, that¡¯s about it.¡±


    ¡°Wait really? But I ate all kinds of weird plants and mushrooms, and even rotten meat yet still nothing happened.¡±


    When I said that, both seemed to sense something and nodded to each other.


    ¡°Se-see like I told you, he was okay even when I threw an Arryl ball straight to his face! He just got up and chased after me! I thought I had missed!¡±


    ¡°Was that the red thing? That hit me straight in the eye you know?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re joking¡­¡­right? Arryl balls can paralyze a normal person for day at the very least! I have never heard of it simply not working.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you two are using some crazy items aren¡¯t you. Wouldn¡¯t you have blinded some poor guy if it was anyone other than me?¡±


    Shocked at the new revelations from the two, I now knew that my skill was certainly not just [Posion resistance]. A faint hope that maybe it was a rare skill and not the generic thing it seemed appeared in my heart.


    ¡°If even an Arryl ball had no effect, wouldn¡¯t it make the skill closer to something like [Null posion] rather than[Poison resistance]?¡­¡­¡­Well, not that it increase the range of usage much more than before.¡±


    ¡°Well it helped me survive that forest and from getting robbed and blinded by you lot so its definitely got a lot more use than I thought.¡±


    I objected, but I knew he wasn¡¯t really wrong.


    [Posion resistance] or [Null posion], at the end of the day, its usage was highly conditional.


    ¡°I wonder¡­¡­¡­anyway, what do you plan to do from here onwards?¡±


    ¡°First of all, I have to become an adventurer. Though a little, I have been trained with the sword. I should be able to make enough money to continue living at the very least.¡±


    ¡°Adventurer eh? Well, vagrants like you only get 2 options for the most part. Adventurer, or criminal.¡±


    ¡°What about you two? Do plan to stick to thieving for the rest of your lives?¡±


    On my question, the redhead stopped eating and hung her head.


    Perhaps I am overstepping my boundaries but, this kind of lifestyle inst really sustainable.


    ¡°I, for one, do plan to do so. I¡¯m not strong enough to become an adventurer, so all I can do is be a criminal instead, like I said.¡± (boy)


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t me who had caught you two, you¡¯d be inside a jail right about now you know? You should think of other ways as well.¡±


    My words marked the end of any further conversation, and we simply continued to eat in silence.

 CH 14

    Inn Selection


    ¡°Thanks for the treat. Really, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure¡¯s mine. And thanks for being my guide. With everything done and settled, no debts on either side. But well, don¡¯t ignore me if we see each other around the district. Let¡¯s get along as simply similar aged friends shall we?¡±


    After half day together, I said my goodbyes as I parted with the two, and I headed towards the main street once again.


    For kids who had to steal to live, their personalities weren¡¯t twisted by any means. In comparision, my father or Klaus, born and raised supposedly ¡®decently¡¯, looked insane by my standard.


    Rage seeped back in just remembering my family, so I quickly tried to change my thoughts to something else. Yes, lets think about where to stay for the night.


    The two recommendations from Ralf were [Dove inn] in the back streets, or the industrial district¡¯s [Shangri-la].


    The [Dove inn] had showers, attached toilets and supposedly also provided high quality mattresses and was one of the best cost efficient inns in all of Realzard.


    [Shangri-la] on the other was lower in quality, but also the cheapest place to stay in the city.


    Quality or Price, the age old question was in front of me. One more thing, [Shangri-la] was in the industrial distric which was also where the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was making it the prime spot for money-less novices like myself.


    There¡¯s a chance I could build some connections with fellow adventurers there, or at least I hope, and thus chose Shangri-la as my destination.


    Back on the main street, I moved through towards the east road and went towards the industrial district.


    Compared to the commercial district, you could see mills and workshops one after another and there were not a lot of people on the streets giving a cold feel to the place.


    Moving ahead, I reached the street with all the different guilds related to various jobs were present.


    Among those, obviously the Adventurer guild looked the busiest of them all, and looked much more livelier than pretty much the entire rest of the district.


    But as you¡¯d expect from adventurers, they weren¡¯t the most friendly looking bunch and the place made you feel far from what you¡¯d call comfortable.


    Just thinking about how I had to jump into this crowd tomorrow made me gloomy, but let¡¯s just focus on getting to the Inn first.


    Passing the guild, I finally reached one old looking building.


    Judging by the characteristic green roof, this must be the aforementioned [Shangri-la].


    You couldn¡¯t find a worse match between a name and a building even if you tried. The wooden inn looked like it had been here for decades, if not centuries. Perhaps it could live up to its name when it was built but it was clearly way past its prime.


    But for someone like me who had a called a gap between two rocks ¡®home¡¯ for more than a month. This was still a major upgrade.


    Pushing through the loosely fit door, I entered the place.


    Unlike its outer appearance, the inside was well kept¡ª¡ªor so I hoped, but really it was the same. Rundown, was the best way I could describe it. While glancing around the place, I made my way to the reception.


    ¡°Welcome, here to stay?¡±


    An old lady, about my mother¡¯s age spoke in a hoarse voice. Her voice was husky enough that it could be mistook for a man¡¯s voice honestly.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve just come here and have been looking for an inn to stay. What¡¯s the rent like?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­A night with two meals- 1 silver coin. Just staying, no meals- 5 copper. Sharing with another person, that¡¯ll be 2 copper.¡±


    ¡°Just 2? sounds pretty cheap.¡±


    I unintentionally spoke loudly from the surprisingly low cost.


    At just 2 coppers for a night, I could live for almost half a year with no problems.


    ¡°Being the cheapest across all of Realzard is our selling point. Room will be shared by three people hence only 2 copper. It might seem like a great deal but the room ain¡¯t too big, and split between three you¡¯ll have basically no privacy which is the obvious negative.¡±


    ¡°I see, that makes sense considering you have to stay with strangers I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Well if you friends, or acquaintances, you can share a room with those if you want, we don¡¯t care. Well, those cases are pretty rare tho.¡±


    The low price comes with a different cost I suppose.


    Well, the room I¡¯d share with would almost certainly be other adventurers. don¡¯t know how I¡¯d handle it if I was stuck with 2 beefy old men.


    The 2 copper sounds like a great deal, especially for me right now, but I should take the single room, even if it costs more, at least until I get used to this place, this kind of crowd.


    I can look for people who I wouldn¡¯t mind sharing a room with and just switch at that point.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the single room, no meals; please.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Here¡¯s the key, room number 122.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll pay 3 silver for the next six days in advance.¡±


    ¡°Of course, thanks for the patronage. When extending your stay, please pay it here again. If the payment doesn¡¯t come by 8pm, we will kick you out by force so please don¡¯t be forgetful.¡±


    ¡°Got it, thanks again.¡±


    Giving a curt bow to the receptionist, I took the key and headed to my room. Starting from 101 I should reach soon by continuing to the left.


    Soon enough, I was in front of my new room. Unlocking the door with the somewhat rough to turn key, I entered my room.


    With nothing more than a bed and a lamp, it was small, simple, square room. The mattress seemed to have an odd colour and looked musty.


    ¡°More than enough for me.¡±


    Me of the past would have been complaining but after sleeping on the bed made of branches and leaves of Peixa forest, this was a big upgrade.


    Having experienced the lowest of the low, I seemed to have become capable of showing gratitude for even the smallest of things.

 CH 15

    Possibilities


    As I threw myself on to the clinking and clattering old bed, I pulled out the book I had received from [Shichifukuya].


    I know I should be planning for tomorrow but, after walking all day and dealing with all the things that happened, my stress and fatigue was at peak and my body refused to even think about anything complicated.


    But, I didnt want to just lie there doing nothing, so I picked up the book to read.


    Since I was kid, I always loved reading books and immersing myself into the life and adventures of the book¡¯s protagonist.


    What was impossible for me in reality became possible and I could become whoever and whatever I wanted as I overlapped myself with the protagonist.


    This book also told the tales from the point of view of its protagonist Otto so I could mindlessly read and immerse myself into its world.


    With the lamp lighting the pages, I turned them one by one as I became one with Otto himself.


    This book was a bit different from the records and tales I had read until now. Instead of a journey about defeating a dragon or a demon lord, it was a journey about finding new and unique plants with different uses.


    It might seem boring at first glance, but after my experiences in the forest, it was coincidentally a very timely and relatable topic for me personally.


    The places and locations talked about weren¡¯t some vague products from imagination and were well recorded and being a botanist, it was chock full of detailed info about the vegetation and the explanation was simple, and easy to understand making it entertaining to read.


    A plant he talked about as a ¡®new finding¡¯ had now, in my time, became a well know thing that even I had heard of; making it all feel like taking a glimpse at a specific moment in history which increased my excitement.


    Among those, one thing that really caught my attention was information about a new type of plant that even the botanist Otto himself couldn¡¯t seem to explain. While wandering and looking for new plants, he talked about a species of plant he found that he had no info about.


    Even those that he could not explain in full still had its peculiar characteristics or affects written down. And most of them were dangerous poisonous plants.


    Plants that contained deadly toxins.


    Otto was of the belief that these poisonous plants possessed a high potential and the book was filled with regrets over how he couldn¡¯t research them properly because of how dangerous they were to the human body.


    At that revelation, I paused on my enjoyment as a simple reader and returned back to reality to think.


    There are various plants out there with no explanation about them or their effects, because of the toxins they possessed, that even Otto couldn¡¯t clarify.


    These poisonous plants that possessed great potential that Otto talked about, if they were a real thing¡­¡­.


    Perhaps with my skill I could find a way to use these plants and strike back against Klaus, a [sword god].


    A use of my skill, that I could have never thought of, was in front of me shining in gold.


    Unable to stop my excitement, I read the big old book straight to the end with no pauses and took a deep breath to release the heat generated inside my body.


    Before I realized, the sun was shining through the window and in my fervour I had read the book all the way till the next day.


    With no regard to everything that happened yesterday, the hope that had appeared in front of me had blown my sleep and fatigue away.


    But, I did need to sleep a bit or I really will faint, so I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart, and fell into a short nap.

 CH 16

    Adventurer Guild


    The next day¡­¡­.. I only slept for about 2 hours but I did get rid of some fatigue so I decided to head out back into the city.


    Before I do anything, I need money.


    Thanks to selling the stolen items, it might seem like I had sufficient money but if I really planned to travel to find these rare and unknown poisonous herbs and plants, I needed a whole lot more money than what I have now.


    I could survive by eating whatever but if possible I never want to relive that lifestyle ever again. Not to mention I have to pay for this book as well.


    Not to mention, I desperately need better equipment, and I need to find a way to increase my knowledge in regards to plants and vegetation in general.


    If I were to calculate my 5 copper rent, about 5 copper on food, which is 1 silver for day; for 10 days that¡¯d be 1 gold coin in just expenses¡­¡­.


    Without money I cant lead a proper life. Shocking, I know.


    Being made a [farmer] and pulling a defective skill, I have finally found a silver lining, a way to get stronger. And to follow that small possibility, I must become an adventurer to make money.


    ¡­¡­.But, now that I have a proper goal to work towards instead just becoming an adventurer to survive, it¡¯s like I have a newfound level of motivation pushing me on.


    I pushed through the crowd of tough looking adventurers, and entered the guild.


    The inside of the guild was ridiculously spacious and was built with multiple reception counters.


    From a glance they were, for putting a request, for taking a request, for trading, for advice or guidance; these four. The amount of staff working for the guild was not in any way lacking to the number of adventurers either.


    The receptionists were all of course women, but the people working inside were mostly men and even those had some strong well built looking people among them.


    I suppose the employees cant allow to make themselves look weak and get bullied by the adventurers.


    Perhaps because it was morning, the amount of people were less than yesterday and I could get to the counter for guidance without needing to get into a line. The beautiful receptionist gave a smile and quickly began the conversation.


    ¡°Welcome, this the advice and guidance counter, how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Advice¡­¡­well, I want to become an adventurer but is this place to start the procedures?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If its registration as an adventurer, you are at the right place. First and foremost, the registration fees is 1 silver coin. Would that be okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, here you go.¡±


    I handed her a coin from my bag.


    She quickly made a check to make sure it was real, then put her smile back on and put a card on top of the counter.


    ¡°This is the adventurer card. Your personal details will entered with magic so please clearly speak the required information.¡±


    ¡°Chris Spa¡ª¡­..No, just Chris for my name. Age 16.¡±


    ¡°Name- Mr. Chris, age 16, and then registration guild Realzard¡ª-and done. With that registration is complete. This will record your quest records, help identify your ability at the church, as well as act as identification paper when required so please be careful about not losing it.¡±


    With the reminders, the card was given to me by the receptionist.


    For safekeeping, I put inside my bag.


    ¡°With this Mr.Chris you are an adventurer. You can now accept quests as well trade with the guild. Any other questions?¡±


    ¡°As for quests, can I take any quest?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately no. The guild splits them and ranks them by difficulty. At first you will only be able to take ¡®Rookie¡¯ quests but as you complete quests, depending on the percentage of completion and number, your rank will go up and so will the rank of quest you can accept.¡±


    ¡°How many ranks are there?¡±


    ¡°It starts with Rookie, then bronze, silver, gold, platinum, mithril, and finally diamond. Above that there is Orichalcum and finally Hihiirokane but¡­..very few make it there so I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about those for now.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the explanation. I did have another question¡ª-¡°


    And thus, I asked basically everything I wanted to know about adventurers from the receptionist. Even though she was smiling at first, it was slowly shifting to an expression that screamed ¡®please stop already¡¯, but I didn¡¯t stop till I was satisfied.


    Information is as good as money after all.


    She was the one who suggested me to ask anything, I¡¯m not the type to hold back though she might hate me for it.


    ¡°¡­¡­..fuuu, anything else sir?¡±


    ¡°No, I have asked pretty much everything I wanted.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then good luck as an adventurer.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    And thus the receptionist sent me off without a smile.


    With a light thanks, I left the counter and headed towards the counter for taking quests.

 CH 17

    Accepting a Quest


    According to the info from the receptionist, Rookie quests are simple enough that they can be completed alone so I figured I¡¯ll work solo to start with and look for a party later.


    If you work in a party the rewards are obviously divided so for me who¡¯s especially desperate for money first and foremost, working alone is the most efficient way to go.


    Of course, in the future, it¡¯ll be almost necessary to join a party to increase my rank and take even harder quests which will in turn increase the rewards as well but¡­..


    After I¡¯ve gathered some money, I plan to leave Realzard in search of unknown poisonous plants so joining a party will definitely cause issues later on.


    For now I¡¯ll stick to clearing quests in straightforward fashion and at the same time find some footing and figure out just what I am capable of, and how strong exactly I have become.


    With such thoughts in my mind, I joined the line in front of the counter and waited till my turn came.


    ¡°Welcome,  this is the counter to accept quests, how may I help you?¡±


    ¡°Uhh yeah, I¡¯d like to take on a quest please.¡±


    These receptionist must be trained with a strict manual or something. Even tho this is a different lady, it felt like I was talking to the same person. Even down to the way they talk is same.


    I suppose they need to be both sociable yet well trained to deal with a wide variety of crazy adventurers I suppose.


    ¡°Then may I see your adventurer card please.¡±


    I took it out from my bag and gave it to the lady.


    ¡°Um, Mr Chris yes? Rank Rookie, no quest clears yet it seems; this would be your first quest I presume?¡±


    ¡°Yes, aa, but don¡¯t worry I got all explanations from the previous receptionist already.¡±


    ¡°Very well, then I¡¯ll skip the long explanations. Then quickly moving on, I would like to present a catalogue of quests you may take but before that, do you have a specific category of quests you would particularly want?¡±


    ¡°Monster hunting, if possible.¡±


    ¡°Very well. The ones available are, Goblin extermination in the western countryside, or the goblin extermination in south-western forests as well as the Goblins on the abandoned north-western highway.¡±


    ¡°Are they all goblins only?¡±


    ¡°Yes that is correct. Rookies are only allowed goblin and Kobold extermination quests. Right there are no kobold extermination quests available so you are unfortunately left with only goblins. If you dislike it, how about making your first quest a item gathering one instead?¡±


    As expected, rookie¡¯s are only allowed to accept quests to hunt low level monsters.


    Having beaten an Orc one on one, goblins wont exactly make a good target to judge my own strength which is unfortunate but it cant be helped.


    I am a bit interested in these gathering quests as well, but I want to make my first one a hunting type.


    ¡°No I¡¯ll take the goblin hunt. The one on the north-western  abandoned highway please.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Then the quest is yours. We will pay 1 silver for 5 kills. The quest only needs five to clear but there is no limit. We will pay 2 copper for every extra you kill.¡±


    ¡°And how do you confirm how many I¡¯ve killed?¡±


    ¡°For verification purposes, please bring the left ears specifically from the goblins you kill, and don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll return your card to you. We wish you the very best luck.¡±


    And thus I became a full-fledged adventurer and left on my first ever quest.


    2 copper for every extra kill was it? I don¡¯t know how many goblins are there and how many I¡¯d be able to kill; I¡¯ve only ever killed that Orc as far as monsters are concerned after all. But I need to kill at least 10 otherwise I wont be in the positive money wise.


    As long as I¡¯m a Rookie, I¡¯ll need to be aggressive about making money otherwise it¡¯s gonna get rough for me.


    While I had the earnings from the sales, I wanted to quickly get into the flow of spending only what I earned from work and also save money on top for future. With my resolve made, I put so0me strength into my legs as I left the guild. My goal, to kill 10 goblins at least.

 CH 18

    First quest


    After leaving the guild, I first headed to a equipment shop on the main district to get better gear, and then left Realzard.


    By the way, my equipment is still the absolute minimum. Nothing fancy, just leather armour and a leather shield. As for my weapon, I went to the storehouse of weapon¡¯s store where all the low quality extra products lay to get a cheap, slightly rusty iron sword.


    And all that still cost 9 silver coins.


    Even inferior goods still cost a lot. Instead of nabbing that old pocketwatch, I should have just grabbed one of the many swords lying around my house instead. Well, no point in regretting it now.


    I followed the northern highway path from Realzard and after reaching the abandoned path, I began searching for these goblins.


    Now, I called it a ¡®path¡¯ but weeds overran the path and it looked more like a beast trail than a path for humans.


    From three options the receptionist gave me, I picked the one that seemed like it would be in the most open area where I could see everything but if goblins are showing up, its hardly going to be a populated area I suppose.


    According to the information, monsters other than goblins also show up once in a while so I treated this like I was back in the Peixa forest, with my focus and concentration at maximum as I moved forward.


    The leaves rustled from the wind, and the movement of living things.


    At first I would jump at every little sound of the forest but now my body had learnt the differences and adapted, almost forcefully so.


    Just like the time I found that Orc, I removed any noise that was due to wind and only focused on the noise made by animals as I continued walking further.


    ¡ª¡ªFound one.


    In the Peixa forest I¡¯d go days without finding anything alive, but it only took about 10 minutes here.


    Diagonally to the right from me, I heard something move.


    It had not noticed me yet and continued to walk through the grass completely unguarded.


    I failed against the Orc but I wont make that mistake again. This time I¡¯ll land my surprise attack perfectly.


    Making sure to not make noise from my footsteps, and avoiding stepping on the weeds I crouched and approached closer to it.


    Thanks to the weeds being taller than my current posture, I wasn¡¯t able to see it but I could tell where it was from the sound as I moved closer and closer.


    I couldn¡¯t avoid stepping on the weeds anymore, and that will most certainly make a noise so I¡¯m going to rush it from here and attack.


    Thankfully, it had yet to notice anything wrong. A chance.


    I sharpened my hearing, nailed its position, took a deep breath and then jumped out.


    Rushing through the weeds, I confirmed the enemy.


    A humanoid monster with horribly hunched back and dirty green skin.


    That¡¯s most certainly a goblin. My current target.


    It was much duller than the Orc and was one whole tempo slower before it noticed me.


    Panicking it tried to take a stance with its wooden stick¡ª¨Cbut it was too late.


    With a diagonal slash, I cut from its left shoulder to its waist.


    Next, going with the flow, I was going to stab straight through its skull as a finisher but¡­¡­.


    My diagonal slash literally tore its body into two pieces.


    My finisher was unneeded as it fell to the ground and died in a pool of its blood.


    ¡°¡­¡­.As I thought, this is really odd.¡±


    I muttered watching the torn body of the goblin.


    I thought the incident with the Orc may have been an exceptional case but there¡¯s no doubt now, my physical strength has increased abnormally.


    Goblins were of course the lowest level among monsters. But even if I had switched from a handmade weapon to a iron sword, splitting the monster in two with almost no resistance is impossible.


    While staring at the purple blood dripping from the edge of my sword, I ended up simply standing there and pondering.


    ¡­¡­¡­..poisonous plants with unknown potential.


    Of course!¡ª¡ªIn the Peixa forest, I ate all sorts of plants that looked they were poisonous enough to kill.


    Yesterday, when I was reading the book it didn¡¯t instantly click in my head but finally I¡¯m connecting the dots together.


    Among the various plants and herbs that I recklessly consumed in the forest to survive, there has to be a mysterious herb with some sort of body enhancement effect.


    While looking at the tragic state of the goblin, the corners of mouths unknowingly rose into a smile.


    Otto¡¯s theory was not mistaken after all. Among the various uneatable poisonous plants, there are many with unknown, yet extremely strong effects.


    Of course this still correlation and not completely proven yet, but I know that the plants that I¡¯m looking for definitely exist in Peixa forest. I almost wanted to rush back to forest right now but I must stay patient and get my daily life in order first.


    Approaching the goblin¡¯s split dead body, I cut its left ear, stored inside my bag and then headed back to the main path in search of more goblins.

 CH 19

    Ability Assessment


    Approximately 2 months had passed since my first ever Goblin hunt.


    My lifestyle, since coming to Realzard, hadn¡¯t changed much although if I had to think one¡ª-


    ¡°Chris-san, good morning. Breakfast is ready.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re heading out first so lock up after you leave okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I had started sharing a room with the 2 thieves, Esta and Ralf, in the [Shangri-la] hotel.


    Perhaps they had felt the limits of living life as a thief after getting caught by me, they came to asking for me about a month ago.


    Since I needed to limit my expenses one way or another, I decided to consent to their request of living together. The two had also become adventurers like me and were currently heading out today once again to finish some quests.


    As for me, I had saved up about 3 gold coins from the many goblin hunts I had undertaken.


    All I did from morning till night was to hunt more and more goblins, but with food, clothing and shelter all stable, I was able to continue without much hardships.


    And finally yesterday, I had safely promoted to Bronze rank from Rookie. Another step forward in my adventurer career¡­¡­..and so, I intend to head towards Peixa forest from tomorrow.


    My true goal was not to just live life as an adventurer, it was to get my revenge over Klaus, the [Sword God].


    Adventuring was nothing more than a means to that end, and so I needed to get stronger as fast as possible.


    While eating the breakfast prepared by Esta, I organised in my mind the things I needed for tomorrow¡¯s departure.


    .


    .


    .


    Having eaten my breakfast, I headed for the backstreets.


    I was a bit excited to go out on a proper shopping trip in almost 2 months but I have already decided on exactly what I need to buy; the money on had remains lacking.


    I didn¡¯t exactly have to leeway to enjoy a casual shopping spree so I quickly headed towards the shop Ralf had told me about.


    My purchases were- A big bag, preserved food and water; and also a set of spare clothes alongside a couple low class healing items, just in case.


    Far from perfect, but it was the bare minimum I needed for my trip.


    Instead of the small bag I had been using all this time, I bough a proper backpack that could hold a lot of things. For example,  it could hold a lot of plants and herbs.


    It was all second hand so there was old-ish feel to it all but since I was able to also keep my expenses low, I left the backstreets feeling satisfied.


    My last destination, was the church.


    Before I headed for the forest, I wanted to get a good grasp of my current ability, something I had yet to do.


    Like the receptionist had told me some time ago, if I were to go to the church with my adventurer card, I could get a quantified description of my current strength.


    The procedure does cost 1 whole gold coin, but you simply cannot ignore this info forever so I was okay with paying it.


    I need this to compare my stats before and after I have consumed the various herbs inside Peixa forest and confirm whether the theory was true or not.


    With the amount of money I have on hand, I can¡¯t measure which plants I have to eat to see my abilities increase, but for now it¡¯s enough to know if the plants that raise my latent abilities are real or not.


    Having decided that, I headed towards the biggest building in all of Realzard.


    Around the church located in the prime location of the city, a truly divine atmosphere could be felt.


    The church where I underwent [Heavenly blessing] ritual was so small compared to this that I felt overwhelmed, but soon I headed inside passing the giant doors.


    Perhaps it was built that way or maybe the affect of being a divine place, Sunlight shone the entire inside area of the church beautifully.


    While passing through the various people clasping their hands and praying towards area with the priests, I reached and stood in front of the platform.


    The head priest of this church was not your typical old man but was a handsome blue-eyed blonde young man.


    ¡°Good morning. How may we help you?¡±


    ¡°I want to get my ability analysed.¡±


    ¡°An adventurer I presume? That is not done here but in the room in the back to the right. Please head there instead.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks¡±


    Giving my thanks to the priest who explained with a smile, I entered the aforementioned room.


    The insides were dim and dusty, and almost felt like a different room in comparison.


    Inside, a big blue crystal, similar to when I undertook the ritual, was placed in the centre alongside a small bell.


    After ringing it, I waited silently for someone to come while staring at the crystal.


    ¡°Thank you for waiting. You¡¯d like your abilities analysed, yes?¡±


    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re the priest from before¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry, we¡¯re a bit short on people right now, and as it turns out, I had to do it anyway.¡±


    ¡°What about the prayer and service happening outside? Can you leave?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If its only ability analysing, it shouldn¡¯t take too long. Unless of course you wish to make a confession as well, in which case I certainly won¡¯t make it¡­¡­.but you don¡¯t right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Just analysing is all I want.¡±


    Confession.


    For a second, my thefts came to my mind, but I don¡¯t plant to repent for it anytime soon.


    Pulling myself together, I urged him to begin.


    ¡°Very well. We¡¯ll be taking 1 gold coin as fees first of all.¡±


    I pulled one out of my bag and handed it over to the blonde priest.


    ¡°Thank you very much. Now then, can you please hand over your adventurer card?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Now continue staring straight into the crystal. It¡¯ll be over very soon.¡±


    Saying that, the priest held its hand above the crystal. Instantly, the crystal to shine with a bright blue light and then soon after faded away.


    ¡°And its done. Here¡¯s your adventurer card back.¡±


    ¡°So where can I see the stats?¡±


    ¡°Look at backside of the card please. It was blank until now but it should all be recorded there I believe. Now then, the prayer is about to begin so I must take my leave.¡±


    ¡°Aa, thanks for the help.¡±


    I thanked the priest, who bowed his head and walked out, and saw him off.


    Sitting back down, I turned the card over and confirmed my abilities.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 10(+6)


    Strength: 5(+8)


    Stamina: 7(+2)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 4


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It¡¯s not overly detailed but all my ability had been properly quantified and presented in a an understandable manner.


    All stats were mostly in single digits, and at one glance far from abnormal.


    With how easily I beat the Orc and Goblin I was frankly expecting something insane, but its about what you¡¯d expect from a Bronze rank adventurer I imagine.


    Since there weren¡¯t any real specifications about the sword ability etc, this doesn¡¯t cover everything about my ability but its still a good representation of my current physical prowess.


    While slightly disappointed, I was also happy to know just how much more I have scope to grow.


    While feeling a bit conflicted, I thing among the stats really caught my eye.


    The numbers written in (+) column as an addition, separate from the base stat.


    If my thinking is correct, the number on the left is my normal ability and the (+) represents the boost attained from external non-traditional methods. For example, strengthening potions, magic items or¡­¡­¡­.unknown herbs that boosted your ability.


    Perhaps I¡¯m interpreting it with bias, but it just makes sense, and it also makes the theory completely correct.


    And, my skill was [Null Poison] instead of [Poison resistance]. Just like Ralf said, it was definitely stronger than {Poison resistance].


    Did that old priest in my town make a mistake, or did something happen to cause a change; regardless, this was another plus for me.


    Now I do want to look at other people¡¯s ability and compare, but the only adventurers I know are the  2 thieves.


    Well, if they got their ability discerned here it¡¯d be great help, but they¡¯ve barely started as adventurers. No way they can pay a gold coin as fees. And no matter how much I want to see it, even I cant so easily pay that for tem either.


    I should be satisfied with just finding out my own stats, and thinking that I left to return to the inn.


    Tomorrow early morning, I will leave Realzard so I wanted to go to sleep early today.

 CH 20

    Plant Gathering


    The next day.


    With my preparations all done yesterday, I picked up my packed bag and headed towards the room¡¯s exit.


    ¡°¡­¡­.huh? Leaving already Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°Did I wake you up? My bad.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Please stay safe.¡±


    ¡°I will. For reasons, I wont be back for some time so tell that to Ralf as well. Oh and I have already paid my share of the rent for the time I¡¯ll be gone in advance so don¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell Ralf as well.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    After telling that to Esta who I had accidentally woken up, I left [Shangri-la] hotel.


    Outside, the sun had yet to fully rise, and the usually noisy streets were completely empty as I walked towards the city exit.


    Since there are no inspections when leaving, I quickly passed through the gate and headed towards Peixa forest.


    It had only been 2 months since I came to Realzard, but walking on this highway and recalling how I frantically made it here in complete tatters, I felt a bit nostalgic.


    .


    .


    .


    ¡ª-finally its in sight,


    The place where I hid for safety for over a month. Peixa forest.


    I could only see the entrance from here, and  the surroundings were only the peaceful nature, yet my heart was beating faster and faster as if it wanted to jump out.


    When I left this place, my senses really must have gone numb because I really thought of it as a ¡®good experience¡¯. But thinking back all I felt at that time was fear.


    Well considering the life I was having, it¡¯s only natural.


    Calming myself, knowing that I came here much more prepared than before, I stepped inside the Peixa forest once more.


    The wind felt just right and the scent of nature made you feel at peace. But that only lasted for a while.


    Peixa forests¡¯ true entrance, which began from the spring in the centre finally came into my view.


    From hereon, I know better than anyone how scarce water is, so I carefully collected as much water as I could beforehand.


    I don¡¯t plan to stay as long but there is no telling what might happen which is the greatest danger of this forest.


    After taking a small break, I entered into the forest depths once more.


    Walking inside the dim, thick tree covered forest, I used my faint memories and sense of direction to find the place I used as my base before.


    There were no proper paths, and everything looked similar so I thought it might take me till sunset to get there but¡­¡­.


    ¡°That big tree, I remember it. That means, if I head to the right from here¡ª¨Cthere it is!¡±


    Around 3 hours after leaving the spring, I was able to find my old base, almost too easily.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d never come back here yet here I am. Only two months later no less.¡±


    Knowing I was alone here, I ended up talking loudly to myself.


    While reminiscing, I entered the cave-like area and put down my bag.


    The insects hadn¡¯t completely repopulated the cave and eve the moss hadn¡¯t fully grown back like before. With a little cleaning, I should be able to return it to its previous state, closer to when I was living here.


    I planned to spend several days here, so I decided it was best to fix this place and get ready for the night to arrive.


    First I collected leaves and covered the floor with it, and then lay the cheap sleeping bag I had brought with me this time, on top of it. After that, I brought out my water I had collected and put it in alongside baskets in a place with good ventilation as my storage. And with that my base was complete.


    I suppose I could do a better job than this but this is fine for now.


    I wasn¡¯t here for a jolly camping trip. I¡¯ll spend most of my time collecting plants and herbs. Since I had reached earlier than planned, I decided to leave and start collecting as much as I can before the sun set.


    In these 2 months I gathered as much info as I could from shops, pharmacies, medic guilds about poisonous plans and plan to collect them all one by one.


    With my early prep work done, I headed out into the forest.


    Until I killed that orc, I had been devouring every plant I could find around here but there was still all sorts of plants and vegetation growing around in numbers.


    With no huge amounts of monsters or animal to feed on the greenery, I even saw plants growing here that I had seen in Realzard being used and sold for food or medicine.


    I was attracted to those as well but this time around I decided to ignore the plants I already knew about and only collected plants that I hadnt seen or looked poisonous.


    If I focused on finding the plants I ate here during my last trip, it¡¯d make things easier to find but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t remember much of what I was putting in my mouth because I was so panicked and desperate.


    Unable to really recall anything significant, I decided to just gather anything I could find that looked somewhat recognizable; and with that today¡¯s gathering was over.


    Returning back to base, I pulled out the plants I had collected, started recording details on the paper I had brought with me.


    If I was rich, I could eat them one by one, get analysed, and perfectly record their effects but that was impossible for me right now.


    This time around, I¡¯ll focus on simply writing what all I ate, and if I see no difference in the next analysis, I¡¯ll ignore them on my next trip.


    If it did increase, I¡¯ll pick half of the current batch, eat them, and have myself analysed, and so on and so forth to continue finding exact results.


    After recording the detailed appearance, and a made up name I gave; I began to eat the plants.


    I hadnt forgotten their taste, so I wasn¡¯t exactly enthusiastic about this part but thinking of it as part of my training, I began to swallow them one by one.


    Since I wasn¡¯t dying of hunger like last time, my pace of eating was much slower but soon I had eaten all 8 types of plants. Soon after, my stomach recoiled from the bitter taste that made me feel like I was choking , reminding me once again, that these plants in fact were most certainly not meant to be eaten as food.


    Taking a bite from the fruits I had brought with me to wash away the taste, I looked at the papers that I had recorded the details on.


    My goal this time around, was to eat at least 30 types of poisonous plants.And I plan to take all 30 of these plants back to Realzard as well.


    Putting these plants inside the baskets with access to sunlight and ventilation that I had placed before, I began to dry them to preserve them for long term use.


    I was worried if these will cause an issue during inspection when entering the city, but well, I¡¯ll figure it out when that happens I guess.


    While praying that my hard work pays off, I moved away from the baskets and entered my sleeping bag and soon fell asleep.

 CH 21

    Identification


    It has been 5 days since I entered Peixa forest.


    As always, rarely did any monsters show up in the deeper areas so there were no real major incidents to talk about as I finished finally collecting the planned 30 types of poisonous plants.


    And after one more day of leaving them to dry in the sun, I finally left Peixa forest today.


    When I was coming here, my body as trembling with fear and anxiety but now I have firm belief that I could easily live peacefully for as long as I want in this forest.


    My fear towards the forest was swept away, and the next time it¡¯d go even smoother¡ª¨Cif anything it felt like taking a small break from work when living here.


    The only real problem, is that I have to eat all these horrible tasting plants but, it being my main objective, I couldn¡¯t avoid that.


    While looking back at the six days I spent here, I cleared my base and stored the dried plants inside my bag.


    Having been dried and compressed, they could be pretty easily hidden in the depths of my bag, even though there¡¯s 30 of them.


    Packing up everything else, I was ready to leave. Giving a thankful bow once again, I left the depths of Peixa forest.


    I did get a little lost again when returning, and about half the day had passed by the time I left the forest entirely. And finally, after almost a full week I was back Realzard.


    I cleaned myself properly at the spring inside the forest and my clothes aren¡¯t in tatters this time so I shouldn¡¯t get any suspicious eyes. I thought as I lined up for inspection to enter the city.


    As long as I don¡¯t show any suspicious movements, I should pass easily considering how lax it normally is.


    ¡°Got any Identification papers?¡±


    ¡°This adventurer card should do.¡±


    ¡°Show that. Also open up the bag and show its contents.¡±


    Giving the card to the soldier, I showed the insides of my bag to the other soldier.


    And as expected, all he did was lightly rummage the contents before being satisfied and finishing.


    Since my card was also real, things went quick and I was back in Realzaard soon.


    While I did enjoy the peaceful quiet of the Peixa forest, this liveliness of the city is not bad after all.


    While glancing around at the sea of people, I made my way to the CHurch before going back to the Shangri-la hotel.


    Of course, for my Ability Assessment.


    I was about to spend 2/3rd of my coins I had earned over the past two months, but from hereon, I am planning to spend even more so it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    It did feel wasteful, but I hated being called a miser either and had decided to be frugal for myself.


    Entering the church, it didn¡¯t look like a prayer was being held this time and so there were a lot less people around.


    Moving through, I entered the room where the Ability Assessment was done last time and rung the bell.


    Soon enough, a priest showed up. It was the same handsome blue-eyed blondie.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡­.? Didn¡¯t you have your assessment done just a while ago?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I¡¯ll be in you care again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll cost a gold coin again but are you sure? I highly doubt there¡¯ll be much of a difference in such a short time to be honest¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Well as long as you know what you¡¯re doing. Then that¡¯ll be one gold coin please.¡±


    I took out a gold coin and handed it to the priest along with my adventurer card.


    ¡°Thank you very much. Well then, let us begin, please stand by.¡±


    Just like before, after a quick flash of the crystal, it was over.


    I tried to see if I could figure out a way to do it myself considering how simple it looked but I really don¡¯t understand the basic principles behind the process.


    Was it the crystal that was unique, or was it the ability of these priests? Either way, I know that I can¡¯t replicate it.


    ¡°And it¡¯s done. Now then, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    ¡°Once again, thank you.¡±


    Giving courtesy to the priest once again, I quickly checked my stats.


    If none of my abilities have increased, it¡¯d prove all the plants I brought to be trash, but let¡¯s see¡­¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 10(+7)


    Strength: 5(+8)


    Stamina: 7(+3)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 4


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Unbelievably enough, the amount in the (plus) bracket had somehow increased.


    It¡¯s only by a mere ¡®1¡¯ but, it was proof that the kind of potential ability increasing plants that I was looking for were certainly inside the Peixa forest.


    And it might look small when quantified in numbers, but think of it this way, if I were to simply repeat this about 10 times, I will increase abilities exponentially just like that.


    It almost feels like cheating, but I don¡¯t care about the methods anymore.


    For more power, I will take advantage of everything I can.

 CH 22

    Invitation


    Feeling good from the successes at Peixa forest, I bought 3 people¡¯s worth of meat skewers from a street stall, and headed back to the inn.


    Entering the room, I saw Ralf and Esta sitting and talking to each other and upon seeing my face, Ralf,  angrily approached me.


    ¡°Oi! No communication, nothing, and disappearing for almost a week! Are you crazy!!?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.? But I did tell Esta though?¡±


    ¡± Yes I did hear it from her, but you didn¡¯t even talk about this even once with me!? Actually, if she hadn¡¯t woken up, you were definitely going to leave without saying anything weren¡¯t you!?¡±


    ¡°But I did come back, so chill. And I¡¯m tired so let me sit down first.¡±


    I pushed Ralf¡¯s face away and sat down on the floor.


    ¡°So, where the hell did you go anyway?¡­¡­.You¡¯re not gonna suddenly leave this inn are you!?¡±


    ¡°Not telling. Anyway, eat something and calm down okay.¡±


    Taking my portion, I threw the bag of meat skewers to Ralf. He must have not eaten properly today cause his eyes instantly lit up and began devouring on the skewers having already forgotten his anger.


    ¡°thank you for this Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. Once you start earning properly as adventurers, you can treat me back one day okay?¡±


    ¡°SHO? BERE DID U GHO!?¡±


    ¡°Swallow before talking. It¡¯s vulgar.¡±


    ¡°So? Where did you go?¡±


    Was he that interested, I tried to turn the topic with the skewers but he¡¯s back to questioning. Well it¡¯d be a pain to fully explain and I want to quickly move to examining the plants so I¡¯d rather he left me alone but then again, if I didn¡¯t he¡¯s the type that¡¯ll keep bugging me forever.


    ¡°It¡¯s a place called Peixa forest. I told you about it before right? Where I hid; I went there.¡±


    ¡°ehh a forest?¡­.well I guess that¡¯s fine. So, did you spend another week there again? Why?¡±


    ¡°Just something I was curious about. That aside, what about you two and your adventurer work? How¡¯s it going?¡±


    I tried to avert the topic by asking about their progress, but the happily eating faces quickly turned dark and clouded.


    I may have made the mistake of turning this conversation to an even worse direction.


    ¡°It¡¯s completely useless. We are just about managing to kill 5 goblins to make one silver everyday, but with the rent here being 4 copper, and food taking the remaining 6; we are literally on the edge. If either of us got injured and became unable to kill 5 goblins, we¡¯ll go hungry that day.¡±


    ¡°I see. Sounds rough. Well, keep working hard.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Say, won¡¯t you par¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°No chance. Impossible. I don¡¯t have the time.¡±


    ¡°Oi! I didn¡¯t even finish my sentence!¡±


    Considering his expression and panic from the mere thought that I might have disappeared, I can very easily guess what he was suggesting; and so I refused in advance.


    [Please make a party with us.] Probably that.


    ¡°Please make a party with us¡±.


    I ended up snorting on hearing the exact line, word to word. My reaction must have made him angry but he gripped his fists and simply endured.


    ¡°My reply is the same. I can¡¯t. I do not have the time for it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie! You can easily live even without working for a whole week and even have enough to treat us both to skewers! Please help us!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I worked hard before that to prepare. And if you¡¯re gonna use that tone after I just treated you to food, maybe I should take it all back.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..th-that¡¯s, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    They really couldn¡¯t afford that, and Ralf became meek once again.


    As they said, they can only make one silver coin after an entire day of goblin hunting. Having to split that between two people; even a slight discrepancy would send their live spiralling downwards.


    And living together with them, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t sympathize¡­¡­..but I really don¡¯t have the time to be going around helping other people.


    If there was a merit in it for me, I would have considered it.


    ¡°Say, what was the result of [Heaven¡¯s blessing] for you two?¡±


    ¡°What? There¡¯s no way I¡¯d tell that to others. Like I said, you don¡¯t reveal that to others so easily.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine isn¡¯t it? After all I did tell mine to you two. Besides, if I really wanted to hurt you I could kill you both while you were asleep whenever I wanted.¡±


    ¡°My job was [Magician] and skill [Mana restoration].¡±


    ¡°Oi ! Esta!!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s Chris-san.¡±


    Oh, so Esta was a [Magician].


    One of the basic combat jobs, and the rarest among them as well.


    But, even if the suitable job comes up as [magician], it¡¯s still pretty difficult to actually become one from what I understand.


    You first must learn to control mana, then to learn how to chant spells perfectly you must go to a proper magic school or acquire a grimoire and learn to do so by yourself.


    For grimoires, you also have to know how to read ancient texts sometimes and while you could find them in the market, they are far more expensive than normal books like the one I have.


    And to go to a school, you either need to be a top level noble or receive a higher class magic related job. Among the basic combat jobs, [magician] is often considered the worst option for common people.


    ¡°[Magician] eh¡­¡­¡­much better than my [Farmer] but that¡¯s still an unlucky draw.¡±


    ¡°It is. But I haven¡¯t given up. I began thieving to save money to buy a grimoire in the first place. So I haven¡¯t given up on becoming one.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªI see, so that¡¯s why you asked if I could read back at [Shichifukuya].¡±


    ¡°Yo-You still remember that..¡±


    ¡°It did make me curious after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. And not to ask for another favor of you but¡­¡­..if by some chance I find a grimoire, will you please teach me how to read?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Really! Thank you very much!¡±


    While an unfortunate job some might say, if she did learn how to use magic somehow, her actual potential would now be far off from other high rank jobs.


    She could have an explosive growth in the future.


    ¡°So, what about you Ralf?¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯m not telling.¡±


    ¡°Ralf¡¯s job was [Holy Knight], his skills were [divine strike], [divine blessing] and [guardian¡¯s roar].¡±


    ¡°Oii, why the hell are you blabbering it all to him! Esta!!¡±


    ¡°[Holy Knight]¡­¡­.? What the hell is a [Holy Knight] doing here??¡±


    That was a high-rank job. The moment he got that, he should have been taken in under the imperial army that work directly under the King; and his life should have been set there and then.


    Even if he didn¡¯t join the army, the top Clans of adventurers would have recruited him instead; hell even without those, he would be able to attract stronger people around him.


    No matter how you think about it, a [Holy knight] working as a petty thief, living in the poor alleyways was a near impossibility.


    ¡°Ralf, when he was young, had an accident and got a major injury to his thigh. Even now he can¡¯t move properly due to that.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Now things are finally starting to make sense. So that¡¯s why Esta was the one who did the actual thieving and Ralf stayed back as backup. And when he was about to pull his sword, his balance and posture looked completely off because he was protecting his thighs.¡±


    ¡°Shit! Esta why the hell did you have to tell him everything!?¡±


    ¡°Considering the jobs you two have, it really is an incredible coincidence of misfortunes to end up with a duo that can¡¯t even kill 5 goblins in an entire day.¡±


    ¡°I have already accepted that I was born with shit luck. Abandoned at birth, we are both the same hence why we two stick together.¡±


    Ralf¡¯s muttered, weakly.


    Even I could understand how much struggle it must have been to not even be able to move your legs properly in this harsh world because of an injury received as a child.


    Until I was 16, I had everything in life. And was taught everything I needed; sword, maths, and language.


    I¡¯m hardly in any position to be lecturing them but¡ª¡ª


    ¡°If we could heal Ralf¡¯s legs, everything would change no?¡±


    ¡°Yeah sure but when I had it checked by the city¡¯s doctor I was told that a full recovery was impossible.¡±


    ¡°And so you gave up after that so easily?¡±


    ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t at first!! I have searching for a way to heal my legs even before I ever underwent the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing]¡­¡­¡­but I found nothing!!¡±


    ¡°And how did a mere kid, with no parents, no money, no education or connections so easily decide that it was impossible, I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Fine, at least we know that both of you have the potential at least. And maybe it¡¯s stupid of me to do this purely based on the result of both of your [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] but for the time being, I wont mind making a party with you two.¡±


    Still shook from my words, Ralf continued to look bitter.


    On the contrary, Esta¡¯s face brightened with happiness.


    ¡°That said, as you are now, I have no intention of working together. Like I said before, I have things to do as well. If you cant even kill a couple of goblins, you¡¯re not worth my time.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..which is it damn it.¡±


    ¡°At the very least, get strong enough to easily kill goblins and then I¡¯ll make a party with you two.¡±


    ¡°But we can¡¯t! That was the entire reason we came to you for help in the first place!! This is putting the cart¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°We understand! Me and Ralf will definitely get strong enough to consistently and comfortable kill goblins!¡±


    ¡°Oi Esta!!¡±


    ¡°Then its settled. Once you¡¯ve achieved that, we¡¯ll talk in detail about this.¡±


    I sympathize them both. I really do. But I¡¯m not going to coddle them either.


    I¡¯m nothing more than a newly started bronze adventurer. I need to put all my time and effort into getting strong enough to beat Kalus.


    But, I felt something in those two. A sliver of potential perhaps.


    I felt it was worth it to make a party with them and gamble on that potential.


    ¡­¡­¡­..Of course that too, is to surpass Klaus.


    I turned my back on the two and began working on my own stuff. I¡¯ve only just returned, but I have a lot to do.


    To regain the time lost on all the talking, I began with classifying the dried plants first and foremost.

 CH 23

    Bronze rank


    The next day.


    In the end, I ended up working late into the night yesterday and woke up feeling not fully refreshed.


    I was hit with the desire to fall back to sleep again but I had spent almost all of my saved up money from goblin hunting on ability assessment and my trip to Peixa forest.


    I want to keep the money I got from selling mom¡¯s accessories as a last resort only so I had to return back to normal adventurer work today at any cost.


    Hitting my cheeks with both hands, I forced myself to fully wake up as I got off my bed.


    Looking around, the two had already left, perhaps early in the morning.


    The big empty room made me feel a bit lonely as I continued my preparations before leaving the inn.


    Entering the guild, I went directly to the quest accepting counter.


    From today I could take bronze rank quests and finally say farewell to the life of only goblin hunting but¡­¡­. Since you could accept rookie rank quests even after promoting, I could return back to old faithful if the need arises.


    Of course, bronze rank quests paid much better but I had become quite the pro at goblin hunting in the last two months if I say so myself.


    I wondered if I could earn more from simply killing so many goblins that the earnings were higher than a normal bronze quests payout but, in any case, I had to try these new quests out at least today before comparing efficiency and profit. If these new quests turn out to be less efficient, I¡¯ll just go back to goblin hunting from tomorrow.


    While waiting in line, I came upon this conclusion in my head.


    ¡°Welcome! This is the counter for accepting quests. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a quests please.¡±


    ¡°Then, can you please provide your adventurer card first?¡±


    The same old usual back and forth occurred as I handed my card.


    ¡°Mr Chris, correct? Umm your rank is¡­¡­.you got promoted from rookie to bronze since last time. Congratulations.¡±


    ¡°thanks.¡±


    ¡°With that you may take a bronze quest from now on. What will you like to do?¡±


    ¡°Give me a bronze rank subjugation quest please. What options do I have?¡±


    ¡°For bronze rank you have, well, a sudden increase in the type of targets¡­¡­..but before that, I need to ask, would you like ones with big numbers or smaller numbers?¡±


    ¡°Small ones please.¡±


    ¡°Very well, then your options are Stray cowbirds, Baby lizards; Bubble wisps that appear in the deserted village in the east. HedroSlime that appear around Mitsuria river. These four are the available quests.¡±


    Stray cowbirds, baby lizards, bubble wisps and hedroslimes eh?¡±


    They¡¯re all monsters I havent heard off before but I can somewhat guess what they are like from their names.


    Cowbird sounds like the easiest to kill, but there Is one thing I¡¯m curious about.


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between those that have a specific location and those without?¡±


    ¡°Those without location are actually kill requests from people who want specific materials from those monsters. As such you¡¯ll be asked to bring their entire corpse, or at least whichever part they are looking for to complete the quest.¡±


    ¡°And those with their location specified are targets because they are dangerous and need extermination I assume?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. Normally speaking, those without a specific location tend to give better rewards.¡±


    Meaning I¡¯ll have to first figure the info of those monsters starting where to find them, and learn how to properly extract the required materials unless I have to carry the entire corpse from however far away; all of which make the reward higher¡ª¨Cbecause the workload is bigger.


    I debated what to do in my head. If I want continue solo and without a party, only quests which have the location specified could be completed in a single day.


    But, well, even that could change depending on the rewards I suppose.


    For example if a quest without a specified location paid out double than the other, then its more efficient to just take the one with the specified location and do it twice, i.e. same profit in two days.


    ¡°which one of these pays the best?¡±


    ¡°That would be the Stray cowbird one. The request comes from the butcher¡¯s shop, and requires its body parts. The reward is 1 gold, and depending on the condition and size of the monster, it can increase upto 3 gold.¡±


    ¡°Alright, and which one pays the least?¡±


    ¡°That would be Hedroslime and BubbleWisp. 4 silver coin each.¡±


    The stray cowbird being the highest is understandable but even the cheapest one pays out as much as 20 goblins. As expected, the increase in revenue from rookie to bronze is massive.


    Now remains my choice but, the cowbird is tempting obviously but there must be a reason that it¡¯s the highest. What if I fail to kill one for over a week? I¡¯ll be out of money completely.


    Considering my current financial situation, the best choice is to go for the specified location ones.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take the quest for Hedroslime then.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Then we¡¯ll be counting on you to kill the hedroslime around MItsuria river. One kill earns you 4 silver, the max limit is 3 kills. Every extra kill also earns you 4 silver coins.¡±


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll take that.¡±


    As I got up and began to leave, the receptionist suddenly stopped me in a hurry.


    ¡°Could I ask you to wait for moment please.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°Its regarding the specific details of the quest. At bronze rank, the quests will become more specific and increase in number so its not possible to tell everything orally for us. Hence, they are explained in full on that notice board over there.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, so that regular crowd was people looking and confirming the details of their quests?¡±


    ¡°That is correct. Starting from the right boards, it goes Bronze , silver, gold¡ª¨C and so on separated by rank. So you can look up all the available quests and the details there before coming to the counter and bring the paper of the quest you want attached on the board and make this whole process go much more smoothly so please, If possible, use that.¡±


    ¡°I see, thanks for explaining.¡±


    ¡°No need, and just to be clear, if you, for whatever reason find it troublesome, we will still explain everything, like today, however many times you want so please do as you wish.¡±


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll make my choice from the board from here onwards.¡±


    ¡°We appreciate it. Now then, we wish you great success on your endeavours.¡±


    I see now. Normally, you¡¯re supposed to make the choice at the board and then come to the counter.


    If everyone kept asking for details everytime they came for a quest, it will take a whole lot of time. Next time around, I¡¯ll make sure to get all the details from the board first.


    While thinking all this, I left the guild.

 CH 24

    HedroSlime


    Now then, about what my plans for hereon are¡­¡­.


    Firstly, I intend to stick with the same equipment I sued for hunting Goblins for the most part.


    If I wanted to be thorough about this, the order of things would be to first gather as much info about HedroSlimes as possible and then make preparations as a direct countermeasure to that but, if I¡¯m going to take that much time I might as well get an undesignated request like the CowBird one.


    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m underestimating it but for the first time around I want to stick to my usual methods.


    After confirming the exact location of Mitsuria River, I left Realzard.


    Walking south from Realzard for a while, a large river quickly came into my view.


    So this must be the Mitsuria River, if I continue walking along the riverside, I should find HedroSlime pretty fast.


    It¡¯s a pretty big river so I doubt there¡¯s just one of them, and in fact there should be other monsters lurking around here as well.


    As I continued walking cautiously, I soon noticed a giant group of bug like monsters along the riverside.


    They seemed to be devouring some sort of corpse, I could tell from here.


    I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a different request for hunting those as well but I¡¯m not suited to hunting that type of monsters.


    I¡¯m pretty confident in my ability to deal with humanoid sized enemies but when it comes to small monsters like that, I don¡¯t really know how to handle those.


    You could crush them with a big blunt weapon or pretty easily clear them out with a skill or magic but, trying to take those on one by one with a sword was foolishness.


    When you get to bronze quests, you should always make sure to only accept quests that suit your own personal abilities.


    While giving that swarm of insects a side glance, I once again realized how important every little info could be.


    Since then, after walking for about another 20 mins, I soon spotted a big water-like muddy blackish blob moving about near a branching stream of the main river.


    It¡¯s shape changed with every movement, and at a glance you couldn¡¯t really tell if it was actually a living thing or not; but that must be the HedroSlime.


    Normal slimes were made out of a core and a liquid like material that covered around that core and it attacked using said liquid by transforming it in various ways.


    HedroSlimes ,on the other hand, had that same outer liquid look more like sludge. (T/N; I should point this out here but Hedoro (¥Ø¥É¥í) literally means Sludge or well, slime. So I kept the name as HedroSlime cuz it sounded better rather than, SludgeSlime or worse, SlimySlime lol)


    Mitsuria river itself was used as a drainage for the city so it pretty dirty itself but these HedroSlime were like a concentration of all the filth of the river given life.


    I was still far from it but I could still smell the vomit inducing stench coming from it.


    I figured BubbleWisps were undead type monster that lacked a physical body so by process of elimination, I chose HedroSlimes as my target¡­..but this may have been a mistake.


    Even if I can beat it, I¡¯m not going to be able to dodge all that sludge and filth and I¡¯ll have no choice but to return to Realzard steeped in all that stench.


    The stench might even get stuck on my equipment, in the worst case; and I was filled with a desire to just turn back.


    But the demerits of failing a quest were also big, and considering my need for money, I cant do that it seems.


    ¡°¡­¡­..fuuu.¡±


    I resolved myself with a deep breath, and began walking toward the HedroSlime.


    A monster that can freely change its shape.


    Its impossible to get a surprise attck on something you cant even tell which way its facing, I boldly walked straight towards it.


    My face distorted from the increase in the stench but I kept my concentration high and took my stance, ready to pull my sword at any time.


    Noticing my approach, it slowly moved away from the river and began and creeping towards me as well.


    It¡¯s size was about the same as me and looked pretty big when close by. The liquid surrounding the core turned a dark purple colour but since the core itself was jet black, I could still clearly see it.


    The core moved first and the liquid moved as if reacting to it, or at least that¡¯s how I would describe its movement style.


    Since the core stays in the centre when its standing still, its best to attack it from the front when its moving while matching the timing.


    I was resolved to be covered in mud and sludge if I couldn¡¯t properly keep track of its core but now that I know I can, I can kill it in a single strike.


    And thus, I counted to find the exact timing of my upcoming stab.


    3¡­¡­.2¡­¡­.1.


    The slime entered my range, and at the exact timing when the core was at the front most, I thrust my sword in to stab.


    A perfect strike, or so I thought but¡­¡­¡­.


    Because something was mixed inside the sludge, the tip of sword swayed just enough to miss the core.


    I did feel my sword touching the core, but it wasn¡¯t destroyed. I quickly pulled my sword back out, and turned to run back.


    Seeing me run, it quickly tried to fire balls of sludge at me but I desperately moved my body to dodge it.


    Having realized that my original method was not effective, I decided to switch to simply pull my arm back to build force, and unleash a barrage of multiple forceful thrusts.


    The core was in the centre of the sludge but I jammed my entire hand inside as I unleashed the barrage to hit it.


    Since I was in an odd stance, and the sludge really took away a lot of the force behind my attacks, I made even less of clear hit than my first strike but¡­¡­.


    Perhaps my first hit had done some damage after all, the moment my sword even touched the core a second time, I felt it break apart.


    I quickly pulled out and moved away, and inspected the HedroSlime.


    With its core destroyed, it was unable to maintain its shape and the spherical liquid surrounding it slowly melted away and became just a normal pool of sludge on the ground.


    For proof of subjugation, I picked up the fragment of the core from the pool and then quickly moved towards the river to wash my hand and sword.


    My sleeve was soaked in sludge so ripped it off and threw it away before washing my hand thoroughly.


    After it was somewhat clean, I moved to cleaning my sword. The pommel of the sword was covered in sludge so I made an extra effort to wash it off, and finally oiling the blade itself to finish my on spot ¡®first aid¡¯.


    It was a cheap sword but considering how much a new one would cost, I couldn¡¯t afford to throw it away. Maybe it¡¯ll be better to have the weapon shop look at it as well.


    I had barely fought much yet I already felt tired.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­this really doesn¡¯t seem worth the 4 silver coins does it?


    The sword¡¯s treatment alone would cost 5 copper, and the broken inner would take another 5 to replace.


    That left me with a profit of 3 silver, and a seemingly unwashable stench from the sludge stuck on my body.


    It¡¯s still morning but I swore in my heart to never take a HedroSlime quest ever again. While trying to cheer myself up from being too depressed, I made my way back to Realzard.

 CH 25

    Repayment


    It had been approximately 1 month since my first HedroSlime quest.


    Having learnt from my mistake, I began choosing my requests more wisely, and now I was continuing my bronze rank quest completion pretty smoothly.


    As for my daily routine, first I¡¯ll take a quest after doing proper research early in the morning.


    Then, I¡¯ll head straight to the location, usually around noon, finish the subjugation, and return and submit completion report by evening, and at the same time begin preparations for the next day.


    Any little free time I got, I would practice with the sword, expand my knowledge about herbs and plants at the Healer¡¯s guild, and medicine shop, etc. Pretty busy yet meaningful, as you can tell.


    As for money, I was now earning at least 4 silver everyday, which could increase to 8 silver on a good day. And after deducting daily expenses, I had saved about 12 gold by now.


    Although I did work with no breaks for a whole month, I still didn¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to save up this much.


    Considering the dangers this job entails, and no kind of insurance in case of injury, some might consider this a low paying job considering the risk, but I was nothing less than incredibly grateful for the income.


    In any case, I can finally payback my debt at {Shichifukuya] as well, and I can take a break from my adventurer work and go back to researching poisonous plants.


    Anyway first, today I plan to head to [shichifukuya], then eat half of the plants that I had dried and stored, and then go to the church to get another assessment, my first this month.


    With my schedule all planned, I left the inn and headed for [shichifukuya].


    The back streets that I had deemed dangerous when I first came here were now a usual sight, as I lightly walked towards the store.


    I had been showing up to [Shichifukuya] every now and then in the meantime and had become quite well acquainted with the shopkeeper old man.


    ¡°Hey, if it isnt Chris. Did you come to see some weapons today as well?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m here to pay you back for the book. Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long.¡±


    ¡°Oh already? Like I said, you don¡¯t need to pay it as soon as you gathered enough and can pay me in instalments, you know?¡±


    ¡°My adventurer work has been going well, I have plenty left even after so don¡¯t worry. But seriously, thank you very much.¡±


    I gave a deep sincere bow as I handed 3 gold coins to the old man.


    If I had not gotten that book at that time, perhaps I would have never come back for it with how busy I would have been and then would have never found out about the rare poisonous plants and their potential.


    Without every finding my true potential, I would have made my adventurer job my sole livelihood and ended up dying sooner or later.


    Even though I could have run away with it, giving me this book with just a word promise; I could only bow with respect and gratitude to this old man.


    ¡°I see. Very well, then I¡¯ll take the payment thank you.¡±


    ¡°I should be the one giving thanks, really.¡±


    ¡°So, how was the book? Was it interesting?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Yeah. ¡®interesting¡¯ might not be enough to describe it even. It¡¯s become perhaps the most important knowledge I have ever received in my life.¡±


    ¡°Hoh hoh hoh, if it was that useful, I¡¯m sure the author feels very happy as well.¡±


    The old man laughed proudly and happily, as if he was the one who wrote it.


    ¡°So, did you come here just for the repayment?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I had one more thing to ask of. Do you have any grimoires in this store?¡±


    ¡°Grimoire¡­¡­¡­ I think there was one. Wait a minute here.¡±


    Saying that, the old man left the counter and went back inside the backroom of the store, I assume to look for it.


    I asked for it on a whim hoping to find one for Esta, but he might actually have one here.


    ¡°OOH! I knew it was still here. Look, it seems pretty old but that¡¯s certainly a grimoire.¡±


    ¡°So this is a real grimoire. As I expected, unlike normal books, you can see splendorous decorations adored on the book.¡±


    The book the old man had brought was ornate with gold and silver decorations and you could tell it was different from normal books even from a glance.


    Depending on the price, I might buy even buy it for her but I have feeling this one is still beyond my limit.


    ¡°Well of course, it¡¯s a grimoire after all. Esta had asked me to keep it safe no matter what so I had left it inside the store.¡±


    ¡°Esta did¡ª- Did you not suggest her the deferred payment option like me?¡±


    ¡°Foh foh ho, like I said before, I simply had feeling that it¡¯ll be fine trusting you hence the offer. Esta on the other hand, well, she would have definitely run away with it.¡±


    ¡°And here I thought you guys were old pals. I guess trust didn¡¯t come with it?¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, it¡¯s because I know them oh too well that I didn¡¯t. That said, Esta aside are you think of buying this?¡±


    ¡°How much is it?¡±


    ¡°About 2 platinum coins.¡±


    I burst out laughing at the insane price.


    Maybe someone like me who blows a gold coin again and again on ability assessments probably shouldn¡¯t be the one saying this, but seriously, that price was ridiculous.


    One platinum coin was equivalent to 10 gold coins. It would take me two whole months of gruelling work to be able to buy this.


    Not to mention this is a second hand item being sold on the back streets, yet had this kind of price?


    Just how much would a fresh top quality one would cost then?


    ¡°That¡¯s beyond me. I knew it¡¯d be pricey but not this much.¡±


    ¡°I can understand. Even I spent a whole day thinking before buying this and in the end, it¡¯s still lying here unsold. Well, I suppose people coming back here aren¡¯t going to be able to buy this anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well, I might one day, maybe, so I guess look forward to that.¡±


    ¡°Oh so you do intend to buy this? Well with the price being what it is, I¡¯d take at least some advance payment but¡­¡­.if it¡¯s you, I¡¯ll be willing to accept the payment in instalments.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure!?!¡­¡­..no, wait, but¡­¡±


    It¡¯s a highly charming offer so I almost bit on it but, that price is something I cannot take for granted. Even if its in instalments.


    This is basically a loan. And the Grimoire was for Esta¡¯s use.


    Right now she¡¯s incapable of using any magic but, if she learns she could greatly improve her abilities and work.


    I plan to party up with them one they learn how to at least hunt goblins easily, so having her turn into an actually capable magician would be of great help to me as well.


    ¡­¡­¡­But, I cant take a loan for her sake. No chance.


    I cant trust other so easily and there was chance she would just run away the moment she learnt magic. This was not a risk I could take.


    ¡°It¡¯s a great offer but with the price being what it is, I have to pass unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. That¡¯s too bad. Well, the offer remains so come back if you change your mind.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course and thanks.¡±


    And thus I left the shop after finishing my chat with the old man.


    I thought that Esta would become strong first but depending on the state of his injury, Ralf might come good before her.


    Now that I have decided to make a party with them, first I planned to make Ralf go to the Healing guild for treatment, and so I returned to the [Shangri la Inn].

 CH 26

    Talentless


    After eating about half of the dried poisonous plants at the inn, I headed to the church for the first time this month.


    The dried plants tasted worse than they ever have, yet I walked desperately while feeling sick to my stomach.


    It would seem I¡¯ll have to start thinking ways on how to better consume these plants as well.


    Due to being dried, while they don¡¯t go bad, their bitterness has been concentrated and increased manyfold.


    Well as long as I can get it inside my body, it¡¯s fine; perhaps it would be better to ground it all down, wrap it up in something and drink it all with water.


    But before all that, I need to get assessed at the church.


    One months worth of monster subjugation should helped me grow normally too I believe, but what I am really curious off is the effect of the plants I ate today.


    After the trip to Peixa forest, my Stamina and Endurance had both gone up by one, so if I see the same result today, I could discern that the remaining half of the plants don¡¯t have any effect on my physical abilities.


    Conversely, if nothing has increased, that means the other half of the plants have the types that increase Stamina and Endurance; but in the worst case both batches would have one of the increasing affects split between them.


    I can do nothing but pray that that¡¯s not the case and its either or case, as I entered the church.


    They were conducting Mass (T/N; changed from Prayer) today as once again the church was filled with people like my first visit.


    Slipping through the gaps in the crowd, I made my way to the usual room.


    The same blonde priest was on the platform and he showed a surprised face when he noticed me.


    He did caution me last time, but I suppose no one comes to get their abilities assessed so frequently.


    Well if you are unaware of exactly what I was doing, it must look like I was simply throwing my money away to the church.


    I gave a quick nod as a greeting as I made my way behind the platform, into the room with the crystal and rung the bell as I sat down.


    Normally it takes a few minutes but this time the person came in almost as soon as I rung the bell. Of course it was the blonde priest.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care again today.¡±


    ¡°Ability assessment I imagine¡­..? Are you really sure, it really hasn¡¯t been too much time since last.¡±


    ¡°Like I said before, I wont complain even if there aren¡¯t any changes so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    He looked at me as if I was insane; not that I cared about what he thought of me.


    Even if I see no increase, I still fulfil my objective after all.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Very well. Then please provide one gold coin and your adventurer card.¡±


    ¡°sure.¡±


    I took them both our of my bag and handed it over to him. A bit too late to think that, but really, 1 gold just for assessment is some crazy fees.


    Did it use that much mana; or was the ability to actually perform the procedure that rare?


    I always end up wondering if I could do this myself.


    ¡°And its over. Just in case, even if you see no increase, that¡¯s not because the process failed. I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°I know. Like I said, you don¡¯t have to repeat that.¡±


    ¡°Apologies if I sounded too persistent. Well then, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    The priest gave a deep bow and left the room.


    I did think he was being too persistent in cautioning me, but then again even I realize how utterly insane what I¡¯m doing must look from his side. Let¡¯s make sure to not insult him for it.


    After making sure the priest had left, I checked my card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 11(+7)


    Strength: 6(+8)


    Stamina: 7(+3)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 4


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    This time around, the left side number of my Endurance and Stamina had increased by 1 but the (+) value remained the same.


    Which means, the increase here is from the month¡¯s continuous monster subjugation.


    To see the amount of natural growth after a whole month¡¯s worth of monster hunting be the same as what I earned from eating some plants once again made me realize the sheer lack of talent I possessed. Enough to make me drown in sadness.


    On the contrary, I once again confirmed the power hidden within these poisonous plants that could rapidly make even someone like me stronger.


    I¡¯ll continue using the monster hunting as purely for the experience and assume that it would not give actual benefits to my strength from hereon.


    And also, I confirmed that the batch of plants I ate this time around did NOT infact have the ones that increased my abilities.


    There is a worry that drying them up may have made the effects disappear but at this point there¡¯s no worth in believing that and I should first continue with the original plan, eat the rest of the plants and have my abilities assessed again.


    If I can figure out which exact plants helped increase my stamina and endurance, I can collect only those specific ones in mass quantities the next time I visit Peixa forest and increase my efficiency.


    Although I saw no real increase in my abilities, I left the church with a sense of satisfaction that everything was going well.

 CH 27

    Promise


    After buying three people¡¯s worth of meat skewers I returned to the inn.


    As I entered, the sight in front of me was of Ralf and Esta sitting in seiza (knees on the floor) in front of me.


    ¡°The hell are you two doing?¡±


    ¡°Esta told me to¡ª¡ªOuch! Why did you hit me!?¡±


    ¡°Ralf you need to shut up! Chris-san, we have finally become capable of hunting goblins with ease, as such, please make a party with us!¡±


    The two who always looked tried and exhausted every night, had started to come back looking much more relaxed, and they were doing some proper strategy meetings and such beforehand as well; so I did wonder if things had started getting better but really, it¡¯s finally that time huh.


    Well, I too have completed the first phase of my objective so I suppose the timing isnt bad either but still¡­¡­.


    This was faster than I thought.


    ¡°¡­¡­.I see. Well I did promise. Very well.¡±


    ¡°Really!! Thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°But, before we make it official, I¡¯ll need to confirm it myself.  As such, I¡¯ll follow you two along for tomorrows goblin hunt.¡±


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll be in your care from here onwards¡­¡­¡­C¡¯mon you too, Ralf!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­please take care of us.¡±


    All that said I¡¯m still just a bronze rank,  not someone they need to be so desperate to join with so Esta¡¯s desperation definitely made me a little curious.


    And here I thought they¡¯ll stop caring about the whole party thing if they became capable of hunting goblins with ease¡­¡­¡­


    That¡¯s one thing I just can¡¯t figure out.


    Now it¡¯ll depend on tomorrow¡¯s result but I am the one that more or less dragged them into an adventurer¡¯s life, and considering their latent abilities and potential, making a party with these two is hardly disadvantageous for me.


    ¡°Well, anyway, I bought some skewers so here have some.¡±


    ¡°Oooh! Now that¡¯s what makes me happy! ¡°


    ¡°Again, thank you very much.¡±


    Handing them their share, I went back to continuing my usual work.


    First I wrote down ¡®no effects¡¯ in front of all the plants that I ate today, and then separated them away to make sure they don¡¯t mix with the rest.


    From next time onwards, I can completely ignore these 15 types specifically.


    From here on I¡¯ll have to spend more money and the work itself is pretty basic but as its all to make myself stronger, I could never feel tired from doing this.


    ¡°Say, you¡¯re always playing around with these weird dried grass and shit, but what actually are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain once we become a Party.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not some weird meds or drugs right? Let me eat one too.¡±


    ¡°Sure, if you want to die.¡±


    Ralf, while eating his skewers, moved his hands toward one of the plants I had spread on the floor only to freeze up on hearing my words.


    Well, I don¡¯t know how strong the poison is, if any for that matter but if a normal person ate it, there¡¯s a good chance they might die.


    ¡°¡­¡­.Uh die? Really? Dude, what the hell are you so casually bringing inside our room??¡±


    ¡°Well, even I¡¯m not sure of what exactly each of these plants are to be honest. But as long as you don¡¯t eat them, it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Wait, have you been making money by selling these weird plants or something? This looks like stuff you¡¯d use in assassinations and shit.¡±


    ¡°You really are dumb. Who the hell would buy items for assassination from some newbie adventurer? Not to mention you¡¯re talking as if assassinations are happening around us everyday or something.¡±


    ¡°Then what the hell is it for?¡±


    ¡°For me. I eat them. [Null Poison] is my ability remember?¡±


    ¡°Okay, wait, just because you have a skill that null¡¯s the effect of poison doesn¡¯t mean you have to go out and try them out is there¡­¡­¡­wait, is it that tasty?¡±


    ¡°Far from it. It¡¯s headache inducing-ly horrible.¡±


    At my words, Ralf looked at me as if he was looking at someone insane but ignored him and went back to my work.


    I¡¯ll explain this stuff in detail once we make a party but for now, I don¡¯t really care what he thinks of me.


    While listening to Esta and Ralf¡¯s strategy meeting for tomorrow that began some time later, I continued working late into the night.

 CH 28

    Accompanying


    (T/N note; Ralf¡¯s injury is a Knee injury not a thigh injury. ¡°Hiza¡± can be used for both hence my confusion.)


    ¡°Chris-san, please wake up.¡±


    I open my eyes, being awakened by Esta.


    Hasn¡¯t the sun only just begun to rise? But then again these two are usually already gone by the time I wake up.


    Taking a big yawn, I forced myself out of my blanket.


    ¡°Good morning. It¡¯s almost time to leave for the hunt so you should also get ready, Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    At Esta¡¯s urging, I began preparing quickly. This time, the main characters are Ralf and Esta so I just took my sword and water and kept it light.


    I¡¯m hardly going to be in too much danger from goblin¡¯s am I?


    And with prep done, we left the inn and headed for our destination.


    Ralf was waiting outside the inn, with the quest already taken at the guild in advance apparently.


    As expected of the two long time partners in crime and theft, everything was well planned out and moving along smoothly.


    When I¡¯m alone, there¡¯s a lot more time spent on the mundane stuff, and never this quick or smooth.


    While feeling a merit of having a Party that I hadn¡¯t really considered, we headed towards the southwest forest; our destination.


    ¡°So why exactly do you two leave so early again?¡±


    ¡°Purely because of me. Takes time and effort to move long distances after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..aah right, the knee injury, of course.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Not only does it take more time itself, the actual hunting itself also takes a lot more time as well.¡±


    No wonder they were at wits end just from goblin hunting.


    Here I thought Esta might be the issue but I guess it was Ralf that was the problem.


    ¡°Want me to carry you on my back? I have other things to do as well and rather not spend too much time here.¡±


    ¡°Hell no! I¡¯ll walk on my own.¡±


    ¡°Well, if your pace falls even a bit I¡¯m gonna pick you up regardless tho.¡±


    From then on, Ralf tried to maintain a fast pace while using his sword as a walking stick but the pain must be increasing as sweat started appearing on his forehead.


    Esta seemed to be worrying from him as well, making me feel bad for making him hurry like that.


    ¡°too slow. As I warned, I¡¯m carrying you from here onwards. Get on my back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I can still go faster.¡±


    ¡°Enough with that. I cant watch this anymore so get on my back right now. If you can¡¯t even be considerate of others and cooperate, I¡¯ll take back my offer of making a Party.¡±


    My threat made him finally give up and he got on my back unwillingly.


    It shouldn¡¯t come as a surprise having carried an entire Orc on my back, Ralf¡¯s weight was barely noticeable.


    Now we could move at a pace far faster than before, and soon reached our destination; the southwest forest.


    ¡°Sorry. For making you carry me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna be only watching from here on so don¡¯t worry about it. Anyway enough talk, let¡¯s get on with the goblin hunting.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡±


    Now then, how will a guy that can barely walk and a magician that can¡¯t use magic hunt goblins.


    Honestly, I have no idea what to expect so I¡¯m kind of excited.


    ¡°Ralf, let¡¯s go with the usual.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, leave it to me.¡±


    The two had a quick chat and slowly began to move.


    They didn¡¯t walk side by side. Esta stayed upfront and Ralf walked a couple meters behind her. And I followed them, another couple meters behind Ralf.


    And so us 3 walked through the forest in a frankly odd formation.


    Having found a goblin, Esta gave a hand sign as signal and the crouched over.


    Ralf pulled out his sword, and stood exactly where he was.


    Esta crouched slowly towards the goblin and used the wooden stick in her hand to smack its head and then quickly turned and ran back.


    The goblin, seeing the enemy to be only one girl, chased after Esta with a vulgar laugh.


    Esta continued running and passed by Ralf, and left Ralf to face the goblin head on.


    The goblin was too focused on Esta but Ralf only had eyes on the goblin.


    Perhaps there was a clear difference in strength, his first strike slashed through the goblin¡¯s chest and overwhelmed the goblin¡¯s counter attack attempt and comfortably put an end to its life.


    ¡°Chris-san, how was that? Not the smoothest way perhaps but we are killing goblins like this ¡®with ease¡¯ as you asked..¡±


    ¡°A tactic built around utilizing Ralf¡¯s inability to move properly eh. Not bad. I guess you are doing it properly after all¡­¡­¡­¡­Very well, let¡¯s form a Party.¡±


    ¡°YAY! We passed Ralf!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.seriously why do we even need to party now that I can hunt¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense again! Do you want to spend your entire life as a rookie adventurer? Huh??¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­It was a joke! Chris, we¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    Having finished the hunt, I congratulated Ralf as he walked back and we decided to finally, officially form a Party.


    Basically, it¡¯s a deal designed more to take advantage of each other rather than to make friends if I¡¯m being honest.


    Well, there¡¯s not much use I can get from Ralf and Esta as they are now so it¡¯ll be mostly me ¡®giving¡¯ and carrying them for a while.


    But if we¡¯re going by potential, they both might even surpass me one day.


    If one day they can help me fight Klaus, it¡¯s not a bad idea for me to help them right now I believe.


    ¡°Aah, I¡¯ll be in both of your care as well. Now then, I¡¯ll go back first. Let¡¯s talk out the details later at the [Shangri-la hotel].¡±


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll see you at night.¡±


    I did think about helping them out with Goblin hunting since we are making a party and all¡­¡­..but really, I have more important things to do as well unfortunately.


    If anything, the things I have to do now that we¡¯ve made a party have increased so I should focus on doing what only I can do.


    ¡°And thus I left the two in the forest and returned back to Realzard ahead of them.

 CH 29

    Party Formation


    Leaving those 2 in the forest and having returned to Realzard, I quickly ate 8 of the other half of the 15 poisonous plants left, and headed straight to the church again.


    Result, no stats had increased. Which means either 2 of the remaining 7 plants have plants that had the increasing effects, or the effect disappeared due to drying them.


    If we are going by probability, there¡¯s more of a chance that the dryness removed the effects but for the sake of my work and money spent, I want to hope that its just that I have been unlucky and the last batch has the stat raising plants between them.


    Afterwards, since it was the commemoration day for the formation of our party, I decided to head to the commercial district and buy some extravagant food and returned to the inn. And while waiting for the two to return, I continued recording the results of my work.


    ¡°Chris-san, we¡¯re back.¡±


    ¡°Look, today, we¡¯ve brought meat skewers instead!¡±


    ¡­¡­..guess we¡¯re on the same page, as they too seemed to have brought some food for celebration.


    But still, skewers again?


    Now it must be considered splurging from their point of view but it¡¯s, let¡¯s say lacking, when compared to what I¡¯ve bought.


    I debated whether I should even bring it out now since I bought it to praise them in the first place but it¡¯ll go bad if it goes cold which would be a waste too. Oh well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.


    ¡°Welcome back. I have bought some stuff too, it¡¯s over there. It is a celebration for the formation of our Party after all.¡±


    ¡°What~ then we could have skipped on spending money? Damn. Oh well, more skewers ain¡¯t ever a bad thing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I bought tho.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨C!? OOH!? Esta look at this, it¡¯s actual proper meat! And, and this is meat steamed buns from [Seihana Manju]! Also [Maruela]¡¯s fish and [Maruha Restaurant]¡¯s Seasoned rice!! Chris how much did you buy!?!¡±


    This might be the happiest I¡¯ve seen Ralf since meeting him.


    I should¡¯ve judged from how he devoured those meat skewers but this guy is as much of a foodie as I am.


    ¡°As expected from a local, you sure know your stuff eh.¡±


    ¡°Obviously!! These are all super famous stores from the main street! All the things that I could only stare from afar are lined right in front of me¡­¡­!!!¡±


    ¡°Amazing!¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry for only bringing some meat skewers though.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡­..we can¡¯t offer anything crazy in return. You sure we can eat this stuff as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ wasn¡¯t really expecting anything from you two so don¡¯t worry. Feast yourselves as you please. And lets talk about our plans from here on as we eat.¡±


    And so while we ate, we began talking about our future.


    The most important thing, was to set a proper goal.


    Mine is already set but I need to know what these two want to do. I don¡¯t want to get into disputes later on.


    ¡°Let¡¯s decide on our goal. Not something as vague as [Let¡¯s adventure together!], a proper one.¡±


    ¡°Goal¡­¡­.? Is ¡®make enough to eat good food¡¯ not enough?¡±


    ¡°I mean you¡¯re doing that right now no? Find a better, real goal.¡±


    ¡°I want to become a Magician. For that I need to earn money. Are personal goals alright?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. But what will you do after that? Once you become one, will Esta leave this party?¡±


    ¡°oh¡­¡­I never really thought that far so that¡¯s hard to say. I don¡¯t plan to leave though at least¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°I cant think of shit. Chris, since you are the one asking, why don¡¯t you start with yours first then?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true¡ª¡ª-my goal is to get revenge on my younger brother. If possible, I¡¯d like to do that while being a member of this party.¡±


    When I said that, both stopped eating and the room became silent.


    Revenge. Well this atmosphere was bound to happen.


    That¡¯s exactly why I wanted to bring it up last but¡­¡­can¡¯t be helped anymore.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Haa? Revenge¡ª-do you plan on killing him? And you want that to be the goal of this party? Can¡¯t you do that yourself!?¡±


    ¡°If he was an opponent that easy, I already would have.¡±


    ¡°bu-but¡­¡­.isn¡¯t he your younger brother?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but he is about as close to being the strongest human being as you can get.¡±


    ¡°The strongest younger brother? What are you talking about? I¡¯ll be honest I¡¯m not keeping up with this conversation.¡±


    Both couldn¡¯t hide their unrest as they asked.


    The happy party had turned as heavy as a funeral.


    ¡°Some time ago, I did talk, if slightly, about how I had to live in the forest didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Ate what you kind find, surviving somehow etc etc. You did.¡±


    ¡°Right. So let me talk about how I got into that situation in the first place.¡±


    From there. I talked about how I was exiled and driven out of my house to the two.


    My training from birth, the [Heaven¡¯s blessing] and my father¡¯s disappointment and then, rage. And the fact that I was almost killed by Klaus, a [Sword God], and was resented by him.


    ¡°I see. And that¡¯s why you stole that stuff and hid in Peixa forest huh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Well, compared to you two who have been orphans since birth, my problems might seem petty but I really could have died if I hadn¡¯t happened to fall at that time. Everytime I remember that, I cannot bring myself to forgive Klaus.¡±


    ¡°I¡­..don¡¯t really have any memories of my parents and so I don¡¯t really have any real feelings towards them so I can¡¯t truly understand exactly how Chris-san felt, but to want revenge against a guy that killed you is understandable.¡±


    ¡°Having heard all that I can definitely relate. Well he¡¯s not here anymore but, I definitely wanted  to kill my foster father back in the day.¡±


    ¡°he was the one that caused the injury to your knee wasn¡¯t he Ralf?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Yeah, but enough about me. At least I understand where you¡¯re coming from. I have no intention to assist you with that though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. But I will have you help me with everything not related to murder on the other hand, as party members okay?¡±


    As long as they understand, that¡¯s fine.


    If they didn¡¯t agree at least to that much, I would have had zero merit in forming a party with them.


    ¡°I see I see now. Now it all makes sense. Those plants that you were constantly playing around with were to kill your little brother wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What, no? I wasn¡¯t joking when I said that was for me to eat. I¡¯m not stupid enough to think I can kill a once in a hundred year born [Sword God] with just poison; and even if I could I wouldn¡¯t choose that method.¡±


    ¡°Then seriously what are those dried plants for!?¡±


    ¡°Those, possess the ability to slowly raise the abilities of person. By eating them I realized I could increase my stats, if slowly.


    ¡°Those kind of plants exist¡­¡­¡­.? Never heard of it.¡±


    ¡°Well most people can¡¯t even eat these so no one really found it out. I think I¡¯m the only one in the entire world who has realized that, and I¡¯m not even joking.¡±


    ¡°The scale of what you said is so insane, I can¡¯t wrap my head around it.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll get an idea in time. So, now it¡¯s time for you two to decide on your goals.¡±


    I returned the conversation to the original topic, their goals.


    If I¡¯m going to get them to help me with my revenge, then it¡¯s only natural that I help that back.


    ¡°I¡­Want to become a magician and then be of use to Ralf and Chris-san, that¡¯s my goal¡­¡­..or is that too shallow?¡±


    ¡°If you are fine with just that Esta, that¡¯s okay no? It¡¯s a good start at least. What about you Ralf?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡­..I want to become an adventurer that everyone acknowledges! The strongest adventurer there is!¡±


    ¡°Pfft, Well that¡¯s very like you, Ralf.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me damn it!¡±


    ¡°No no, I¡¯m not making fun of you¡­¡­¡­but still, that makes your goal pretty close to mine you know? Is that okay¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­huh? How?¡±


    ¡°My brother Klaus, is a talent that is said to appear once every couple hundred years. His name isn¡¯t known yet obviously but it wont take long before the public starts hearing of him. It won¡¯t be strange for him to start getting hailed as a hero, etc.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, you think your brother will become such an incredible person? For someone you hate so much, you sure rate him very highly.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well, perhaps that¡¯s just my strong desire to be that way. After all if I¡¯m going to get revenge on him, better a hero than some no name B rank adventurer no?¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s your own selfish wish then.¡±


    True, for the perfect revenge, I need Klaus to rise all the way to the top otherwise it wont be worth it. Why bother dedicating my life to revenge if it¡¯s not worth it.


    ¡°Well it is my selfish desire but only 5 people in the known history of mankind have gotten the talent of [Sword God]. Will receive the best training directly in the capital. Until and unless Klaus specifically choose to do nothing with his life, he will almost certainly become someone that¡¯ll go straight to the top.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­..my objective would automatically become to surpass your younger brother as well eh.¡±


    ¡°Assuming he gets there, yes.¡±


    ¡°So Chris-san wants revenge on his younger brother. Ralf wants to become potentially stronger than said brother. And I will help both you achieve those goals. Is that okay for our long term goals then?¡±


    Somehow things came together, just as Esta said, for all three of us.


    A [Holy Knight] that can barely move, a [magician] that can¡¯t use magic, and [farmer] with ability to null poison. What a weak ass party this is but¡­¡­. Our aim is a hero that appears once every couple hundred years.


    From the outside, it might look like insanity and reckless but, well, who doesn¡¯t love an underdog¡¯s counterattack eh?


    Either way, it¡¯s not whether is should or not. I have no choice but to do so.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, though I feel like it¡¯s more attached to my own but both of your goals are set for now. This party final target is the [Sword God] Klaus. Any objections?¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡±


    ¡°None here either!¡±


    ¡ª¡ªand thus, due to some weird twist of fate, the weakest party was born.

 CH 30

    Plans for the future


    ¡°You know. We sort of went with the flow and said we¡¯ll go along with your plans but, Esta and I are just rookie adventurers still? Will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°For now, it¡¯s fine as long as you can eventually get to his level eventually, if not surpass it. We all start as rookies after all.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, and with Chris-san¡¯s help we¡¯ll definitely outgrow being a Rookie sooner or later!¡±


    ¡°Wait, I appreciate the trust, but I don¡¯t really plan on helping you lot with quests for now.¡±


    ¡°¡­..Eh?¡±


    ¡°I have said this many a times now but I have a mountain load of things to do at the moment. You two should continue focusing on goblin hunting and graduate from being a rookie with your own strength.¡±


    Seeing them today has made one thing certain to me. Even if I carried them to bronze rank, they wont suddenly become capable of doing bronze quests.


    If I was struggling with bronze quests myself, perhaps I would have considered raising them and having them help me with the quests but¡­¡­


    I can clear them solo no problem. Having them along will only increase the time taken considering Ralf¡¯s injury.


    ¡°Wait then what the hell was the point of making a party in the first place!?¡±


    ¡°But there is. There¡¯s no real future for this party until we get you healed and get Esta to learn magic. I¡¯m going to help you two with those two problems with all my ability.¡±


    ¡°So until then you want us to continue as is, is what you¡¯re saying am I correct?¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s for the best. That said, tomorrow I¡¯ll be taking Ralf to a Healer and the Healing guild. We need to figure out if it really is an unhealable injury or not first and foremost. ¡°


    ¡°But, I ain¡¯t got the money for that tho?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay obviously. That¡¯s why I need you to continue making as much money as you can without any complains.¡±


    Hearing my words, Ralf eyes turned moist. How moved are you? What an emotional guy.


    ¡°Chris¡­¡­.just for me, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Like I said before, this also helps me so don¡¯t worry about it. So stop crying already, makes me uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°What the hell!? I was just being thankful!¡±


    Sucking up his tears, Ralf shouted again making me laugh even more.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡­so what should I be doing tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Hmm hunting goblins alone would be too much¡ª-Oh right. Can you go and find intel about a monster called [Stray Cowbird] for me instead? Where it shows up, what it looks like, any specific characteristics, what its weaknesses are etc etc. That¡¯d be great. I¡¯ll even pay if the info is good enough.¡±


    ¡°Understood, then I¡¯ll do that. Also, I don¡¯t need the money. It¡¯s enough that you¡¯re paying for Ralf¡¯s examination!¡±


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t do. I don¡¯t intend to change anything when it comes to money related things between us. Jobs we take together will be split equally between us three and the same goes for rent for the inn. Well, I suppose I¡¯ll treat you to good food every once in a while I guess.¡±


    I need to set the rules regarding money straight upfront or it¡¯ll cause problems later on. I need to be careful especially considering my expenses regarding Ability assessment as well. Don¡¯t want any debts. It¡¯s stupid to fight or money anyway so it¡¯s better this way.


    ¡°Understood. Then I won¡¯t object.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then I¡¯m counting on you Esta.¡±


    ¡°So what about me? What do I have to do tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Just get ready in the morning to accompany me to the healing guild. They don¡¯t open early though so yeah ¡®normal morning¡¯ and not at dawn, alright?¡±


    ¡°I get it I get it. I¡¯ll be ready.¡±


    After the plans for tomorrow were set we finished our little party celebrations and went to sleep respectively.


    We¡¯ll start functioning more as a normal party when we reach at least Silver rank I think but still, I was secretly a bit excited.


    So as to make sure that these two don¡¯t overtake me as they learn to compensate their weakness and grow stronger, I decided to return to Peixa forest the day after tomorrow.


    While making plans for the future, I too slowly slipped into a deep slumber.

 CH 31

    Treatment fees


    The next day.


    When I opened my eyes, Ralf was already finished with his prep and waiting for me.


    He didn¡¯t wake me up but I could clearly see he was fidgeting, unable to calm down.


    Even though I said so many times that it wasn¡¯t that early.


    ¡°Morning. I see someone couldn¡¯t stop themselves from being early. Even after I explained it.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it if I woke early naturally can I? Anyway, when do we leave?¡±


    ¡°I need to freshen up as well so don¡¯t get impatient¡­¡­¡­Did Esta leave already?¡±


    I could see her anywhere in the room.


    Even though there¡¯s no goblin hunting today, these two still started their days so early.


    ¡°Yeah. For ¡®information gathering¡¯ she said. This is daily routine for both of us so we cant help but wake up this early.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. Though you could have taken it easy on a day off but I suppose your body wont allow it.¡±


    ¡°Something like that. Anyway, let¡¯s go already!¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡±


    While being urged by Ralf, I quickly finished my prep and we left for a certain Healing guild in the commercial district.


    Unlike the adventurer guild that could be reached just a couple steps away from our inn in the industrial district, the healing guild was set in the commercial district due to the demand apparently.


    Since other healing wards and medicine shops were also set up in the commercial district I suppose it makes sense. Either way, we were going to have to head there sooner or later.


    Reaching the guild we quickly entered and went straight to the reception.


    ¡°Good morning, how may I help you today?¡±


    ¡± I wanted to get an injury looked at. It¡¯s an old lasting injury. Can it be done?¡±


    ¡°An old external wound, is that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll need your IDs first please.¡±


    I elbowed Ralf to provide his Adventurer card. Panicking he quickly brought it out and handed it to the receptionist as she noted his details down on a paper.


    ¡°Thank you for that. Now then please take a seat and wait for your turn. You are number 5.¡±


    Since it was right after opening up, there weren¡¯t too many people here yet and we could get an inspection done pretty fast.


    Ralf looked impatient and excited when leaving the guild but since coming here, that has turned into nervousness.


    It¡¯s not a joke to say that the result of this will decide his future, his destiny so it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand his feelings.


    Should I start small talk to loosen his nervousness¡ª¨Cbut before I could, the number 5 was called.


    ¡°C¡¯mon Ralf. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Wai, Already¡­¡­? That¡¯s fast no?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s a problem?¡±


    Giving his back a light push, we followed  the guide and entered a room.


    Inside a Healer, seemed like was in his fifties, was sat and looking at the paper written by the receptionist.


    ¡°Good morning. You wanted an old would looked at am I correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    ¡°So, which one of you two is the patient?¡±


    ¡°¡­..Ah, m-Me sir.¡±


    ¡°Then can you show where your injury is?¡±


    Still nervous, Ralf awkwardly pulled the cuff of his trouser up to his knees and showed the exact location of his injury.


    This is my first time seeing it as well; on his left knee there was a single deep old wound and the part looked oddly swelled due to it.


    ¡°Oh dear¡­¡­.This certainly a rough one. How long ago was it?¡±


    ¡°Around seven years ago. I tried to land myself after falling from a high place and it just went splat.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I touch it?¡±


    ¡°Pl-Please, go ahead.¡±


    The healer felt around Ralf¡¯s wound to figure out where exactly the pain really came about from.


    ¡°This looks like a complete ligament tear. And because of receiving no treatment, the meniscus is damaged as well.¡±


    ¡°S-so then recovery really is impossible?¡±


    ¡°No, not impossible. We¡¯ll need to conduct surgery and transplant the ligament, stitch it all back up; and as for the meniscus, we can insert oil from metal slime as replacement which should heal the injury.¡±


    ¡°So I can really be healed!?¡±


    ¡°I have no reason to lie. But, I should say this in advance, the cost of the surgery will be high. And the Metal slime will need to be brought from your side as well, we can¡¯t provide it here.¡±


    ¡°How much will it cost?¡±


    ¡°The surgery itself will cost 20 platinum coins alone. And whatever it might take for you to get Metal slime oil on top of it.¡±


    ¡°TWENTY PLATINUM COINS!?¡±


    Damn, that¡¯s expensive as hell.


    No wonder Ralf crumbled.


    My earnings for the past month was about 12 gold coins. It¡¯ll take me almost a year and half at current rate with no additional expenses to save that much up.


    On top that, we also need to obtain this item called Metal Slime oil, which I have no idea about where to even start.


    ¡°That¡¯s too much. Is there really no other choice?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, the injury has been left untreated for far too long¡­¡­..If it was right after the injury happened, a few potions might have done the trick, and not to mention from what I can tell there are traces of the muscles being overused forcibly since then many a times as well. Did your knee suddenly collapse and give out on you before?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­It did.¡±


    ¡°I thought so. If you want to have it done here, getting a full replacement is the cheapest method.¡±


    ¡± ¡®this healing guild¡¯ you say¡­¡­.? does that mean it can be done cheaper elsewhere?¡±


    ¡°Well, other healing wards will actually cost more but¡­..well..¡±


    ¡°But? What?¡±


    The healer held his tongue after saying that. On my urging, he began talking again.


    ¡°¡­¡­.You should look into a man called Brad. That¡¯s about as much a Healer employed by the Guild can say unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨CI see. Thank you for the examination and for the info. It was of great help.¡±


    ¡°No no, if anything I apologize for not being a better help. I could at least provide some painkillers, how about it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Don¡¯t need it.¡±


    I pulled the dejected Ralf away after giving a bow to the healer, and left the Guild.


    .


    .


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    Going by the talk, Ralf¡¯s complete recovery seems like it¡¯s going to be very tough.


    I knew that it was a serious injury from how much pain it caused him but I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d cost 20 platinum coins.


    For the time being, I should focus on finding this ¡®Brand¡¯ guy that the Healer recommended but still, looks like getting Esta to become a magician is going to become first priority after all.


    ¡°Oi, can you stop being a debbie downer already? We¡¯re going to find this Brad guy.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.I¡¯m done. I told you didn¡¯t I. This was unhealable after all.¡±


    ¡°But the healer literally said that it CAN be healed though? Worst case, we just have to save up 20 platinum coins that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°And how the hell are we going to manage that?! Do you know how much savings I have right now? 2 silver coins. JUST TWO SILVER! If it was 20 gold coins I¡¯d still have to give up, how the fuck am I going to pay 20 platinum coins?!¡±


    ¡°So what? You¡¯re just going to give up? I have no intention of staying with a spineless guy. We made a party just yesterday but maybe I should just cancel it and mind my own business then after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯m not giving up. Man, at least let me complain for a while.¡±


    ¡°If bitching about it was of any help, sure go ahead. But it won¡¯t, so instead use that time to follow whatever little possibility and hope there is left. So if you haven¡¯t given up yet, then let¡¯s go find this Brad guy.¡±


    Giving a figurative kick to Ralf¡¯s back, we decided for look for this man called Brad.


    Since all we got was his name, I have no idea who or what kind of person this Brad even is. So we decided to split up and go around healing wards and other related places to look for any tips or clues or hints and gather info about this ¡®Brad¡¯.

 CH 32

    Information on Brad


    After leaving the Healers guild, we spent the next couple of hours searching for this man named Brad.


    Having visited every single Healing wards that I had planned to visit before separating with Ralf, I went back to the our rendezvous point.


    There were exactly 3 things I had found out about Brad.


    First, he was problematic enough that every single person in every ward seemed reluctant to talk about him.


    Second, he was a top class healer.


    And third, he had suffered a fall from grace a long time ago and since then his location wasn¡¯t known to many.


    Basically nothing worthwhile was found, I couldn¡¯t even find a hint to where we could find him.


    I have to hope that Ralf who went to other wards has found at least something, though considering his mental state when we separated I don¡¯t have much hope.


    When I entered the usual restaurant that we had decided as our rendezvous point, it seemed like Ralf had already returned.


    He must have not ordered anything as there was only a glass of water on the table, and Ralf didn¡¯t even notice me come in as his head was hanging low towards the ground.


    ¡°Ralf, kept you waiting long?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh Chris. No, not really, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    He was clearly low on tension, which meant that he must have had not much luck either.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t find anything useful, you?¡±


    ¡°Info on Brad? Yeah I got some.¡±


    ¡°as I thought. Still¡­¡­¡­Wait? YOU DID?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Apparently he¡¯s in the royal capital right now.¡±


    ¡°Wait if you got such important info why the hell are you so depressed still?¡±


    I feel like he looks worse than when we separated for some reason.


    Didn¡¯t he say he wasn¡¯t giving up so¡­¡­¡­Wait is Brad dead or something?¡±


    ¡°Because, from what I¡¯ve learnt, he some crazy insane dude apparently.¡±


    ¡°Okay explain.¡±


    ¡°Apparently in the past, Brad was the top healer at the Guild. Realizing that he could make a lot of money, he became a travelling healer going around the world and charged crazy expensive prices for getting treatment from him.¡±


    ¡°So he basically charged incredibly expensive fees to cure anything, whether grave injury or major illness right?¡±


    ¡°Yup. Of course at first he got lots of customers running towards who had no choice but as time passed and medicine and medical science developed and grew, his abilities became outdated and now he lives in the backstreets of the capital treating poor people for cheap just to barely make ends meet.¡±


    I pumped my fist in celebration at this info.


    That Healer really gave us the best kind of info after all.


    ¡°Well, you get what you deserve I guess? His own greed came back to bite him but like I explained, this Brad guy is of no use to us it would seem.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..You really are a fucking idiot aren¡¯t you? Who cares if he¡¯s gone under? This is EXACTLY the kind of chance we needed. An opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What the hell are you getting all excited about?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t even bother explaining it to you. Just grab some food for now. I¡¯m in a good mood so it¡¯s my treat. Enjoy!¡±


    ¡°What the hell!? Explain properly!¡±


    Having received some really good info, we had our lunch at the restaurant and went our ways for now.


    Since I didn¡¯t bother to properly explain everything, Ralf was still feeling a bit down¡­¡­.but really, how was this hard to understand? This Brad will absolutely perform the same surgery for far cheaper.


    Though to negotiate we¡¯ll have to go to the capital to meet him¡­¡­..


    There¡¯s a good chance Klaus is in the capital. Well perhaps I¡¯m being too paranoid but as long as there¡¯s a chance that might happen, I¡¯ll make sure I have as much info available on Brad before taking that risk and heading anywhere close to the capital.


    Not to mention, I still have to continue my poisonous plant research and continue making money.


    Which means the bets possible method would be to send either Ralf or Esta to the capital alone, well, Ralph being the one who needs treatment is the best option because he needs to see the injury in the first place.


    But he¡¯s also an idiot and I can¡¯t depend on him for any kind of negotiations.


    ¡­¡­¡­I guess I have no choice. I¡¯ll have to pay for their trip and make both of them go together.


    Esta is smart enough to properly negotiate, and can look after the idiot as well.


    As I continued calculations inside my head, I returned back to [Shangri-la hotel].

 CH 33

    Discovery


    After returning to the inn, I ate three types of plants and then went back to the church.


    Since there was lot of things happening today, the sun was already beginning to set and I wasn¡¯t sure if the church was even open anymore or not.


    There was barely any human presence left inside as I gently opened the door and went inside.


    In the afternoon, the sun rays peering into the church made the whole view a sight to behold but the evening sun gave it a whole different kind of fantastical feeling.


    It made me want to see what it was like under the moonlight as well; as I walked through the silent halls and entered the usual room.


    ¡­¡­¡­I just entered without asking but since it was unlocked, it should be okay right?


    Ringing the same bell once again, the usual priest entered the room after a while.


    ¡°So you came back again after all. Same as always I presume?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    Even he had gotten used to it by now and barely showed any reaction as he went along with his job as normal.


    Having gotten used to the process myself, I quickly brought out a gold coin and my card before he could even ask.


    ¡°That¡¯s one gold coin alright. Then, let¡¯s begin.¡±


    The priest puts his hand on the crystal, it flashes for a second and the dim out.


    ¡°And its done. Please check.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    Taking the card back, I quickly checked my card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 11(+8)


    Strength: 6(+8)


    Stamina: 7(+4)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 4


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    YES! FINALLY!


    I did a quick fistpump away from the Priest¡¯s eyes.


    Thank god!. Both the abilities had risen this time at last.


    Which means among this three plant set, there are two that raise my Endurance and Stamina.


    Either one plant that raised each, or one among the three hat raised both, which, I couldn¡¯t tell but this greatly increases my efficiency.


    Even if I don¡¯t cross check any further, I have narrowed it down enough.¡­¡­..but maybe I should do it one more time right before I leave for Peixa forest again.


    Normally, I was planning to leave tomorrow but that has been changed to first sending off Esta and Ralf to the capital. After that I also need to go shopping to prepare before secluding myself in the forest again.


    I left the church with spirits high and returned to the inn where the two were waiting on me.


    .


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    .


    ¡°I have heard the details more or less from Ralf. The treatment didn¡¯t go well it seemed?¡±


    ¡°Hm? No that¡¯s not really set yet.¡±


    ¡°But the fees was 20 platinum coins and the guy you heard was a wrongdoer or something¡­¡­..¡±


    As expected Ralf had not explained anything to Esta properly.


    Speaking of who, Ralf, who was perhaps sulking, had already gone to sleep.


    ¡°Well the guy we¡¯re going to ask for help being a wrongdoer and now in ruins isn¡¯t incorrect. But that¡¯s exactly why there¡¯s a chance we can get his help.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­I see. If we can negotiate with this man, we could get it done for much cheaper presumably.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Well the risk also increases in such cases of course but from what we can tell, his abilities are indeed the real thing so we have to take this chance.¡±


    ¡°Precisely, which means there¡¯s still hope left! Are we leaving right now to find him?¡±


    ¡°I do want to but as it stands, I can¡¯t go close to the capital. And so I want to ask the task of finding this Brad and negotiating with him to you Esta. Will you accept?¡±


    ¡°Of course!! We can¡¯t have you Chris-san do everything for us after all!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯ll pay for your expenses so take Ralf and get this job done. I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    ¡°Of course leave it to me!¡­¡­.and sorry for making you pay for us again.¡±


    With that taken care of, I can at least rest easy in regards to the negotiations with Esta in charge.


    I handed over the expenses to her; and asked them to leave Realzard tomorrow.


    While looking forward to the results of their negotiations, I¡¯ll just have to wait for the two to return.

 CH 34

    The two types of Plant


    Yesterday, I handed the two a decent amount of money and had them leave for the capital.


    Since I explained everything to Esta directly, I¡¯m not worried about failure.


    As for me¡­¡­I¡¯ll head towards Peixa forest for another month of exploration.


    Yesterday, I ate one plant, had another assessment and result was that nothing raised. Then I ate another one and found only my Endurance to rise and thus, ending my research.


    With collecting these two specific plants as my main objective, I¡¯ll try and collect different and new poisonous plants for my next expedition.


    Right now I have found a plant for both Endurance and Stamina but what I really need is one that raises my Strength.


    Going by just the stats, there has to be a type in the Peixa forest that does that and finding that one is my goal this time around.


    Resolving myself, I left the inn and quickly began making my way to the forest once more.


    Right now, it has left our rented room completely empty but I have paid enough money in advance so as to hopefully not get expelled and our things thrown out.


    While that felt tight on my purse, losing our belongings and room was far worse, and so it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    .


    .


    Having left Realzard, I finally reached the Peixa forests once again.


    The sweet scent of nature filled my breath, and I could feel my nerves and tension relax a bit.


    I didn¡¯t feel the fear I did last time and what remained of my trauma had long since healed after the last trip.


    Entering the forest, I made my way back to the spring in the central area. Collecting water and rehydrating myself, I made my way through the trackless path to my usual base.


    I did consider finding and/or making a new one but there were still so many wild plants growing around this area that I hadn¡¯t checked that I felt it was better to stay in a familiar place.


    It¡¯s not even like I knew exactly where the base was. It was closer to instinct how I would somehow make my way there, and after a couple of hours I did reach that all too familiar gap between two rocks.


    There were no traces of monster or people being here and I made sure that it looked almost exactly as how I had left it. And so I once again cover the floor with leaves and branches and recreated my temp base.


    After going through the same motions again, I quickly moved to gathering plants, old and new.


    My main focus was to gather the two I know had an effect; one was a plant with acute purple flower that raised my Endurance.


    It didn¡¯t look like it had poison but after confirming the traces I later found out that when I first entered the forest, the decaying meat that I had found was from an animal that died from eating this plant. Which meant that it possessed enough poison to be a lethal dose.


    The other was a mushroom, a mushroom that raised my Stamina. White grass and red spots on top, it looked poisonous even to the basic eye.


    I haven¡¯t tested just how poisonous it is but judging by just its obvious appearance, its bound to be as deadly as the other.


    I named both of them Reizen grass and Genpei mushroom respectively and decided to gather as much as I could, without of course completely uprooting them entirely.


    While collecting these 2, I recorded the places I found these and interpreted its growing conditions, and continued my exploration.


    As my end goal is to make it possible to grow them myself in my own garden, well not the inn I suppose. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll allow growing poisonous plants there.


    I could rent a farm as well, but there too, I think I¡¯ll get caught if they find out what I¡¯m growing.


    Which means I have to buy my own house one day and grow them secretly on the roof or something but, that¡¯s a far and away dream for now.


    Expenses for my expeditions, for ability assessment, for Ralf¡¯s treatment, and for Esta¡¯s grimoire; at until I have saved up enough for these four things, only then can I start saving up for my own house.


    I am lacking money for everything I need right now.


    While thinking of better, more efficient ways of earning money, I continued harvesting plants till the sun set.


    .


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    .


    Returning back before dusk, I lit up a lamp and wrote down all the details I learnt about Reizen grass and Genpei mushrooms on a paper.


    Then, after separating today¡¯s eating worth of plants aside, I put the rest in the drying basket and began my prep for dinner.


    Tonight¡¯s dinner was, bread and stew I brought in a container.


    Genpei mushrooms were still, well mushroom so I could eat use them as sort of ingredients and so I put it inside the stew and as for the Reizen grass¡­¡­.for my final trick, allow me to show you a way to eat without letting it touch your tastebuds at all.


    I brought out some Oblaat, a thin stretched out paper like item. (T/N: you can google oblaat. Its ra eal thing)


    Esta taught me this but this Oblaat can melt inside your body and if you eating something after wrapping it this Oblaat, you could swallow it without ever tasting it apparently.


    And so I wrapped the Reizen grass in an Oblaat and swallowed it whole with water.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­Hmm.


    It feels odd but it certainly worked as advertised.


    I only bought it yesterday but it wasn¡¯t really expensive either. Perhaps with this I can eat these plants in large quantities without problem.


    After eating the bread and stew, I ate more of Oblaat wrapped Grass.


    For the first time, I ate these plants while still having a ¡®tasty¡¯ feel inside my mouth.


    I was able to gather both Reizen grass and Genpei mushrooms in large quantities, and was able to find a decent way to consume them.


    Feeling truly satisfied, I fell to sleep while listening to sounds of nature.

 CH 35

    Sudden Attack


    5 days had passed since I entered the Peixa forest.


    The harvesting continued smoothly and now I had collected, not just huge amounts of Reizen grass and Genpei mushrooms, but also 20 new types of poisonous plants as well.


    Looks like the results this time around are also very good.


    While praying that at least one of these new plants is one that raises physical strength, I put them inside the sun drying container.


    Well since I have nothing better to do while the plants are drying, might as well go around and look for plants to eat for today should I?


    .


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    .


    The Peixa forest remained the same as always.


    While I was all focused on gathering¡­¡­¡­something suddenly showed up.


    ¡ª¡ªan ill omen struck my body, and sent shivers down my spine.


    I don¡¯t know what it is but, I can sense something rushing towards me at breakneck speed.


    Before anything, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down


    I knew it was coming from my south, so I quickly jumped up on a tree and tried to hide my presence as much as I could.


    I covered my mouth with my hands and tried to breath as quietly as possible while I tried to observe and discern exactly what it was that was approaching me.


    The thing that rushed here with immense speed breaking down everything in its way was, a giant bear type monster.


    Standing where I originally was, it was trying to smell and find as it looked around.


    From its presence alone I could tell, but actually looking at it made it very clear that this was a monster in a whole different league in comparison to the Orc I fought.


    Could it be that the reason that normal monsters and animals don¡¯t go into the depths of Peixa forest because monsters like these live in here?


    It¡¯s pressure was so strong that it made me consider that theory.


    ¡®Don¡¯t come here. Don¡¯t come here. Don¡¯t come here.¡¯


    While deeply praying to myself, I observed the bear-like monster as it slowly approached the tree I was on by smelling the remaining scent on the ground.


    Just when I thought everything was going great, why did this have to happen!?


    Due to this sudden predicament, pent up anger increased within me.


    ¡­¡­.SHIT, if this goes on, it¡¯ll find me within the next couple of seconds.


    Using my brain at full power, I thought of ways to overcome this situation¡ª¡ª¨CI¡¯ll get caught if I run, if I change my hiding spot it¡¯ll find me through smell sooner or later.


    No matter how much I thought, I couldn¡¯t figure out a way to escape.


    If its going to be like this, I have to get the first attack in instead¡ª¡ªif I want to survive.


    Resolving myself, I decided to go with a surprise attack.


    Rather than get slammed out of tree and be on the defensive, its better to go on the attack and increase my chances of winning if only by a little.


    I calmed my rough breathing and look for the best timing to launch my attack.


    One more step¡­..one more¡­¡­NOW!


    Jumping off the tree, I aimed at the bear-like monster with full force.


    It was at the perfect spot, since it was looking down and trying to smell my scent it didn¡¯t sense me dropping down on it.


    And the attack was further amplified by the force of gravity as well.


    In a dangerous situation like this, I showed the highest concentration possible, and was able to launch my strongest single attack on the monster.


    ¡ª¡ª-but, even with all that, I was unable to land a fatal blow.


    It was a 5 meter tall, and approx 800kg monster indeed.


    I was able to tear through its flesh but didn¡¯t reach all the way to the bone; and even while bleeding it launched a strong punch right towards me.


    I quickly put my sword up between the strike and my body to guard but the force was so strong it almost stopped my breathing.


    I endured and stopped my body from being bent into a ¡®C¡¯ shape, and focused my eyes on what the monster was going to do next.


    Pain ran through my side, and while my breathing was still rough, my heart wasn¡¯t broken yet.


    Even though it was bleeding from its back, the bear-like monster jumped at me with its mouth agape trying to bite into me, to which I responded with thrusting my sword straight into its oncoming mouth to attack.


    The previous attack had already damaged my sword by I could still use it to create an opening.


    I stabbed the sword toward the upper jaw from inside its mouth stopping its bite attack with the sword stopping the mouth from closing, and used my left hand to pull out some Reizen grass from the holder and threw it inside its mouth.


    Since its mouth was still stuck open, it directly went straight into its stomach.


    The sword could only last so long, and if the poison doesn¡¯t show an effect instantly I will most certainly die here¡­¡­¡­.


    But the monster suddenly began rocking its body sideways and went on a rampage, trying to spit out the contents of its stomach, including my sword and arm holding on to it still stuck in its mouth.


    If I let it throw me around like that I really might die, I quickly pulled out and created some distance between us, my breathing still ragged.


    I knelt down, hands on the ground and looked on as the bear-like monster rampaged around. But instead of just dying, it continued swaying its body and ran back the way it came.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I lived?


    With relief setting, pain ran throughout my body.


    With breathing still out of sorts, it¡¯ll be a while before I could move again.


    Praying that I don¡¯t get attacked by anything while I¡¯m like this, I desperately focused on letting my body relax and heal.

 CH 36

    Thoughts after the Chaos


    As the pain subsided, I slowly regained my health, at least enough to breathe normally again.


    Thankfully, thanks to me using the sword to guard myself, the hit to my flank ¡®only¡¯ resulted in a bruise and that was all the injury I had received.


    Even the hand that I had thrust into its mouth had only received a couple scratches from its teeth and was nothing serious.


    Considering a deadly monster like that had attacked out of nowhere, I was able minimize damage to the absolute minimum by making every correct decision needed.


    ¡­¡­¡­.but still, what the hell was that monster?


    It¡¯s presence was hidden until it was close enough to rush at me giving me no time to escape.


    I had no idea a monster that dangerous lived in this forest.


    Just recalling it made my body shiver, a the fear towards this forest that I thought I had overcome came back all over again.


    I wonder if I was actually able to kill that bear-like monster with just Reizen grass?


    I sure hope so but it definitely seemed like it had been able to throw it all up before it ran away.


    There was corpse nearby but it didn¡¯t return either so it was a true 50-50 I¡¯d say as to what the final result was.


    ¡­¡­.but if it did live, it will definitely return.


    While thinking all this, I held down on my still hurting flank and slowly began walking towards my base to get away from this place asap.


    .


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    .


    After reaching the base, I quickly began my preparations to leave this forest.


    I grabbed whatever plants nearby I could find randomly and ate them to see if a couple healed me faster, and then put the dried plants into my bag.


    Since my sword had been broken by that monster, I was currently weapon-less so I really wanted to get away from this forest as quickly as possible.


    Having packed, I left the base and began walking towards the usual clear spring.


    And this time, having made it here without getting lost, didn¡¯t even bother washing myself and straight away left for Realzard.


    In my head I knew I probably shouldn¡¯t go back all filthy but really, right now I didn¡¯t have the patience for that stuff.


    Anyway, it was only after I had completely left the forest that the panic finally began to subside and I began to calm down a bit.


    Honestly, I don¡¯t know if I would ever want to return back here again, but deep inside I know I¡¯ll have to if I want to continue getting stronger.


    While walking on the highway to Realzard, all sorts of thought continued floating in my head.


    To get my revenge on Klaus, I have to get stronger. And to do that, I need the help of these poisonous plants.


    And as far as places near Realzard go, only the Peixa forest has these kinds of plants that I so desperately need.


    But now there was a chance that that monster was still alive and well inside that forest¡­¡­Wait?


    ¡­¡­¡­.now that I think about it, that monster had come out of nowhere to kill me didn¡¯t it?


    ¡ª¡ªOnly those who have the resolve to get killed are allowed to kill.


    Yet, that monster let its target go and ran away instead.


    ¡ª¨CEven I was confused by the sudden direction of my thoughts but, my fear of that monster was starting to turn into rage. I could feel it happen.


    ¡­¡­since it tried to kill me, that bastard shouldn¡¯t complain if I killed it instead either right?


    Why was I thinking like that? But regardless I set that bear like monster as target no.2 for my revenge alongside Klaus.


    Once again, I don¡¯t think I could kill it right now, but soon, I¡¯ll get stronger and annihilate it with my own strength.


    And so there I was, hoping that the monster better not have died just from the Reizen grass.


    For whatever reason I had built up that much hate for that monster, and turning it into a target for revenge completely changed my mood.


    With such emotions flaring like a fire inside me, I continued on my way back to Realzard.

 CH 37

    Negotiation Report


    With my feelings simmering down, I thoughts drifted towards the two I had sent out to negotiate.


    I wonder if Ralf and Esta were doing fine at the capital.


    The distance between Realzard and the capital was, going by the map, about a half-day¡¯s walk. Even considering the time needed to search for Brad, they should still be back home by now.


    While looking forward to their result, I continued my way to Realzard.


    There were no problems going through the inspection as usual, and I continued walking towards [Shangri-la hotel].


    To be honest, I wanted to go to the church and get my ability assessed as well but, the sun had already set and I was still hurt, so I decided to postpone it to a later day and decided to hear the news from the two and focus on that instead.


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    When I entered the room, I found the two relaxing as usual.


    Looks like even Ralf who was feeling depressed a week ago had finally recovered.


    ¡°Chris-san! Welcome back¡ª¨COh, are you okay!?¡±


    ¡°Your armour¡¯s in tatters and I can see blood here and there too¡­¡­¡­damn, you look a lot worse than normal.¡±


    ¡°Got a attacked by a real freakish monster in the forest. SO I ran back without bothering to wash myself at the spring.¡±


    ¡°Any injuries¡­¡­Are you hurt anywhere?¡±


    ¡°A bit. Got a couple bruises but nothing serious.¡±


    ¡°For you to call something ¡®freakish¡¯ like that, what kinda crazy thing did you run into? Doesn¡¯t that mean that forest is a no go now?¡±


    ¡°It was 5 times my size yeah. But don¡¯t worry, I plan to go back.¡±


    ¡°Look I ain¡¯t gonna tell you to stop but¡­¡­.don¡¯t go dying on us okay. We are a party after all.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan on dying so easily so don¡¯t you worry. Anway, I bought some skewers, here.¡±


    ¡°¡­Hm? OOH! You did? Hell yeah!¡±


    I handed over some skewers to the two who were looking at me all worried.


    Ralf quickly turned all smiles as he bit into the meat. Now where did all that worry go eh?


    He can be a pain sometimes, but it¡¯s nice he¡¯s simple enough to handle easily.


    While giving him a side glance, I turned towards Esta to ask her of their work in the capital.


    ¡°So Esta, how did it go for you two? Did you find this Brad safely?¡±


    ¡°Yes we did and met him as well. He was living in the black market, and seemed to be pretty down on money at the moment.¡±


    ¡°So how did the negotiations go?¡±


    ¡°Went really well. At first he wanted 15 platinum coins but we kept haggling until he was begging us to let him take the job for just 5 platinum coins.¡±


    ¡°Just Five!? Now we can really start taking this seriously.¡±


    The original 20 platinum coins was basically impossible for us, but if its just 5 then we should be able to manage if we work hard enough.


    The only worry is the fact that the surgery could be a failure considering the kind of doctor we were employing but people in our situation have to take such risks.


    ¡°To be honest, even 5 platinum still seems crazy expensive to me but¡­¡­..is that good enough?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, You did great. We made the party with healing his leg as the prerequisite in the first place. Not to mention, we¡¯re gonna have you learn magic as well alright Esta?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Yes. Chirs-san, thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°by the way, I¡¯ve been thinking but can you drop the formal speak with me already. We are the same age, and equal members in the party after all.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry but I cannot agree with that.¡±


    I suggested it because she always very uptight and formal with me but, the idea got refused almost instantly.


    Well it¡¯s not like I mind it, so if she wants it that way, so be it.


    ¡°Sho? Bhat bout u Gris guh?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk with food still in your mouth.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.gulp. So how did it go for you! Did you run without anything after the attack?¡±


    ¡°No, I gathered a lot of stuff before that. I only got attacked a day before I originally planned to leave.  The haul this time around was really good.¡±


    ¡°is that so¡­¡­..which means, you¡¯re gonna get even stronger than us than before no?¡±


    ¡°You should be more happy about that. If I don¡¯t get stronger, I won¡¯t be able to make money to help you two you know?¡±


    ¡°I know I know. It still hurts my pride. It¡¯s about feelings!¡±


    It must be a complex feeling for him as it showed on his face as well.


    He gets happy from the things I give directly, but deep inside he¡¯s not the type to just let go of debts I suppose.


    I guess being the same age, he doesn¡¯t want to be constantly on the receiver¡¯s side and doesn¡¯t want to lose to me either.


    ¡°Sure sure. Oh, and Esta, that Oblaat you told me about was of great help. Thanks for the tip.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m glad to be of help.¡±


    ¡°With that, I can increase the pace of my consumption. I¡¯m surprised you knew of something like that.¡±


    ¡°The shopkeeper of [shichifukuya] was the one who told me about it.¡±


    Man, that guy really knows his stuff huh.


    I guess you need to be knowledgeable to be running a pawnshop but still, he seems in a whole different level in my opinion.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡­.sorry to change the topic, but what¡¯s the plan from tomorrow onwards?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have a specific request so continue the goblin hunt and earning money. If I need you to gather info on something I¡¯ll tell in advance.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll do it whenever you want so please don¡¯t hesitate.¡±


    ¡°yeah, thanks.¡±


    While having such chats with the two, and then eating more of the Reizen grass and genpei mushrooms that I had gathered, I entered my bed to get rest for tomorrow.


    From tomorrow, I also plan to restart my adventurer work and take on my first non-designated quest.


    My target was the Stray Cowbird that I had Esta gather info for.


    Since I have already learnt of where you can find them, I should be able to start hunting them regularly within a couple of days.


    But in the wild there¡¯s always a chance to encounter something like that bear-like monster so I must not lower my guard.


    Recalling the attack once more, I began thinking up other attack patterns than the one I used before I slowly drifted into my sleep.

 CH 38

    Stray Cowbird hunt


    The next day.


    The first thing I did after waking up was confirm the condition of my side injury, and after making sure that it was fine, I left for the guild to accept a quest.


    Stray Cowbirds must be in great demand, as the request board was filled with them today as well.


    After getting the paperwork done at the reception, and buying another cheap old sword from the weapons shop, I left Realzard and headed out to look for the stray cowbird.


    According to Esta¡¯s info, stray cowbird are most commonly sighted in the wide open plains to the east.


    This was called as the prime hunting spot but as per Esta, that¡¯s not because you can find them in great numbers but more because the visibility around the area is nicer making the hunts easier.


    And there¡¯ll be many other ¡®rivals¡¯ also trying to hunt Stray cowbirds as well, so instead, I headed NOT to said eastern plains but to a different location that was suggested to me.


    And that was¡­¡­.a rocky area in the mountainous region all the way past the area I went goblin hunting in the northwest.


    Very few people tend to come this way, thus there wasn¡¯t a lot of detailed info in regards to sightings and subjugations but Esta had apparently found out that some only go to this place for their hunts instead.


    While hunting the random goblins I ran into on my way, I finally reached the aforementioned rocky area that was at the end of the abandoned road.


    From what I can tell there¡¯s not a lot of monster presence in the area but, let¡¯s just try and find some before I make any assumptions shall we?


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    While crossing across the pathless, poor footing rocky area, I searched around to see if I can sense any kind of monster here.


    Only normal birds freely flying around could be seen, but after a while of searching¡­¡­¡­diagonally ahead of me, I saw a cow-like monster eating a little patch of grass that grown between the rocks.


    Is that perhaps, the Stray Cowbird I have been looking for?


    It¡¯s too far away for me to ascertain but its appearance was very close to the features that were described to me.


    Apparently they are very alert of their surroundings or so I¡¯ve heard, so I slowly made my way towards it while hiding behind the rocks.


    ¡ª¡ªNo doubt, that¡¯s a stray cowbird alright.


    A cross between a cow and a bird, and though I haven¡¯t tried it, it¡¯s a commonly enjoyed delicacy among the people.


    Though it has wings, it cannot fly albeit has the ability to make some big leaps.


    But, if you underestimate it, it¡¯ll crush you with its large body press attack and if you keep too much distance to avoid that, it¡¯ll rush at you with the sharp horns on its head.


    To defeat it, you either have to attack it from such a long range that it can¡¯t get you even with its charge rush attack, or the more commonly used close combat approach while being wary of its body press.


    While going through Esta¡¯s info inside my head, I was able to position myself right behind where the stray cowbird was nonchalantly eating the grass.


    It still hadn¡¯t noticed me, and was completely defenceless.


    I drew my sword, and gave a signal to myself internally and attacked.


    My aim was¡ª¡ªits legs.


    To completely seal its movements, I targeted its hind legs and brought down my sword on it.


    It ended up noticing me as I began my attack, but by that time it was already too late.


    Blood sprayed in the air as my blade cut through its left hind leg.


    I quickly sheathed my sword and switched to a stone hammer I had bought just to use against this cowbird.


    And while I called it hammer, it wasn¡¯t some giant weapon but a smaller sleeker weapon, closer to a Mace to be honest.


    Slashing it about and killing it in a blood manner like that decreases the reward so it¡¯s much more efficient to knock it unconscious with a strong blunt attack to its head, and then deal a killing blow cleanly afterwards.


    Even with its leg slashed open and movement dulled, the cowbird, while staggering, still tried to prepare to attack me.


    For a second, I considering just taking the hit to see how much effect the Reizen grass and genpei mushrooms have had on my body but, the pain I endured from the bear-like monster was still fresh in my head, and I quickly changed my mind and instead went straight for the kill.


    Aiming for the moment it started to rush straight at me with its horns, I targeted its forehead and swiftly brought my hammer down.


    A sound similar to metal stroking metal resounded in the area and the cowbird¡¯s body convulsed and twitched as it crumbled to the ground.


    Taking no breathers, I quickly picked up the cowbird on my shoulders and brought it close to a tree.


    With the tools I brought, I hung its body upside-down  and pierced its chest with my sword cleanly to make it release all the blood.


    While the blood poured out, I thought of how to handle the body.


    The request was for, the fillet, tongue and the belly meat, portions only.


    If I were to cut it down right now, it¡¯ll make transporting the pieces back much more easier and luggage small but the reward will also be smaller.


    On the other hand, if I carry the entire body, the reward should almost double the normal.


    Having already carried a short distance to its tree, I know that its not heavy enough to give me much problem but¡­¡­.considering I¡¯ll probably get attacked by monsters on the way as well, it might be a bit troublesome.


    While thinking of my way back, I regretted not asking Ralf and Esta to be my escorts a bit, and at the end came to the conclusion that since making money was the priority it was better to take the whole thing back.


    With its blood drained, I cut open its belly and removed its innards to make sure it doesn¡¯t spoil the meat.


    It was a bit of a waste to just throw it all away so I kept the raw liver, and buried the rest in a hole in the ground.


    And with that, basic processing was complete.


    Taking a deep breath, I put the now cleaned body of the cowbird on my shoulders, and made my way back to Realzard.

 CH 39

    Reward


    Half a day after my hunt of the stray cowbird.


    It took some time since I had to make detours to avoid monsters on the way back but I succeeded in taking the entire body back successfully.


    The scene of a young carrying a cowbird on his shoulders drenched in blood must have been an odd sight but since it was dark outside now already, I was able to avoid most weird glances.


    I quickly passed through the inspection, and walked straight towards the butcher¡¯s shop that requested it.


    ¡°Welcome, Ah sorry but the entrance is that way¡ªUOHH! Wha, What is that monster!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the adventurer that took your request for the Stray Cowbird hunt. It seemed like a waste so I carried the whole damn thing all the way back. Anyway so let me inside already.¡±


    ¡°O-oh, I see it¡¯s you who took the request. Let me tell you, seeing the face of a cow with horns the moment you open the door is surprising to say the least!¡±


    I entered the shop after the owner and as per his instructions hung the cowbird up on a meat hook.


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    Looking at it now, even I was surprised by how I was able to carry it all the way back a monster of this size.


    ¡°Still, that¡¯s a pretty big one. Oh, and here wipe yourself clean with this for now.¡±


    ¡°Ah thanks.¡±


    I cleaned as much blood as I could off my body with the wet towel handed to me.


    Now that was some proper heavy lifting I did there. My whole body felt heavy from the fatigue.


    ¡°Blood draining looks perfect, and the innards have been removed pretty cleanly as well. Thanks to that the quality hasn¡¯t dropped either¡­¡­.damn, this might be best cowbird I¡¯ve gotten in a long while.¡±


    ¡°Really? That good?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, very few actually bother to bring the whole thing back. And not to mention, adventurers aren¡¯t exactly the type to handle delicate meat processing procedures are they?¡±


    I guess so.


    If you clean the innards and carry it like I did, you are bound to get drenched in blood. I doubt most people are that desperate to make the extra money considering the amount of pain and effort needed for it.


    ¡°Then I should be expecting a good reward eh?¡±


    ¡°Sure you can. I do need to cut it up and check it properly though, so in the meantime¡­¡­..Oi Nathaniel! Fry up some meat for a adventurer friend here, will ya?¡±


    ¡°You sure? I ain¡¯t paying.¡±


    ¡°No problem, think of it as a bonus for your good work. Once I¡¯m done properly assessing the meat I¡¯ll call you so you can wait in the dining area.¡±


    While the owner dissected and examined the body , for whatever reason I was treated to some meat by his assistant.


    And it didn¡¯t look like some cheap meat either, it was some thick high quality stuff.


    While wondering how Ralf and Esta would react if they got try some, I kept some to take home and ate all the rest. And around that time, the shopkeeper called for me.


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    ¡°The meat was great. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it was bonus for bringing some high quality stuff for us so don¡¯t worry about it. Anyway, as for your reward, how does 5 gold coin sound?¡±


    ¡°Wait FIVE gold coins!? That much? According to the request, the max was 3 wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Well this is really good quality and the size is great too. 5 is a good price for it really.¡±


    ¡°Well if you say so, I¡¯ll gladly take that.¡±


    ¡°Alright! That¡¯s that for negotiations! As for the money I¡¯ll hand it over to the guild tomorrow so take it from there. Oh and you have to submit the completion report tomorrow as well so don¡¯t forget about it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks again. I¡¯ll come again if you there¡¯s more so I¡¯ll be in your care then.¡±


    ¡°Likewise. I¡¯ll happily purchase stuff this good. Within limits of course!¡±


    And just like that, I made an extraordinary 5 gold coin out of nowhere.


    Considering a normal bronze quest gave about 4 silver on an average, I had somehow made a little more than 12 times that amount.


    Although all the info gathering and stuff took a lot of time and work, I was able to finish the quest itself within a single day.


    This was way more efficient than normal designated hunts.


    Having made half a month¡¯s worth of funds in a single day, my bloodied body forgot whatever fatigue was there, as I returned to the inn in high spirits.

 CH 40

    Splurging


    Approximately a month had passed since my first ever Stray cowbird hunt.


    Having earned 5 gold in a single day, I was fully ready to efficiently hunt and make money like that everyday but¡­¡­.reality wasn¡¯t so kind.


    Since that first hunt, it took me six days to find the next one.


    In that meantime I  had searched that rocky area everyday all day, and I even brought Ralf and Esta with me for the first three days as well.


    While feeling like I was wasting time here, I finally ran into another one and was able to hunt it down safely.


    But this time, it¡¯s size wasn¡¯t really that great and so my reward was only 3 gold coin.


    Since it took me 6 days to hunt it, it basically came down to about earning 5 silver a day on average. Not to mention, I paid 6 silver to Ralf and Esta for hiring them all day for those 3 days.


    In the end, it ended up with me basically earning equivalent of 4 silvers per day, which wasn¡¯t that different from designated location quests that I was doing previously.


    Honestly, considering it took all day to explore and maybe find one on top of everything, at the end of the day its cost effectiveness was frankly worse than location designated quests but I simply couldn¡¯t get that first haul I had out of my mind, and so I prioritized only hunting cowbirds this entire month.


    To give a simple conclusion, my earnings for the month, including that first hunt, were around 26 gold coins.


    Thanks to that first really good haul, my earnings overall were better than last month¡¯s.


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    My first hunt was my best while the second was the worst of the batch.


    On an average, it took about 4 days to find one and the reward was anywhere between 3-5 gold coins


    Since it came at about a gold per day when it came to money earned, it was still pretty good result. Honestly, I¡¯m glad I was able to find such big haul on the first day now that I think back at it.


    If I had actually taken 6 days to find a normal one on my first try, I probably would thrown the idea of hunting these right there and then.


    Regardless, including my savings from last month, I currently had 30 gold on me right now.


    Now I could purchase that Grimoire that cost 2 platinum coins but, how do I go about this?


    Should I prioritize Esta or should I save for Ralf¡¯s surgery instead?


    Those two finally graduated Rookie rank this month as well but, they were still continuing with Goblin hunts.


    Ralf¡¯s leg was an obvious reason but quite frankly, those two were simply not at the level where they could complete Bronze quests right now.


    To be brutally honest, part of why that second cowbird hunt took 6 days was also because we had to make compromises for Ralf for the first 3 days as well.


    If Esta could learn magic, they could at least start doing designated location quests.


    But speaking long term, curing Ralf who has a high class job was the right thing to do.


    I keep on thinking about it over and over¡­¡­.but in the end, I decided to buy the grimoire first.


    After living expenses, Ralf and Esta¡¯s current savings are 5 copper per day.


    This should rise to at least 3 silver if they start completing Bronze quests. Which comes to about 7 gold for the month. That alone makes it much more reasonable to prioritize Esta learning magic.


    ¡­¡­.Also, I kinda wanna see what magic looks like upfront.


    And so, after delivering a Cowbird today, I headed straight to [Shichifukuya].


    Since I had been going after these cowbirds for all day this last month, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve shown my face here.


    There was a worry that the grimoire itself might have been sold but, c¡¯mon, surely there¡¯s no one in these backstreets that could buy a 2 platinum coin worth item, right?¡­¡­right?


    ¡°Welcome¡­¡­Oh? Well if it isn¡¯t Chris. Been a while eh?¡±


    ¡°Been busy unfortunately. Didn¡¯t have time to come for a chat.¡±


    ¡°So, what brings you here today? Just for a chat?¡±


    ¡®No, I¡¯m here to buy something. Do you still have that grimoire we talked about on you?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨C! Wa-wait, you¡¯re actually going to buy that!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that I am.¡±


    The moment I said that, the old man leapt up in joy.


    I faltered at the sight of an old man jumping about in pure joy. Honestly I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen anything like this.


    ¡°Chris! You have my thanks! Not only that random old book but also the grimoire as well¡­.!! With this I could spend my last years in peace!¡±


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m buying them to help you specifically you know? No need for thanks. I wanted them for myself that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°But it helps me regardless so it¡¯s the same thing no? Just wait a minute, I¡¯ll bring it right now.¡±


    After waiting for a while as the old man went inside the store while humming pleasantly, he soon came back out with Grimoire in hand.


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    ¡°This is it right here. The grimoire. Again, it¡¯s 2 platinum coins. You sure you¡¯re okay with paying it all right now, no instalments?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll pay lump sum, no worries.¡±


    I took 20 gold coins from my bag and lined it up across the counter.


    After counting the coins one by one, the old man handed over the grimoire to me.


    ¡°This grimoire, was technically reserved for Esta so don¡¯t let it get stolen okay?¡±


    ¡°Haha, I think I¡¯ll be fine. Well then, I¡¯ll come if I need anything else.¡±


    ¡°of course. You¡¯re always welcome here.¡±


    After being seen off by the old man, I left the shop.


    When I came last time around, I thought it was crazy to spend 2 platinum coins for Esta¡¯s sake yet here I am, doing exactly that.


    Making them strong is for my own sake. An investment.


    Because, one day I¡¯ll most certainly hit a wall I will not be able to cross by myself.


    Klaus will almost certainly make a party of his own made out of talented individuals in the capital.


    For the day of reckoning, I must prepare. Not just myself, but also a party that won¡¯t lose to his own.


    I gripped the grimoire in my hand strongly as I hardened my conviction, and headed towards [Shangri-la] hotel to show Esta the grimoire.

 CH 41

    Grimoire


    Returning back to our room, I saw Ralf was practicing the sword while Esta was studying.


    Ralf¡¯s practice was the same as always, and as for Esta¡¯s ¡®studies¡¯, she was obviously learning how to properly read and write.


    Since Esta was actually pretty smart, unlike Ralf, I had been teaching her the alphabet for some time.


    Both were focusing on their respective things, and thus didn¡¯t notice me holding a grimoire as I walked in.


    ¡°You two, got a minute? I¡¯ve got something to show you.¡±


    Both Esta who was focused on her desk, and Ralf who was sweating from his training, turned to look towards me at my call.


    Her expressionless faces only lasted for a moment, as Esta who realized what I was holding on to, jumped out of her chair and frantically ran straight in front of me.


    ¡°TH-TH-TH-THIS IS¡­¡­!¡±


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Oi, the hell is dirty ass book. Explain it to me too.¡±


    ¡°IT-It¡¯s a Gr-Grimoire!!¡ª-Chris-san did you buy this!?¡±


    ¡°Made quite the cash this month from all the cowbirds after all. Can¡¯t have you guys be stuck hunting goblins forever, can I?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Really, Really, thank you very much. For not just looking after us but to even buy the grimoire¡­..I could never repay this debt to you.¡±


    ¡°A ¡®thanks¡¯ is not what I really want from you. If you do want to repay me, learn magic quickly and become strong enough to start contributing to the party itself.¡±


    ¡°YES! I will absolutely learn it as fast as I can!¡±


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    I wondered if she was crying, but her eyes were sparkling with motivation instead. One I hadn¡¯t seen in her since now.


    For someone I met while stopping a thievery attempt, my original impression of her was, let¡¯s just say not that great. But that has since changed quite greatly.


    ¡°¡­¡­.Oi, don¡¯t leave me behind. So what¡¯s a grimoire exactly anyway?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, it¡¯s a book that can teach magic. I haven¡¯t read it so I cant say for certain but it should have all sorts of things written about magic written inside.¡±


    ¡°Are you for real!? Then Esta can start actually using magic? That¡¯s awe¡­¡­some?¡±


    After Esta, Ralf also exploded with happiness, but only for a second, as his expression turned bitter as he realized something.


    ¡°Ralf? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just, well this might sound weird but¡­¡­¡­if you learn magic, I really will be nothing more than dead weight to you guys. It¡¯s kinda scary to think about.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, well that¡¯s not like you is it? Not to mention, honestly you have been a dead weight for a while now but that hasn¡¯t stopped anything has it?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, I guess but¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°After Esta, Ralf, you¡¯re next. Once you two become capable of finishing Bronze quests, you¡¯ll have to start saving up a lot more money okay?¡±


    ¡°Ye-YEAH!!¡±


    .


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    .


    Giving some words of encouragement to the depressed Ralf, I quickly switched to reading the grimoire with Esta.


    Ralf too, stopped his training, and peeked in from the side, not that he could actually read anything.


    ¡°To first use magic, you have to get used to controlling mana. Imagine if your body was surrounded by water, and then try and control its circulation, make it go faster and then slower, and repeat¡ª-or so it says.¡±


    ¡°Like circulate water around the body was it. Let me try.¡±


    We all closed our eyes in a meditation pose, and tried to recreate what the book had written.


    I tried to imagine water flowing around me desperately but I couldnt really feel anything different from usual.


    I couldn¡¯t feel not a single lick of this mana, and quite frankly just felt sleepy instead.


    Quickly giving up, I opened my eyes and¡­¡­..something misty was surrounding Esta.


    ¡°Oi Esta! You okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­..Hm? Ooh! What is that!?¡±


    ¡°I assume, that¡¯s the mana as was explained¡­¡­fu fu, I¡¯m starting to get a hang of this I think¡±


    Closing her eyes again and chuckling happily, Esta began to circulate this mist-like substance around her in different speeds.


    Just that small paragraph alone made this happen?


    Since I tried it myself I could tell, that Esta seemed like she had an exceptional talent for magic.


    ¡°Esta, please don¡¯t destroy this room okay?¡±


    ¡°I should be fine. I¡¯m only controlling raw mana I think, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°O, oi¡­¡­.it really doesn¡¯t look ¡®fine¡¯ to me though!? Also, isn¡¯t the amount increasing!?¡±


    ¡°Okay, maybe I should stop for now.¡±


    With those words, the mist around Esta began to dissipate and thin out.


    While that¡¯s exactly magic on its own yet, I feel like I got a good feel of how amazing magic can look.


    A forever unknown ability to me.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Fuuu.¡±


    ¡°Esta, how was it?¡±


    ¡°I feel like I got the basic gist of it. It¡¯s already too late so I¡¯ll start proper magic practice from tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Good. I suppose its to be expected from someone who received the [Magician] job from the heaven¡¯s blessing eh?¡±


    ¡°Chris-san thank you. And not to add more to your plate but can you help me read the Grimoire tomorrow as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m well aware that it might be a tad too much to ask for you to read a Grimoire alone still.¡±


    ¡°Once again, thank you.¡±


    And thus, from day one Esta has shown an incredible aptitude for magic.


    If its with such a speed, she might become useful much faster than I originally thought.


    While its not my own growth, I still felt excited to see how Esta would progress from here onwards as I headed to sleep for the night.

 CH 42

    Selection


    The day after I bought the Grimoire.


    Today I skipped on hunting Cowbirds and instead went on a rare shopping trip as well as a visit to the church for my monthly assessment.


    In the afternoon, I planned to help Esta practice magic as well. It was going to be a busy day indeed.


    By the way, as for my status right after I faced the bear-like monster attack¡­¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 11(+12)


    Strength: 6(+8)


    Stamina: 7(+8)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 4


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


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    As you can see, the amount in the plus bracket have most certainly increased.


    From here onwards, I plan to slowly consume all the dried Reizen grass and genpei mushrooms that I had brought from Peixa forest in the upcoming month.


    Since I didn¡¯t really get hit when fighting Cowbirds, I don¡¯t actually feel how much of difference my body has had but I¡¯m still excited to properly find it out.


    Also from today, I plan to start consuming all the new types of plants that I had gathered as well.


    Once I had confirmed just exactly how much growth the grass and mushroom has had on my body, I¡¯ll return to the inn to consume all of the new plant species and see if I¡¯ve found some that increase any other stats.


    I was planning to head to get my assessment done again but¡­..


    There¡¯s only so much my stomach can hold even if I have the help of my secret weapon, Oblaat, it seems it¡¯ll be difficult to consume all the types in just one day.


    Quickly adding that stuff to my plans for tomorrow instead, I went around shopping in the time before the church opened. In a rare occasion, I went to the main streets instead.


    My list mainly included, a new sword and armour.


    I tend to take good care of my sword but, since it was a bargain bin purchase and I use it for literally everything including corpse processing and stuff, it lost its sharpness very quickly.


    I still kept using it forcefully, but its finally time to replace it.


    My armour as well is now permanently stained with blood and rusty, and its really about time I change considering the looks I get from other while walking around in it.


    Leather armor doesn¡¯t cost much so I¡¯m not worried about the price there.


    The sword on the other hand¡­¡­..


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    Just how high quality of a sword should I buy? I¡¯ve been racking my brains in regards to that for the last couple of days.


    The bargain bin sword I¡¯ve been using was certainly not bad, so I feel like I¡¯ll be okay with just buying another one like that but, thinking long term, buying a legit good sword and having it last for a really long time would be more cost effective.


    Not to mention I need a good weapon for that bear-like monster I faced. You really don¡¯t know when or where something strange might happen and so you need to be prepared.


    Right now, I have the leeway with money so buying a good sword while I can seems like the right thing to do but, there¡¯s also the fact that we¡¯ll need to save money for Ralf¡¯s treatment so maybe I should stick with cheap ones for now?


    I couldn¡¯t come with an answer while on the way to the weapon shop, and just decided that I¡¯ll go with whatever suits me best on the spot.


    First I went and rummaged through the ones left outside in a group with the board- ¡°one for six silver¡±.


    The sword I was using uptil now was in here last time but this time I can¡¯t seem to find anything that looks decent.


    Still, I picked one that looked somewhat okay from them and kept it for now while I headed inside to check more.


    From ones kept on a rack and ones that were grandly displayed in glass showcases, and even ones that didn¡¯t even have a display and only a detailed information on a paper. There was every kind of sword inside.


    Of course, not just swords; spears, hammers, bows, staffs, literally all kinds of weapons could be found here but I only really knew how to use a sword properly so I didn¡¯t really have a good idea about other types of weapons.


    After looking around, rather than go for pure quality, I think I¡¯ll choose with cost performance in relative to quality after all.


    I went around picking up a couple from the racks, checking the ones on showcase from every angle etc.


    As for the ones that weren¡¯t even on display and only had descriptions written, well, they were so expensive that  didn¡¯t even bother with them.


    After spending an hour on deliberations, the two on the racks that really caught my attention were, a thin rapier-like steel sword, and iron-made magic sword with a cross shaped hilt that had apparently had major effectiveness against undead enemies.


    As for the ones in glass showcases, there was a bright red mithril sword made out of a dragon¡¯s fang that was very enticing.


    As for their prices, the thin rapier-esque one was the cheapest while the dragon blade was the costliest.


    If we¡¯re judging cost performance, the dragon blade feels like it could last a lifetime but¡­¡­¡­it¡¯s price is a bit out of my current reach.


    I felt some regret since that one felt like the obvious best choice, but I forced myself to choose among the remaining three.


    The thin steel sword, the cross shaped iron sword and the bargain bin one I brought inside with myself.


    After some deliberation¡­¡­I finally decided on the thin steel sword.


    Each of them had their own merits but considering my primary hunting target for some time are going to be those stray cowbirds, I felt the steel sword was the best choice.


    While it was enticing to have a sword that could hurt undead, it would be nothing more than a normal iron sword outside of such fights so that was out first.


    As for the slightly rusty bargain bi sword, the cost and labour required for keeping it sharp constantly was too much of a demerit at this point to stick with it.


    Which of course left me with this steel sword. A steel sword should last a lot longer in my opinion.


    After a long long time spent thinking about it, I finally purchased the steel sword and a sheathe for it for 4 gold coins.


    After buying new leather armor as well, I quickly left the weapon shop having spent a way longer here than originally expected.

 CH 43

    Double the Eccentricity


    It was still morning when I went to the weapon shop but by the time I left the sun was already at its peak, so I quickly made my way to the church.


    I want to at least get the identification of half of the plants done today at least¡ª-with such thoughts in mind, I entered the church and quickly entered the usual room in the corner.


    ¡°Good day. Ability assessment as always I assume?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Also I¡¯ll probably come again today so don¡¯t ask me anything and just go with it as usual okay?¡±


    ¡°Again today¡­¡­.? Very well, understood.¡±


    The priest had finally started to get used to my frequent visits but even he seemed a bit curious at my statement.


    I have zero reason or intention to explain anything to him so I simply ignored his expression and handed over the gold coin and my adventurer card and waited in silence.


    ¡°Thank you for the gold coin. Now please wait a second¡ª¡ª-And its done.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, as always. And I¡¯ll be in your care again later today.¡±


    Saying just that, I quickly left the church.


    I would normally sit there and check my stats at ease but I am in a bit of a hurry so I did it while walking to my next destination.


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    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 11(+21)


    Strength: 7(+8)


    Stamina: 7(+18)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 5


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ooh!


    The increase is a lot more than I had imagined.


    I had been hunting even goblins on the way to my cowbird hunts as well, yet my base stats showed barely any signs of significant improvement.


    ¡­¡­..on the other hand, who cares about that when the increase in the plus bracket is so incredibly astounding.


    In just one month, to think I got this much. This is all thanks to me singling out the specific plants needed for growth at huge monetary costs of assessment. I suppose I have earned this reward.


    Of course, I don¡¯t think the increases would continue in similar fashion all the time but just the fact that I have found a path to help surpass Klauss is great motivation for me.


    While suppressing my instant desire to seclude myself in the forest again by using all my money, I quickly returned to [Shangri la hotel].


    .


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    .


    Entering the empty room, I quickly switched to reading and translating the grimoire while eating the yet unclassified new types of plants wrapped inj Oblaat with my other hand.


    Even though I was using just using water to wash down all these bland, flavourless plants down my throat, my stomach quickly felt full again¡ª-


    Since I was actually a bit of gourmet, this entire process was nothing but pain yet I have to keep at it just to get stronger.


    After eating about 20 different types of new plants, I quickly made my way to the Church again before Esta came back.


    The time between the 2 assessments was approx 2 hours.


    Considering I have just spent 2 gold on this just like that, even I think the whole thing looks crazy.


    No wonder the priest who knows nothing would feel utterly confused, maybe I might even get a weird reputation or nickname among the priests.


    ¡­¡­..actually, that might have happened already.


    While thinking of such useless things, I quickly entered the church and went straight to the usual room.


    ¡°¡­¡­.wow you really came again huh.¡±


    ¡°Yep. Again, sorry for making you do this twice in a single day.¡±


    Giving a quick apology, I handed over another gold coin and my card.


    ¡°like I said before, we are getting paid handsomely to do this so no need to apologize. Now then, let¡¯s move on with the assessment then¡ª¡ªAnd its done.¡±


    ¡°You have my thanks. See you soon.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll be waiting.¡±


    Giving my thanks and taking the card, I quickly left the church again. Since the church and our inn were in two different districts it took quite some time to travel between the two places unfortunately.


    I was seriously considering switching to the [Dove Inn] in the back streets just to shorten the travel time, but anyway I continued moving and checked my status.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 11(+21)


    Strength: 7(+9)


    Stamina: 7(+18)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 5


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


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    YES!!


    I unconsciously did a fist pump.


    I knew there was a plant that increased physical strength inside the Peixa forest, but I¡¯m glad I was actually able to find it.


    Now I just have to whittle down the list and figure out which one exactly it is.


    Not only did I get to see the increase from Reizen grass and Genpei  mushroom today but I also finally found the plant that increased my Strength.


    I was also able to get a brand a new steel sword as well. It¡¯s finally starting to feel like I¡¯m making some real progress and laying a strong groundwork for the future.


    With my excitement feeling high after quite some time, I ran back to the inn to join Esta for her magic practice.

 CH 44

    Coaching


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s begin our Magic practice okay?¡±


    ¡°yes. I¡¯m in your care.¡±


    ¡°me too.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Why the hell are you here as well Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Cuz I¡¯ve got nothing better to do?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªThen, I¡¯ll teach Ralf in swordsmanship instead.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Eh? Wait really?¡±


    ¡°If you really don¡¯t want to be left behind then sure, though to be honest I don¡¯t really want to but¡­¡­..I suppose I can¡¯t be selfish right now.¡±


    ¡°I never really received proper sword training so I¡¯m genuinely grateful !¡±


    After meeting up when I came back from my assessment at the church, we left Realzard and were currently in the grassy plains right outside the city.


    Since practicing magic inside the city could lead to problems, we went to a place where she could let loose as much as she wanted.


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    ¡°Umm, first of all being able to image it properly is the most important thing. Light up a candle, then while looking at it, trying turning your magical energy into fire as well¡ª¡ªor so it says.¡±


    ¡°Imagine turning magical energy into fire was it? Understood. I¡¯ll try my best.¡±


    Esta lit a candle, and then put up her own left index finger beside the candle and tried to imagine her finger as a candle itself.


    Her right hand was hung above the flame of the candle itself as apparently the heat will make her power of visualization stronger.


    Looking at her made me want to try it as well but since I couldn¡¯t even sense my magical energy, I knew it¡¯d be useless.


    Although from the assessment I know that I do have some mana in me, even if it was borderline insignificant.


    ¡°Alright, until Esta succeeds, let¡¯s swing our swords together.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll be in your care!¡­¡­.Master!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to vomit if I hear that one more time so please stop.¡±


    ¡°But why? Aren¡¯t you a bit too cruel to me specifically?¡±


    I remembered seeing my father being called ¡®master¡¯ by disciples of the family, and all it did was that it sent shivers down my spine.


    Can¡¯t help it since all I have are bad memories of him.


    Calming myself down, I began teaching Ralf some actual swordsmanship.


    Ralf¡¯s movements were smooth but since he didn¡¯t know any of the basics, I began to drill those into him first and foremost.


    He is a [Holy Knight] after all. Just being taught the basics will exponentially increase his strength.


    While I continued to ruthlessly coach him¡­¡­.I heard Esta¡¯s voice from behind me.


    ¡°Chris-san! I did it!¡±


    ¡°Looking her way, I could certainly see a little fire burning on top of her finger.


    It¡¯s only been 30 mins but, is magic supposed to be this easy to learn?


    Was Esta that talented or was this how it normally went? I had no idea but there¡¯s nothing wrong with it I suppose.


    ¡°If you have learnt that then, let¡¯s see what¡¯s next, umm ¡®practice firing that flame in a specific direction¡¯¡ª-it says.¡±


    ¡°Umm, sorry for maybe being presumptuous¡­¡­. but can¡¯t we just skip this and move straight to learning actual spells?¡±


    ¡°And skip the basics? If you think so Esta, then sure I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Right now, I think I have grasped the core of it so I should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Then, I¡¯ll read out the magic spell written here for you so remember it properly.¡±


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    As Esta asked, I read out the spell formula for using [Fire Ball] in the Grimoire.


    From an amateur like mine¡¯s point of view, it seems like gibberish at best but according to the grimoire this is the best way of activating magic spells apparently.


    After reading out the spell formula for Esta, she closed her eyes and started muttering something to herself over and over again.


    When I read it out I couldn¡¯t feel a speck of magic around me but as Esta continues to mutter, I could feel mana slowly starting to gather and swirl in the palm of her hand.


    ¡°Call me when you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Thank you very much.¡±


    Realizing that it won¡¯t be long before Esta starts using magic properly, not just Ralf, even I felt a bit panicked.


    At this pace, she¡¯s gonna surpass me in no time as well.


    Of course, including Ralf, for their sake I plan to spare no effort to make them stronger.


    But¡­¡­.to be surpassed, is something that what little pride I had left wouldn¡¯t allow.


    Feeling fired up and motivated so as to not get left behind in the dust by these two, while simultaneously teaching Ralf, I began swinging my sword as well so as to review, recall and re-sharpen my own sword skills.

 CH 45

    Their Ability


    Approx two weeks had passed since Esta began her magic practice.


    I also continued my days hunting Stray cowbirds, and at night helped Esta with her magic and Ralf with learning swordplay.


    Esta¡¯s speed of learning magic was truly unusual as she was already adept at [FireBall] and the ball type variant of the 3 other elements as well and had moved on to learning the high speed ¡®arrow¡¯ versions of magic.


    Once she learns arrow type magics, she will most certainly be ready to take on bronze quests.


    And even Ralf showed exceptional rate of growth, and could get one win out of 50 against even while standing in a single spot. I see no problems in his future progress.


    As for myself¡­..nothing crazy but I did narrow down which plant helped increase my strength.


    It was a purple fruit with white spots on it, I named it [Rizarf fruit].


    I had already run out of my stock of plants and it was about time to go for another gathering trip to be honest.


    There¡¯s still the problem that is the bear type monster, but I can¡¯t let myself be stopped by fear of that thing. I don¡¯t have that choice.


    Since now I know the 3 exact things I need to gather there, I should buy a bigger bag and harvest as much as I can in huge quantities in a single go.


    And since I have found plants that help with all 3 main stats of Endurance, Stamina and strength, I wont need to spend as much gold on assessment from here onwards as well.


    On that note, perhaps I should use the extra funds to get the assessment done for Esta and Ralf.


    ¡­¡­..no, I should get them to earn that money themselves.


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    ¡°Esta, going for magic practice today as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Chris-san would you accompany me as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I need to oversee Ralf¡¯s training anyway. Oh by the way, I do have a suggestion¡­¡­.how about you get your assessment done before starting your daily practice.¡±


    ¡°Ability assessment you mean?¡±


    ¡°You must have heard the explanation from Guild when you registered as adventurer right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­I didn¡¯t actually.¡±


    ¡°Me neither. The hell is this ability assessment thing anyway?¡±


    Huh. Apparently they didn¡¯t get detailed explained about it and are thus unaware.


    I suppose normal people don¡¯t interrogate the receptionist to the point I did, so perhaps you don¡¯t get that explanation by default.


    ¡°It¡¯s a ritual that basically shows your physical attributes in numerical form. Think of it like a variation of [Heaven¡¯s blessing].¡±


    ¡°Heeh, there was a service like that. I had no idea.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not for free, you have to pay for it.¡±


    ¡°You do? How much?¡±


    ¡°One gold coin.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Ha? HAA? ONE GOLD!? Who the hell would pay that much money just to see their abilities in numbers!? It¡¯s not like that makes you stronger does it?¡±


    ¡°Obviously not, but it helps a lot to figure out just exactly how strong you are right now, and in full detail no less.¡±


    ¡°But even if you don¡¯t do that its not like it¡¯s a problem, is it? Don¡¯t you think so Esta?¡±


    ¡°I-I have to agree there. Especially for one whole gold coin. It¡¯s too expensive.¡±


    Both showed agreement in their opinion.


    I assume this is the normal standard opinion and that¡¯s why the receptionist doesn¡¯t bother explaining.


    I was planning on getting them to pay for it but judging by their reaction, that¡¯s probably not going to happen.


    But it¡¯ll make for a good benchmark for the future so I guess I¡¯ll have to pay it for them.


    ¡°I think you two don¡¯t understand. Just knowing how much you are improving with your practice will make your training more efficient. Anyway, I¡¯ll pay this time around so lets go.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. A gold coin could help me last 10 days while enjoying extravagant food, so I¡¯d rather use it that way.¡±


    ¡°And who the hell is going to give you a gold coin for that? If you really don¡¯t want to I wont force you I guess but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll hand over a gold coin to you to have fun instead either.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡­..So I might as well get it done, is what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°Well if you¡¯re paying I suppose I might as well get it done.¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s head to the church before it closes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done at the church huh?¡±


    ¡°The place is the same as where you get your [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] done. Even the process is similar actually.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Wait Wait, fine, if it¡¯s for free I¡¯ll come too damnit!¡±


    And thus, I headed to the church with these two in tow.


    Having gotten used to navigating through the church, I went straight to the usual room as the two followed after me while looking around the place.


    Since it was a narrow room, all 3 together made the room a bit more cramped than always.


    Not wanting to spend time like this for too long, I quickly rang the bell and the usual priest entered the room.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Oh? you¡¯re not alone this time?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I brought my friends with me to get their ability assessment as well.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say it but his eyes seemed to be amused by the increase of weirdos from one to three¡ª-


    ¡°¡ª¡ªVery well. Then please hand over your adventurer cards and 2 gold coins please.¡±


    I urged them to do so and took out two coins from my bag and handed over to the priest.


    ¡°Thank you. Then let¡¯s start with the lady first¡ª¡ª-And its done. The boy next¡ª¨CAnd its done as well. And that¡¯s my work done, please check.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks as always.¡±


    ¡°Of course. See you next time.¡±


    Taking their cards, we left the church.


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    The two, who had seemed uninterested in the assessment, had their eyes glued to their stats card checking it.


    Ralf still couldn¡¯t read so was passionately asking Esta to translate.


    ¡°So, did you learn something from it?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, it¡¯s fine. I was a bit worried since it was done so quickly but it really is incredibly well done and detailed.¡±


    ¡°Well this might be a funny thing for me to say¡­¡­¡­but it seems lower than I thought, are you sure this thing is accurate?¡±


    ¡°Once you¡¯re done, show it to me. I did pay for it, I wont take no for an answer.¡±


    ¡°What really? Man, I didn¡¯t want to show it you Chris¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°Then give my gold coin back. Your choice. If you do, I wont ask.¡±


    ¡°Like hell I could ever pay that. Here, take it, look as much as you want¡­¡­¡­just don¡¯t laugh okay?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I took the card from him and quickly checked his stats.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ralf]


    Suitable Job: Holy Knight


    Endurance: 28


    Strength: 10


    Stamina: 31


    Magic: 10


    Agility: 11


    Unique Skill : [Divine Protection]


    Common Skills: [Divine Strike] [Guardian¡¯s Roar]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    I was expecting this but really, he¡¯s strong.


    Even though he¡¯s killed nothing but Goblins, his numbers are this high.


    Once he actually begins all sorts of monsters, he¡¯ll get stronger at a much faster rate.


    Spending time with him, it¡¯s hard to believe he has that much Endurance, Stamina or agility, which means that¡¯s how much his injury is holding him back.


    ¡°Had enough? Then give it back already!¡±


    ¡°As expected of a holy knight, the potential is high. Once you get healed, I might have to work harder otherwise you really might surpass me.¡±


    ¡°Huh, is this considered high¡­¡­..? My strength was just 10 though, I thought it was weak.¡±


    ¡°well I guess I only have my own stats to compare so I can¡¯t be too sure I suppose. Esta, you show yours as well.¡±


    Next I looked at Esta¡¯s stat card.


    I really will be in shock if I was behind Esta as well honestly.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Esta]


    Suitable Job: Magician


    Endurance: 13


    Strength: 7


    Stamina: 8


    Magic: 41


    Agility: 9


    Unique Skill : [Mana Recovery]


    Common Skills: [Mana Rampage]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


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    As expected, outside the Magic stat, all her stats are lower than mine.


    ¡­¡­..Well actually without the poisonous plants, I¡¯d be below in every other stat as well.


    ¡°Your magic stat really is in another level huh.¡±


    ¡°Well I am a magician. I¡¯m honestly a bit relieved.¡±


    ¡°And this [Mana Rampage] is a skill you got during [Heaven¡¯s blessing] I presume? How come you never talked about this uptill now?¡±


    ¡°Well actually even I¡¯m confused as well. Because I most certainly didn¡¯t have that skill back then¡­¡­.maybe the priest back then forgot about telling that to me?¡±


    There is that possibility.


    Even mine was told as [Poison resistance] instead of [Null poison].


    I feel like making such mistakes shouldn¡¯t be something that should happening so easily though.


    Could there be a chance that it¡¯s a skill that she didn¡¯t receive during the ritual and instead had it from birth?


    ¡°Hey Esta, show it to me as well!¡­..Ohh, I¡¯m stronger as expected. Wait does that mean that my actual ability is not as low as I thought?¡±


    ¡°Probably. It¡¯s more than mine even.¡±


    ¡°Chris show yours as well. We showed ours so its only fair right?¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not.¡±


    I showed my card to Ralf.


    I thought he¡¯ll start bragging with pride about how his numbers were better but instead his head tilted to the side all confused upon seeing my card.


    ¡°Say, Chris why the hell are yours alone so weird? The top one was Endurance right so¡­..its 1221?¡±


    ¡°Not 1221 but 12+21. Which is 33.¡±


    ¡°Why are yours alone separated and different like this? It¡¯s kinda hard to tell. Is your card broken?¡±


    ¡°This is just my hypothesis but the value on the left is my normal original ability, and the one on the right is ability increased through other external means.¡±


    ¡°Other means¡­¡­? What exactly?¡±


    ¡°The plants I eat everyday obviously. I¡¯m getting stronger thanks to those.¡±


    ¡°Wait those dried grass have that much of an effect!?¡ª-that¡¯s not fair, share it with us too! I want to eat it too.¡±


    ¡°Did I not explain this before. Those are horribly poisonous. If you are ready to die then sure, go ahead and try it.¡±


    ¡°Ughh¡­¡­but it¡¯s still unfair.¡±


    I don¡¯t want to hear about things being unfair from a guy given the [Holy Knight] job to be honest.


    I had to work hard to figure out this thin possibility of getting stronger. If I could, I would have happily taken the normal method of getting strong but I was never even given that choice.


    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s how it is. If you want to get stronger my way, by all means gain the [Null poison] skill and then we can talk.¡±


    ¡°How would I do that!?¡­¡­Fine whatever. I¡¯ll just stick to training properly and get stronger that way.¡±


    ¡°hah, yes, that is infact the right way to do it.¡±


    While getting all heated about ability and stats and whatnot we returned back to [Shangri-la hotel], and after some prep, began our own different training work.


    After seeing Ralf¡¯s stats I once again realized it but we really should get his injury healed as soon as possible as it would greatly increase our collective strength.


    I had been spending money pretty loosely for some time but now I¡¯ll only for gathering more plants and start aggressively saving money to get that 5 platinum coin price for the surgery quickly.


    While fighting Ralf with a wooden sword, I locked on to my next main objective.

 CH 46

    Loud Frog


    Stray Cowbird hunting and Magic & Sword practice.


    And the occasional, plant gathering.


    Speaking of plant gathering, I didn¡¯t wander too far away from my base in the forest so I hadn¡¯t run into that bear like monster again so far.


    In the first place, in addition to hiding for a month, I have only encountered it once in two plant gathering trips to the Paixa forest, so I think the probability of encountering it is extremely low.


    Anyway, while I continued leading pretty fulfilling days, in the meantime Esta had now mastered Arrow type magics after ball type ones.


    From today, they would graduate from goblin hunting and finally challenge bronze quests. And just for today, I planned to go with them as an escort.


    The request they had taken was to subjugate a group of Loud Frogs  that appeared in the Fields to the south-west.


    Loud frogs didn¡¯t just have, well, loud voices but were also pretty big in size themselves, and their main way of attacking was to use their high jumping ability to trample adventurers under their bodies.


    Also, their skin had a mucous membrane with a slight poison that could cause pain or even numbness if touched.


    If you look at them simply, they might not look that strong but a whole group of them was a lot more trouble, as you¡¯d expect of a bronze quest.


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    ¡°Are you two ready? Haven¡¯t forgotten anything right?¡±


    ¡°Un, everything¡¯s ok. Ralf, you haven¡¯t forgotten the strategy either have you?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah I think? I¡¯ll deal with the frogs that come closer and you¡¯ll shoot down the ones far away, simple¡ª¨Cright?¡±


    ¡°Good! Then let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.he-hey, are you sure such a simple strategy will be okay? Saying it out loud just made me even more worried honestly.¡±


    ¡°You two, enough chatter. It¡¯ll be fine so let¡¯s go already. Haven¡¯t got all day.¡±


    ¡°Chris you just don¡¯t get what its like for people like us okay!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, hurry up already. Or I¡¯ll leave to do something else instead.¡±


    After preparing and checking the equipment and strategy, I whipped the two into speed and urged them to hurry and leave Realzard.


    I too was a bit worried when I went on my first Hedro Slime hunt so it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get them but there¡¯s a limit to my patience.


    Not only Esta has finally learned magic, Ralf had been diligently training everyday in swordsmanship and were those a lot more stronger than before.


    They had stuck with Goblins until Esta learned Arrow-type magic, by her own request, but¡­¡­even with the big handicap that is Ralf¡¯s injury, I¡¯m confident they¡¯ve grown strong enough to defeat bronze rank monsters.


    Not to mention, I¡¯m accompanying them today as well so not matter how many mistakes they make, they won¡¯t be in too much danger.


    Urging the two to move, we finally headed towards the south-west fields.


    .


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    .


    ¡°Those are the fields mentioned in the request. And I can certainly see a couple loud frogs roaming around as well.¡±


    ¡°We are really going to fight something other than goblins¡­¡­¡­These aren¡¯t even humanoid-shaped either.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine with Esta¡¯s magic here. As practiced, don¡¯t forget maintain the distance and hit them properly okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, then we¡¯ll begin.¡±


    Ralf and Esta.


    Walking side by side they inched closer to the fields and faced the Loud Frogs that had made these fields their turf.


    I stood some distance and observed their fighting methods.


    Now I have seen Esta use her magic but I have no idea whether she can actually use her magic in an actual battle properly or not.


    From what I¡¯ve heard, her magic was able to defeat goblins in a single hit so I¡¯m not that worried though.


    While looking forward to seeing monsters being hit by magic live, I waited silently for those two to reach within striking distance to the frogs.


    One of the frogs noticed them approaching and had begun leaping and coming closer towards them.


    Ralf pulled out his sword, and Esta put her hand out and waited for the right timing to fire her magic.


    The first move was made by the Loud frog.


    It pulled back on its oddly long hind legs to the max like a spring, and leaped high into the air, almost like it could fly.


    The two had completely locked on to it after seeing the frogs leap, but in the meantime 2 more frogs approached from the front.


    I had already decided to not speak up to help, but its obvious they¡¯ll be in full panic the moment they notice them come closer so I quickly barked order to the two.


    ¡°Esta! Two more coming from the front as well! Leave the one that¡¯s leaping towards you to Ralf and aim for those two instead!¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª! Understood! [WindBall]!¡±


    Turning around instantly at my words, Esta aimed at the 2 frogs and fired two WindBalls.


    The balls looked a bit smaller than what I had seen from her in practice but that¡¯s probably because she doesn¡¯t want to cause damage to the fields.


    The palm sized wind balls fire from both of her hands enveloped the wind on its way and flew straight towards the two frogs.


    The weakness of Loud frogs was fire.


    So FireBall would be the most effective move but she avoided it to avoid setting the entire Field on fire.


    But that said, how much damage would these WindBalls do on the other hand?


    The two frogs must deemed the windball impossible to dodge as it rushed at them with great speed and so instead curled up in defensive stance to reduce damage.


    Esta¡¯s wind ball finally hit their curled up bodies and¡ª¡ªcompletely tore into and ripped through the Loud Frogs¡¯ bodies.


    The wind ball, now dark blackish in colour being enveloped in the blood and entrails of the Frogs, moved through and hit the ground and disappeared as if there was nothing there.


    While looking at the miserable remains of the now dead and destroyed Loud Frog, I ended up showing a wry smile.


    Surprised by the sheer power of magic, I, in turn, felt a bit of fear rise inside me.


    This was just Elementary level magic and yet it has this much strength.


    Esta¡¯s my colleague so its fine but in the off chance I have to fight a magician, I¡¯ll need to start coming up with ways to fight one right now. I felt so strongly.


    ¡°Loud Frogs, two down!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done with mine here as well.¡±


    Turning to Ralf¡¯s side, here too, as expected the Loud Frog that had made that great leap was lying upside down, dead.


    Looks like he aimed for the exact moment it was landing and slashed its stomach open with a single strike.


    Maybe due to panic, the slash must have been a shoddy one as the blood spray had drenched Ralf¡¯s body all over¡­¡­.well a win¡¯s a win.


    I ended up helping them slightly but they were able to pretty easily take down 3 loud frogs in time at all. With this, their nervousness should also disappear and they should be able to go and finish the job as usual.


    After quickly killing one frog that was approaching me, I continued watching their work from afar.

 CH 47

    Confidence


    ¡°Holy shit we¡¯re amazing! The designated subjugation was for only 20 Frogs yet we ended up hunting 30 instead!!¡±


    ¡°Umm, since one kill was worth 2 copper coins¡­¡­the final reward would be 6 silver coins right? That¡¯s like 3 silver each of us!!¡±


    Having subjugated the entirety of Loud Frogs around the Fields, they were high fiving and getting all happy about the amount of money they had earned today.


    Until now, their earnings per day was 5 copper total yet today they had ended up making many times that. As someone who went through this exact process, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get their excitement.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you two? This¡¯ll be easy with you abilities.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Say Chris¡­¡­¡­.I, really am getting stronger, aren¡¯t I ?!¡±


    Ralf was quivering with fear before the battle began yet after today¡¯s battle, he was holding his sword tightly and muttered confidently to himself.


    As expected, experiencing it yourself  is the best way to realize your own self worth.


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    Well in Ralf¡¯s case, I¡¯m not sure why he was pessimistic about himself in the first place.


    ¡°Of course you have, I personally trained you after all. It¡¯ll be a problem if you hadn¡¯t gotten stronger instead. I frankly don¡¯t get why you were so afraid in the first place.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s obviously because¨C!¡­¡­¡­.. I kept getting trounced by you. I could only get a win once every couple dozen matches. With a record like that, it¡¯s impossible to feel any sort of confidence at your own skill!¡±


    ¡°See now you¡¯re just underestimating me instead. You may have the upper hand in terms of raw stats, and my job may be decided as [farmer] but I didn¡¯t train in the way of the sword since birth for nothing. You won¡¯t beat me that easily, let alone when you¡¯re injured.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨CAlright alright I got it! After today I understand, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m super weak it¡¯s just that you¡¯re stronger that¡¯s all yeah?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Well, precisely. So have some confidence in yourself.¡±


    For a moment, I wanted to retort with ¡°there¡¯s many who are far stronger than me!¡± ¡ª¨CBut, there¡¯s no point in making Ralf even more depressed about himself so I chose to encourage him instead.


    He¡¯s an idiot alright but he does tend to overthink things sometimes.


    Well, it¡¯d be a pain if he got too cocky but I can¡¯t have him constantly moping around either; what a pain.


    ¡°Esta, you seem to have become pretty adept with magic already, no? This is my time actually seeing you in a live battle but your firepower might even already be in Silver rank instead.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, no way, I still have much to learn. Though I¡¯m certainly confident in its effectiveness against higher ranks but¡­¡­.in that moment if Chris-san hadn¡¯t warned us, we would have perished there and then. At the end of the day, I still lack experience so I want to stick with bronze rank and slowly learn by fighting various monsters and increase my experience first.¡±


    I feel Esta is a bit too serious and strict on herself, but at least I don¡¯t have to get worried about her getting carried away and fucking things up I suppose.


    She¡¯s a fast learner as well as good at analysing her own mistakes.


    Unlike Ralf, even without my supervision she¡¯ll continue getting stronger at a fast rate.


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    ¡°Anyway, I won¡¯t be escorting you two from next time around so focus on finishing as many requests together as possible okay?¡±


    ¡°If its anything like today, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake!¡±


    ¡°I must agree. As long as we don¡¯t get too careless, we shouldn¡¯t have problems finishing requests of this rank.¡±


    ¡°Remember, our main objective right now is to save up 5 platinum coins. And to use that to heal Ralf¡¯s injury. And once that is done¡­¡­..we can actually start functioning as a proper party.¡±


    ¡°Once I have healed eh. Never did I think I¡¯d be able to earn 5 platinum coins when I was making just 5 copper a day but¡­¡­..now I can see it actually happening!¡±


    ¡°Let us all work together and make it happen! I too will do my hardest as well!¡±


    We once again resolved ourselves to focus on our primary goal of collecting 5 platinum coins after finishing up our discussion on the Fields.


    It¡¯ll take some time but at this pace, it¡¯s not gonna take too much effort to save that much.


    Having seen their growth with my own eyes, I was confident in my assessment.

 CH 48

    Target Amount


    2 months had passed since Ralf and Esta had begun taking bronze rank quests.


    Without failing a single time, they continued finishing up requests; finally showing that natural talent of combat oriented jobs.


    Even inside the guild, there were rumours about the 2 beginning to spread, even if only a little. To the point where they were getting invitations from other parties and clans every once in a while, since we hadn¡¯t formally announced our party.


    Even if it was just bronze rank ones, to not fail even a single time was bound to attract attention. It wasn¡¯t rare to see talents getting recruited while they were still budding after all.


    Of course, as someone who rose to Bronze faster than these two and had also yet to fail a request, that too while being solo, I too had caught attention but¡­¡­..


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    These past couple months, I had hunted nothing but Stray cowbirds and after seeing me appear at the gates of city every couple days with a whole dead corpse of a stray cowbird, I had gotten stuck with the truly odd nickname of [Cowbird hunter Chris] around these parts.


    On top of that, since I also disappear into the forest for a week or two to gather more poisonous plants and become no show at the guild, I had gained a reputation of being a complete oddball within the guild.


    To the point where even buff old men with evil glares would quietly move out of the way when they see me. Honestly, I¡¯m half happy but also half sad about it. It¡¯s quite the indescribable feeling.


    But well, leaving all that aside¡­¡­..our money saving process was going on smoothly and we were only 5 gold coin away from our target of 5 platinum coins.


    And so around that time, I went back to seclude myself in the Peixa forest for another week.


    The two confidently told me that they¡¯ll manage the last remainder amount by themselves so I took up on their offer and came here but¡­¡­¡­.


    I wonder if they have finally collected the amount by now.


    If they have by the time I return, I plan to take Ralf to the capital asap and get this surgery done by Brad, the back-alley doctor.


    Feeling a bit excited, I finally returned to the inn and opened the door¡ª¡ª those two were sitting directly facing the door right as I opened it, as if waiting for me.


    ¡°What are you two doing? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been sitting here all this time?¡±


    Without responding to my question, the two looked at each other, nodded and then spoke in unison.


    ¡°Chris-san, we have completed the task of earning 5 gold coins as well! Thank you very much for everything up till now!!¡±


    ¡°To be honest, at first I wasn¡¯t so sure about making a party with you Chris but¡­¡­I¡¯m truly glad to have made a party with you!¡±


    ¡°Why so suddenly? We haven¡¯t even achieved anything together yet. If you want to thank me do it after that¡­¡­¡­it¡¯s a bit embarrassing honestly.¡±


    ¡°That may be true but we felt like showing our gratitude so we did, that¡¯s all. Not just Esta¡¯s grimoire but also helping in paying for my surgery. I don¡¯t how if I could ever thank you enough for this.¡±


    A surprisingly honest show of gratitude from Ralf.


    It was so different from his usual self that it made uncomfortable to be honest.


    ¡°Making you two stronger is for my own merit. If you want to really sow your thanks, just pay me back what I have spent on you two one day that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°But the debt we owe you is far more than just the money. So please at least let us put it into words like this for now. It¡¯s true right now we are could eventually pay you back the 7 Platinum coins¡­¡­..but, that would be impossible to even think of if not for you.¡±


    ¡°Like Esta said¡ª-it¡¯s easy to get from 1 to 100 but making that 0 go to 1 is where all the problem lies. I have experienced that myself. That¡¯s why allow us to show our utmost gratitude!¡±


    Look, their feelings of gratitude reached me alright but I don¡¯t really know how to respond.


    With a wry smile, I scratched my head and desperately searched for words for a reply.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.your feelings have well and truly reached me. And so, consider your getting stringer the best way to thank me . Also, the surgery isn¡¯t even done. No matter how supposedly skilled, he¡¯s still a back alley doctor. Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself until the injury has actually fully healed.¡±


    ¡°I know. But even if I failed to heal, my feelings on the matter wont change.¡±


    ¡°As long as you have that resolve, good. Now sit normally already.¡±


    Finally, I was able to end the weird atmosphere.


    Taking a deep breath, I put down my bag and sat down.


    ¡°So, Chris-san. Should we head for the capital? Or perhaps should we two go together by ourselves like last time?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll come too this time around¡­¡­..as for our schedule¡­Hm, is our current savings exactly 5 platinum coins?¡±


    ¡°no, we have 1 gold coin above that.¡±


    ¡°If I recall correctly, it was 5 platinum and a necessary item that we needed. According to the healer at the guild, one of the items necessary for the surgery was Metal Slime oil which might also be necessary. So lets first collect a bit more money on top and then head to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Eh? We¡¯re not going instantly?¡±


    ¡°Our trip and back wont be done within just one gold would it? Since you two specifically asked to handle it yourselves, I thought you had it figured out but¡­¡­.oh well, its my fault for not making it clear.¡±


    ¡°I had completely forgotten about travel expenses¡­¡­..We really should have asked Chris to stay and collected money together.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine. No need to panic. Since we have collected the main surgery fee, it wont take long to earn enough for expenses.¡±


    Let¡¯s get to work for the next couple of days and as soon as I feel like we have enough, we¡¯ll head to the capital.


    This I too would head to the capital. Because I want to gather info on Klaus as well.


    I thought that even if I didn¡¯t bother gathering it, info would come to me regardless but as of yet no rumors about Klaus have reach Realzard at least.


    I need to find out whether he even went to the capital or not in the first place now. So I need to do some sniffing around after all.

 CH 49

    A little info


    ¡°Maaan, I cannot wait! I am finally gonna be able to move around normally!¡±


    ¡°Hate to break it to you but it¡¯ll be a while before you¡¯ll actually be able to move around properly considering there¡¯ll be a long period of rehabilitation after the surgery.¡±


    ¡°of course of course. But still, that¡¯s just how excited I am to finally act like a real party.¡±


    Ralf proclaimed with a wide smile.


    Well, I too am excited for that though.


    Since our main priority right now was to earn money quick, We¡¯ve done nothing but mercilessly hunt Cowbirds again and again.


    But I want to fight more and more different types of enemies as a party together, and become strong, together.


    And then, maybe explore the world, find and collect new and unfound poisonous plants etc.


    I want to visit the places mentioned in [The Wandering tales of Otto the Botanist] and perhaps find the infamous [fruit of skill] that was mentioned in there.


    A fruit deemed taboo because of its deadliness if you try to eat it apparently.


    Many put their lives on the line I pursuit of its power and it drove them all to death.


    Because of its attraction and the dangers it possesses, it has been hidden away somewhere in the world but I will definitely find it one day.


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    ¡°Speaking of¡­¡­..Ralf, didn¡¯t you have something to inform Chris-san about.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Info? Did I?¡±


    While I was daydreaming about the legendary fruit, Esta interjected in the conversation and questioned Ralf.


    Ralf seemed unaware and tilted his head in confusion but¡­¡­.what could such info be?


    ¡°Oh right! Back the adventurer¡¯s guild, I heard some rumors about some guy that sounded a whole lot like your younger brother! I wanted to tell you asap but I was so happy about collecting the money that I completely forgot about it!¡±


    ¡°You! Tell me that first and foremost! So? What kind of rumours?¡±


    A shocking statement came from Ralf.


    It¡¯s been a bit more than half a year since I fled my home and this is my first time hearing about anything related to Klaus.


    No matter how small the info may be, its important to me.


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint but its not some crazy info or anything. Hell, I¡¯m not even sure if the person the rumors are about is even your brother or not in the first place!¡±


    ¡°Just talk, enough with the lead in.¡±


    ¡°Fine¡­¡­I heard this from a guy in front of the receptionist¡¯s counter but, apparently a ¡®hero candidate¡¯ has entered the academy in the capital. I grabbed him and tried wringing him for more info but apparently that¡¯s all they knew as well, nothing more.¡±


    A ¡®hero candidate¡¯ entering the academy eh.


    But considering the timing, the likelihood of this person being Klaus is very high.


    If such rumors have spread to Realzard, I¡¯m sure to find out more info when we go to the capital itself.


    ¡°True, we can¡¯t make any conclusions from this much alone but the possibility of it being Klaus is very high. Regardless I intend to gather more info in the capital as well, so will you two help me as well?¡±


    ¡°Obviously? Why would we even refuse such a thing?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Let¡¯s all work together and gather as much info as we can! But still, if this rumour really is about Chris-san¡¯s younger brother then our talk when we made the party really is coming true isnt it?¡±


    ¡°True. No doubt he¡¯ll make his own party with the cream of crop at the capital. Can¡¯t be celebrating hunting some bronze rank monsters eh?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.uugh, now I¡¯m starting to feel a bit scared as well. A question but, if Chris, your younger brother is infact a hero candidate, what the hell¡¯s gonna happen if you do end up killing him?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know¡­¡­..but, well I guess I¡¯ll get treated as a traitor I imagine? Hell, I could end up as someone worse than even the demon lord itself.¡±


    ¡°Ughh maybe I shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡±


    A once in a centuries talent, raised by the nation itself; killing him will instantly turn me into the most wanted man in the kingdom.


    There are quite literally no merits to speak of for killing him, on the other hand the list of demerits is long.


    ¡ª¡ªbut, I have no intention of stopping.


    I swore that day inside the Peixa forest, I will him make him wish he really did kill me back then.


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    ¡°Well, like I said, I have no plans of dragging you two into this murder plot so chill. If he has a party, all I need is for you two to hold the rest of the party down while I deal with him that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I was obviously against it back then but honestly, I don¡¯t mind at this point. Rather than lead a boring and simple life, its much more fun to live life at the edge and go out with a bang.¡±


    ¡°I must say I agree with Ralf. I am curious as to how much I can improve in Magic and how much I can stand against the so called Hero Party itself. A normal life, well it wont let me experience that will it? I¡¯m not as crazy as Ralf but¡­¡­.go out with a bang it is!¡±


    Ralf gave a wry smile and Esta laughed from the bottom of her heart.


    Ralf is the same as always but Esta sure has become a whole lot more gutsy since she began learning magic.


    Feeling the strength of their resolve, for the first time since forming this party, I felt truly glad for choosing these two as my party members.

 CH 50

    Departure


    Having saved up enough, it was finally time. Tomorrow.


    We will leave for the capital to treat Ralf¡¯s injury.


    Today, we plan to do some shopping to prepare for the journey.


    That said, it takes less than a day on foot to reach the capital from Realzard. Not to mention, that the capital was obviously a lot more prosperous than Realzard.


    So it¡¯s not like we need to do some excessive shopping or anything.


    ¡°What else do we need to buy man? It¡¯s already night, and I just wanna go to sleep already so I can be fully recharged for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, we need stuff for the journey obviously? Anything we might need or come in handy while we¡¯re there, we¡¯ll buy.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re gonna need much more though? And even in the off chance we did, couldn¡¯t we just buy it at the capital instead anyway? Also didn¡¯t we go completely empty handed last time?¡±


    ¡°That is true¡­..but didn¡¯t we actually come short of many things actually?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you two have no sense of planning. Enough with your complaints already and lets go shopping.¡±


    Pulling the unwilling Ralf with us, we went around the back streets shopping for stuff.


    Food, water, containers for said things, and finally we made it to a general store that sold bags.


    ¡°Okay now we have bought everything so why are we here now?¡±


    ¡°I intend to buy you two your own bags finally. What you two have now barely even qualifies as an actual bag.¡±


    Until now, these two had been using a piece of cloth cut and sewn together to make for a handmade bag.


    It¡¯s colour had gone bad and was beginning to smell as well, so it¡¯s the best timing to get a replacement.


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    ¡°Are you sure? We are fine with what we have¡­..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Got a big haul yesterday thanks to a huge Cowbird .¡±


    ¡°Well can¡¯t say I enjoy shopping but ¡­¡­ a new bag is more than welcome! I don¡¯t mind the current one¡¯s shabbiness but the smell is starting to get to even me.¡±


    ¡°Ah so you did know that it was smelling bad yet kept using it eh?¡±


    Knowing he could buy a new bag, Ralf quickly turned energetic again.


    What an honest guy, or should I call him self-serving instead¡­¡­.


    ¡°Damn look at the variety! Oh look, this is the one Chris has been using .¡±


    ¡°I just wanted as much carrying capacity as possible so I simply went with the biggest the store had at the time.¡±


    ¡°Since it¡¯s a on-the-shoulder type, this looks super easy to use! But, for everyday use it really might be a bit too big.¡±


    ¡°Ralf, how about this one? It¡¯s on-the-shoulder type as well and its pretty cheap.¡±


    ¡°Ah, this one might be better yeah¡­¡­.but let¡¯s look a bit more.¡±


    Saying that, Ralf began looking around at the available bags.


    This store on sells second hand bags so I don¡¯t think you need to spend that much time thinking ¡­¡­..


    Having lived the desperate lives they have, and his experiences when hurting for money, I guess its normal to really take your time when purchasing anything I suppose.


    ¡°I think I will go with this after all. It¡¯s got good capacity, and only costs 2 silver coins, pretty cheap.¡±


    ¡°You sure? It¡¯s my treat, might as well go buy something more expensive.¡±


    ¡°No, I think this is the best choice so its okay. Chris-san, thank you once again.¡±


    Esta took the bag she was recommending Ralf originally.


    A big on-the-shoulder type. Looks a tad used, but it¡¯s not a bad choice.


    ¡°Chris! I want this one! I found the best one!¡±


    Looking towards Ralf, I saw him twirling around with his pick in hand.


    It¡¯s similar to mine, only smaller in size. Looks like Ralf found a good one as well.


    ¡°Not bad. You two fine with these?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks !¡±


    Esta¡¯s was 2 silver while Ralf¡¯s was 4 silver, honestly overall cheaper than I originally expected.


    Guess we could use the saved up money in the capital¡­¡­¡­


    Let¡¯s return back to the Inn, arrange our things and prepare for tomorrow shall we?


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    .


    Next day.


    Although there was still a worry for Ralf¡¯s leg, since these two had walked on foot to the capital before, we decided to do the same again on their recommendation.


    There were many carriages headed to the capital so I thought that¡¯d be a better choice but, oh well.


    ¡°Say, are you sure we shouldn¡¯t just take a carriage?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s easy walkable distance. Or what? You don¡¯t want to put the effort now?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way, but isn¡¯t it a waste of time? It¡¯s pretty cheap when travelling with lots of people anyway and we certainly have saved enough to do so, so I thought it¡¯d be just easier and faster.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I did some light research before we headed out last time around and apparently it¡¯ll cost 1 gold for all three of us for the trip.¡±


    ¡°See? That¡¯s why¡ª-¡°


    ¡°But, because they let on a huge amount of people, the speed of the carriage is not that fast. Honestly, I think even Ralf¡¯s slow walking might be faster.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If it¡¯s time you really care about then its better to hire single horses to ride them yourselves but¡­..they cost 6 silver per horse per day as rent. Add the amount of days we¡¯ll stay in the capital and suddenly the overall expense explodes to an unbelievable number. Not to mention, you have o buy their feed separately.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then that¡¯s on my lack of knowledge.¡±


    I had no idea about this stuff.


    I thought it was common sense to assume that a carriage would be faster than just walking but now that I think about it, even when pulled by two horses, the amount of people as well as their luggage will definitely slow them down.


    And spending crazy money on renting horses is beyond us so walking all the way it is.


    Well, it¡¯s not too far. Might as well use this opportunity to have some long casual chats with these two.


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    ¡°Well, you ready to walk then? Last time around, we made it there right around evening but since this is our second time around, we could honestly make it by afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no objections here anymore.¡±


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go! I¡¯m getting a bit excited.¡±


    ¡°We all live together but its not always we actually do something together after all eh? Chris only came along with us during our ¡®test¡¯ for goblin hunting as well as that one time for hunting Loud Frogs and that¡¯s about it.¡±


    True, we are barely acting like a real party yet.


    Outside reading the Grimoire for Esta or training Ralf, I tend to move solo while these two have continued their work together separately.


    Well, now even I¡¯m feeling a bit excited as well.


    It¡¯s my fist time going to the capital as well.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go shall we? Make sure you didn¡¯t forget anything okay?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all packed and ready. And the payment for the room has been made in advance as well so it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go!!¡±


    With Ralf¡¯s loud proclamation, we began walking towards the capital.

 CH 51

    Their Pasts


    ¡°As long as we continue straight down this path, we¡¯ll reach the capital.¡±


    ¡°huh it¡¯s surprisingly close. I thought it¡¯d take a while.¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s still long ways to go. Just because it¡¯s a straight path doesn¡¯t mean its short. It¡¯ll take a couple of hours before we get there!¡±


    ¡°Nevermind, that¡¯s pretty far then. There¡¯s not much to do on the way either. Maybe I should have brought some of my poisonous plants as well to pass time at least.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Well, if you¡¯re that bored why not we talk about ourselves, like our pasts and such.¡±


    Under the clear sky, as a cool breeze swept through the lands, Ralf spoke such after hesitating for a while.


    Our pasts, eh? That said, I¡¯ve already talked more or less everything about myself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I don¡¯t have much more to reveal. I¡¯ve told you everything.¡±


    ¡°No, we haven¡¯t damnit! All you talked about was some light backstory? We-well, you know, how about¡­¡­..like d-did you have a girlfriend? Or a cute childhood friend maybe? Chris, you were born a noble right?¡±


    ¡°G-g-Girlfriend!? Cute childhood friend!?¡­¡­..Chris-san, di-did you have one?¡±


    Why did Esta have such an overreaction I wondered, as she asked the same question towards me again.


    ¡°Girlfriend huh¡­¡­if I did, maybe I wouldn¡¯t we living on the flames of vengeance.¡±


    ¡°So you didn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Nope. No cute childhood friend either¡ª¨Cactually, I didn¡¯t have any male friends either to be honest.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..What? Like none? Not even one? What kind of upbringing did you have man?¡±


    ¡°I swear I have already told you all this before but since the day I born, all I did, all I was allowed to do was to train with the sword. When I didn¡¯t it was spent on learning the language, reading and writing. My only one pleasure in life was to sneak into the library and read old tales about legendary heroes¡­¡­¡­.Well, there was the nice shopkeeper that was very nice to me whenever I was tasked with handling chores. Can I count him as a friend?¡±


    I was pretty serious when I asked that question but the two simply turned away without answering.


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    Judging by their reaction, I guess not.


    ¡°if he doesn¡¯t qualify, I definitely didn¡¯t have a single friend.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your family teach swordsmanship as whole? Weren¡¯t there other disciples and stuff?¡±


    ¡°There were a few who were my age but my training was always done separately from others so I never really talked with them.¡±


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s sounds crazy.¡±


    ¡°That was my normal everyday, so I never really realized. I was made to run more than others, made to do more swings than others. Fuhh¡­¡­¡­yet, my normal physical ability was still less than Esta¡¯s you know? Funny isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I ain¡¯t laughing. I can¡¯t laugh really.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already past it all so I won¡¯t mind don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s just how cruel the [heaven¡¯s Blessing] was for me that¡¯s all.¡±


    Father was always so strict with me because he really believed that your skills and training from when you are a child could affect the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing]¡­¡­¡­..


    Yet, the one who put all that effort in was a [Farmer] and the one that did nothing was a [Sword God]. His theory was completely wrong.


    Was it pure luck of the moment? Or was it decided at the moment you are born? It¡¯s far too cruel regardless.


    ¡°Jeez I was just looking for some ¡®hot and exciting¡¯ stories to liven things up but this was way too heavy. Chris your backstory is too dark!¡±


    ¡°Then how about you two? Got any past lovers?¡±


    ¡°Yeah right. As if a guy born and raised in these back street slums would have the time to have a romantic encounter.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Just surviving alone was difficult, I never even thought about such things.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..and you were saying my story was heavy. Speaking of, how long have you two been working together? I never asked until now.¡±


    When and how did these two meet I wonder?


    Now that I think about it, I¡¯ve never really asked anything about them beyond what I needed to know.


    The more I dig, the more landmines I¡¯d find. Or at least that¡¯s what I thought so I just avoided it. But I do want to know how they met at least.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t really remember. As far back as I can recall, I¡¯ve known Esta since we were little kids. Esta used to live in a now defunct orphanage and me, my mother and my step father lived in this tent like thing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ve known each other by appearance for as long as I can remember. We actually started working together only after the orphanage got torn down though.¡±


    ¡°So your orphanage got destroyed¡­¡­.must have been rough.¡±


    ¡°Not really. We called it an ¡®orphanage¡¯ but it was more of a place where young were orphans were sold away for money; a truly horrible place. That¡¯s why it got destroyed in the first place. Most kids got taken in by soldiers and taken to other cities but I alone remained in Realzard.¡±


    ¡°As for me, my mother disappeared around a year before Esta¡¯s orphanage got trashed leaving me all alone with that piece of shit forever drunk failure of a step-father that she brought along with her a couple of years ago. He¡¯d hit me all the time because I was unable to retaliate; it was around that time that I started working as a thief to make some money for myself.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..Now that is some heavy fucking shit alright.


    And the dreams of romance talk withered away as the conversation turned as dark as it could have as expected.


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    ¡°You¡­.I-I just wanted to hear how you two met.¡±


    ¡°Now now, no need to be impatient. Around a year after I started as a thief, I failed a job for the first time. And came back without any money¡­¡­..and that¡¯s when my step-father went completely crazy and abused me the worst. It ended with me being thrown off a height and that¡¯s when I injured my left leg during the landing.¡±


    ¡°Right around that time, having lost a place to live thanks to the orphanage getting destroyed, I found Ralf collapsed on the road and nursed him back. And that became the trigger for us to start working together.¡±


    It¡¯s almost as if they were from a different world than me.


    I know I didn¡¯t exactly have the most normal childhood but theirs is many times worse than anything I had to go through.


    ¡°Right right, and it took about a week before I could walk again and I resolved myself to kill that man to escape from this hell and went all the way back to my house¡­¡­.only to find him already dead with an empty bottle in hand. Since I had been earning money for us for the last year, he couldn¡¯t survive even a week without me¡ª¡ª¨Chilarious, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.I¡¯m not laughing.¡±


    ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t get my revenge but I was able to free myself from him. And so, partly out of gratitude, I told Esta about that old dilapidated house that no one used and we started living together there.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I see. From then, until meeting me you continued making ends meet while being thieves.¡±


    ¡°ah actually no. we didn¡¯t become thieves instantly. Since Ralf was still recovering and I had zero confidence in my physical abilities, until we grew older we would polish shoes, carry luggage etc to earn money. We only became thieves after our [Heaven¡¯s Blessing].


    ¡°To escape a life of thievery we needed enough money to buy Esta a grimoire but you could only earn such a big amount through more thievery, so we resolved ourselves that we¡¯ll keep at it even if it killed us.¡ª¡ªMaan, when Chris caught I was sure we were both gonna die!¡±


    ¡°Yes, so did I¡­¡­¡­.Yet, here we are. Giben anada chance at libe.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯d cry. Didn¡¯d we bromise not to cry again?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, But Ralb, you¡¯re crying doo.¡± [T/N; in case it wasn¡¯t obvious, these aren¡¯t typos they are crying and speaking that¡¯s all]


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    Fully recalling their dark pasts, both got emotional and let loose their tears.


    They were both looking up trying to hold them back but the tears were mercilessly flowing across their cheeks.


    ¡°Bud, now you undersdand? Why we were so grateful to you?¡±


    ¡°I get it. I didn¡¯t know anything about your situation back then but I¡¯m glad I took you two into my party. I¡¯m certain of it now¡­¡­¡­And I don¡¯t say this out of sympathy, I say this because of what you two have been through. Even if you are lacking in physicality, you can make it to the top with a strong mentality. Those who don¡¯t give up no matter how much life hurts them will always find victory one day.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..YES! I will never give up. We will surpass even Klaus-san.¡±


    ¡°Damn right! I¡¯ll surpass that little brother of yours and become the greatest adventurer there is!¡±


    Wiping their tears away, both looked a whole lot more refreshed as they made some grand proclamations.


    On the way to the capital, while it may look like just normal chatter to outsiders, my bond with these two became a whole lot stronger than before.


    I had decided I would never trust anyone ever again after getting thrown away by my own father.


    But, perhaps it¡¯ll be fine to have some trust if its these two.


    It genuinely made me feel so.

 CH 52

    The Royal Capital


    Two hours passed since we started walking down this straight road.


    Originally it felt like a long time, but while talking time passed surprisingly fast and the capital came in our sight before I knew it.


    Just from a glance you could tell that it was incomparably bigger than Realzard, and the line for entry into the city was also far longer.


    I had heard it was about 4 times bigger than Realzard but the huge number of people made it look even larger.


    ¡°This is my first time to the capital but it really is huge, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I know right? I was seriously nervous the first time I came here as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you two managed to find that Brad guy in this huge city.¡±


    ¡°Well, Esta did technically. Used the information broker didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I did. Well first I had to find info about the broker, then I bought info on Brad from them. All possible because Chris-san gave us extra money to spend of course.¡±


    ¡°Smart as always¡­¡­.So that means Esta, you know where the we can find the broker right? I wanna dig up some info on Klaus remember? Introduce me to him.¡±


    ¡°Of course I will. Once Ralf is left with Brad-san, we can go to the broker together.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªEH!? You won¡¯t watch over me while I¡¯m undergoing the surgery!?¡±


    Ralf cried pathetically.


    ¡°And what would that change? Not like either me or Chris-san could actually help with the surgery. It¡¯ll be a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°How heartless! At least stay nearby and cheer me on or something. Also, dude¡¯s a fallen back alley doc you know?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Ralf, you really are weak minded aren¡¯t you? With your kind of past you¡¯d think that you too would be as gutsy as Esta but I guess not.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m cursed with failure!! Nothing I do ever goes right¡ª¡ªah but, recently thanks to Chris¡¯ influence I¡¯m not as constantly depressed at least, right?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. Especially when you were literally whining a second ago.¡±


    ¡°Alright fine! I¡¯ll get it done by myself. You two can go gather your info or whatever.¡±


    After a little bit of cajoling, we agreed on going to the broker after dropping Ralf for his treatment.


    But the first priority is of course to meet this Brad. I¡¯m excited to see what kind of person he is.


    While praying that he didn¡¯t die or something in the small time it took for us to gather money, we stood in the line for inspection for entering the city.


    .


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    .


    ¡°Body check complete, IDs look fine. Lastly, please show the contents of your bag.¡±


    After almost an hour of standing in line, finally our turn came.


    Having our inspection done, and showing our adventurer cards to the soldiers, we were safely able to enter the city.


    The inspection was a lot stricter than Realzard¡¯s and I would have definitely got caught if I had brought my poisonous plants. That¡¯s how thorough their check was of our bags and stuff.


    But having safely passed through, we crossed a giant gate and entered the capital proper.


    I had been surprised by the cleanliness of the streets of Realzard, on the other hand what shocked me the most here was the sheer number of people and shops.


    Even this was the outskirts of the district, it was crowded and full of lively shops with people going in and out constantly.


    Diagonally across there was water fountain that looked more like waterfall and beyond it, in the distance, you could see a huge castle.


    The place where the king of this country lives.


    I never really thought about it but watching the giant royal castle really reminded you of his authority.


    ¡°Chris-san, are you okay? Let¡¯s move on.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Having been stunned still upon entering the city, Esta urged me to keep moving.


    No time to get overwhelmed by sights. We have important things to do.


    We began moving away from the flourishing and lively side and made our way to the less populated portion of the city.


    After walking for a while, we reached a huge barricade built across the street.


    Smelling the same scent as the back streets of realzard, I knew beyond the barricade was the black market of this city.


    A complete contrast to the previous scene, an odd atmosphere could be felt from the place.


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    ¡°That¡¯s our destination I presume?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If you give that guy over there some money, he¡¯ll let us through.¡±


    Esta went up to the person standing in front of the barricade and handed him some money, albeit not a huge amount or anything.


    Apparently that¡¯s the toll fee to enter the place.


    Entering the capital didn¡¯t cost anything yet it did to go here.


    I had heard it was place where poor people gather but it feels a bit different than that.


    ¡°Chris-san, let¡¯s go. They¡¯ll let us through now.¡±


    And thus I followed Esta as we entered the black market.

 CH 53

    Black Market


    Even though it was only afternoon, the place still felt dim and gloomy. As we walked through the unpaved dirt roads, the whole of the black market soon came into view.


    Unlike the tents in the back alleys of realzard, most shops, if you could even call them that, didn¡¯t even have tents and were just a sheet laid on the ground.


    From completely normal items to items that were straight up illegal, you find a variety of things here being sold by a variety of people as well. The most striking among those, were demi-humans.


    I never saw one in my whole time in both Dezir and Realzard but here you could find a couple here and there.


    As for what kind, there weren¡¯t any Dwarves and Elves like the ones that show up in Heroic tales but instead were race Beastkin, half-breed races with traits similar to various animals.


    According to rumours, discrimination against beastkin was rampant and most didn¡¯t leave their respective race¡¯s countries unless something major happens but¡­¡­.


    Judging by the looks of the beastkin I¡¯m seeing here, I have a feeling they are not here by choice and were brought as slaves.


    Well, if they are running shops here means they are the ones that have escaped. But still, to think there were still people being used as slaves gave me a bit of a shock.


    It¡¯s impossible right now but maybe after I kill Klaus and become an enemy of the state, it might be better to fight for people like these.


    While holding such thoughts, and further recalling the stories of Ralf and Esta¡¯s past, my head came up with such things.


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    ¡°¡­¡­..Chris-san, what happened?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s move on quickly.¡±


    Esta spoke to me looking all worried when I stopped in my tracks but, we moved on and made our way to Brad¡¯s place.


    Through the various stores, the two stopped in front of one run down building.


    Relieved that at least his place was more than just a sheet on the ground, we entered the place.


    The ground floor was used as storeroom with barely any place to walk so we moved to the upper floor where he supposedly was.


    Opening the door, we entered a room with many other waiting patients.


    They must all be residents of the black market as all of them were dressed in rags.


    And the one treating these people was a sulky looking old man in his fifties.


    That must be Brad.


    ¡°Hello, it¡¯s been a while.


    Upon Esta¡¯s greeting, he first looked up glaringly but quickly changed his face to a smiling one as he recognized Esta. He quickly got up, leaving his current patient, and headed towards us while rubbing his hands.


    ¡°Ah! You really came after all! The surgery, you will let me do it yes?¡±


    ¡°Of course. As we previously negotiated. The money has been prepared as well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you! Oh thank you so much!! I-I¡¯ll begin the preparations right this very moment!¡­¡­¡­OI you lot! Shop¡¯s closed for the day, leave.¡±


    This man must have no pride as soon after buttering up to Esta acting all meek, he turned and rudely told all his patients to get out.


    ¡­¡­..I had heard that he was pretty crazy guy but it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve met such a untrustworthy scumbag.


    ¡°Now then, please come this way! Apologies for the dirty place.¡±


    Being led by him, we entered what looked like a makeshift surgery room or something close to it anyway.


    But, it didn¡¯t look like the room got used often as there was dust in every corner.


    ¡°Before we start¡­¡­can I first see the money please?¡±


    His face was smiling but his eyes definitely weren¡¯t.


    Esta was about to hand it over obediently but¡­¡­¡­my instincts told me to not trust this guy, after all this time I know.


    ¡°Esta wait. Don¡¯t give the money just yet.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Ha? WHY?¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s different from what was promised!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the way you talk. The money will depend on the success of your work, and we¡¯ll pay in instalments. If you can¡¯t accept that, then we¡¯ll pretend this talk didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°Oi, that¡¯s not fair! I¡¯ve made all sorts of preparations for this!¡±


    ¡°If you want the money, then succeed, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying I wont pay. Why are you getting all angry huh?¡±


    ¡°Because there¡¯s a chance you all run away later obviously! Why would I agree to such one-sided demands?!¡±


    ¡°Then, the deal is over. Esta, Ralf, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I turned around and started to leave the building.


    I feel sorry for Ralf but he¡¯ll just have to be patient a bit more.


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    While thinking that I began going down the stairs¡ª¡ª-at that moment, a loud apology came from behind me.


    ¡°Wait! Please wait just a second! I will accept your conditions so please allow me to take this job, will you?¡±


    Looking back up, Brad was kneeling his head to the ground as he apologized.


    His previous aggressive attitude was nowhere to be found and the instant flip in personality made me wince.


    This guy really tries to act all high and mighty to get things his way but if the opposite side doesn¡¯t budge, he instantly breaks character to try and get a deal done.


    Man only has a 0 and 100 mode. Nothing in between.


    ¡°Ralf, what do you say? It¡¯s your surgery after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­..I¡¯ll take it. This guy is as shady as they come but he¡¯ll do anything for money. If it¡¯s on your terms of instalments and payment based on success, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll break his back to make this surgery a success I believe.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Let¡¯s leave info gathering for later and stand here for the surgery after all. I don¡¯t know what he might do after all.¡±


    ¡°Chris, thanks. That¡¯d be really reassuring.¡±


    After having this little conversation, we went back up and continued our negotiations with Brad.


    The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, and since we have everything we need, all we need to do is bring the money.


    The total price would 5 platinum coins, a great deal for us.


    I still have a lot doubts about this but we can¡¯t really pull back in this situation anymore.


    After telling Brad we¡¯ll come tomorrow again, we left the black market.

 CH 54

    Inn


    After leaving the black market, we headed to the commercial district to find a place to stay.


    The inn where Ralf and Esta stayed before was cheap one located inside the black market itself but I deemed it too dangerous to stay in a place like that while holding on to a huge sum of money.


    This was no place to be stingy so we decided to find a safe and proper inn to stay at.


    Since Ralf has the surgery tomorrow as well, I need him to be well rested too.


    ¡°Chris, how about that one? Looks nice and cheap no?¡±


    ¡°no no, Chris-san, that one looks cheaper in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°Good grief, stop look at just the price. I already said we aren¡¯t looking for a cheap place, we need a safe place alright?¡±


    Frugality had been unfortunately ingrained inside their brains due to their lives because they couldn¡¯t help themselves from only finding cheap Inns even when I said to do otherwise.


    If this is how its going to be, I might as well find one myself and force it on to them both. And thus began my desperate search for a good inn.


    [Yutorire] [Harekura Hotel] [Three Bungalows] [Bay Sands park].


    They all looked nice but I can¡¯t decide without at least a little expert advice.


    Going through the crowds, I kept on searching for another couple dozen minutes.


    And finally I found one that really caught my fancy.


    ¡°you two, how about this one? [Gilavar Hotel]¡±


    The one I had pointed out was a neat and tidy hotel built slightly away from the main road but still looked safe.


    It was in an entirely different class to the [Shangri-la Hotel] we usually stay in but, well it should be fine to splurge a little while we¡¯re staying in the capital know.


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    ¡°No no no way. That place looks crazy fancy and expensive!¡±


    ¡°I agree. Let¡¯s find somewhere else!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s costly. We are currently loaded on money right now. What wil you do if we chose a cheap hotel with no security and our money got stolen huh?¡±


    ¡°I mean I get that but one of us could just stand guard in that case no? On the contrary, in an inn like that I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be too nervous to ever actually relax properly. ¡°


    ¡°Whatever, we¡¯re going there anyway.¡±


    Pulling them with me against their wishes, I headed to the Gilavar Hotel.


    The interior was built with darkish bricks and seemed simple but¡­..there was just a great balance to the d¨¦cor making it all look really classy.


    Gulping down my slight nervousness, I proceeded to the black coloured counter at the front and talked to the young man who was, I presume, the receptionist.


    ¡°Hello and welcome. Do you have a reservation Sir?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t unfortunately but are there no rooms available?¡±


    ¡°Oh we do, don¡¯t worry. What kind of room type are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°R-room type? Can you explain?¡±


    I was the who pulled these two with me but I was already regretting it myself now.


    This courtesy and politeness is not something I¡¯m used to.


    I was the one mocking these two for acting like a peasant, but turns out at some point I too had become more like them.


    ¡°By Room type we mean the specific characteristics of said rooms; Single, Double, Twin, Triple, Family, these five types are your choices. Furthermore, you will also get to choose the grade; Economy, Standard, Superior, Deluxe, and lastly Suite, these five.¡±


    What the fuck is he even talking about? No seriously, is this even the same language even¡­¡­?


    I looked at Esta hoping for help only to see her standing numb with blank eyes and half open mouth.


    Even Esta who could infer things from a magical grimoire and all the weird terminology that was in it couldn¡¯t handle this.


    ¡°Sorry but this is our first time here so just give us whatever you recommend. Whatever¡¯s the cheapest, for 3 people together.¡±


    ¡°Of course leave it to me. Then please allow me to fill in the details over here. Please be seated in the meantime.¡±


    At moments like this, its better to let them handle it all.


    There¡¯s always a chance that they might see us as stupid and try and rip us off in such cases but I doubt a establishment of this quality would bother doing unscrupulous shit like that.


    I went and awkwardly sat down as told and waited for the young man to finish his work.


    Ralf and Esta continued just looking around while completely on-guard, they didn¡¯t even think of sitting down.


    ¡°Sorry to have kept you waiting. As requested, we have given you an Economy class Triple room. How long will your group be staying Sir?¡±


    ¡°before that, can I ask what¡¯s a day¡¯s rent? Sorry if that sounds a bit stingy.¡±


    ¡°No, no of course not, in fact that¡¯s on me I should have started there myself, apologies. One night stay with breakfast will cost 1 gold coin.¡±


    ¡°ONE GOLD!?¡±


    ¡°Alright thanks for the explanation. We¡¯ll stay for 3 nights then.¡±


    ¡°THREE NIGHTS!?¡±


    ¡°Ralf shut the fuck up!¡±


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    Silencing Ralf who was screaming at every word, I made a reservation for a three night stay.


    True, this was about 16 times more costly than [Shangri-la Hotel]. You could spend a whole month with the same money there. But then again, I think [Shangri-la hotel] was designed to be super cheap.


    And while we were admittedly going with the cheapest three-in-one room deal, the fee was actually not that crazy and seemed pretty fair to me so I decided to finalize this place as our place to stay.


    ¡°Thank you very much. Then allow me to finish the paperwork with that settled. Could I have your IDs please?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, here you go.¡±


    I handed over the adventurer cards to the young man and waited for him to finish the work.


    ¡°Thank you, here you can take these back. The bell person over here will take you to your room so please follow him and ask him if you need anything else.¡±


    Saying that, the man sitting beside the receptionist stood up, gave a bow and walked out from behind the counter.


    ¡°Allow me to take you to your room Sir. I¡¯ll take your luggage if you wish.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨CAh, you can ignore the luggage. Just take us to our room please.¡±


    I was too paranoid to hand over the bag with all our money to someone else even for a while, as if something happened I¡¯d rather not have to doubt every random people who might not have done anything.


    The bell person quickly withdrew and began taking us to our room.


    Walking through the spacious and luxurious hotel, we quietly followed the room guide.

 CH 55

    Top class


    ¡°And here is the room you¡¯ll be staying in Sir. Here¡¯s the key so please make sure to keep your room properly locked for safety purposes.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the guide.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll leave you to it. Please enjoy your stay.¡±


    With a deep bow, the attendant who guided us here to our room left us to ourselves.


    Soon after, I opened the room with the key and entered it to check it out.


    ¡°Uooh!! The hell is this room!? Holy shit look at this bed! It¡¯s so damn fluffy!!¡±


    ¡°This is incredible¡­¡­.Even the view from the room is beautiful. Is it really fine for us to stay in a place like this?¡±


    I could understand their surprise and excitement, as the room was just that clean and spacious.


    On top having an attached shower and toilet, there was even a magical item that could use Air Control magic to modify the temperature.


    This was basically heaven in comparison to [Shangri-la hotel].


    Honestly, I was doubting whether this was really the lowest rank room they had.


    ¡°We¡¯ve worked hard to get here, a reward is only natural no? Once we return to Realzard, it¡¯ll be back to earning money day in day out as always so let¡¯s treat ourselves and enjoy while we¡¯re still in the capital.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true¡­¡­..right?¡±


    ¡°Un¡­.Say, I have never really ¡®treated myself¡¯ so I don¡¯t really know what I should do though.¡±


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    Well to be fair, I haven¡¯t done so before either though.


    I wonder if me staying in Peixa forest and gathering plants counts as ¡®enjoying¡¯ but I have a feeling a place with killer wild monsters and poisonous plants doesn¡¯t exactly qualify in that regards.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not that experienced in such things either but just relax and don¡¯t be on guard all the time I guess. Like, how about we start with taking a good shower in turns.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll happily go along with that. An attached shower really is the best!¡±


    ¡°Well on normal busy days, sometimes you just have to make do with a wet towel to wipe your body. Though I guess that was still better than when we were living in that dilapidated house.¡±


    ¡°We should consider changing bases when we promote to silver rank. It¡¯s not like we made some great connections while here anyway. I¡¯ve been thinking of moving to [Dove Inn] for some time now.¡±


    ¡°Sounds nice! Though I suppose [Dove Inn] is our limit as far ¡®nice places¡¯ go eh?¡±


    ¡°Not really. If we want we could aim much higher. Once we don¡¯t have any reason to save money like for the grimoire or Ralf¡¯s surgery, we¡¯ll have much more free money on hand¡­¡­But, my final goal is to buy an actual house all to ourselves sometime down the line, so I guess ¡®savings¡¯ will have to continue.¡±


    This is just my personal wish, but who doesn¡¯t want their own ¡®clan house¡¯¡­¡­¡­¡­.Also, I want to be able to grow my own poisonous plants safely.


    ¡°A house!? You love dreaming big huh¡­¡­.Not that I¡¯m against it or anything.¡±


    ¡°I am wholeheartedly in favour as well. It¡¯ll really feel like we have ¡®made it¡¯ once we can buy our own house, wont it?¡±


    ¡°Good to see some excitement¡ª¡ª¨Cbut we digress, so who¡¯s going into the shower first?¡±


    ¡°By all means, please go first if wish Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind Chris having first dibs either.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take you two up on that offer and head in.¡±


    Since they gave me the option, I happily decided to wash off my sweat.


    But still, to think we¡¯ve got to a point where we can realistically start thinking of buying a house.


    Only a couple months, these two wouldn¡¯t have even dared utter something like this. But they are growing after all.


    I thought of such things as I picked my spare clothes and headed to the bath.


    .


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    .


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    ¡°Chris-san, is he finally in the bath?¡±


    ¡°I can hear the shower so probably.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.it¡¯s amazing isn¡¯t it, that we could actually stay in a place like this.¡±


    After confirming that Chris was in the bath, Esta muttered with deep emotions as she stared outside the window.


    It was a scene she couldn¡¯t even imagine before she had met Chris, yet here we were. It was real.


    ¡°We talked about this while on the way here but, our lives really got changed.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We used to think our days of grovelling on the ground would end when we undertook the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] but¡­¡­..that didn¡¯t happen. Yet he did it, singlehandedly changed our entire lives.¡±


    ¡°And to think we tried to steal from him eh?¡±


    ¡°True. Sometimes my heart hurts just thinking back on that day. More so because even then, he was originally trying to be kind and help me before I attacked him.¡±


    ¡°Chris might say ¡®don¡¯t worry about it¡¯ if he heard this but¡­¡­¡­I don¡¯t think we can ever repay this debt, even with our lives.¡±


    ¡°The day he took us into our party¡­..no, even before that. The day he accepted living with us, our fate was already decided. We, are going to live for his sake.¡±


    With a completely serious gaze, Esta spoke so.


    Chris will definitely hate it if he heard this, and even I¡¯d be embarrassed to openly say it like her, but the fact is that I too have already resolved to devote my life to Chris.


    ¡°Esta, you and me, no matter what happens in the future will always be Chris¡¯ allies.¡±


    ¡°Goes without saying. But before that Ralf, you need to get your injury treated and quickly start being of help to him and the party okay?¡±


    ¡°If only I could make that happen with just work eh¡­¡­..But, if I really get healed, I¡¯ll train enough to kill me, just to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°And I too, will train in magic like I could die any day. And I¡¯ll study other things as well.¡±


    As we reaffirmed our resolve and will, the sound shower stopped at the same time.


    To make sure Chris doesn¡¯t even get a hint about this conversation, we quickly exchanged glances and started chatting about random things as if the previous talk never happened.

 CH 56

    Reconstructive Surgery


    The next day.


    The soft bed really helped me sleep much better than usual.


    Yesterday, after we all took shower, we left to go have some dinner and went straight to sleep after returning.


    Among the various delicious looking places, we chose a decently cheap one and decided we¡¯ll have a more luxurious one if today¡¯s surgery succeeds.


    ¡°Ralf, feeling ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks to the inn, I feel more well rested than I ever have. I feel good alright.¡±


    ¡°Nice. Let¡¯s pray we can all return to this inn with smiles¡ª¨Cand let¡¯s go.¡±


    Saying that to them, we left the[Gilavar Hotel] and headed towards the black market.


    Looks like Ralf was speaking the truth as his usual nervousness was nowhere to be seen and we reached Brad¡¯s place while having a lighthearted chat.


    Today, there were no patients from the start so we headed straight to the inner surgery room we saw yesterday.


    Inside Brad was already inside, and unlike yesterday he was in a clean white doctor¡¯s robe.


    ¡°welcome, welcome! I was waiting for you. I¡¯m really sorry for yesterday.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for your apologies. Just make sure the surgery succeeds.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. Now then Ralf-san, please lie down over here. First, I will use anaesthesia made from extracting from Razuru leaves to inflict numbness and then use Domir fruit extract to put you to sleep. Only after that will I begin the surgery so it will be a long process.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Take your time.¡±


    With my words as the signal, Brad skilfully injected the anaesthesia into Ralf, and after Ralf also swallowed the sleeping extract, he fell deep into slumber within 30mins.


    After waiting another hour for the medicine to kick in completely, finally the surgery on Ralf¡¯s knee began.


    With no nurse or assistant to help, Brad handle everything himself.


    As the rumours had said, his ability was indeed first rate. Even someone like me could tell that from an amateur glance.


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    About 8 hours had passed since the operation began.


    Finally, all the work was done and Brad began stitching the wound back.


    This guy¡¯s a proper shithead no doubt but personality aside, his skill was certainly worthy of respect.


    Wiping the sweat off his brow, Brad gave an almost fake looking smile to me and Esta and declared the surgery over.


    ¡°The surgery is a success. I even used a custom made special restorative medicine so now all we can do is wait for around 3 days for the wound to heal. And once the stitches are removed, the surgery will be finally complete. It¡¯ll take some more time before he can walk properly again but as long as he keeps healing slowly, he¡¯ll most certainly become capable of moving normally again!¡±


    ¡°Thank you. You were of great help.¡±


    ¡°No no! I only did what I could!¡ª¡ªall that said, I would like to get my money if you¡¯d be so willing¡­¡­..¡±


    Right when I was feeling some respect, he¡¯s back to this.


    No wonder this guy fell from grace that hard even with all that skill.


    If he had a different personality, he¡¯d probably would have been more respected and in turn also would have made more money.


    ¡­¡­¡­But perhaps, he probably would have not gotten this good at his trade without this personality either.


    ¡°I won¡¯t pay the full sum just yet.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay three platinum as advance. After three days, as long as there are no abnormalities and the stitches are removed safely, I¡¯ll pay the remaining 2 platinum coins.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..I see! If that¡¯s the case I¡¯m fine with it. Then may I receive my 3 platinum coins please?¡±


    To be honest, I don¡¯t even want to pay the 3 platinum coins yet but if I don¡¯t this guy might genuinely go insane.


    Well a calculating guy like this will probably do the rest of the job properly as long as I still have to pay 2 platinum coins.


    I took out 3 platinum coins from my bag and handed it over to Brad.


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    ¡°Uwawawa! It¡¯s actual, real platinum coins!!¡­..ahem, thank you for your payment. Well I¡¯ll leave ahead and I¡¯ll see you in three days. Once he¡¯s awake, you can leave whenever you want.¡±


    After saying that as he stared at the 3 platinum coins, brad left the building.


    Seeing him like that, I was now certain I made the right choice in making the payment based on success of the operation and I was definitely even more right in paying it in instalments.


    I felt a bit exhausted but I¡¯m happy that the surgery ended successfully.


    Well, I can¡¯t tell that for certain until he wakes up but for what I can tell there should be no problems.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Chris-san, Really thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°for the last time, it¡¯s still too early to be giving me thanks. We haven¡¯t achieved anything yet.¡±


    ¡°I know but I can¡¯t keep these feelings of gratitude inside me either.¡±


    ¡°Fine, then I¡¯ll humbly accept them.¡±


    We exchanged such words in the quiet operating room as we both looked over the sleeping Ralph.

 CH 57

    Info broker


    Two hours after the operation was finished.


    Ralf finally woke up.


    ¡°Ralf, how do you feel?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..wha?¡­¡­¡­aah, oh yeah. I underwent surgery. Right.¡±


    He must have been drowsy still as he muttered in a low voice and slowly looked at his leg.


    Since it was clamped tight to its place it was hard to see the wound directly, and even after seeing it, it didn¡¯t seem like he felt anything different just yet.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.nah, or rather, I¡¯m still too numb to be feeling anything.¡±


    ¡°The meds must have not run out just yet. According to Brad, the surgery was successful. Well, still too early to relax though.¡±


    ¡°he said that if you heal normally, you¡¯ll finally be able to move normally again.¡±


    ¡°¡­..I see¡­¡­.Chris, really, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Again, it¡¯s too early for that. C¡¯mon let¡¯s return to the inn. Should I carry you or do you want to use a walking stick? Which do you prefer?¡±


    ¡°Sorry but I¡¯ll take you offer and get carried today. I¡¯m still too numb to even think about walking.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then c¡¯mon, get on my back.¡±


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    Carrying the still drowsy Ralf, we returned back to [Gilavar hotel].


    We intended to have big success party but that doesn¡¯t seem like it will happen just yet.


    After returning, having dinner, and confirming that Ralf had fallen asleep, me and Esta went out into the night.


    Our one other objective for coming to the capital. Getting info on Klaus


    Since it was already late into the night, we intended to head to the information broker that Esta went to get info on Brad.


    Apparently the person set up shop in a room in bar but¡­¡­.


    ¡°Esta, is it this one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the bar on the second floor of this building specifically.¡±


    This wasn¡¯t in the black market, but the look and atmosphere of the place was exactly the same.


    Since it was already closed I wasn¡¯t sure but the first floor was apparently a watch store or something and the second floor was the aforementioned bar.


    There were stores on third floor and beyond as well. The third was a dubious one with portraits of women displayed all over, the fourth floor had a store with the words ¡®massage¡¯ written in big bold pink letters, an equally dubious one.


    All the stores looked dodgy, and I wondered if it was okay to go in even.


    Esta though didn¡¯t seem to give a damn about my worries as she boldly entered the building without hesitation.


    Climbing the stairs and pushing past the old school wooden doors with [OPEN] written, we entered the bar.


    Contrary to its shady exterior, the inside of the bar was pretty fashionable and neat.


    And there were quite a lot of people, the atmosphere inside wasn¡¯t bad either.


    With how far from the city centre this place was, I thought it¡¯d be filled with nothing but punks and hoodlums to be honest.


    ¡°Which one¡¯s the info broker?¡±


    ¡°Wait a second, I¡¯ll go talk to the Bar master.¡±


    Saying that, she went and sat on the bar counter in front of the master and ordered something with 2 silver coins.


    Having taken the order, the master poured water in a glass and put it on top of a coaster and handed it to Esta.


    Drinking it all in one gulp, she gave a bow and then walked back to me.


    ¡°Was that some kind of specific exchange you guys just had?¡±


    ¡°yes, now follow me.¡±


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    As said, I followed Esta to a room a door with a hole for mails, and then she inserted the coaster she got through that hole.


    After a while, a *clank* sound of the door unlocking was heard and Esta knocked 4 times before entering the room.


    ¡°Hello, and welcome¡­¡­oh, you¡¯re the girl that came a while ago no?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while. I wanted some more info so I came yet again.¡±


    ¡°I see. By the way, how was it? The thing you asked for last time?¡±


    ¡°We were able to find him all thanks to you. You have my gratitude.¡±


    Sitting inside the dim room was a young man with tattoos all over his body.


    His head was shaved and he had tattoos even on his face so it was hard to tell his exact age.


    Could be in his twenties or fourties who knows¡ª¡ªhe had that kind of face.


    ¡°Fu fu fu, well good to know. So what kind of info are you looking for today? I know its not cheap but I¡¯ll tell you anything provided I know of it.¡±


    After the man said that, Esta looked towards me and signalled me to make my question.


    And so I began asking that man about whether or not he has any info on Klaus.

 CH 58

    Information on Klaus


    ¡°I would like you tell me any information you have on a man named Klaus.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Ara, you look like a fine man. And who might you be?¡±


    ¡°The name¡¯s Chris. I¡¯m in a party with Esta over here.¡±


    ¡°Chris eh¡ª¨CI¡¯ll remember that¡­¡­..So, what was it? Info on some guy named Klaus. Was it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°When you say Klaus I assume you mean that Klaus yes? Of course, I know a lot. It¡¯ll be costly though. You okay with that?¡±


    Saying that, the info broker began taking puffs from his cigarette.


    I thought any info about a potential hero candidate would be pretty cheap considering sooner or later everything about will be know to the world but, does he something dangerous on him?


    Regardless, I don¡¯t intend to be cheap when it comes to information about Klaus.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll pay.¡±


    ¡°Very well then¡­¡­..Klaus is a young man with a lot of expectations on him, including the King¡¯s,  having received [Sword God] during his [Heaven¡¯s Blessing]. Half a year ago, he moved to the capital from his hometown, and is currently enrolled in the National training academy where the country gathers all talented individuals with potential.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    When I urged him to continue, he rubbed his thumb and finger together indicating that anything after that will require money.


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    I took a gold coin out of my bag and flicked it towards him.


    ¡°Oh my, why thank you¡­¡­¡­Apparently, this year has been a good harvest for the academy as there¡¯s been appearance of a [Sage], a [Necromancer], a [Holy Dragon Knight] as well as a [Martial King] here. On top of that, there¡¯s also the [Holy Warrior] who had been part of the Royal Guard even before their [heaven¡¯s Blessing] had happened and of course, the King¡¯s Daughter the [War Princess] herself. And even among all those, the one who was rated the highest was¡ª¨Cyou guessed it, the man whose information you seek, the [Sword God] Klaus.¡±


    Even among a gathering of monsters Klaus was still number one, is what he¡¯s trying to tell me.


    Well, at least he didn¡¯t fall into ruin or something so that¡¯s one worry taken care of.


    ¡°Soon, they plan to take on an actual Dungeon as well apparently with the party made up of the seven people I mentioned early on. At least that¡¯s the big rumor that has been going around these days. By the way, Klaus has been given priority when it comes to making choices and decisions.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks for the detailed info. Was of great help.¡±


    Looks like I was able to get a lot more info that I was originally expecting.


    Half a year since I escaped after having my life threatened, I thought I had been growing very well but, he too¡­¡­no, perhaps even more so than myself, he¡¯s been steadily progressing at the same time.


    ¡°¡­¡­.Eh? Are you fine with just this kind of info?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨CWhat? There¡¯s more?¡±


    ¡°Listen here¡­¡­¡­This is where the really spicy stuff comes in you know?¡±


    ¡°Well, speak then!¡±


    I drew closer over the table to urge the broker to continue talking.


    I was honestly satisfied with what I had heard but if there¡¯s even more stuff then¡­¡­.


    What the hell did you do in the last 6 months Klaus?


    ¡°Someone¡¯s greedy. You won¡¯t get popular like this you know?¡±


    ¡°Enough already, just talk and do it fast.¡±


    ¡°Fine fine¡­¡­¡­As you know this Klaus is expected to be the next Hero but he has a lot of dark rumor about him as well. Apparently he¡¯s been giving money to the main criminal organization in the capital, [The Maginicks], there¡¯s also a rumor that he¡¯s connected to [Under Eye] an organization made of adventurers that got expulsed from the Guild, and so on.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Why would Klaus do such things though? I don¡¯t see any merits for someone in the limelight to take such risks.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t that much either. In the first place, whether these rumors are true are not is up in the air. There¡¯s always a chance that someone who hates Klaus spread this rumors to hurt his image as well.¡±


    ¡°So, it¡¯s a 50/50 situation eh?¡¯


    ¡°Though I must say, I think they¡¯re all true. I don¡¯t why he¡¯d be involved with such people but perhaps he thinks that to become a true ¡®hero¡¯ he needs to have a grip on the underworld as well?¡­¡­Also, there¡¯s rumors that he made these connections because he wants to find someone.¡±


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    My heart skipped a beat on the info broker¡¯s last line.


    Klaus, that bastard, could he still be looking for me?


    After our battle, a long time has passed since I disappeared.


    Being just a [Farmer] I thought he would have long since forgotten about me and moved on but¡­¡­.


    Recalling that oddly strong hatred that he had towards me, it¡¯s not impossible for him to do something like that.


    ¡°¡­¡­.But well, that¡¯s about as much as I know.¡ª¨CSo? Quite the problematic hero successor we have on our hands don¡¯t you think? I must say, I¡¯m quite excited to see how things evolve from here on after.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-That might be true. First of all, thanks for the info. Here¡¯s some extra money for the remaining.¡±


    I took another gold coin and flicked it towards the broker.


    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re giving me that much? I was fine with just the one you know?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just I¡¯m happy to have heard what I did. If there¡¯s a next time, do treat me well.¡±


    ¡°Again, most of what I told was only heresay and not confirmed facts so be careful. I¡¯m curious myself, so I¡¯ll do some more digging on Klaus on my own.¡±


    The broker said that but I¡¯m confident, in all likelihood, Klaus is connected to those underground organizations.


    ¡ª¡ª-And his target is to find me who is on the run.


    I was right to not have come to the capital out this exact worry before. I should make our current trip short and leave before I get found out as wlel.


    ¡­¡­.or rather, having spent so much time in the black market as well as having come to this place itself means that there¡¯s a good chance my info will reach his ears soon enough.


    Finishing my info gathering on Klaus, I should perhaps leave the capital alone as soon as possible.


    While thinking that, I left the Bar alongside Esta.

 CH 59

    An Extravagant Breakfast


    The next day.


    Yesterday we couldn¡¯t enjoy it due to leaving early for the surgery but today, we can finally sit down and experience [Gilavar Hotel]¡¯s breakfast service.


    Last night¡¯s dinner was a simple one as well so I was excited to see what kind of breakfast would high class hotel bring.


    ¡°Ughh, when¡¯s the food coming man!?¡±


    ¡°Ralf, looks like you have already recovered?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been sleeping since I returned after all. I¡¯m back to normal. My leg still feels a bit strange, but at least there¡¯s no pain!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Once the stitches are removed day after tomorrow, you should be able to move around properly again.¡±


    ¡°Chris you¡¯re going back tonight right? Was the info you heard yesterday that bad?¡±


    ¡°Well I certainly didn¡¯t think that Klaus would still be looking for me in a frenzy certainly. I thought I was the only one still stuck on it one sidedly and he would long moved on but¡­..looks like the other side is desperately searching as well. If I don¡¯t run, I might really get killed.¡±


    After thinking a lot, I decided to leave first to Realzard without seeing Ralf¡¯s surgery through to the end.


    Of course I don¡¯t know how authentic the info I heard was but if it turned out to be real, there¡¯s a good chance my life will be in danger if I stay here.


    Having realized that it¡¯d be better to leave the capital before I get noticed, I plan to stay here in the hotel till the sun sets and leave for Realzard in the darkness of the night.


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    I¡¯m bit scared to leave Esta and Ralf alone considering they might track their info back to these two but¡­¡­as long as Klaus¡¯ target is just me, this is the best possible path.


    ¡°Man it all felt like nonsense at the time but it really was real huh? Your younger brother is actually a Hero candidate.¡±


    ¡°From my viewpoint, either of your pasts seemed a whole lot unbelievable but here we are.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CAh! It¡¯s here! Breakfast!¡±


    With a knock on the door, Esta cut into our conversation and jumped towards the door.


    Opening the door, there was waiter standing with a service wagon in front.


    ¡°Sorry to have kept you waiting. I¡¯ve brought today¡¯s breakfast¡­¡­.Please take your time and enjoy.¡±


    With skilled hands, the waited quickly lined up everything on the table and left with a bow.


    The stuff left on the table were all extravagant dishes that we had never seen before and considering how we were getting this for just 1 gold coin, this Hotel might have really high cost performance.


    ¡°Amazing! We can really eat it all right!?¡±


    ¡°Obviously, why else would they bring it here.¡±


    ¡°Do rich people eat stuff like this everyday?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t really say but I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be wrong to assume so. Anyway, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    Joining hands and giving a prayer before the meal, we began eating the breakfast.


    The menu was a nut laden croissant alongside some really fluffy pancakes.


    The pancake had butter, jam and honey to go alongside it and you could pick what to eat it with.


    After that there was herb sausages alongside scrambled eggs.


    There were also various types of fruits to go along with it as well as vegetables with a tasty looking dressing.


    Servings of Tomato soup as well as yogurt capped off a truly perfect breakfast menu.


    I started first with the pancakes.


    Cutting into the fluffy pancakes, I then let it soak in butter and honey. Once done, I jammed a mouthful of pancake into my mouth.


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    ¡ª¡ª-Beyond delicious. My brain melted with the taste, it was that good.


    The pancake was obviously tasty but the honey was simply divine.


    Matched with butter, it created a perfect harmony inside my mouth.


    ¡°¡ª¨CIt¡¯s incredible. Is this what happiness feels like?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten anything this tasty maybe since the day we made our party maybe! Hell, this might be better than even things we ate that day honestly!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.I agree. I don¡¯t even want to talk and just relish the flavour really.¡±


    With each of our different impressions, we continued eating the breakfast.


    This kind of room as well as this kind of meal, all for just one gold coin felt like a bargain at this coin.


    It seemed costly at first but when you think that a single ability assessment cost the same, suddenly it starts feeling cheap instead.


    Or rather, damn that assessment is stupidly expensive.


    No wonder those priests were baffled as to why I was showing up so much in such short time.


    Having experienced and enjoyed the incredible service of [Gilavar Hotel], I felt the value system inside my head change a bit.


    ¡­¡­¡­Well all that said, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m gonna stop doing ability assessments or anything. I don¡¯t have that choice unfortunately.

 CH 60

    The Way Back Home


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go on ahead and return first.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll follow soon after the stitches are removed.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Shit, man I really wanted to enjoy tomorrow¡¯s breakfast as well.¡±


    I had decided to leave early yesterday but eating today¡¯s breakfast filled me with regret over my decision.


    Not to mention I¡¯ve already paid for it all so it really felt like a waste.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get a chance to enjoy it again one day.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what she said. Not worth putting your life on the line for it, is it? Well, we¡¯ll happily enjoy your share as well so don¡¯t worry about anything going to waste.¡±


    I lightly kicked Ralf at his attempt at teasing me and then picked up my things and left the [Gilavar Hotel].


    I really wanted to enjoy the capital more but like those two said, it simply cannot be helped.


    Going through a crowd that was still dense enough like it was still the afternoon, I headed towards the city gate.


    Like Realzard, entering the city required going through a tough inspection, but leaving requires not much work at all.


    Feeling relieved, at first of all getting out of the city, I began walking on the dark highway as I made my way back to Realzard.


    .


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    .


    2 hours had passed since I left the capital.


    Partly because it was night, there was absolutely no presence of humans around me.


    You could always see a couple during the day travelling but right now only insects could be seen shining under the moonlight.


    With nothing around me, and maybe because the scenery was beautiful, I sat down on a nearby rock to relax. And the moment I pulled out my water bottle to drink¡ª¡ª-


    I could feel a blade press down on my neck.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Silence. I will be the one asking questions.¡±


    From the voice it sounds like a young man¡¯s¡­¡­..but, there was something odd about it.


    There was something strange about the way he talked.


    ¡°Why were you investigating info on Klaus? If you lie to me I will kill you right here and now.¡±


    So it involved Klaus after all.


    I was followed already and even after leaving the capital, they caught up to me.


    ¡°I think you are misunderstanding something? True, I looked up info on Klaus but its pretty normal for an older brother to worry for his younger brother no?¡±


    Disregarding my inner feelings towards him, I didn¡¯t lie a single bit but I instantly felt the blade move away from my neck.


    Thanks to training with Esta, I could tell that this guy had used some magic at the same time he pressed his blade on my neck.


    Now I don¡¯t know what kind of magic he used but judging from how quickly he removed his blade, it must be a magic that lets him tell truth from lie or something similar.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Are you really Klaus¡¯ older brother?¡±


    ¡°I am indeed. There¡¯s no lie in my words.¡±


    ¡°Show your face.¡±


    Since he asked for it, I turned my face and looked towards my assailant.


    The man looked in his thirties, and had a dishevelled and unshaven face.


    But, I still couldn¡¯t sense him even with my highly sharpened senses that I trained in the forest.


    He must be a really experienced fighter¡­¡­¡­..Hm?


    ¡°Certainly, you do look similar to Klaus¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°¡ª-Hm? You, aren¡¯t you the guy sitting in the bar..¡­or¡­¡­no?¡­¡­.? Wait, or maybe the old lady I passed by in the capital?¡±


    ¡°Wha?¡±


    There was no coherence in my words, and honestly even I didn¡¯t know what I was talking about but¡­¡­.yesterday, there was the slim guy drinking in the bar and then this random old lady I passed by near the city gate.


    And now this guy here, something seems similar about them all.


    I desperately racked my brains and through my memories¡ª¡ªand finally found the point of similarity.


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    ¡°That ring you have on your index finger. It¡¯s the same as those two other people.¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about? Are you acting dumb because I threatened you?¡±


    ¡°No, not just your ring. The inner you wear, I can see it under your sleeve; also your shoes are the same. Also¡­¡­the wound on the back of your hand is the same.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Well now that¡¯s surprising. Honestly, you¡¯re one creepy guy mate.¡±


    As I kept pointing out these similarities, the unshaven man¡¯s face turned all serious.


    And then¡ª-his face began to move like jelly, and lost its original form.


    I thought it might turn into pure liquid form like the Slime I fought but it kept changing and began to turn into a different face.


    ¡°I never thought someone would see through it. You were absolutely correct. The three people you mentioned were all me indeed..¡±


    The newly formed face was that of a young woman with long black hair.


    Her eyes were large and slightly upturned, her nose was nicely defined and her lips were thin and exquisitely positioned.


    Anyone would call her a beauty.


    ¡°Who are you? And why follow me? Have you been keeping an eye on me since I was in the capital?¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, why would anyone bother doing that for someone like you? I just happened to be at the information broker yesterday and since I found out about you looking into bad rumours regarding Klaus, I figured I should get rid of you just in case.¡±


    So it was just a coincidence.


    And she eavesdropped our conversation while there, and hearing me ask about Klaus made her go after me¡ª¨Cis that right?


    ¡°I see. Nothing to do with me, you were just thinking about Klaus that¡¯s all eh?¡±


    ¡°Exactly¡ª-but looks like you really are Klaus¡¯ older brother. This is the first time someone has seen through my disguise you know? You must also have some crazy job no?¡±


    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m just a [Farmer].¡±


    ¡°Fa-farmer¡­¡­.??¡±


    First she showed a greatly surprised expression, then she quickly covered her mouth with her hands and suppressed her laughter.


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    ¡°One is a [Sword God] while the older brother is a [Farmer]¡­Puh aha, aha! I-I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t intend to mock you but¡­..Kuh¡­.kukuku ahahhahha! Ahahha, oh, my stomach hurts¡­..puhhaha.¡±


    In the silence of the night, the disguising woman began laughing to the point of giving herself a stomachache.


    I guess the ridiculousness of the ¡®gap¡¯ between our jobs must have really got to her.


    ¡­¡­honestly seeing her completely lose it, I didn¡¯t even feel that mad.


    I waited for the woman to stop laughing with a straight face, and after a while she finally stopped laughing and turned towards me while wiping her eyes.


    (T/n; yes I know its an odd place to end the chapter but eh blame the author lol.)

 CH 61

    Letter


    After the woman¡¯s laughter finally subsided, well she was still chuckling but she seems to have recovered enough to be able to talk at least.


    ¡°ukukuku¡­¡­I¡¯m really sorry. Fuh fuh, I¡¯m really not trying to make fun of you but it just got to me for some reason.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m used to it at this point.¡±


    ¡°No seriously¡­¡­.I really didn¡¯t mean it that way. But still, that seems misfortunate indeed. To have a [Sword God] as a younger brother, it must be rough getting compared to that. You must have had a hard time after the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] eh?¡±


    Oh yeah I had a hard time alright. But I was having a hard time even before that.


    Thinking back, if I had gotten a [Master Swordsman] job or something and had stayed home, just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.


    ¡°Well, it was rough yeah¡­¡­but all that aside, who are you anyway? I¡¯ve given my introduction. It¡¯s your turn to name yourself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m simply a student of the same academy as your younger brother, name¡¯s Mielle Clifford Ettex. I don¡¯t intend to brag but my job is [Sage].¡±


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    I did hear about a [Sage] yesterday from the broker.


    Contrary to her words, she sure did look very proud when telling her job by the way.


    Her age seems similar to min as well, against my original expectations¡­¡­.


    Judging by her looks and her motive to attack me, this disguising woman was almost certainly a member of Klaus¡¯ party.


    ¡°A member of Klaus¡¯  party I assume? Were you looking out to make sure bad people weren¡¯t aiming for Klaus or something?¡±


    ¡°oh no, I¡¯m not his party member just yet. I figured that if I killed a couple people who were trying to hurt him, I might get invited to his party that¡¯s all¡­¡­.But, against all odds I might have hit an even bigger jackpot. I got to meet his older brother after all.¡±


    ¡°I see. If I recall, Klaus had full rights to choosing his party members right¡ª¨CAlright. Let me write a recommendation letter for Mielle to show to Klaus.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Really? Even though I suddenly attacked you?¡±


    ¡°But you did that for Klaus¡¯ sake no? That means I can trust you if anything.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Really, thank you. And once again, I¡¯m sorry for laughing at you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡­.on that note, I intended to write a letter to him so I¡¯ll add the recommendation to it so will you hand it over to him for me?¡±


    ¡°Why of course! Gladly!¡±


    A [Sage] she may be, but at the end of the day she¡¯s just a kid who has only recently come of age.


    It only took some sweet talking to get her to trust me.


    I¡¯m glad Mielle has no idea of what my and Klaus¡¯ relationship actually was like.


    Klaus must not have spoken anything about me and that¡¯s why he was using these underground organizations to find me.


    Under the moonlight, I wrote up a letter to Klaus.


    Mielle seemed to be fidgeting with expectation and excitement but unfortunately the things I wrote in this letter were designed to antagonize Klaus and her with each other.


    I don¡¯t know how much affect this letter will have but I¡¯m hoping it makes things fiery.


    I don¡¯t know how much Mielle knows about me but considering she is probably the one that knows the most about me, I need her to never get close to Klaus. That¡¯s why such a letter was necessary.


    I wrote it cleverly in a way that even if someone else read it, they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that something was strange.


    But if Klaus reads it, he¡¯ll definitely get the real message.


    ¡°Just give this to Klaus. He should let you into his party. And give him this other letter as well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I will never forget this debt. I¡¯ll send your regards to Klaus as well.¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah, please do that.¡±


    Without a single clue about my intentions, Mielle took the letters cheerfully and held them like they were something precious. She shook my hands and then returned back to the capital.


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    I too gave a fake smile to her and saw her off before sitting down back on that rock and drank some water.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­phew.


    I was able to somehow trick my way out of this but that was really dangerous.


    If Mielle knew that Klaus wanted me dead, I probably would have been dead on the spot.


    Realizing that I am currently being hunted, I need to refocus and rethink everything more than ever before.


    But for now, with this Klaus will know that I¡¯m still alive.


    But, where and which city I was in, I had not revealed anything in that regard so I should be fine.


    There are many towns and cities that are close to the capital which should buy me some time.


    Mielle is the only one that knows which direction I headed in, but with the letter as well as acting all friendly when talking about me alone should be enough to make him snap and never listen to anything she has to say.


    I am a bit worried for the two still in the capital but they shouldn¡¯t be able to track it all the way to them in just two days.


    Telling that to myself, I increased my vigilance towards my surroundings and o

 CH 62

    Discussion about the Future


    2 days after I safely reached Realzard.


    As per the plan, those two should have been back by today but they didn¡¯t come back even after night fell.


    I started to get more and more worried but considering the distance, it¡¯s not that weird if they reach tomorrow instead right?


    I tried to reassure myself and at that very moment¡ª¨CI heard the door of our room open.


    ¡°Hey Chris, we made it back safely.¡±


    ¡°Oh thank god, looks Chris-san made it back safely as well it seems.¡±


    With their luggage on their backs, Ralf and Esta entered the room.


    ¡­¡­¡­.phew, thank god.


    They both look energetic so it looks like nothing bad happened.


    ¡°You two, good job returning safely. Ralf, how¡¯s your leg holding up?¡±


    ¡°Good as new! No problems! The stitches are out and the carriage on the way back was swaying just enough that I could get a good long rest. Now as long as do the rehab properly, it should be back to normal or so Brad said.¡±


    ¡°I see, first let¡¯s start with getting you capable of walking normally.¡±


    ¡°Once I get moving normally again, I¡¯ll work super hard so you can look forward to that!¡±


    ¡°Pft, I look forward to it.¡±


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    Ralf was getting all heated up to the point you could almost see the fire burning inside him.


    We went cheap and used a fallen doctor but I¡¯m really glad the surgery went well.


    ¡°Speaking of which, what do you want to do tomorrow? Ralf can¡¯t take requests for a while so I¡¯ll end up alone¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, Well with your strength Esta, you should be able to handle Bronze rank quests alone pretty easily¡­¡­..but, I guess I¡¯ll have you accompany me on requests for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? You really want to work together?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, though not as a party, we¡¯ll both take separate designated requests and handle the locations one at a time. When doing my request I¡¯ll fight as main and Esta will be on support and when we do yours, we¡¯ll switch roles. This should create no problems.¡±


    ¡°Understood! I look forward to working with you!!¡±


    And so, until Ralf becomes able of moving properly again, I¡¯ll take up requests with Esta.


    It¡¯s unfortunate that we can¡¯t do non-designated Stray Cowbird hunts which is most efficient for earning money among Bronze quests but I can¡¯t just expect Esta who only started learning magic recently to handle those requests on her own.


    ¡°Ahh, I want to be able to do requests again soon as well!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get hasty. The surgery will heal you but stick to the procedure. Nothing good will come from over doing it.¡±


    ¡°I know I know. But, I can at least practice sword swinging right? I just can¡¯t sit around doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°Should be fine as long as you don¡¯t move your legs too much.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll head off right now.¡±


    ¡°Wait no, at least skip it for today. You need to wait till tomorrow before beginning rehab anyway¡­¡­¡­..All that aside, you two I need to talk about something important.¡±


    After stopping Ralf who was planning to go swinging swords, I made them both sit down to talk.


    I decided to tell them what I had been thinking about since reaching Realzard.


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    ¡°What, so suddenly.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..is it bad news?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s a bit of bad news for you two.¡ª¨CActually, I was attacked by Klaus¡¯ acquaintance on the way back to Realzard. I was able to escape without getting hurt but Klaus might find out that I¡¯m here sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Hah? You were attacked?! So what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°For the time being, it doesn¡¯t look like they know that I live in Realzard so we have time. But as soon as Ralf¡¯s injury heals, I plan to switch our base.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­¡­so what¡¯s the bad news here? That you got attacked?¡±


    ¡°Uh no, it¡¯s the fact that we¡¯ll have to move away from Realzard. Isn¡¯t this your hometown?¡±


    I was forcing them to leave their place of birth, their acquaintances; hardly a pleasant thing to do.


    ¡°Hometown eh¡­¡­..It¡¯s not like we have any good memories of this place. Well until we met you Chris.¡±


    ¡°I feel the same. It will be lonely to part from the our acquaintances but I¡¯m not against the idea. Inf fact, getting a fresh restart in a different place sounds nice.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Is that so. I suppose that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°In fact doesn¡¯t the timing make perfect sense? We¡¯re finally going to start working as an actual party, starting it all afresh in a new city sounds like the perfect way to do so.¡±


    ¡°I agree! It¡¯s great timing indeed!¡±


    Well, I¡¯m glad they¡¯re not against the idea.


    Like they said, we¡¯ll prepare while Ralf¡¯s leg heals fully and then move to a different city and begin working as a new party.


    Esta¡¯s grimoire, and Ralf¡¯s surgery.


    Having finally overcome both of our biggest obstacles, it was the best time to do it. Though things will only get more and more busier from here onwards it seems.


    ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll move with as our next objective so don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Got it, speaking of which do you have an idea of where we¡¯ll move to?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I more or less have a good idea of it.¡±


    Of course this was also based on my own personal needs, as I was thinking of choosing our next place based on whether I could find more info on new poisonous plants or not.


    As detailed in the Botanist Otto¡¯s book, I want to head to a place near a forest filled with a variety of plants he could not fully clarify on what they did.


    Reizen grass, genpei mushroom and Rizaf fruit were the three new varities that I had been able to find but there¡¯s a chance to find more plants that raise other abilities as well.


    If I could find a place which was close to all this it¡¯d be the best but well, I¡¯ll have to find that during this time.


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    ¡°Then sure, we¡¯ll leave that stuff to Chris.  I¡¯ll just focus on taking care of my leg.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you whenever you need someone to discuss so please don¡¯t hesitate to talk to me. And if you want me to look up info on something, I¡¯ll do that as well. Anything to help!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks for the help. Anyway, as soon as I decide on a location, I¡¯ll tell you two.¡±


    And thus, with our current goals decided, we ended our discussion.


    I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll take for Ralf to heal but I plan to give him healing meds as well so it should be healed by the end of the month.


    In the next month I need to earn money while looking after Esta, go to Peixa forest to gather as much of the three types of plants that I can, and also find the location for our next base.


    And if possible, I also want to settle things with the bear-like monster inside Peixa forest, but that¡¯s probably gonna be later down the line.


    Preparing myself for a month of intense work, I went to sleep to prepare for tomorrow.

 CH 63

    Immigration destination


    Around 3 weeks had passed since Esta and Ralf returned back to Realzard.


    The entirety of last week and last to last week, all I did was take on designated quests alongside Esta and finally raised my rank to Silver.


    After that, I made sure that Esta could complete Bronze rank quests on her own, and then secluded myself inside the Peixa forest for a whole week.


    Taking into account that our new place of living might not have easy access to ability raising poisonous plants, I began gathering as much as I could with Rizaf fruit as the main focus.


    By the way, ever since that day the bear like monster attacked me, I have yet to even feel its presence in the forest again.


    It¡¯s an opponent that I can¡¯t yet fully defeat but I made a vow to return to Peixa forest some time later just to hunt that specific monster down.


    After making that resolve, I made my way back to Realzard.


    Oh and as for the most crucial part of the issue which was Ralf¡¯s leg¡­¡­..


    ¡°Hey Chris, you¡¯re finally back!¡±


    As I made my way back with a big bag on my back, Ralf who had waiting in front of the Shangri-La hotel, noticed me and rushed towards me with greta speed.


    As you could tell from just that, his injury was healing at a rapid pace, and even before I left for the forest he had already become able to start running around in short bursts.


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    ¡°I¡¯m back. You sure look energetic.¡±


    ¡°But of course. I mean look at me! I can run so fast, see? And I still feel no pain whatsoever!¡±


    Doing quick side jumps repeatedly, Ralf spoke with a smile.


    The cast around his knee was gone and while you could still see the old wound, the person in question seemed to be feeling no pain anymore.


    I really am glad that it had healed properly but at the same time, he¡¯s become even more annoying now.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m happy for you. Now I need to go to the room so move.¡±


    ¡°Oi oi, so cold as always! C¡¯mon let¡¯s have a quick bout. My body will become dull if I don¡¯t get some real exercise!¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll do it tomorrow okay? I¡¯m tired today, and not to mention now that you¡¯re healed, we need to discuss about our new destination as well.¡±


    ¡°¡ª!! Oh, so you¡¯ve found a good place finally!? Well shit then let¡¯s go back to the room quickly!¡±


    Leaving me behind, Ralf ran back inside the [Shangri-la Hotel] with rapid speed.


    Man, I liked him better when he was still injured. Only in terms of his movement I mean.


    Watching him rush everything made me think of such rude thoughts.


    .


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    ¡°Chris-san, welcome back, I just heard from Ralf but apparently you¡¯ve decided on our new destination it seems?¡±


    ¡°ah yeah, I decided while I was still in the forest but, you know about one of three great cities [Norfast]?¡±


    ¡°EH!? We¡¯ll be living in Norfast?¡±


    ¡°¡ª-there¡¯s a town nearby to that called [Oxter]. We¡¯ll be moving there.¡±


    ¡°What the hell, so we¡¯re not moving to actually Norfast ?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already Silver rank but you two are still Bronze. You won¡¯t get much work in one of the three great cities with that kind of qualification.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think we¡¯d manage. Well I mean sure there¡¯d be a lot more high rank adventurers but similarly there should be a lot of low rank adventurers in a city that big as well no?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps but this suits us better. I¡¯m the type that likes to keep my feet on the ground and progress slowly. Besides, it¡¯d be easier to lay low in Oxter rather than a popular city.¡±


    It¡¯s easy to forget after spending three fairly peaceful weeks but I am a hunted man right now.


    Judging by the lack of pursuers, I¡¯m sure that Mielle successfully delivered my letter but I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll take before they find me out.


    Until I get strong enough, I need to always make sure to not attract too much attention.


    ¡°Considering the thing with Chris-san¡¯s brother, Oxter is certainly the better choice.¡±


    ¡°And once we do get stronger, it won¡¯t take much effort to switch to Norfast later on anyway.¡±


    ¡°I have no objections. Not to mention, just like how Realzard was close to the Capital, living in Oxter which is close to Norfast really gives a similar vibe so I¡¯m all for it!¡±


    ¡°No objection here either. Will be fun to start afresh in Oxter.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go with that.¡±


    And thus, our new base of operations was decided.


    We plan to depart by the end of the week.


    In the meantime, we¡¯ll give our farewells to our acquaintances, as well as prepare for the long walk to Oxter as well.

 CH 64

    Suspicious Person


    3 days before our planned departure from Realzard.


    Even though we all three of us were inside the room, someone knocked on our door.


    ¡°Hm?¡­¡­¡­.Who? Chris did you call someone?¡±


    ¡°Ralf, be quiet.¡±


    I quickly silenced Ralf who was talking normally, and cautiously tried to figure out who our uninvited guest was.


    Since we started living here, not a single person has ever come to talk to us.


    ¡­¡­¡­which means, there¡¯s a good chance its some pursuers sent by Klaus.


    ¡°Talk in a low voice. High chance the people on the other side of the door are here to hunt me. I¡¯ll jump out of the window and come around from the back. You two act like you know nothing and buy some time.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll try and talk to him without opening the door.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡­¡­..but man, would actual pursuers even bother knocking on the door? Wouldn¡¯t they just break this flimsy door open?¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be glad if this is a misunderstanding but no matter who they claim to be, do not open the door. Understood?¡±


    Put on just my steel sword, and quietly jumped out of the window.


    It was pretty high but I broke my fall well and landed safely.


    Moving quickly, I made my way back to the room to corner them from behind.


    While praying that it wasn¡¯t a huge group or something, I tried to confirm who the person was without revealing myself.


    A person in black robes and longstaff.


    I couldn¡¯t see their face but their appearance was very reminiscent of a magician.


    ¡­¡­..Could it be Mielle?


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    Using my newfound mastery in stealth so as to not get ambushed by that bear-like monster in the Peixa forest, I slowly approached closer to the person.


    While being cautious of where I step considering it was old busted wooden building and any part of the floor could suddenly make a noise, I quietly made my way exactly behind the person.


    In a similar fashion to how I had been put on spot a while ago, I moved right behind them to seal their movement with my sword.


    Finally realizing that someone was behind them, their body flinched in surprise but realizing that any struggle would be meaningless they simply nodded once implying their acceptance of the situation at hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. Not even an inch. And don¡¯t talk either¡ª¡ª¨CRalf, open the door.¡±


    Giving an order to Ralf on the other side of the door, I pushed the person inside the room while holding on to their right hand.


    ¡°Ralf, take of the robe and check their face. Esta be ready to fire magic at any given moment. And you, make any weird movement and I¡¯ll break your hand¡ª¨CI¡¯m being serious.¡±


    ¡°Say, just now¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°Check their face first, we can talk later.¡±


    Giving another quick order, I had Ralf check their appearance.


    I can¡¯t do it from my current position so I¡¯m having Ralf do it for me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see who you really are.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª!! Oi! Let him go right now Chris! It¡¯s the old man from [Shichifukuya]!!¡±


    His words made me panic a bit but don¡¯t forget, Mielle was a master od disguise.


    There¡¯s always a chance that she could be impersonating as the owner of [shichifukuya].


    She could even alter her voice.


    ¡°Ralf calm down, and first of all just do what I say. There is a chance that it¡¯s a disguise.¡±


    ¡°No seriously, it¡¯s the old man dude!¡±


    ¡°Enough already and follow what I¡¯m saying. First check for a ring. Is there a ring on his index finger?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Is there a wound on the back of his left hand?¡±


    ¡°No there isn¡¯t!¡±


    The two aspects she could change or hide from last time.


    ¡­¡­¡­..well, looks like it¡¯s the real person after all.


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    Now I¡¯ve really made a mess of things alright.


    I quickly released the old man and gave an apology.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for suddenly attacking you. We don¡¯t really get visitors, like at all, and so I made a huge misunderstanding of the situation.¡±


    ¡°No no, I should be the one apologising. This is not exactly a time for visitors is it?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t apologise to the person who randomly attacked you, seriously.¡±


    I gave a deep bow of apology to the old man.


    ¡°Chris you¡¯re a bit too paranoid man! You almost broke the old man¡¯s hand you know.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I know but it would have been too late in the off chance I was right. I don¡¯t plan on dying anytime soon you see.¡±


    ¡°Enough enough you two. It¡¯s my fault for coming unannounced. Your vigilance is not a bad thing Chris, keep it that way.¡±


    Thanks to old man calming the atmosphere with a smile, me and Ralf stopped our little argument.


    It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get what Ralf is trying to say, but Mielle¡¯s assault hasn¡¯t left my brain just yet, I simply can¡¯t drop my guard any lower for now.


    It¡¯s something I simply won¡¯t compromise on, because I don¡¯t want to fucking die.


    ¡°¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry for Chris¡¯s sudden attack. So old man, what did you need from us at such time? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Actually I had something I wanted to hand over to Esta.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh? for me?¡±


    Having been completely out of the conversation until now, hearing her name made Esta jump up in surprise.


    A thing to give to Esta¡­¡­¡­.? I honestly have no idea either.


    ¡°This is something, my parents used to use a long time ago. I couldn¡¯t exactly sell it but it¡¯ll make for a great farewell gift I figured. Chris has been a huge help to me after all.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure I can have this?¡±


    ¡°of course of course. It¡¯ll be happier to be used rather than lie sleeping in my house after all.¡±


    The thing that the old man gave to Esta was the longstaff that he had been carrying.


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    At its tip was a beautiful red jewel-like thing, and just from appearance alone you could tell it was expensive.


    ¡°Thank you so much uncle! I¡¯ll always treasure it!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to hear that. And be sure to show your faces here every now and then while I¡¯m still alive okay?¡±


    ¡°yeah, we¡¯ll bring souvenirs whenever we¡¯re back. I¡¯ll pay you back for the staff as well.¡±


    ¡°Ho ho ho, well I¡¯ll be sure to look forward to that.¡±


    Saying that, the old man gave a bow and then left the room.


    We really have been in debt to [Shichifukuya] from start till the end.


    Starting from buying those stolen items, to trusting me with that life changing book for deferred payments no less.


    And now, even though we almost accidentally attacked him, let alone get angry he let it all go with a smile.


    He really is one of the few men I truly respect and look up to.


    One day, I will definitely repay this debt once I become someone great in life.


    Looking at the old man¡¯s back, I swore that to myself.

 CH 65

    Departure


    After the visit from the old man from [Shichifukuya], nothing noteworthy happened and it was finally the day of our departure.


    Although Ralf and Esta did have friends, there was no one here to see us off or anything as we picked up our heavy luggage and left the [Sangri-la hotel] room.


    Originally I had only planned to stay here until I became capable of earning money as an adventurer but before I knew it¡ª-we ended up staying here till our very last day in this city.


    We lived and slept together in this cramped room of this run down inn.


    Even though I constantly talked about changing rooms throughout my time here, here I was feeling a bit melancholic now that we were finally leaving.


    ¡°After all this time, we¡¯re finally leaving our hometown aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Even though I have zero good memories of living in the slums here¡­¡­yet I still feel a bit sad. Even this inn, has become a precious part of my memories now.¡±


    ¡°It is the same for me. In a way, this is where our lives truly began Ralf¡­¡­..on that day, asking Chris-san with all my courage; you really are in a debt of a lifetime to me just for that Ralf.¡±


    ¡°True. I was against it originally¡­¡­.well, the one to really thank is Chris though.¡±


    ¡°well of course. That goes for me too.¡±


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    Looks like those two were feeling sentimental as well while looking at these mouldy beds and smelly lamps.


    Though judging by this flow I might have to deal with another barrage of their over bearing gratitude, so I quickly focused on changing the topic.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time. Let¡¯s give our one last thanks to the owner and be on our way.¡±


    ¡°Do we need to rush things? Let us soak in our memories just a while longer!¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t make it to the next village in time if we are too slow. Do you want to spend the night outside on the road?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­No I do not. Rushing things it is then!¡±


    Even though they were raised in slums, I guess sleeping outside is still too much for him as Ralf quickly picked up his things in a panic.


    We gave one last bow to the now clean room, and then left the [Shangri-la hotel] for good.


    Going through and looking around the commercial district that was full of surprises on my first time around, we made our way to the gate of the city.


    The back streets were not visible from here, and I did have a slight temptation to go for on last trip around the place but¡­¡­¡­I had to control myself.


    Having made that decision¡ª¨CI noticed a certain building and recalled one last persona I had yet to give my goodbyes to.


    ¡°You two, sorry but I forgot about one place I had to pay visit to. Could you wait here for just a while?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we short on time? I really don¡¯t want to sleep outside okay?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry it¡¯ll take less than five minutes.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll wait here so please don¡¯t worry and go do your thing.¡±


    Apologizing to them, and while still carrying my things, I quickly made my way to a certain chruch in the district.


    I was thinking that the old man from [Shichifukuya] was my only acquaintance here but, I had forgotten about the priest in the church.


    Well, I suppose calling him an acquaintance might be over selling it but after everything I had put him through, I figured it¡¯d be rude to leave without saying even a single word.


    Without paying attention to the Mass being held, I quickly went straight to the usual room.


    Ringing the bell in familiar fashion, the usual good looking priest showed up once again.


    ¡°Oh? Quite the luggage you have on you today. Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m moving away from the city today. I figured I¡¯ll get one last assessment done as a farewell if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡­.Well, it certainly will be lonely without your usual visits.¡±


    ¡°Your purse would be¡ª-you mean eh?¡±


    ¡°No no, of course not. The money we collect goes to the people up top anyway, I truly will miss you.¡±


    ¡°I see. Apologies for making fun of it. Well then, shall we have my last assessment done then?¡±


    After some light banter, I handed over a gold coin and my card to the priest.


    ¡°Then allow me to do so¡ª¡ªand its done.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. If I¡¯m back in Realzard, I¡¯ll be sure to drop by for a visit.¡±


    ¡°Yes of course, I¡¯ll be waiting¡ª¡ªactually, sorry, do you have a minute?¡±


    Right as the priest was sending me off with a smile, he suddenly changed expression and called me back.


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    ¡°Hm? Is there something else?¡±


    ¡°I have been of two minds whether to tell you this or not but, as thanks for your continuous contributions, I believe I should give you this information¡­¡­¡­Actually, the Cardinal from the capital has sent an order to immediately report on any man named ¡®Chris¡¯ that might show up, and I have been wondering if it had anything to do with you.¡±


    ¡°The Cardinal from the capital? Is that someone powerful?¡±


    ¡°Within the church, he¡¯s only below the Pope himself in terms of position.¡±


    ¡°And he wants a man named Chris was it? Would someone that influential and powerful bother to look for someone like this normally?¡±


    ¡°No, this is a first even for us. I¡­..well, I haven¡¯t made a report on you yet but I¡¯d recommend being cautious. Apologies if I¡¯m speaking out of line.¡±


    Klaus, that bastard, he has connections to the church as well?


    Well, my letter might have made him take this even more seriously I suppose.


    ¡°No, that was of great help. Thanks for the info¡­¡­¡­¡­.also, if you don¡¯t mind can you tell me just how far has this info from the church gone to?¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t know the details so I can¡¯t give an exact answer but it¡¯s definitely gone to every city close to the Capital. On the other hand, if you go towards one of the other three big cities, it should be still be fine for now I think.¡±


    ¡°I really am in your debt in more ways than one¡­¡­.Are you sure you won¡¯t get into trouble for telling me all that?¡±


    ¡°Meh, ¡®info leaks¡¯ and ¡®a slip of a drunk tongue¡¯ happen more often than not, will hardly cause any problems. But you please be careful.¡±


    I gave deep thankful bow to the priest, and quickly left the church now aware that I couldn¡¯t trust anyone else here.


    Having gotten some good info, I was one again extremely thankful that it was that priest who was handling that job.


    ¡°Oi!, you¡¯re late! What happened to the ¡®it¡¯ll only take five minutes max¡¯?¡±


    ¡°We ended up talking a bit more than I thought. My bad. C¡¯mon let¡¯s get a move on.¡±


    ¡°Yes, let us depart then.¡±


    ¡°If we end up staying outside for the night, I¡¯m having you take responsibility Chris!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Your leg¡¯s healed up now no? Worst case, we¡¯ll run to cover more ground.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Heh heh heh. Damn right, I can run at full speed now.¡±


    ¡°No, ¡®full speed¡¯ might be a bit much.¡±


    While having such chats, with these two of my party members that I made out of pure coincidence in this city, I finally left Realzard for good after one whole year.


    It¡¯s not all been smooth sailing and I¡¯ve made mistakes but once I¡¯m away from here I can finally start working on increasing my strength.


    With the fires of vengeance towards Klaus still burning bright in my heart, we began walking towards our next destination.


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    End of Volume 1 Status Assessment


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 13(+45)


    Strength: 8(+28)


    Stamina: 8(+41)


    Magic: 1


    Agility: 6


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None

 CH 66

    (Start of Volume 2)


    Oxter


    After a week of travelling, going through multiple villages and towns, we finally reached our destination. The city of Oxter.


    This week¡¯s journey was full of happenings and incidents but somehow, we were able to reach Oxter safely in one piece with no injuries or sicknesses.


    ¡°Is that Oxter? We reached it faster than I thought we would.¡±


    ¡°You think? So much happened, I thought we were behind schedule if I¡¯m being honest¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I dunno, felt pretty short trip to me too. Maybe I just didn¡¯t feel it cuz I was having too much fun!¡±


    ¡°Ah, perhaps that¡¯s the case for me too. They do say that time flows faster when you¡¯re having fun.¡±


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    While arguing over our respective opinions on the trip to Oxter, we walked towards the town in front of us.


    Though they had a main gate as well, it was a far cry from the well built one from Realzard or the Capital and there was no entrance inspection either.


    Looks like I won¡¯t need to hide my poisonous herbs inside the depths of my bag like I had to back whenever I returned to Realzard.


    Considering I was planning on increasing my rate of gathering poisonous plants, this was great news.


    Entering the town, thanks to it being close to Norfast, one of three great cities, there were still quite the amount of people going about but¡­¡­


    ¡°Town¡¯s smaller than I expected gotta say. Might be smaller than even Realzard.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, doesn¡¯t look like a big town to say the least.¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe we just think of Realzard as bigger than it actually was. After all even though me and Esta were born and raised there, we rarely ever went to the main streets throughout our time there.¡±


    I think this place was right about in the middle of my own hometown Dezir and Realzard in terms of size.


    Well if it was too big that¡¯d be a problem in and of itself so its better this way. It¡¯ll be easier and faster to get used to the layout of the town after all.


    ¡°And not to mention, if we really need an item not available here we could just take a quick trip to Norfast. The location might be a blessing in disguise.¡±


    ¡°True! Seems like the perfect place for upstarts like ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go around and have tour of the town shall we? Gotta keep an eye out for some good places to eat as well.¡±


    ¡°Before that, shouldn¡¯t the inn and Guild come first. I also want to go take a look at the blacksmiths¡¯ place, weapon shops and item shops as well.¡±


    I needed to find the church as well but after hearing the stuff from the handsome priest, I was also a bit scared to go there.


    I really should have gone with a fake name when registering myself to the guild instead of simply using my own. Too late to regret it though.


    Also, I could get a new adventurer card made but if they find out that one guy is using two different cards, I could get expelled from the guild or so I remember hearing during the explanation from the receptionist when registering.


    I was frequently visiting the church as well so they could have found out that I was hiding my identity which would lead to similar results as well.


    While rejecting the idea of changing my name inside my head, we began exploring the town of Oxter.


    .


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    ¡°The atmosphere ain¡¯t bad here! They don¡¯t seem to have any place like our back-streets but judging by the prices at the stalls, things seem pretty cheap here.¡±


    ¡°So it would seem. Looks like the variety of items available is also pretty good, and even us who could only depend on backstreet shops due to money could quite easily go to these shops increasing our choices as well.¡±


    Like the two said, the shops here aren¡¯t bad at all.


    Just walking around the commercial district, I could quickly see a bunch of general stores, vegetable vendors, weapon shops, blacksmiths and bars.


    There were also good looking restaurants as well as clothes shops, and of course the most important, all sorts of inns were lined across the streets of this district.


    And the thing that caught my eye the most was¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that shop? Alchemist¡­¡­.. Esta, have you heard of them?¡±


    ¡°Ah, if I recall correctly, they are people who make potions. In Realzard, there was factory in the industrial district that handled making potions so there were no Alchemists but in town and villages that don¡¯t have such factories, Alchemists are your best source of getting potions.¡±


    ¡°I see, sounds interesting¡­¡­¡­still, you sure know your stuff Esta.¡±


    ¡°Actually, when I got the job [Magician] during [Heaven¡¯s Blessing], I did a lot of research about many things. Most alchemists are technically [magicians] or so the uncle from [shichifukuya] told me.¡±


    Esta must have been looking for ways to make use of her job back then huh.


    Alchemists can synthesize potions¡ªwas it?


    This might be a good place to find out more information about the plant life and forests around the town. Hopefully I can create a good relationship with person running the Alchemists shop.


    ¡°Enough about these alchemists man. C¡¯mon lets find a place to eat. I¡¯m starving!¡±


    ¡°The Inn comes first I told you. You two, make sure to remember the location and names of every cheap inn you can find.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have already memorized the name and location of every inn in the commercial streets! Let¡¯s go and check out some other streets instead.¡±


    ¡°As expected. Unlike a certain someone with nothing but food in his head, I can always depend on you Esta.¡±


    ¡°Aw shuddup! Chris was also thinking about nothing but that alchemy thingy weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Ignoring Ralf who tried to hit me back with a retort, we moved on to other districts to check them out.


    I had more or less found all the important shops I needed to know about but had yet to see the most important, adventurer guild and the church.


    Well, I didn¡¯t expect either of them to be in the commercial street in the first place so we quickly pulled ourselves together and moved on to exploring the inner parts of the town.

 CH 67

    Exploring


    The inner part of the town had the guild street with all the guilds lined up together.


    And further within, at the end of the street stood the church quietly in the corner.


    To simply explain the layout of Oxter, if you continue straight to the front upon entering the town you reach the commercial street.


    If you keep walking further, you reach the guild street. And further inside was the Church.


    On both the left and right side of these streets were the residential areas, well and a couple of inns mixed in between them but for the most art that¡¯s how this town was built.


    It¡¯s far from being called big but you certainly won¡¯t run into any kind of inconvenience by living here either.


    There were many travellers heading to Norfast as well; and this might be too soon to say considering I juts got here myself, but it looks like a nice town to live in.


    ¡°Had a good look around?¡±


    ¡°I did. I really think it¡¯s a nice little town. It¡¯s especially nice to not see any of the bad parts like in Realzard or the Capital.¡±


    ¡°Really? Having back-streets is a plus in my book!¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s leave that conversation for later, and decide which inn we plan to live in. After that, we can go satisfy Ralf¡¯s hunger.¡±


    ¡°Finally! About time. I really am starving.¡±


    ¡°I mean I have memorized pretty much every inn in the area but what should we do?¡±


    This is the main issue. Which part of choosing the Inn should we prioritize on? The Price was obviously the first one.


    Then there¡¯s the distance from the church for me, so it¡¯d be nice if the inn is close to the guild street.


    [Shangri-la hotel] that was literally on the same street as the guild was really convenient.


    ¡°Can you first tell me how low are the cheapest ones in every area?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll use the rent for one large room as the basis okay? In the commercial street, its 2 silver coins, 1silver and 5 copper on the guild street. Residential area on the right is around 1 silver. And residential area to the left is about 8 copper, at the lowest.¡±


    ¡°8 Copper, ain¡¯t that clearly the best one?¡±


    ¡°No, location is important as well. I¡¯m thinking the one the guild street is the best one. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, judging by the location, that is definitely the most suitable one¡­¡­¡­but, the rent being almost double is a bit much if I¡¯m being honest.¡±


    She¡¯s not wrong.


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    Do we prioritize comfort and convenience, or cost.


    We made sure to collect a decent amount of money before departing from Realzard so we¡¯ve got some leeway with money right now.


    And if can safely begin adventurer work from tomorrow as planned, a mere extra 7 copper will be pretty easy to cover.


    But I get where Ralf and Esta are coming from.


    And extra of 7 copper coin per day, comes out to 2 gold and 1 silver per month extra on just rent.


    And for a year, that¡¯s 20 gold coin and 2 silver, that we could potentially save instead.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s certainly something worth thinking about but perhaps it¡¯s better to go with the cheapest in the residential area until you both promote to silver rank as well.¡±


    ¡°I agree! Then let¡¯s head to the left side residential area.¡±


    ¡°A¡¯ight! Let¡¯s quickly get a room, drop our stuff there and go get something to eat!¡±


    With the energetic Ralf taking the lead, we headed to the left-side residential area.


    .


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    ¡°This is it. Looks a lot cleaner than [Shangri-la hotel].¡±


    ¡°Let alone that, this place looks better than even [Dove inn] man! Chris, this might have been the right decision after all!¡±


    ¡°Seems like it. Let¡¯s go inside and negotiate.¡±


    We entered the single house-like Inn built in the Residential area, the [Tree Top Tower].


    The impression from the reception was very similar to the [Shangri-la hotel]¡¯s one.


    Since nobody seemed to be there, I rang the bell kept on the counter and waited until a single man came out from inside.


    ¡°Welcome. Are you here looking for rooms?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, long term as well. Got any empty rooms?¡±


    ¡°Long term stay!? Really? Of course we do. Individual or Large, which kind of room would you like?¡±


    ¡°A large one please.¡±


    ¡°Certainly! That will be room 201. Allow me to guide you there.¡±


    The young man seemed unusually happy as he led us to our rooms.


    We only chose this Inn because the one on the guild street seemed a bit too costly, but the attitude of the employees seems nice and the building looks clean and well maintained as well.


    It might not be as convenient but this may have been a really good choice.


    ¡°This is room 201. One night¡¯s stay will cost you 8 copper coins, is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯ll be alright. For the time being, here¡¯s an advance 8 silver for 10 days stay if you¡¯re ine with it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, thank you very much. Really, thank you! Please take your time and enjoy.¡±


    After bowing multiple times, he headed back to the reception with a wide smile.


    The location must really hurt their business, as it seemed like they didn¡¯t get many customers even though they were the cheapest Inn in Oxter.


    ¡°Looks like a nice room.¡ª-Oooh! Chris-san, there¡¯s even an attached bath!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.that¡¯s good. Baths are nice indeed.¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s four beds! Not to mention, so much space to keep our things! Damn, this place might be actually amazing!¡±


    ¡°[Shangri-la hotel] only gave two beds to sleep. And their rent was still 5 copper. Not to mention, they didn¡¯t even have a bath.¡±


    ¡°Incredible I am finally free of Esta¡¯s shit sleeping posture!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that bad, am I?¡±


    Everyone seemed to have quite a lot to say about the place.


    Of course this place was many levels below a place like the [Gilavar Hotel] but considering the rent was only 8 copper, the cost performance might actually be better than even there.


    I really wanted to just take a bath and drop on the bed for the day but we still haven¡¯t eaten anything yet, so let¡¯s go back to the commercial street for our meal.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave our stuff and go get something to eat. We also need to do some shopping for tomorrow¡¯s adventurer work as well.¡±


    ¡°Ughh, the food part is nice but we really have to start working from tomorrow already huh.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to all the things that happened, we haven¡¯t made any money in the last week. I mean considering our fatigue, there is a part of me that wants to allot tomorrow to just exploring around Oxter but¡­¡­we really do have to start tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Well I want to get used to using the longstaff given to me by the Uncle from [shichifukuya], so I¡¯m itching to go back to monster hunting anyway.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Well, if you put it that way, since I¡¯ve finally healed, I too am actually looking forward to completing requests for once to be honest.¡±


    ¡°For the time being, I need you two to quickly graduate from bronze rank. And in the time you get to silver, make sure you get used to using that longstaff, and you Ralf should get fully used to using your newly healed body as well.¡±


    ¡°Ou!!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    After hearing their energetic responses, we left for the commercial streets to get some food.

 CH 68

    Quibble


    The next day after reaching Oxter.


    Even though we only arrived here yesterday, we had to start our adventurer activities from today already.


    I, for one, wanted to go and explore the nearby forests as soon as possible but I¡¯ll stick with requests at least for today.


    We already confirmed the location of the guild yesterday, and had finished most of our preperation yesterday as well.


    ¡°Chris-san will you take up a silver rank quest?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not sure. If there aren¡¯t any decent bronze quests I¡¯ll take on a silver rank one but¡­¡­..personally speaking, I want to take our first silver rank quest together as a party.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªThen, just wait a bit more for us! I wanna take that first step together as a team as well!¡±


    ¡°This may be pure selfishness from our part but, but I too would like to take our first silver quest all together.¡±


    I don¡¯t want our party to just be a group of friends so its important to make sure that we properly do things as an actual party.


    Since I was only doing stray cowbird quests, the total number of requests I¡¯ve completed isn¡¯t that high, not to mention my frequent visits to the forest reduced it further. On the other hand, these two have been completing, designated quests almost everyday non-stop so they should get promoted to silver pretty soon.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s do that. Until you two both get promoted to silver rank, I¡¯ll only take bronze rank quests.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, now I¡¯m getting a little motivated!¡±


    ¡°Same here!¡±


    With the two of them in high spirits, I began walking towards the adventurer guild.


    Reaching the guild gate, we didn¡¯t wait around and went straight inside.


    The interior was not that different from the guild in Realzard.


    Or at least that¡¯s what I thought¡­¡­¡­


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    ¡°I feel an evil stare.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.I can feel it as well. Looks like we¡¯re not welcome here.¡±


    Unlike the generally indifferent adventurers of Realzard, looks like the Oxter¡¯s group of adventurers are a close knit group.


    And thus, we are outsiders in their territory¡ª-or at least that¡¯s what I inferred from their stares.


    ¡°Is that so? Who even cares though!¡±


    Saying that nonchalantly, Ralf began walking towards the receptionist counter only to have a man come up and block his way.


    Looked like an adventurer in his thirties, and partly due to his physique, it seemed like he was looking down on Ralf.


    ¡°¡­¡­.What? Move out of my way.¡±


    ¡°Oi Brat. You¡¯re a new face here. You a rookie?¡±


    The man spoke cockily, though he spoke with a lisp making it hard to understand him clearly.


    His appearance was very untidy as well but, he didn¡¯t look weak¡ª¨Cor at least that¡¯s how I felt.


    ¡°No, not really. Just came here from a different city. I¡¯m bronze rank.¡±


    ¡°Different city? Hooh, then all the more reason I should introduce myself eh? The name¡¯s Greath, the only platinum rank adventurer in this town.¡± (T/N; name could also be read as Grease(¥°¥ê©`¥¹) but it sounds too dumb so I¡¯m going with this instead for now)


    I did feel a bit from his general aura, but he really is a platinum rank huh.


    ¡°And I¡¯m Ralf¡­¡­..satisfied now?¡±


    ¡°Satisfied you say? Why the hell are you talking to your senior like that huh!? ¡®I want to be an adventurer of this town. I¡¯ll do anything so please take care of me¡±¡ª¡ªIs how you¡¯re supposed to reply!!¡±


    He shouted loudly enough to resound inside the entire guild.


    By the looks of it, let alone other adventurers, other guild employees don¡¯t seem like they are going to stop this either.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m sorr¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°Ralf, no need to apologize. I told you there¡¯s no need to suck up to others and live while trying to please others anymore. You are different from before aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Perhaps to stop the issue from escalating, Ralf was going to apologize but I stopped him instead.


    These words were not just for Ralf, but for myself as well.


    ¡°And who the fuck are you!? Do you know what happens to those who talk shit with me? HUH?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t and neither am I interested. If, for whatever reason we can¡¯t take requests here, then we¡¯ll simply move to a different town instead.¡ª¡ªOf course, that¡¯s not actually what¡¯s going to happen, but let¡¯s see. In the off chance it does, maybe we¡¯ll go to the Norfast guild and spread some rumors about what happened here instead, how about that?¡±


    So that the quiet guild employees could hear it too, I declared loudly.


    On the other hand, Greath¡¯s corners of his mouth twitched as he really must not have liked what I said.


    Judging by his body, he¡¯s probably stronger than me but he¡¯s still far from that bear-like monster. If I step back here, how the hell would I catch up to Klaus, a [sword god]?


    If he tries to attack us, I was ready to slam some poisonous plants straight into his mouth but¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Alright, fine. If that¡¯s how you guys are gonna be, be my guest¡­¡­..But don¡¯t come running back to me later if you come to regret it okay?¡±


    After saying that with a threatening voice, Greath tapped on my shoulders and walked out of the guild with, what I assume were his party members.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.Haaa.


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    I thought it was nice little town but looks like the most important part turned out to be shit instead.


    We could change our base again but having to change our town because of a guy like that would be irritating to say the least.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªOi! Chris, what the hell are you doing!? We could have just apologized and be done with it no?¡±


    ¡°No, this is fine. Of course, if we wanted to live in peace then we could have gone around bowing our heads to every other guy but¡­¡­.doesn¡¯t that sound stupid to you? You get one life. I don¡¯t want one where I have to bow to a guy like that.¡±


    ¡°I completely agree with you! We are different from back then when we had no other choice. Even if this causes problems in our path, we can simply find a different path instead.¡±


    ¡°Nn¡­..muu¡­¡­.Well, I was pretty pissed myself to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Be kind to those who are kind to you and aggressive to those who are aggressive to you. Give what you get, eye for an eye¡­¡­¡­.you two, sorry but I¡¯ve already decided to live like this.¡±


    I will never let anyone have any control over my life ever again.


    I¡¯ll live for myself, and myself alone.


    ¡°Then, whatever I guess! If he comes after us again, we¡¯ll just kick his ass and send him packing back!¡±


    ¡°Agreed! Well then, let¡¯s take some requests shall we?¡±


    After having our little discussion, we walked towards the reception counter while ignoring the awkward atmosphere in the guild caused by Greath¡¯s shouting.


    The receptionist seemed to be acting a bit strange as well but I didn¡¯t care for it and continued talking.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been working as adventurers in another city so we know how things mostly work. Do you guys not have a request board here?¡±


    ¡°W-we do. It¡¯s behind that crowd of adventurers over there though.¡±


    Looking towards the place where the receptionist pointed, behind a group of adventurers who were glaring at us, I could see the notice board.


    Looks like pretty much every adventurer in this guild is under Greath¡¯s thumb.


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    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll take a look and come back.¡±


    Leaving the desk, I cut through the group of adventurers, and began choosing what request to take unconcernedly.


    I was vigilant and making sure to be ready in case anyone tried attacking me and picked up a seemingly convenient to do request.


    ¡°Ah, I was the one who was going to take that one! Don¡¯t steal my pick!!¡±


    As if he was waiting for it, a slimy faced guy, who was clearly Greath¡¯s lackey, began complaining to me.


    It¡¯d be a pain to deal with him, so I tried to ignore him and walk back but they guy grabbed on to my shoulder to stop me.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­if you let go right now, I will forgive you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my line! If you give me that paper back, I¡¯ll let you go!¡±


    He had an oddly high pitched shrill voice, and didn¡¯t show any signs of letting me go.


    Having come to that conclusion, I shook off his hand and used the back of my hand to smash directly at his face.


    The slimy faced guy must not be expecting me to suddenly attack him and was unable to defend in time and fell to the floor with a bleeding nose.


    While looking at that funny scene, I once again began walking back to the reception as if nothing had happened but¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°You bastard!! What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing!¡±


    ¡°Hey he started the fight! Don¡¯t let him run!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna get to even apologize!!¡±


    The surrounding adventurers who had been snickering and laughing before, suddenly switched to acting all angry after a moment¡¯s pause and charged at me who had hit the guy.


    Even the guild employees began to panic from seeing all these adventurers suddenly go on rampage but they didn¡¯t bother even trying to mediate the situation, a huge brawl kicked off between me and the multiple adventurers.

 CH 69

    The Punishment after the Incident


    ¡°¡­¡­Tch, that hurts, I guess taking on that big of a group was bit reckless even for me huh.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said to not escalate things, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°but Ralf, you jumped into the brawl too though?¡±


    After the huge brawl started inside the guild, it continued until one side fell and Esta¡¯s magic was the clincher making it end with our victory, technically speaking.


    But because we went on an all out rampage inside the guild, I was banned from taking requests for a week as punishment.


    Since technically it wasn¡¯t our fault, it ended with just that but in a worse case we could have ended up getting banned completely as well.


    Thanks to brawl we didn¡¯t get any work done today, and although only a little, I did get hurt.


    As far as fresh starts go, this was a bad omen for things to come.


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    ¡°I mean, seeing you get surrounded like that, I wasn¡¯t gonna just stand by and watch was I?! But seriously, who thinks of picking a fight with that many people at the same time? I get how your brain works but please be a bit smarter when picking your opponents man.¡±


    ¡°But I did pick the fight after thinking. Since I knew that Greath was the strongest in that guild and the only platinum rank, I was sure I could take on all the gold rank and below adventurers with ease but I guess I¡¯m still not strong enough.¡±


    ¡°No no no, are you joking? You beat the shit out of like 8 people at the same time¡­¡­¡­but anyway, what are we going to do tomorrow? Since we can¡¯t take requests.¡±


    That¡¯s not an issue.


    The only ones who got the ban were me and that slimy faced guy who picked a fight with me. Ralf and Esta were treated as people who were trying to actually stop the brawl so they didn¡¯t get any punishment.


    ¡°Ralf and Esta, you two will take on jobs as originally planned and work on increasing your rank. Thanks to the brawl, they¡¯ll think twice before picking another fight for at least some time I think.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡­¡­..but, if they try something again, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°For the time being, until you have accepted the request I¡¯ll follow you guys along so don¡¯t worry. And if they try something again¡ª¨CWell, I¡¯ll attack them one by one and this time I¡¯ll make them incapable of ever picking a fight ever again.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Scary. what the hell do you plan on doing to them?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll make them understand just how frightening it is to pick a fight with me. I mean, those guys all work for that Greath. As long as they aren¡¯t in a group, they¡¯ll fall apart pretty quickly.¡±


    Even this time, I beat them up quite well so I doubt they¡¯ll try again so soon but there¡¯s always a chance that someone unbelievable stupid exists so you never know.


    ¡°Alright, we got that part¡­¡­..So, what are you going to do tomorrow onwards? Will you help us instead?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ll go confine myself in the nearby forest. I need to find a replacement for the peixa forest after all.¡±


    ¡°You plan on continuing eating your poisonous plants here too?¡±


    ¡°I have no other way of getting stronger after all. Of course, I planned to go to the forest tomorrow regardless. In a way the ban was pretty convenient.¡±


    ¡°Convenient he says¡­¡­I get it but you really have no regrets about what happened huh.¡±


    ¡°Obviously. It¡¯s clearly all their fault after all.¡±


    It makes me irritated just thinking about it.


    It¡¯s bad for my mind so I began thinking about what to do in the forests tomorrow instead to take my mind off of it.


    The forests I plan on going to tomorrow is a place called the [Carlisle Forests].


    It¡¯s a deep forest a couple hours to the east from Oxter.


    Judging from what I saw on the requests posted on the board before the brawl began, there should be a lot of people around the entrance to the forest.


    I¡¯ll have to go into the depths just like I did in Peixa forest, so I should prepare properly beforehand.


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    The bear-like monster aside, Peixa forest was a generally pretty calm and gentle forest, almost unusually so. So it was easy to let your guard down and be careless.


    If I go to Carlisle forest assuming that things will be the same as Peixa forest, I¡¯m bound to be in a world of pain.


    Only after renewing my spirit, and preparing to the max, will I head to the Carlisle forest tomorrow.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­fufufu, but still, I¡¯m really excited.


    What kind of poisonous plants will I find I wonder.


    There could be stuff like Reizen grass, Genpei mushroom, Lizaf fruit that raised my Endurance stamina and strength respectively, or perhaps I could find some that raise my magic or agility, two types I have yet to find.


    While staring at the guidebook written by myself, I let my brain¡¯s imagination towards the Carlisle forest run amok as I slowly drifted to sleep.

 CH 70

    [Travelling Cat Store]


    The next morning.


    Acting as an escort to Esta and Ralf, we went to guild first thing in the morning.


    Perhaps because it was early in the morning, the adventurers from yesterday were nowhere to be seen, and the guild had a much more peaceful atmosphere.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯ll be fine today. I don¡¯t need to go inside, so I¡¯ll head on ahead okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Chris be careful when gathering your plants alright?¡±


    ¡°I know. If something happens here, run all the way to forest I marked on your map. It¡¯ll be hard to look for me inside a forest but you guys don¡¯t have much of a choice so work hard.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine I think, but we¡¯ll keep it mind nonetheless. If something major happens, we¡¯ll come to you straight.¡±


    ¡°Good. Alright then, good luck you two.¡±


    After seeing them off as they head inside the guild, I made my way to the commercial street.


    I more or less have things needed for my little camping trip, but I do need to buy some recovery potions, food and some Oblaat.


    ¡­¡­Also, before I enter the forest, I need to drop a visit by the Alchemist¡¯s place as well.


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    If he turns out to be a good guy, I¡¯ll buy some potions and also get some information about Carlisle forest.


    While thinking of such things, I finally arrived at the commercial street.


    Let¡¯s head to the Alchemist¡¯s store immediately.


    Since its still early in the morning I worried if it was open; but seeing the [OPEN] sign out front, looks like I¡¯m in luck.


    I entered the [Travelling Cat store]while appreciating the fashionable entrance.


    The bell on the door made a pleasant sound, and the shopkeeper having noticed me quickly walked up towards me.


    ¡°Hello and welcome to the [Travelling Cat store]!¡±


    The shopkeeper was a young, although slightly older than myself, woman.


    With short hair and a cute face, she was wearing a cute apron with a cat imprint on it¡­¡­..


    Apologies for judging a book by the cover but, this person does not look like an alchemist at all.


    ¡°This is my first time here, is the owner here?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡­¡­¡­um that would be me though!¡±


    ¡°Oh is that so. Apologies¡­¡­..so you¡¯re the alchemist?¡±


    ¡°Yes! My looks may deceive but I have been learning and practicing alchemy since I was young, and I¡¯m often referred to as the best alchemist in the entirety of Oxter!¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªhuh? Are there even any other alchemists in Oxter?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Well, I think so?¡±


    ¡°From my exploring yesterday, as far as I can tell this is the only alchemist store in town. Oxter only has you so wouldn¡¯t that automatically make you number one?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.ummm, I guess¡ª¡ªWell, no need to fret over the little things! So how can I help you today?¡±


    The alchemist quickly changed the topic with a wide smile on her face.


    Well, at least she doesn¡¯t look like a bad person but, what is this feeling of dissatisfaction I feel?


    Being quite different from the image of an alchemist I had in mind, I automatically had trouble trusting her fully.


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    ¡°I need to but some healing potions but maybe I¡¯ll¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°Healing potions you say! I have just the thing for you! Would you like to try one right here? You seem to have some injuries from what I can see, by all means give it a try yourself!¡±


    Before I could stop her, with a potion in hand, this questionable alchemist came out with some test samples.


    If I use them here, are we sure that I won¡¯t get more hurt instead?¡ª¡ª-I felt such a fear but I¡¯ll feel bad to turn down both her kindness and her smile.


    ¡°Sure¡­¡­..if its free, I¡¯ll take you up on that offer.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much! Please go ahead!!¡±


    She handed over a small bottle with green coloured healing potion, and timidly, I applied it over the wound on my lips that I got during the brawl.


    For a second, a sharp pain as if salt had been rubbed over the wound ran through my body but soon after, that pain disappeared and then the stinging pain of the wound also disappeared alongside it.


    ¡°ooh, damn that really worked.¡±


    ¡°but of course! This potion is a really good potion I tell you!¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I check my face for a second?¡±


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s a mirror right here so please check as much as you want!¡±


    I stood in front of the mirror I was led to, and checked the wound on which I had applied the potion.


    ¡­¡­¡­..? The wound hasn¡¯t closed up completely.


    I thought it had completely healed up but apparently not.


    ¡°Shopkeeper. What is this about?¡±


    ¡°Oh you¡¯re gonna ask that? You¡¯re gonna ask that after all eh!? Alright. You see, I have mixed a herb with cooling effect in a normal healing potion! I wanted to make a cheaper alternative to normal potion so I came up with this!¡±


    The way she talks is annoying to say the least but she might actually be a talented alchemist.


    My opinion of her from before did a u-turn, and I decided I should become friendly with this alchemist after all.


    ¡°this potion, I like it. I apologise for thinking you were not a trustworthy alchemist.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡­¡­..EEEHH!? you had that kind of opinion of me!?¡±


    ¡°You can stop with these melodramatic reactions for everything by the way. Anyway, how much do these potions cost?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a bit tough to answer¡­¡­¡­¡­umm you see, this may be a cheap potion but it still cost me quite some money to make them so, it¡¯ll be 2 silver coins!!¡±


    ¡°I see. Give me 5.¡±


    ¡°Eh! You¡¯ll buy 5 of them? Thank you very much!!¡±


    ¡°Well, if you are that grateful¡­¡­¡­mind chatting with me for a while?¡±


    I wanted to get some info on the Carlisle forest so I tried a basic negotiation tactic to get her to talk.


    Judging by how quickly she jumps on things, surely she¡¯ll go along right?


    ¡°eh, eh eh? A C-chat you say¡­¡­? So-sorry! This is not that kind of establishment! If you¡¯re looking for some s-s-sexy time, please go to those kinds of shop! You don¡¯t need to buy any potions either!!¡±


    I was left baffled by the sudden change in her attitude. What was she even talking about?


    I feel like I was never on the same wavelength with her during the entire conversation but could it be that this alchemist is completely delusional?


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    ¡°Who the hell even asked for that. I wanted info on some things so I asked that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°R-really? That¡¯s all¡­¡­¡­.?¡±


    ¡°Haaa, whatever I¡¯m leaving. Don¡¯t need the potions. I feel tired just talking to you.¡±


    Fed up, I said that to the alchemist who was hugging herself with both hands in embarrassment.


    I left the potions I was going to buy on the desk, and as I put my hands on the door to leave, the alchemist pulled on my right arm.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-What? Let go of me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry! Please buy my potions! I¡¯m in trouble because the sales are dwindling! I¡¯ll do anything!!¡±


    Been a while since I met someone more annoying that even Ralf.


    My sighs didn¡¯t stop coming out, but maybe I should buy them still if she gives me some good info?


    ¡­¡­..but, I don¡¯t want to be friendly with her anymore.


    ¡°I said something stupid because of some dumb delusions, please forgive me for it!!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Tch, fine. I¡¯ll buy the potions as originally planned. Also, you¡¯ll answer whatever I ask okay?¡±


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you very much!!¡±


    I handed over one gold coin to the delusional alchemist as she continued bowing her head continuously, and put the 5 potions inside the bag.


    ¡­¡­¡­She must be really struggling financially, she held the coin like it was treasure, and quickly put it inside the safe.


    ¡°Oi, can I ask my questions now?¡±


    ¡°Ah, please wait! I¡¯ll pour some herb tea so please come here!¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯m not here to relax.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.is it not a question that¡¯ll take much time then? Then, isn¡¯t it really a lewd request after all?¡±


    ¡°Say that again, and I¡¯ll take my money back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    I sighed for the nth time today, and then began launching my questions at her right there and then because I was tired of dealing with her any longer.

 CH 71

    Information on the Plant life around Oxter


    ¡°Tell me everything you know about the Carlisle forest.¡±


    ¡°Carlisle forest you say? Dear customer, you sure are curious about a strange thing! Very well. I just so happen to be an expert as far as the Carlisle forest is concerned!¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡­tell me about what kind of monsters show up, and plants that you should never eat. ¡ª¨CAlso, tell me if these plants, the ones described and shown on this paper, can be found in any place nearby.¡±


    I brought my own self written notes and records, of Reizen grass, Genpei mushroom, and Lizaf fruit and handed over the page to the alchemist as I questioned her.


    ¡°Allow me to check! Uumm¡­¡­.these have small purple flowers and posses poison? There¡¯s no real differentiator and there¡¯s a lot of similar looking flowers so I can¡¯t tell for sure in regards to this one. Next is¡­¡­.white grass and mushroom with red specks on the stem? I have never seen these either¡ª-umm lastly¡­¡­.a purple fruit with white spots on it! I know this one!!¡±


    ¡°Really!? Tell me all about it.¡±


    ¡°These fruits grow everywhere in Carlisle forest! You can find them near the entrance to the forest as well but, these are incredibly poisonous so you must never eat them or so I have been taught many many times over the years!¡±


    Nice! I did a little fist pump.


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    If there¡¯s Lizaf fruits to be found here, that alone gives this area a passing mark at the very least.


    Also, if they are native to the Carlisle forest then it¡¯ll make things much simpler.


    ¡°Thanks for the info. So, can you tell me about the forest itself?¡±


    ¡°Umm, you wanted to know about plants and vegetation that you definitely shouldn¡¯t eat in the forest, right? Well, the first one would be the fruit that you just asked about. Then there¡¯s two other specific ones I can think of. First one is a type of leaf, that¡¯s in the shape of heart called Jinpi! It has multiple poisonous spikes and they say that even a little stab from those could kill you.¡±


    A plant with spikes eh¡­¡­..


    Poisonous plants come in various types but that was one that even I had been intentionally avoiding.


    I may be fine with poison but spikes are a whole different kind of problem.


    If its messed up and hurt my insides, it won¡¯t be a joke so I refuse to eat those.


    ¡°Next, there¡¯s a plant called Ongneer. It¡¯s a fruit that looks like a green apple and apparently has so much poison that I was told to not even go close to it.¡±


    ¡°Ongneer¡­¡­.!? The ¡®apple of death¡¯ you mean?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes! That¡¯s the one! It¡¯s famous even among common people, and is commonly known as the ¡®apple of death¡¯ as you just said.¡±


    This is¡ª¨CI just suddenly landed on some incredible information,


    In the book from Botanist Otto, there were mentions of this apple of death.


    Outside of the Fruit of Skill, this was another fruit that Otto really wanted to research about and felt that it hid incredible natural potential inside because of the strength of the poison inside it.


    I don¡¯t the exact details but apparently the affects of the fruit can vary from person to person including greatly increasing one¡¯s natural abilities, making it quite similar to the Fruit of Skill or so was hypothesized in the book from Otto.


    In his records, in the Carlisle forest segment, its existence in the forest was not mentioned so this is a lucky break for me.


    ¡°Oi! Tell me more details, anything you know about Ongneer. Like where can it be found in the forest, what sorts of environment does it grow in etc.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! But I don¡¯t know such details. I mean, it¡¯s said to not even go close to it so there¡¯s hardly any people who have even seen it even.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­Well I suppose that¡¯s only natural.


    I doubt there¡¯s anyone outside myself or Otto who would go out of their way to look for such a deadly poisonous fruit.


    I guess I was being too greedy for information.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re right¡­¡­.But you¡¯re info was very helpful. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°no no! Also, in regards to what kind of monsters show up. And this kjust information I have heard from others but apparently in the depths of the forest, a strange bird has been seen!¡±


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    ¡°A strange bird? What kind of monster is it?¡±


    ¡°Sorry but this nothing more than hearsay and rumours so there are no further details. I haven¡¯t heard of any other dangerous monster living in that forest outside of that strange bird, and is generally a pretty peaceful place in my opinion! Well, its only natural considering adventurers do go to exterminate monsters in that area from time to time after all!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I see. I got to hear a lot of good stuff. Almost more than what those potions were worth.¡±


    I did come here hoping that an Alchemist would be knowledgeable, and turns out I was absolutely right.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad if you really feel that way! I do take pride in my knowledge about plants and monsters so please by all means come whenever you have any questions!!¡­..Ah, right! I hadn¡¯t even introduced myself had I? I am the Alchemist, Shantell! Dear customer, may I ask yours as well?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..My name¡¯s Chris.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san then! I¡¯ll remember it! Please drop by again!¡±


    ¡°Sure, If I feel like it I will.¡±


    Saying that, I left the store.


    The shopkeeper Shantell was, frankly speaking, the type I was the worst with in terms of personality but regardless of that, I was able to get some great info as well as some useful looking potions.


    Her annoying personality aside, she seems pretty talkative so I¡¯m probably going to end up becoming a regular customer of hers.


    While thinking of such things, I bought some Oblatt and preserved food items from the stalls, and began walking towards the Carlisle forests.

 CH 72

    Carlisle Forest


    With the map as my guide, I continued walking east until I finally reached the Carlisle forest.


    Just like Shantell said, I could see a couple adventurers here and there near the entrance.


    Also, probably the ones who made the subjugation requests in the first place, I could also see a bunch of woodcutters here as well. Quite a lot more people around here when compared to the Peixa forest.


    It¡¯ll be a pain if among those adventurers there were also ones who picked a fight with me yesterday but¡­¡­oh well, I can¡¯t pay them too much attention.


    Adventurers near the entrance are most probably all bronze rank anyway, so if they really tried picking a fight I¡¯ll just quickly deal with them and be on my way.


    With such readiness, I boldly walked through the entrance and made my way inside the forest proper.


    Looks like there weren¡¯t any of those kind of adventurers among the ones near the entrance but looks like the rumours about me have already spread as they quickly moved back as if running away at the sight of me.


    What a horrible reputation I have already but I guess it¡¯s better than them constantly picking a fight with me.


    I was mostly avoided by people in Realzard as well so I¡¯m used to it at this point.


    While looking for Lizaf fruits that supposedly grow near the entrance, I walked around the forest.


    .


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    About 30 minutes since I entered the forest, I have yet to find any fruit similar to Lizaf fruit.


    I got a bit suspicious if Shantell gave me false information but it¡¯s too early to come to conclusions.


    ¡­¡­..all that said, the number of monsters here is not normal.


    It was still pretty okay near the entrance but in this area, the number of monsters seems to be a whole lot more.


    Just like Shantell said, it¡¯s only just goblins and kobolds and the occasional Loud Frog so far from anything dangerous but it¡¯s a far cry from Peixa forest.


    ¡­¡­.or perhaps, its this forest that has the normal amount of monsters? And the odd one was the Peixa forest which was probably because of the existence of that bear like monster.


    While making such considerations, I continued walking to the inner depths of the forest while hunting monsters.


    Another thirty minutes passed just like that and I finally found my first Lizaf fruit in this forest.


    Purple fruit with white spots. There¡¯s no doubt it¡¯s the same poisonous one.


    I gathered all of them inside my bag, and continued searching the area and making my further and further deeper into the forest.


    .


    Approximately 3 hours had passed since I got here.


    I had been attacked by many monster up to this point and had also gathered a decent amount of Lizaf fruits as well.


    I wonder if the Lizaf trees near the entrance had been intentionally cut down because they were so dangerous.


    Also, Shantell said that she didn¡¯t know but I have also found some Reizen grass here and there as well.


    As expected, taking notes about their little details like habitat was greatly helpful as I had a better idea of where to find such plants and where they are more likely to grow.


    Anyway, I continued a bit more further inside and began looking for a nice place to turn into my base.


    I hoped I could find a place between two rocks with a good airflow and sunlight like the one I had in Peixa forest, but that seems like it¡¯d be impossible considering the geography of this area.


    While considering having to make a base from complete scratch, I went even deeper into the forest.


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    .


    Soon after I began my search for a base.


    After coming here I had been wondering that there were way too many goblins here but as it turns out, they had a nest here.


    It was small grotto like place, and I could see goblins crawling around and going in an dout of the grotto.


    I was about to move away deciding not to get anywhere close to it¡ª¨Cbut only for second, because that cave¡­¡­


    Was exactly the kind of place I was looking for to turn into a base.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Guess I¡¯ll destroy them.¡±


    I suddenly muttered.


    If I didn¡¯t, they¡¯ll be an obstacle to my plant gathering anyway then I might as well get rid of them before hand.


    I hid myself I a tree to scout and see if it was doable alone, and checked the goblins going in and out.


    Most of them were normal goblins though there were a couple goblin warriors and a goblin archer mixed in the group.


    And inside, there were 2 hobgoblins eh¡­¡­¡­


    Well, its not like I could see all the way inside the grotto but if its just about this level of force, I should be able to handle it.


    Having made my decision to crush their base, I put down the bag I was carrying and drew my steel sword as I slowly crept closer.


    The moment I didn¡¯t have any more place to hide, I jumped out and started my ambush.


    First, I began with annihilating the Goblins roaming around the nest.


    Making sure that I kill them with a single strike, I took two more down who couldn¡¯t react to my sudden appearance.


    Next, I set my sights on the goblin archer who could hit me from afar, and while ignoring everyone else, I rushed straight into the grotto.


    They were definitely a class above normal goblins as they didn¡¯t panic from my ambush and calmly knocked their bow to aim at me.


    It was aimed was directly at my heart.


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    But if I know where its aiming, I could dodge it if I pay attention to the timing its fired.


    I focused my sights only on the part of its hand that was pulling on the bow.


    So as to not miss the timing, the moment the arm released the string¡ª¨C


    I took a step inside and avoided the arrow and then sliced the goblin in two before it could even draw a second arrow.


    Fuu, taking a small breath I quickly confirmed if there were any other goblin archers inside the grotto.


    ¡­¡­..looks like it was the only one.


    There were also only the 2 hobgoblins that I saw before and as for goblin warriors, there were 2 more hidden inside the cave making them 5 total after including the ones I saw before.


    ¡°Ngaaah! Guagggaa! Gugagah!!¡±


    The 2 hobgoblins made some sort of cry, probably ordering the goblins to kill me but no matter how many goblins you bring in, they had no chance against me in close quarters.


    Cleanly slicing apart the 3 goblins that attacked me, I rushed towards the hobgoblins who were the boss of this nest.


    Hobgoblins were a monster of size somewhere between an Orc and a normal goblin.


    And outside of their pale green skin, they basically looked the same as goblins.


    They carried a club as their weapon and took pride in their strength but that was only in comparison to other goblins.


    Their movements were dull so, I calmly dodge the club¡¯s swing and stabbed directly at its heart with my steel sword.


    The thin sword made it harder to complete cut through but instead, was exceptional at thrust attacks.


    As for the second hobgoblin, I stabbed at its legs various times to stop its movement and once its body crumbled, I stabbed straight into its skull.


    All that¡¯s left are normal ones and a couple goblin warriors but¡­¡­


    Seeing their boss killed, the other goblins began escaping simultaneously.


    Well with this, I guess I can just consider wiping them out as part of my base cleaning work.


    After annihilating the rest, I succeeded in completely destroying the goblin nest.


    ¡°Humanoid monsters really are easy to fight¡­¡­..Now then, let¡¯s clean up the goblin corpses and then begin making the base properly.¡±


    While muttering to myself, I moved to creating my base.


    Since it was goblin nest in the first place, I could use it as is and it would be fine but since I planned to use it for many more times in the future, I suppose it won¡¯t hurt to put in a bit more effort right now.


    The goblins that were roaming around while I destroyed the nest are also likely to come back later when I go to sleep so I need to create some kind of defensive fence as well.


    I gave up on anymore plant gathering for the day, and focused solely on creating the base.

 CH 73

    A Heavy Atmosphere


    The next day after I turned the goblin nest into my base.


    Finally today, I could focus on collecting poisonous plants, my main objective here.


    My main aim was, the ¡®apple of death¡¯, the Ongneer fruit.


    And also collect as many, Lizaf rfuit, Reizen grass and genpei mushrooms.


    Also, I wanted to collect other new poisonous plants that haven¡¯t been found and hopefully find one that can increase my agility or magical power.


    I especially want to find one for Agility. It¡¯s a vital stat.


    While praying that one exists in this forest, I planned to eat as many new types I could find here.


    After having a breakfast of Lizaf fruits, I slapped my cheeks to reinvigorate myself and once again began my exploration of the forest.


    .


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    About half a day had passed since I began exploring.


    I had yet to find Ongneer but I did find out that this forest filled with Lizaf fruits.


    This forest must have the perfect condition and environment for Lizaf trees to grow.


    Right now, the ability I want to increase the most is my physical strength which this fruits offers so I¡¯ll take as much as I can from here.


    While making sure that I didn¡¯t take everything and kill the plant, I rapidly gathered Lizaf fruits in huge numbers.


    Also, I had found some reizen grass and genpei mushrooms as well making it so that all three ability increasing plants from Peixa forest were available here in this forest as well.


    While I was relieved to have found all three here as well, Reizen grass and genpei mushrooms were a lot more rarer here and so I wondered if perhaps they were not native to this forest but could be found in huge numbers in another somewhere else.


    While wondering about how to plan my future gathering trips, I continued my current harvesting¡ª¨Cwhen suddenly, I felt a presence that sent chills down my spine.


    While searching for the source of this odd presence, I raised my vigilance and cautiously scoured the area.


    This felt somewhat similar to the time I ran into that bear-like monster, but I didn¡¯t feel it coming closer to me¡­¡­.While wondering if I had stepped into an area with a weird presence, I felt suppressed by the heavy atmosphere.


    The ¡®strange bird¡¯ that Shantell had told me about ran through my head but, the more I felt it, this was not the presence of a monster.


    After a while, to find the source of this I crouched down and began looking around the area when suddenly, in the corner of my eye I caught something strange.


    It was too far off so I couldn¡¯t see clearly but I could see something collapsed on the ground.


    The weird feeling continued to increase the closer I got to that collapsed thing, so I was sure that whatever was releasing this heavy atmosphere was around that place.


    While hiding in the bushes, I continued approaching closer when¡­¡­..


    It was the rotting corpse of goblin.


    And¡ª¡ªaround its chest area , as if breaking out of it, a single young tree was growing out of it.


    Maybe because it was using the corpse of the goblin as nutrients to grow, it was jet black in colour, and was truly creepy to look at.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Hm? Is that small green fruit growing on it?


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    Since it was the same colour as the ¡®apple of death¡¯ that I had been searching for, I unconsciously dropped all my vigilance and carelessly approached close to it.


    Looking closely, it was definitely not a flower bud, but a small fruit instead.


    Maybe the fruit was small because the tree was small¡ª¡ª¡ªbut maybe this really was the apple of death?


    I wasn¡¯t certain but things were definitely lining up.


    If this was actually Ongneer, the talk about this fruit supposedly holding an incredible amount of latent power might actually be true.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.So that¡¯s how it is.¡±


    After thinking further, a single hypothesis came up in my brain.


    According to Otto, there was great variety in every Ongneer and depending on situation it¡¯s effects would greatly vary according to the book.


    And, considering the Ongneer in front of me was using a goblin¡¯s corpse as a host, it must be sucking  nutrients off of its body to grow.


    Which means that the supposed individual difference in every Ongneer depended on which thing it was using as a host, or at least that was my personal hypothesis.


    If it was not this goblin, and instead was using that bear-like monster as its host, just what would happen¡ª¡ª


    A truly incredible fruit would grow out of it, I was sure.


    It was creepy and terrifying to look at but this Ongneer also made me equally excited as well.


    For the time being, I harvested one of the small fruit growing out of this one, and calmly walked away from there.


    I don¡¯t yet know the lifecycle and ecology of this Ongneer was, so if it wasn¡¯t a poisonous plant and was instead  a parasitic plant, it could be troublesome for me.


    Even if I had [Null Poison], I doubt it would work against parasites so it was a risk even for me.


    I felt fear just thinking what would happen if it was a parasitic fruit as I returned to my base.

 CH 74

    A Great Harvest


    A week has passed since I entered Carlisle forest.


    Perhaps because I am deep into the forest as well as living inside a former goblin nest, I obviously didn¡¯t run into any other humans and was never attacked by monsters either. And had safely reached the last day of my stay.


    In regards to Ongneer, I have yet to show any weird symptoms and have been pretty healthy since then.


    That said, after that first day I found Ongneer, I never ran into another different one again for the entire week.


    So for my haul, other than the first one, I only had two more that I picked later on from the same place but the mere fact that Ongneer could be found in Carlisle forest was a reward in and of itself.


    Other than that, my general gathering of poisonous plants continued normally as well and I was able to gather Lizaf fruits in almost three time bigger quantity than what I¡¯d usually get in Peixa forest. On the other hand, my harvest of Reizen grass and genpei mushroom was half to the usual quantity¡­¡­


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    As for new types of poisonous plants, I had gathered around 20 different types.


    Inside those 20 new plants, there was also that spiky one that Shantell had told me about, the jinpi leaf, but I had yet to decide on how to make this work.


    Among three Shantell had warned me about, two of them were Lizaf fruit and Ongneer, so I suspect that this Jinpi leaves should also have some great ability increasing effect hidden within and I ended up gathering it as well, almost unconsciously.


    Just like she said, the leaf had a number of spikes attached to it and no matter how you look at it, it was impossible to eat directly.


    I did try and sun-dry it but it was still spiky enough to cut into your skin¡­¡­if it was going to get in the way, should I just throw them in the end?


    Until I left the base, I kept considering what to do but¡­¡­.in the end I decided to bring it with me anyway.


    Who knows maybe Esta could come with some great idea to overcome this problem, and maybe Shantell could find a way as well.


    And so, I put them all in inside a big bag, and finally, after a week-long stay, I left Carlisle forest.


    It was another bountiful harvest on this side but I wonder how Esta and Ralf managed in the meantime.


    They were to get some requests on the first day without any issue, and they didn¡¯t come inside the forest afterwards either.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I mean there was a chance that they simply didn¡¯t manage to find me but I want to believe that they were able to get by without any issues.


    While thinking of those two, I returned to Oxter and made my way straight to [Tree Top Tower].


    The Carlisle forest had a lot of little streams, and ponds and water holes, and there was even a pond quite close to my base so I did clean my body everyday but¡­¡­.I still want to enjoy a good old shower.


    With that deep desire, I opened the door to Room 201 to see Ralf and Esta relaxing about as always.


    ¡°I¡¯m back. Was everything okay you two?¡±


    ¡°Chris, you¡¯re back safe! Yeah, after the first day, they didn¡¯t pick a fight again. They did keep snickering and laughing at us from far away though!¡±


    ¡°If laughing is all they can do then let them do as they please. We all have faced enough of that  up to this point in our lives anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Neither me or Esta let it get to us!¡±


    ¡°So, how did things go for you Chris-san? Did you get a good harvest?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­..Well let¡¯s go with that for now. Let¡¯s talk after I¡¯ve taken a shower first though. I did properly clean myself before coming back but I have been handling and brought some pretty dangerous stuff so I don¡¯t want to accidently cause either of you any harm.¡±


    ¡°Oi Oi! It¡¯s not like you need our permission so hurry up and go in! Or rather, don¡¯t bring these things back to our room if they are that dangerous!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it can I? I don¡¯t have any other place to store them. It¡¯s mostly fruits, and I have sealed them properly inside my bag so it should be fine.¡±


    That said, considering Shantell said that normal people don¡¯t even approach them, and recalling that scene of Goblin¡¯s corpse being used a host¡­¡­..


    There¡¯s no doubt that these things are extremely dangerous.


    Just what kind of effects does this Ongneer fruit possess?


    While getting egged on by my own curiosity to quickly find it out, I first headed to the shower to properly clean my body first and foremost.

 CH 75

    Report Meeting


    After getting out of the shower and calming down a bit, we began a meeting to report on each other¡¯s current status and condition.


    ¡°fuu, I really feel refreshed. Having a personal bath really is the best.¡±


    ¡°I know right! I never could have guessed how much of difference having it would make to our day-to-day mood.¡±


    ¡°When we were in Realzard, maybe we should have switched out from [Shangri-la hotel] after all? I did occasionally go along with Chris to a nearby public bathhouse, but man that cost a pretty penny too.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡­..I¡¯m don¡¯t know about that. It would have been impossible to get here without the life we had back then. I don¡¯t think we would have appreciated our current condition as much either to be honest.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s certainly truth to that. When we were still living in the back streets, or when we were barely managing our day to day while hunting goblins; it¡¯s because of the struggle we had experienced back then that made us constantly try and aim even further and get to this point.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡­..well, enough talk about baths. Let¡¯s talk about how our weeks went.¡±


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    Having enjoyed my bath after a long week, I unconsciously ended up talking about it in appreciation.


    Returning back to the real topic, we began talking about our weeks.


    ¡°As for our accomplishments for the week, we have report to make to Chris.¡±


    ¡°Report?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, actually¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°I got promoted to Silver rank!¡±


    Ralf sunk back as Esta announced so with a loud voice.


    I see, so Esta has finally risen to Silver as well.


    She hasn¡¯t failed a request yet, and had been constantly completing Designated requests so I did wonder if it was about time she made it.


    ¡°To be honest, I thought you might get there while we still in Realzard but still, congratulations on finally getting promoted.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, all of this thanks to Chris-san¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°No need to thank me. This is a result of your own hardwork¡­¡­¡­.And what of Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯ll take a bit longer. A pretty big gap still exists between me and Esta because of the time I took during my rehab.¡±


    ¡°that makes sense. Well, don¡¯t be hasty and continue finishing requests as always and you¡¯ll get there soon. Anything else to report?¡±


    When I asked, both of them put their fingers on their chin and began pondering.


    ¡­¡­..Well, what we¡¯re doing here is not so different from how we were back in Realzard.


    ¡°That Greath didn¡¯t pick any more fights with us¡­¡­..yeah, I don¡¯t think we have anything else to report outside Esta¡¯s promotion, do we?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t. Until Ralf gets promoted as well, Esta you will continue helping Ralf as always.¡±


    ¡°Yes, understood!¡±


    ¡°Then, it¡¯s your turn now Chris. What all did you accomplish in the past week?¡±


    Well, Where do I even start.


    Well, I should perhaps stick with chronological order otherwise it might be hard to keep up with everything so I began talking about my visit to Shantell first.


    ¡°Before I went to the forest, I made friends with the Alchemist here.¡±


    ¡°By that you mean, the store you showed interest in back then?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s the one. It¡¯s run by a young alchemist woman, about the same age as ourselves. And I got some good potions from there as well.¡±


    I took out the potions I bought from [Travelling Cat Store] and handed one each to both of them.


    ¡°Huh, is it different from the usual ones? Looks exactly the same though?¡±


    ¡°It has a cooling effect mixed into it as well which helps in reducing irritation and inflammation by cooling the wound, or so I was told.¡±


    ¡°Amazing! Someone as young as us made a potion like this?¡±


    ¡°She seemed pretty knowledgeable about areas surrounding Oxter as well, so I¡¯ll introduce you two later on. Her personality is a bit annoying to be honest, but she¡¯s not a bad person at heart.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait to meet her! Maybe she¡¯ll sell us things cheaper if we become good friends with her eh?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. She seemed to struggling with money these days so that might not happen.¡±


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    After taking about Shantell, I began talking about the Carlisle forest next.


    ¡°So how did your trip to the forest go? Was it better than the one you used to go to?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I could give a simple conclusion like that. The forest I used to go to was definitely a lot more peaceful which was nicer. It had a decent variety of poisonous plants and it was pretty easy to just devote yourself to gathering and harvesting them there.¡±


    ¡°And in comparison, how¡¯s the one near Oxter then?¡±


    ¡°Well for one, the number of monster is crazy huge. But on the other hand, the variety of poisonous plants was much bigger here as well. I was able to find the ones I was looking for as well, and if everything goes well, I should be able to get pretty damn strong in this forest.¡±


    Not just physical abilities, I could find one that could provide me a Skill as well.


    There was a lot still unknown about the ¡®The apple of death¡¯ Ongneer but on the contrary, its potential seems incredible as well.


    And so I explained all these things to both of them.

 CH 76

    The Power to Surpass God


    ¡°It¡¯s very much like you to so confidently say that you¡¯ll get much stronger. So, this supposedly super dangerous fruit that you talked about, what exactly is it? Is it that different from the ones you got near Realzard?¡±


    ¡°The ones I got near Realzard were, well if a normal person ate it, maybe in a few minutes¡ª-could even be instantly, they¡¯ll be dead. But the one I found in Carlisle forest is on a whole different level.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand. What even is there above ¡®instant death¡¯ level?¡±


    ¡°The one I found this time is one that people say could kill if you just approach close to it.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you¡­¡­¡­.the hell kind of thing have you been carrying around!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s safely sealed inside my bag so it should be fine¡­¡­..probably.¡±


    Well I can¡¯t be totally certain but as long as I keep it strictly bound and sealed, it should be fine.


    Also, Ongneer¡¯s fruit itself was fine to even approach I think, or maybe that¡¯s just me being presumptuous.


    As far as I could tell, the flowers of Ongneer spread around extremely toxic seeds in the air around the plant, which if you breathe in would instantly kill you.


    Structurally speaking, they were close to how Dandelions spread their fluffy bits around.


    And whatever living thing breathes those in, the seeds will have then plant itself into its heart and use and suck up the flesh and blood of the corpse as nutrients to grow, is my guess at least.


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    ¡°If I die from this, it won¡¯t be a joke man. Please be careful when using it!¡±


    ¡°I know of course. I won¡¯t touch it when I¡¯m around people at all.¡±


    ¡°So, what kind of effect does this super strong poisonous plant have then?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. I plan to find it out from now on¡­¡­..But, according to a certain source of information I have, it can apparently grant a Skill to the person.¡±


    When I said that, Ralf stood up in surprise.


    And even Esta, in a rare moment, looked completely shocked.


    ¡°HAA!? Grant a S-Skill? As if that¡¯s real!?¡±


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not fully convinced either but according to the info I have, it is a real possibility. Well, I won¡¯t know until do more research.¡±


    ¡°So there is a way to get Skills outside of [heaven¡¯s Blessing]?!¡­¡­..I, always wondered this, but isn¡¯t Chris-san¡¯s skill something that completely surpasses even god¡¯s own abilities?¡±


    ¡± I too felt the same thing. I mean, it¡¯s weird isn¡¯t it? Not just raising physical abilities but also learning new Skills?! This way beyond normal man!¡±


    Ralf and Esta made some crazy proclamations but, I don¡¯t see my skill as something beyond the power of gods.


    I mean, it¡¯s not me that¡¯s amazing, it¡¯s these plants that while being unable to move were able evolve themselves to this level just to protect themselves from predators.


    The fruit of that evolution was their [poison], and the energy to create and retain that poison constantly within themselves.


    All I do is devour those evolutionary plants to increase my strength, it¡¯s closer to me plundering their strength for my own gains.


    That¡¯s why, if there is a power that could surpass gods¡­¡­.it belongs to this earth, and the plants that grow and evolve on these vast lands just to survive.


    Normally speaking, an act that steals power from others would be considered a heresy but for the sake of my revenge, I will not question the means.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s still not confirmed whether the thing about Skills is true or not. What I can say is that my skill, is not as outrageous as you¡¯re making it to be.¡±


    I turned the place silent with those words, and all three of us slipped into our thoughts wondering about various things.


    ¡­¡­..this talk took a strange turn and now the mood is weird but, I thought of things I still needed to ask and once again began talking to Esta, to fix this mood as well.


    ¡°Lastly, Esta I had a question, do you mind?¡±


    ¡°A question? For me? If I can answer by all means ask away.¡±


    ¡°I need to find a way to eat this plant but, can you think of a good way?¡­¡­..Ah, don¡¯t touch it at any cost. It¡¯s obviously poisonous.¡±


    I took out a Jinpi leaf from my bag and showed it to Esta.


    ¡°Uwaah, it¡¯s got a lot of sharp spikes huh¡­¡­¡­..Chris-san, do you really plan on eating this?¡±


    ¡°If I could without getting my insides stabbed by these spikes, yes I will.¡±


    ¡°Hm, you could pull them out one by one or maybe crush it and grind into down is all I could think of, but can you even grind these spikes?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no I already tried that. You can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Say, couldn¡¯t you like light it up and suck up the fumes instead? You know, like tobacco and cigarettes. Those things have grass inside no?¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Now that¡¯s an idea off of left field. Even surprising that it came from Ralf out of all people. I couldn¡¯t hide my surprise.


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    I don¡¯t know if I can actually try it considering turning a poisonous plant into fumes normally will probably cause harm to surroundings but, I never thought such an inventive idea would come from Ralf.


    ¡°true, while I doubt I could try such thing with people around considering the damage it may cause but I could do it in a place where no one else is around. Never would have thought Ralf to come up with such a thing.¡±


    ¡°What the hell! I too use my brain sometimes!¡±


    ¡°if smoking it doesn¡¯t work, it really might be impossible with any other way no?¡­¡­or maybe, you could get your alchemist friend to turn it into a potion maybe?¡±


    ¡°A potion eh? It¡¯ll probably be a hard to swallow taste but that might be the most realistic option. Thanks Esta, I¡¯ll go talk to her when I get the chance.¡±


    Asking Shantell is certainly the safest option in my opinion.


    It¡¯s so hard to handle, I really started regretting not throwing it away again but¡­¡­¡­..


    Now that I have come this far, my greed to find out its effects was stronger.


    Anyway, with that talk done, our meeting was finally over.


    Tomorrow, I¡¯ll go accept my first request in Oxter.


    To make sure so as to not repeat the last time¡¯s incident, I¡¯ll head to the guild while being cautious of not running into Greath.

 CH 77

    Ambush


    After doing my preparations, today I headed to the guild by myself.


    If something happens, it¡¯ll be just me and it¡¯ll be troublesome if the other two got involved again as well.


    Entering the guild street, I peeked a quick glance at the Chruch at the end of the street.


    I have yet to pay a visit to the church in OXter, and I really wanted to get another ability assessment done as well but¡­¡­..


    After finishing a request safely today, I plan on doing that tomorrow.


    While feeling excited about it, I entered the guild.


    I came here first thing in the morning but as expected¡ª-Greath was here after all.


    Well, it¡¯s almost cute how he waited exactly for the day my suspension would end and even bothered to wake up early just for me if I think about it.


    I tried to pass through while ignoring him but he stood up and blocked my way.


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    ¡°Oioi oi! Aren¡¯t you just so cruel for ignoring me like that!?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Don¡¯t touch me. Unless you want to end up busted like your lackeys.¡±


    ¡°*hyuu* how cool!¡­¡­try and hit me. ¡ª¡ªOi c¡¯mon try and hit me!!¡±


    He brought is face close to mine and began shouting as if to threaten me.


    ¡­¡­¡­man, this guy really pisses me off.


    For a second I really considered just slicing him down but, let¡¯s be real I can¡¯t do something like that in such a place.


    Well he¡¯s asking to get hit, so doing just that should be fine right?


    Thinking that, right when I was about to punch my fist directly into his face¡ª¨C


    ¡°Pl-please do not fight¡­..in-inside the g-guild.¡±


    While holding on to a her skirt, one of the receptionist girls spoke up.


    Last time around, the guild ignored and waited from the sidelines but looks like this time they gave a pre-emptive warning.


    I lowered my fist and obeyed the receptionists instructions.


    ¡°¡­¡­.Oi, who the fuck are you to be complaining to me? HUH!? You do know what will happen if I leave this adventurer guild! Oi!!¡±


    Switching targets from me to the receptionist, Greath approached slowly walked closer to the receptionist and began threatening her.


    Umm¡­..if I recall correctly in such a situation¡ª¨C


    If it¡¯s to save a person, surely I won¡¯t get into trouble even if I kill him right?


    Convincing myself in a suspicious manner, I slashed at Greath from behind.


    He¡¯s pretty armoured up but nothing survives getting their head chopped off.


    While holding on to my sword¡¯s grip, I quickly closed in on him¡ª¨Cand unsheathed with his neck as my aim.


    ¡°Stop this right this instant¡ª¡ªthat goes for you too, the adventurer behind him!¡±


    I was almost certainly going to lop his head off but was suddenly stopped from doing so.


    It was by a slender old man, who was wearing clothes similar yet somewhat different from the rest of the receptionists.


    Judging by the shining gold badge that was proof of being a guild employee, was this old man the chief of this guild?


    ¡°Why, if it isn¡¯t the Guild Chief Michael himself! To think even the chief would try and stop me?¡±


    ¡°I am fully aware how important you are to this guild. That is why  I have been tolerating your actions but¡­¡­..if you think you can get away with raising a hand on my subordinates, well, you have another thing coming.¡±


    With a clear confident voice, the guild chief spoke to greath.


    Even from behind him I could tell that nerves were popping on Greath¡¯s head from rage, that¡¯s how angry he was¡ª¡ª


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    ¡°It¡¯s a joke, just a silly joke. I was just poking some fun that¡¯s all. I would never actually attack them, so calm down. You¡¯ll be in trouble as well if I got ousted from this guild right?¡±


    Raising both hands, he spoke in a joking tone.


    He¡¯s threatening with his words, but similarly even he knows that he and his group can¡¯t just let go of their ¡®castle¡¯ so easily either.


    I mean he can act all high and mighty while being just a platinum rank only in place like this.


    That¡¯s why the guild should also be more proactive against him but I suppose, for them it will be an legit issue if Greath actually left as well.


    That¡¯s why they usually take the modest route, because there is always a chance he might really leave.


    I personally would rather let this place go out of business than ever suck up to a shitty bastard like him to be honest though.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Please make sure to not create too much problems alright?¡±


    ¡°I know I know. Let¡¯s get along as always okay?¡±


    Saying that he turned around and while glaring at me walked past by me.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky, getting saved like that.¡±


    Greath whispered that quietly into my ears.


    Having his face so close to me made me disgusted enough to give me shivers but ignored it, and walked towards the receptionist that originally warned us.


    ¡°Thank you for speaking up. You helped me.¡±


    ¡°n-no, I was just d-doing my j-job.¡±


    She was still shivering from the incident, and her grip on her skirt only got stronger.


    I wondered how to calm her down but id don¡¯t think I, who picked a fight with that Greath, could do anything to calm her down.


    ¡°Suzanna-san, you can go back and take a break¡­.and you, come with me. We need to talk.¡±


    The receptionist was taken back two other guild employees that came out and retreated to the backyard.


    On the other hand, the guild chief took me to one of the usual consultation counters.


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    ¡°You are the one that picked a fight with Greath-san recently aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well, if we¡¯re being technical that¡¯s not true, but yes, I did have quarrel with Greath. ¡°


    ¡°I thought so¡­¡­..this is just a request as the guild chief but please stop opposing Greath-san.¡±


    A deep sigh leaked my mouth at those words.


    Seeing my frank response to his words, the guild chief¡¯s sour face became even more sullen from displeasure.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. He¡¯s the one constantly picking a fight with me. I don¡¯t plan on doing anything anyway and if you want to stop these fights, go talk to Greath instead.¡±


    ¡°If I could do that, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t bother trying persuade me either. No matter who says what, I have zero intention of bowing to a man like him¡­¡­..I think you probably realized it back there as well but, the moment he crosses the line, I will kill him instantly.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªPlease wait just a minute!¡±


    Giving that warning, I left the consultation counter and headed to the bulletin board.


    I felt irritated seeing an organization this corrupt but knowing full well that I couldn¡¯t do much about that, I cleared my head and focused on choosing a job.


    Greath and his lackeys had already left, so I was able to calmly pick a request at my leisure.

 CH 78

    Day off


    The next day.


    Yesterday, I was able to complete a designated quest safely in the end and made about 5 silver coins for the day.


    And, after the early morning incident, no one tried to pick a fight with me for the rest of the day at least and I was able to see the day off peacefully.


    ¡°Chris, you plan on taking a holiday today no?¡±


    ¡°yeah, I need to organize and make records for the various plants that I have gathered. You two are gonna take a request as usual?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I need to rise to silver asap, and with you busy with things like this, me and Esta need to make up enough money to cover yours as well!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be a great help. Keep working hard towards that Silver rank.¡±


    ¡°Damn right I will!¡±


    After seeing Ralf and Esta off, I started planning for the day.


    There are various things I must do today¡ª¨Cfirstly, ability assessment, then recording info on the plants, then do some research on what effect Ongneer fruit has had, find a way to eat Jinpi leaves, and then eat as many ability increasing plants as I can that I have collected up to now.


    I need to do all this within a single day so I need to be efficient and fast.


    ¡­¡­.but, no matter how you think about it, I need to start with ability assessment.


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    By the way, during my week long stay in the forest, I had eaten at least one of every one of the 20 different poisonous plants that I had gathered in Carlisle forest.


    I had been regularly eating Reizen grass, Lizaf fruits and Genpei mushrooms as well so I wouldn¡¯t know if one of them increased any of strength, stamina or endurance but, if any of them increased my agility or magic, I¡¯ll know instantly.


    If I find an increase in Magic or agility, I¡¯ll instantly move to recording the data fist and if not¡­..well, I can just skip that part for today.


    I mean I would love to find other plants that could also raise strength, stamina or endurance but since I already know certain ones that exist nearby in the forest, I don¡¯t need to go out of my way to find separate ones and it was pretty low on my priority list.


    There is the problem of money as well so , until I have enough free time and excess money, I¡¯ll leave finding out alternatives for later.


    Having more or less decided where to start the day, I quickly made my way to the church.


    Passing by the various guilds on the guild street, beside a small pond and a sole Olive tree stood the slightly old looking church.


    It had quite a different feel to the grand and divine church in Realzard, but a cozy and warm looking place like this wasn¡¯t half bad either.


    ¡­¡­..my only cause for concern was whether they even did ability assessment here or not.


    The church in Realzard was gloriously massive so of course they had that service there but here in Oxter, there is a chance they just don¡¯t do it.


    If that was the case, I really might have to consider moving again from here and I mean that seriously.


    There¡¯s also the situation with Greath and the corrupt guild¡ª¨Cor so I was already making convincing arguments for myself in case of an off chance situation, as I opened the door to the church.


    The interior was as plain as its exterior appearance.


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    Unlike the church in Realzard that was constantly crowded and also had enough places to sit, here there were only 3 smallish wooden bench on each side, that¡¯s all.


    And there were no visitors, only an old man, about the same age as my dad¡ª¨Ca man that looked like he was down on his luck, was standing on the platform.


    ¡­¡­¡­I guess even churches are treated differently depending on what town or city they are in.


    Well certainly, back in that grand old church it felt like you could really get a blessing from god but its hardly believable here.


    Though I must say, I prefer this empty deserted place a lot more.


    ¡°Oh? Do you some business here?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to get an ability assessment done? Do you guys provide that service?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªAbility assessment you say! Now that¡¯s a rare ask. I haven¡¯t done one in years but it should be fine.¡±


    Yeah no, I¡¯m worried but at least they do it here.


    Led by the priest, I entered an inner room.


    I guess the assessment being done in a small separate room is the same across every church.


    ¡°Now then, as fees I will need one gold coin if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Here, the coin and my card.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you. Well then, allow me to begin.¡±


    Saying that, the priest put his hand on the crystal and began to groan.


    The priest in Realzard ended it in a flash but judging by this priest¡¯s look¡­¡­.perhaps this assessment process perhaps a more laborious task that it originally seemed to me.


    That handsome priest must have been a really capable one.


    ¡°Haaa Haaa¡­¡­.i-it¡¯s o-over, please check.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the help.¡±


    I took the card an instantly checked it and saw the changes in the numbers.


    ¡­¡­¡­I was a bit worried because of the priest¡¯s straining look but looks like he completed the job well in the end.


    And so¨C


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 14(+49)


    Strength: 9(+36)


    Stamina: 9(+44)


    Magic: 2(+2)


    Agility: 7


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: None


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


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    Looks like within the new set of plants, there is one that can raise my magic power.


    I was hoping to find one that raised agility first if I was being honest but beggars can¡¯t be choosers.


    I should instead be happy that I have found one that can raise my magic as well.


    Also¡­¡­in the two weeks since leaving Realzard, all my base stats have also risen by 1 across the board.


    It was insignificant in the grand scheme of things but I was still happy to see my own actual self grow as well.


    I assume my hunting of the goblin nest in the Carlisle forest probable helped with that.


    ¡°¡­¡­.fuu, h-how was it? It properly showed up right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it came out properly. I will probably come a couple more times today so I¡¯ll be depending on you again.¡±


    ¡°EH!? A couple more times!! And today!? Y-you really will have an assessment done that many times?!¡±


    ¡°yeah that was the plan but, would it be impossible?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Uh, no, I¡¯ll do it. No really, please let me do it.¡±


    ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll be back in a while.¡±


    The priests expression changed to one that had made his resolve.


    Maybe it¡¯s really hard for him to do so multiple times during a day.


    From what I can tell, he¡¯s the only priest in this entire church so maybe I was overworking him?


    ¡­¡­But though, his face seemed to imply he was fully ready to do it, not to mention I¡¯m paying in full for it so as long as he doesn¡¯t outright refuse, it should be fine.


    Anyway, having found a plant that increases my magic, I switched to classifying the plants and discerning which one it was.


    Returning to the inn, I ate half of the new set of plants and went back to the church.

 CH 79

    Jinpi Potions


    ¡°Zhee haa¡­¡­.zhe haaa¡­¡­..p-please ch-check¡±


    After eating the first 10, the number still rose.


    So I returned again to the inn and came back after eating 5 of those¡ª¡ªmaking this third assessment.


    After every time, the colour of the priest¡¯s face grew worse and worse I feel like.


    I was a bit worried but on checking my stats,¡­¡­. my magic had increased by 1 again.


    Alright, I¡¯ve narrowed it down to just 5 with this.


    I still have money so I could just finish the process and nail which exact plant it was but¡­¡­.


    I don¡¯t think the priest would last any longer.


    I want to research the Ongneer fruit today as well so let¡¯s stop this here for now.


    ¡°thank you, really. I¡¯ll come back one more time in the afternoon so I¡¯ll be relying on you again.¡±


    ¡°Zeehaaa¡­¡­le-leave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Sure. It¡¯ll be the last one so take care till then.¡±


    After saying that to the priest, I left the church.


    It¡¯d be a bit too harsh on him to start testing  Ongneers effect straight after so first, to find a way to consume Jinpi leaves, I headed to [Travelling Cat Store] instead.


    .


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    With the sundried Jinpie leaves in tow, and making sure not to get stabbed by the spikes, I reached the store on the commercial street.


    ¡­¡­..I felt reluctant to go inside just thinking about having to chat with Shantell.


    Leaking a deep sigh, I pushed the door to the store.


    The bell made the pleasant ringing sound as I entered and reacting to that, Shantell quickly showed up from inside.


    ¡°Welcome! Ah, well if it isn¡¯t Chris-san!! Long time no see!!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s barely been a little more than a week.¡±


    ¡°No no, that¡¯s such a long time though? I was fretting over the fact that maybe my potions were bad!¡±


    Oh man, she really is such a pain in the ass to talk to.


    If I let myself get stuck in her pace, I¡¯ll never get to the main point so I quickly cut the conversation and started asking question straight away.


    ¡°Do you know of a way to turn Jinpi leaves into a potion?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Hm? Eh? Ji-jinpi?? Umm¡­¡­.I was just worried whether my potions were bad or not!!¡±


    ¡°They were fine¡ª¨CNow, do you know how to turn Jinpi leaves into a potion or not.¡±


    With a smile, I repeated my question to Shantell.


    Perhaps she finally understood something, she put her hand on her cheek and started thinking.


    ¡°um¡­¡­Chris-san. When you say Jinpi you really mean that Jinpi leaves, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The very same super dangerous plant that lives in Carlisle forest that you warned me about.¡±


    ¡°So you want to make a poison potion?¡±


    ¡°Half right, half wrong. I don¡¯t want to make a poisonous potion, I specifically want the Jinpi leaves to be turned into a potion.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I get it now! I think its doable! I will need to do some trial and error but fundamentally speaking, the process should be the same as making any other poison potion!¡±


    I guess she struggled to understand the nuance of what I asked but looks like she has finally understood it.


    If she really can make it, I have to ask her no doubt.


    Since it¡¯ll be an order-made product, I was a bit worried on how much it¡¯ll cost but¡­¡­.considering how big of return I could get, it could very well be worth splashing money.


    ¡°So, I would like Shantell to handle the creation of said potion. Will you do it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can hardly refuse a request from a regular customer can I¡­¡­.But the raw materials will cost a pretty penny. Are you fine with that?¡±


    ¡°I plan on paying regardless but roughly speaking, what kind of amount am I looking at?¡±


    ¡°Ingredients and raw materials alone will cost at least 1 gold! It could be done cheaper but if you want a top quality product, it¡¯ll cost that much!¡±


    Yeah that¡¯s what I expected.


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    I know nothing of the making process, but even then I could guess that making something from complete scratch was not going to be cheap.


    ¡°Then, overall including wages, would 2 gold be fine? 1 for materials, and 1 for your work. Not a bad offer no?¡±


    ¡°Eh!? I-I can¡¯t take that much! 1 whole gold coin for just manufacturing cost is too much!!¡±


    ¡°Really? Then how about 5 silver instead?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Eh¡­¡­.5 silvers¡­¡­.Ah, ah, that¡¯s not nice. I mean it¡¯s technically sufficient but it¡¯s not nice to see the offer get instantly halved! My bad! I¡¯ll take the 5 silver though!¡±


    ¡°Well if you¡¯re unhappy with that then you should just accept my original 1 gold coin offer. If you play nice, it¡¯s the other guy that¡¯ll profit, never yourself.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Are you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah sure. I know I¡¯m asking quite a lot of you.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, really thank you so much! Well then, I¡¯ll take you up on the offer for 2 gold coins as the final overall price!¡±


    I handed over 2 gold coins as well the Jinpi leaves to Shantell.


    ¡°Ughh, so these are Jinpi leaves eh?! I¡¯m amazed you were able to safely gather them like this!¡±


    ¡°Well, I was careful¡­¡­..yeah. Anyway, how long will it take approximately?¡±


    ¡°I should be able to make one in around a week I think!¡±


    ¡°Got it. Then I¡¯ll come visit in a week¡¯s time¡­¡­..Ah, also, next time I¡¯ll bring my party members as well so keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san¡¯s party members? Got it! I look forward to meeting them!¡±


    And so, after commissioning work from Shantell, I left the [travelling Cat Store].


    Next, finally I can start on understanding the Ongneer fruit.


    I wonder what kind of effects it will have. My excitement knew no bounds.

 CH 80

    The Effects of Ongneer Fruit


    After returning to the inn, I quickly took out the Ongneer fruit from inside my bag.


    First I looked at the one that I had not sundried, and observed it.


    It was pretty small but it looked like an unripe apple.


    It even had that bittersweet smell, and you could barely tell that it was filled with poison.


    The only strange part was the fact that it grew out of the heart of a goblin, but outside that it looked like any other normal fruit.


    Judging by just the looks, I wondered if it even had any poison at all¡­¡­.but I don¡¯t think I could ever forget that scene.


    I possessed [Null poison] and had already devoured various different kinds of poisonous plants yet here I was, afraid of eating this one fruit.


    Even if I was alive, it could potentially still aim straight for my heart, suck up all nutrients and¡­¡­¡­kill me instantly.


    ¡ª¡ªI took a deep breath, and then put the Ongneer fruit inside my mouth.


    It¡¯s texture was certainly similar to an apple, but its taste was horribly dull¡­¡­..no, only slightly but I did taste something similar to iron.


    Once I realized that, all I could sense was the taste of iron in my mouth and it left an indescribable aftertaste inside my mouth.


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    I was able to swallow it somehow but it¡¯s far from delicious.


    When I considered how the taste of iron was probably coming from the blood and flesh of that goblin that was absorbed by the plant, it made me feel further sick, and I came to the conclusion that this tasted worse than even the usually horribly bitter normal poisonous plants.


    ¡­¡­¡­There is also the dried up Ongneer fruit, the one I harvested on the first day as well but, what should I do?


    For the time being, I¡¯ll keep it aside and depending on what amount of stats get raised I¡¯ll decide whether to eat it or not.


    If I forced myself to eat them both only to find that it didn¡¯t raise anything, the shock would be too much for me.


    I put the sundried fruit back inside the bag and completely sealed it and left for my last ability assessment of the day.


    .


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    When I entered the church, I saw the priest, shoulders drooped, sitting on one of the benches and slowly sipping on mana potions.


    Judging by his looks and personality, this priest really might be a simple and friendly to talk to person, kinda like the church he worked in itself.


    ¡°I¡¯m back again, but are you really alright?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Hello again. I was simply taking a little break. I¡¯m completely fine!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..you sure don¡¯t look fine but, if you say so I¡¯ll take your word for it and ask for another assessment.¡±


    His face was pale and he looked exhausted.


    But still, the priest looked very eager so I decided to go ahead with it after all.


    ¡°Come come, sit down.¡±


    ¡°here, the gold coin and my card.¡±


    Perhaps because he was too exhausted to even think, the priest never even question why I was doing all this strange stuff.


    After all, it¡¯s been years since someone last came for an assessment ¡­¡­..I should come off as a truly strange person.


    ¡°Fu! HAAAAAAA!¡ª¡ªhaah, haaah, it-it¡¯s over!¡±


    After his loudest shout of the day, the priest completed the assessment.


    He looked tired enough to fall asleep anytime now but he still properly gave me my card back.


    ¡°Once again, thank you for everything today. It was a great help.¡±


    ¡°fuuu haaa¡­¡­..n-no, I should be the one saying that. I¡¯ll be sure to use your offerings with utmost care.¡±


    Saying that, while swaying about, the priest left the room.


    I remained alone in the room and checked what affect that fruit had had on me.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 14(+49)


    Strength: 9(+36)


    Stamina: 9(+44)


    Magic: 2(+2)


    Agility: 7(+2)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


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    Ooh! My agility rose by 2 and I also got some weird [increased breeding ability] skill or whatnot.


    I don¡¯t really know what the skill meant, but just as Otto theorized, it can in fact impart new skills on to a person!


    ¡­¡­¡­I really have stumbled on to a truly incredible type of fruit.


    It¡¯s a plant that could instantly increase my strength potentially speaking.


    Even after a week¡¯s search, considering I was only able to find just 1 such tree, it was an incredibly rare plant no doubt.


    Although I feel like it could finds ways to propagate quite easily, judging by how nothing happened to my body, the requirements for it to work must be very strict otherwise it must not be able to grow.


    Also, this [Increased breeding Ability] skill, on what kind of logic did I get this skill out of everything?


    Was it because the Ongneer fruit itself possessed strong reproductive ability considering how it could attach itself to a goblin to grow?


    Or was it because goblins are known to have strong breeding ability themselves?


    Since the Ongneer fruit grew out of a goblin¡¯s body, did it absorb this ability as well from it?


    Or perhaps it was all just a coincidence and I just randomly happened to get this [Increased breeding Ability] for no specific reason.


    I¡¯ll need to do much more research and find the answer without a doubt.


    Having found the incredible potential of the Ongneer fruit, I left the church feeling extremely satisfied and returned to the inn and began eating more of the ability increasing poisonous plants that I had gathered in my bag.

 CH 81

    First Activity as a Party


    About a week had passed since the day I had worked on classifying and recording info on the plants.


    During this one week, I continued taking on bronze rank designated requests, but since the day that person named Suzanna gave that warning, Greath hadn¡¯t tried picking a fight with me again.


    Just like Ralf and Esta, gossips and sneering continued towards me from the background but I couldn¡¯t care less about it if it was just that.


    ¡­¡­..But, my only concern was that since that day, I never saw the persona named Suzanna again since then.


    As long as she has simply been moved to working behind-the scenes in the backyard, that¡¯s fine but the idea that there could be an innocent victim due to my quarrels just stuck with me.


    Well, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that the main problem behind all of this was Greath and him alone.


    Also¡ª¨C


    Finally yesterday, Ralf also rose to silver rank.


    And so today would be the first day we act together as a party, and also the day we all take our first ever silver rank quest.


    ¡°Oh man I really can¡¯t help but be super excited! I barely slept yesterday!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah I saw you swinging your sword around outside all day. I¡¯m not gonna help if you suddenly collapse from exhaustion okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I have so much adrenalin pumping through me, I don¡¯t think my eyes are even blinking.¡±


    ¡°Just ignore him. So anyway what kind of quest are we planning on taking?¡±


    ¡°hey, what¡¯s that supposed to mean!? Esta, you¡¯re also equally excited. Same as me!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, shush!¡±


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    Even after getting warned by Esta, Ralf¡¯s overflowing excitement showed no sign of stopping, while I pondered over what kind of request we¡¯ll take on today.


    By the way, over the last week I had been paying attention to the available quests on bulletin board so I have more or less picked out a couple of quest we should take.


    I had narrowed it down to, Snow panther subjugation, Forest Doll subjugation and Dokudoku Dog; these three. (T/N; doku =poison. Poisonpoison dog sounded stupid so I¡¯m keeping it as Dokudoku)


    Snow panther was a monster that could use wind and ice type magic, and used the compound magic of Ice element to attack its enemies.


    If you don¡¯t take precautions, the deep cold would accumulate damage on you over time freezing you and you¡¯ll get killed unable to do anything about it, making the monster quite the dangerous one.


    It was agile and quick on its feet, had sharp fangs and claws that could do severe damage, and even without the ice magic was pretty tough monster to fight.


    Forest Doll was monster that looked like a tree, and was a designated request based inside the Carlisle forest.


    The fact that I didn¡¯t see a single one during my week-long stay in there should give it away that the monster excelled in mimicking as a normal tree and hiding itself which made the very act of locating it a difficult task.


    On top of that, it could also use Earth type magic making it another decently tough opponent.


    Normally you¡¯d just avoid it, but considering the reward for it was pretty high and the fact that it was based inside the Carlisle forest, it quickly became a decent choice for me.


    And lastly, Dokudoku Dog


    Just as the name implies, it¡¯s a poisonous monster that looks like a wolf.


    It was technically an undead type monster and was an agile one, similar to Snow panther.


    It was monster that only appeared on the plains during the night, a condition I hadn¡¯t dealt with yet, and considering the lack of visibility because of it makes it a pretty challenging subjugation quest but¡­¡­¡­


    I mean I did possess [Null poison], my compatibility against Dokudoku Dog was the best it could be.


    That alone, made it a decent choice.


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    In any case, I intend to take on all of these request sooner or later anyway in the end, but which one should we go for as our first one was the question.


    These two seem to be in high spirits but if possible I want to go with the easiest one as our first pick¡­¡­..


    ¡°So I¡¯m thinking of picking one between Snow panther, Forest Doll and Dokudoku Dog. Which one do you two think would be the best?¡±


    ¡°All of them sound challenging going by the name. but if I had to pick, I really want to try and fight a Snow Panther!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be the forest doll for me personally. Chris-san, which one do you think would be a good one?¡±


    ¡°Well from my perspective, Dokudoku dog seems pretty easy to deal with considering my [Null Poison] to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I would normally go with the leader¡¯s, Chris¡¯ suggestion here but¡­¡­..Dokudoku dog sounds like one you¡¯d just take care of it by yourself so I¡¯m against it!¡±


    ¡°I too maintain that Forest Doll is the best choice!¡±


    While we were chatting about it, we already reached the guild.


    All three of us had different picks and it didn¡¯t seem like talking would result in a solution so we just decided to go with whichever request we see first.


    Entering the guild, even though it was morning, things sure seemed busy here¡ª¡ª


    The receptionist who I hadn¡¯t seen in a week, Suzanna-san was standing with her head bowed down in front of the bulletin board.


    Looking around, I couldn¡¯t find Greath and neither were his lackeys here.


    Well, I couldn¡¯t tell what was happening from here so I decided to head up and ask directly.


    ¡°You¡¯re the receptionist that helped mediate our quarrel right? What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°Ah, the adventurer from before¡­¡­¡­U,ummm¡ª¨Cn-no, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯ve made me even more curious. Talk, what are you doing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Actually last night, we got information that a herd of Orcs had come down from the mountains in the north. And judging by their movement, they are almost certainly going to go through this town, making it an emergency request, and so I was looking for someone who would take such a request on.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you were bowing¡­¡­..i¡¯m guessing, you haven¡¯t gathered enough people?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­yes. Because of my interference that day, Greath-san and all those who are friendly with him refused to take this job on. It¡¯s a gold rank difficulty quest but I can¡¯t find even a single person to take it.¡±


    Looks like the Guild¡¯s worries have come true.


    But still, that Greath, he really is pure scum isn¡¯t he.


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    While emergency request aren¡¯t compulsory, it¡¯s an urgent situation with danger fast approaching.


    Yet, just because of petty resentment, this guy even told his lackeys to not accept it.


    ¡°Can you take this quest on even if you were silver rank?¡±


    ¡°Gold rank is recommended but since it¡¯s an emergency request, it is possible¡­¡­..but it is very dangerous. I must remind you that.¡±


    ¡°I do feel a little responsible for the situation, even if I don¡¯t think I was wrong or anything. Consider this a way to tone for it. Let me take that request.¡±


    ¡°Re-really!? Bu-but¡­¡­.it¡¯s really dangerous you know?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am aware. Ralf, Esta, a change of plans, do you mind?¡±


    ¡°Of course! An Orc herd sounds like the right kind of challenge no? Perfect way to test our strength!¡±


    ¡°I have no objections either! If it¡¯s a herd, even Chris won¡¯t be able to finish the job by himself after all!¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-and there you have it. Chris, Ralf, Esta. We 3 will take on this emergency request so please handle the paperwork.¡±


    ¡°U-Understood! Really, thank you so so much! The guild chief has gone to plead to Gretah-san so it¡¯s fine even if you simply buy some time, Just stay safe please!¡±


    I waved with one hand as a response to the receptionist, and left the guild after only just arriving.


    To think our first ever quest as a Party would turn out to be a emergency request¡­¡­.but it¡¯s perfect for us 3 and our abilities right now.


    She said that only buying time was enough but if I¡¯m taking a job, I¡¯m gonna see it through all the way.


    Revitalizing our spirits, we left Oxter and headed towards the Orc herd to the north.

 CH 82

    Emergency Request


    Since they said that the request only came in last night, the herd shouldn¡¯t have made it close to the town yet.


    And according to the map, between the mountains they have come down from and Oxter, there is a  marshland called the Indera marshlands.


    It¡¯s apparently not a huge marshland or anything but Orcs were in the end, a race of bipedal humanoid monsters.


    It should take quite a bit of time for them to get through it.


    And so we¡¯ll wait right where they¡¯ll get out of the marshlands, and will exterminate them there and then, or that was the plan at least for now.


    ¡°Say, we sure took this cockily but are you sure we¡¯ll be fine?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know that would I? But, it¡¯s something we have to do, that¡¯s all I know.¡±


    ¡°What a vague answer is that? If it¡¯s a full herd that means there¡¯ll be Orc knights and Orc soldiers as well no? Sounds scary.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine if it¡¯s just that. If they had a proper leader ordering them around, now that¡¯s when things will really get scary.¡±


    If my memory is correct, their ranks go as far as an Orc emperor.


    Orc Emperor was labelled as a Demon Lord class monster, so I highly doubt something like that would show up here but¡­¡­.


    If a big herd came down a mountain together, then it could be due to the appearance of an Orc General.


    Or perhaps, a monster so powerful it made these Orcs come down from the mountain appeared. There is that possibility as well.


    Well, the reason was irrelevant right now and I focused solely on the Orcs for now.


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    ¡°Chris-san, what¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s set up formation right at the exit of the marshlands and have you, Esta, eradicate them with your magic, that¡¯s it. Those who get out of the marsh will be dealt by me and Ralf.¡±


    ¡°So I should just focus on attacking the Orcs still in the marsh then?¡±


    ¡°yes, don¡¯t get distracted by the ones that get out. I look forward to your magic barrage allowed by your [mana regen].¡±


    ¡°Ah YES!¡±


    ¡°Well, both me and Chris are here so don¡¯t get nervous and go full crazy with it! You¡¯re the protagonist for today Esta!¡±


    Ralf made some light jokes to loosen Esta¡¯s nerves before the battle.


    She looked the same as always to me but these two have been together for many years, he must be more sensitive to even the littlest of changes.


    ¡°That said, this is just the preliminary plan. Since the guild put the emergency request out with no other info other than ¡®the ORcs have come down from the mountain¡¯, we don¡¯t know how big the herd is, and we don¡¯t just how strong their force is either. If the herd was bigger than imagined or if we notice the presence of dangerous monster, we¡¯ll instantly retreat.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Retreat? we won¡¯t even try fighting?¡±


    ¡°Rather than die for a meaningless death, getting that info to Oxter would be far more important. If it was a force that could make us retreat, then that means that the level of threat is so high that we¡¯ll have no choice but to ask for help from other towns, and we should focus on buying time instead.¡±


    ¡°Understood! We¡¯ll follow Chris-san¡¯s instructions!¡±


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    And so we finally made it to Indera marshlands and began preparing fast since we don¡¯t know when the Orcs might appear.


    They were still not in sight, and the unusually quiet marsh made the atmosphere even more eerie.


    .


    About a couple hours later¡ª-


    At the ends of my vision, I could finally see small grain sized Orcs walking towards us.


    ¡°You two, they¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Eh? ReallY?¡­¡­.I can¡¯t see shit from here though.¡±


    ¡°How big is the herd?¡±


    ¡°I can only see the front row, about seven of them.¡±


    They weren¡¯t exactly walking like a proper army  but I could see them slowly walking alongside each other approaching us.


    If you are wondering how many similar rows of this behind them would make us decide to run instead? That would be three rows¡­¡­..if it¡¯s twenty or less, I plan to exterminate them here and now.


    I continued staring and observing at the Orcs and tried to quickly confirm their full numbers.


    ¡°is it 2 rows¡­¡­.? No, there are a couple more behind them but¡ª¡ªthis much is still alright.¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t see shit though man! How good are your eyes!? So how many total are there?¡±


    ¡°18¡­¡­maybe 19. 12 normal ones. 4 Orc soldiers and 2 orc knights and¡­¡­¡­fuck, there is a Orc general after all.¡±


    ¡°An Orc general was it¡­¡­..? If I recall, that¡¯s usually a gold rank subjugation. Depending on the kind, it could even be a Platinum rank!¡±


    ¡°Oi, Are we really gonna fight that! That alone is a gold rank subjugation isn¡¯t it?¡±


    It¡¯s really hard to decide whether to retreat or not.


    If I was alone it¡¯d be impossible without a doubt but with these two with me, I really think we could beat them together.


    If we wanted to play it safe, we should obviously retreat but it¡¯s not always silver ranks like us get to take on a request of this level.


    ¡­¡­..I kept on thinking and thinking to the point smoke started rising from my head but, finally I came to the conclusion that we should stay and fight.


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    ¡°We fight. If we don¡¯t panic and stick to our roles we will be fine. They don¡¯t have anyone that can use long range attacks. If we play it well, we should be able to one-sidedly blast them with attacks.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the decision Chris has come to then I have no objections. You and me will protect Esta alright!¡±


    ¡°I have been preparing training in magic for a day like this. Leave it to me!!¡±


    ¡°fuh, you two sure have become reliable. Also remember, if the Orc general gets out, I¡¯ll be the one that¡¯ll take it on. Ralf, you will deal with the rest of the Orcs.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    With our plan set, all of us raised our concentration.


    The grain sized Orcs had now become much bigger as they came closer and closer.


    The atmosphere was tense enough that no one spoke but, we were all equally excited as well.


    Our first request as a Party, and our opponents were this group of Orcs who were releasing a lot of pressure.


    The first monster I ever killed was an Orc. Looks like I have some sort of weird fate with them.


    While thinking of such things, the Orcs who were walking through the marsh approached close enough and noticed us and raised a war cry. And then increased their speed with which they approached.


    ¡°Here they come! Esta, the moment they are in range, start blasting!¡±


    ¡°They already are! Take this¡ª¨C[Fire Arrow]!¡±


    From the tip of the longstaff in Esta¡¯s hand, a fire arrow burst forth and signaled the start of our battle.

 CH 83

    The Battle in Indera marshlands


    The [Fire arrow] launched by Esta passed by me and it heat gently caressed my cheeks.


    With full momentum, it went in a straight line and directly hit one of the Orcs in the gut.


    The Orc that got hit stopped in its stride and fell to its knees in the marsh while feeling the pain¡­¡­..but it wasn¡¯t dead.


    Soon after, a second and a third arrow hit the Orc but it still didn¡¯t fall completely and while the hair on its body were burnt to a crisp, it stood up and began walking towards us again.


    Even though it was a one-sided attack, our opponent was still not defeated¡ª¨Cthey were on the same level, if not above us in terms of strength.


    Seeing that ominous sight in front of her, Esta froze on the spot.


    ¡°Esta, keep firing your magic! Don¡¯t worry about killing them, as long you break their line and make their movement uneven, that¡¯s good enough!¡±


    ¡°Ah, Yes. Understood! [Fire Arrow]!¡±


    The worst case would be for all 10 Orcs in a line getting out of the marsh at the same time and surrounding us.


    If she can make them kneel for a while, and scatter them unevenly, we should be able to handle it as long as we maintain a numerical advantage.


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    ¡°I¡¯m going to let the front most Orc go on as is! Please deal with it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just keep firing magic in a way that not more than a couple leave the amrsh at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Chris! Let¡¯s deal with instantly together! Just match your attacks with my movements.¡±


    The normal Orc who was in the front began leaving the marsh.


    Now, how quickly could me and Ralf take care of it, let¡¯s see.


    As it lunged towards Ralf, I matched the timing and approached it from behind sneakily.


    If I can land a surprise hit, I should be able to kill a normal Orc instantly.


    ¡°Come on over here you dumb Orc! [Roar of the Guardian]!¡±


    Ralf went ahead pulled the Orc¡¯s attention towards himself, and further activated his skill, [Roar of the Guardian].


    It was skill that pulled attention of every enemy near him, and its effects were tremendous.


    When I was having a training bout against Esta and Ralf, it was able to completely pull my attention to just Ralf and made me ignore Esta unconsciously. That¡¯s how incredible of a presence that skill released.


    Even though I knew how the skill worked, and knew that there was another enemy right there, I still ended up focusing just on him back then.


    Now an Orc that doesn¡¯t know of the skill, had an enemy use it in front of it, it will completely forget I even exist behind him.


    Ralf took on and parried the Orc¡¯s wooden club swung down on him with his shield¡ª¡ª


    And I used that chance to run right in front of it and thrust my sword straight at its heart.


    The Orc was wearing leather armour but thanks to me focusing all my strength at a single spot, it was unable to defend against it and my steel sword pierced right through its heart and the Orc fell to the ground head first.


    ¡­¡­.fuuuh


    I exhaled, having safely beaten the first one only to see the next orc leave the marsh and head towards us.


    ¡°Ralf, don¡¯t let your concentration fall, the next one¡¯s already here.¡±


    ¡°I know! Next¡­¡­it¡¯s 2 at the same time! What do we do Chris?¡±


    ¡°We take one each. Just go all out from the start and don¡¯t waste time!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    We split, and rushed towards the 2 Orcs each who had gotten out of the marshes and into the plains.


    Ralf took on the normal one and I attacked the Orc Soldier.


    The normal one had brownish fur and used a club as weapon, and on the other hand, the Orc Soldier had reddish fur and possessed a iron long sword in its hand.


    It¡¯s muscles were a lot more developed than a normal one as well and it was quite easy to tell that this was a grade higher than a normal Orc.


    ¡­¡­..that said, it was still considered a silver rank, the same as a normal Orc, by the guild¡¯s classification.


    As long as I don¡¯t panic, I should be able to kill it fast.


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    ¡°GUOOOH! GUAAHHH!¡±


    It raised a warcry as it came slashing at me.


    In return, I simply aimed for its thigh alone.


    Just because it used a sword instead of a club, all it could do was make some large swings with no skill or technique behind it.


    I avoided it easily, and stabbed straight at its upper thigh.


    Having a part like that pierced, even walking around normally would be painful, and sure enough the Orc cried in pain and began recklessly swinging the sword around to get me like an amateur.


    Now that its like this, I just have to avoid its random swings and stab its heart as usual.


    I pretended to go for its thigh again, and then quickly moved towards its back instead¡ª-and stabbed its heart from his backside.


    Just like the Orc from before, it fell to the ground, dead.


    ¡­¡­..Really, even an Orc Soldier is not much of an enemy for me anymore.


    That Orc in the Peixa forest I fought felt stronger, and I myself have gotten a whole lot stronger since then.


    With this thin, easy to use steel sword in hand, there was simply no chance I¡¯d lose to the likes of these.


    .


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    After confirming that no other Orcs had escaped the marsh, I checked to see how Ralf was doing¡­¡­.and he seemed to be struggling a bit more than I expected.


    Ralf was managing the space between him and the Orc to its best, and the Orc was simply unable to deal with him but, it possessed that thick layer of fur, then came a layer of body fat and beneath it was layer of strong muscles; all making a great natural armour.


    Ralf¡¯s Stamina and Endurance were similar to mine¡ª¡ªno, maybe better than mine but his physical strength was still severely lacking.


    And his weapon was still a basic iron sword, so he was unable to land a fatal hit and while he was completely outmanoeuvring the Orc, he wasn¡¯t able to actually kill it.


    Ralf was also beginning to panic knowing he needed to end this quickly, meanwhile the Orc had switching to only counter-attacking, I could tell from both of their movements.


    Realizing that this was a bad situation, I was about to go and help him when¡­¡­


    ¡°Ralf! Patience, and focus! Calm down, and aim at a single spot!¡±


    While firing her magic to slow down the Orcs in the marsh, Esta called out to Ralf.


    Her words calmed him down as he created a distance again, and began properly landing hits again.


    ¡ª¡ªBut, unlike before, now he was only aiming for the Orc¡¯s wrist that was holding the Club.


    Even if he can¡¯t land a fatal hit with a single strike, a second, third hit at the same place is bound to accumulate damage and sure enough, the Orc¡¯s wrist was slowly getting stained in red.


    And, having finally lost strength in its hand, the moment the Club slipped from it, Ralf instantly closed in straight near its chest, and stabbed his iron sword into its eye.


    Since that was the only part with no natural defensive protection, the damage reached all the way to its brain and the Orc fell straight to the ground, unmoving.


    Aiming for the wrist, and then the eyes; he calmly went for the Orc¡¯s weakspots. I was worried for a second there but he was able to recover thanks to Esta¡¯s calls.

 CH 84

    Peerless Magic


    ¡°Chris-san! Not the time to look away! The next one¡¯s coming!¡±


    While I was admiring Ralf¡¯s fighting, I was the one who got called out next.


    Looking back to the front, another 2 Orcs were coming towards me.


    Unlike the Orcs from before, these had severe burn marks around their stomach area.


    These are the Orcs that were held in their tracks from Esta¡¯s magic. They  were pretty damaged already and their movements were dull as well.


    Ralf should have gotten the hang of it after this fight so he shouldn¡¯t have problem with normal Orcs anymore.


    Once again, we both pulled one Orc each towards each other, and I quickly moved close to it and pierced its heart.


    Ralf, like before, continually attacked at the weak points and then went for the killing blow after it was too weak to do anything.


    Both of us dealt with it perfectly and in a matter of moments, 2 more Orcs were dead.


    And not just me and Ralf, even Esta was raising her tempo¡ª¨CI could see a couple of Orcs laying in the marsh unmoving.


    I realized once again but for a magician to possess [mana regen] is a ridiculously compatible combo.


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    Of course, the amount consumed was bigger than the amount that regenerated so if you go crazy with launching magic, you will run out of mana regardless but it seemed like even the amount of mana Esta recovered from her skill was at pretty fast rate so as long as she adjusts and regulates it properly, she can basically keep on firing it infinitely.


    Watching Esta continuously launch [fire arrow] at the Orcs in the marsh, I made such an observation.


    After that, mine and Ralf¡¯s turn basically didn¡¯t come and Esta¡¯s [Fire arrow] mowing down the Orcs took over the show.


    At this point, every Orc in the marsh had been hit by at least one fire arrow, and the entire herd looked dull in its movement.


    Together with the fact that they were in a marsh in the first place, by the time they recovered from the damage of the fire arrows and took just three steps, they¡¯d get hit with another fire arrow.


    This repetition continued until Orcs who finally lost strength just fell in the marsh there and then.


    ¡­¡­..But, only against the Orc General in the back row did Esta¡¯s magic tactic didn¡¯t work.


    The 2 Orc Knights were moving while protecting the general with their shields so the magic never reached him.


    The Orc Knights were completely nullifying the fire arrows so if this goes one, the 2 Orc knights and Orc general would exit the marsh completely undamaged.


    I don¡¯t whether its because of some sort hierarchy within the Orcs, but I¡¯m glad that normal Orcs weren¡¯t also hiding behind the knights.


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    .


    Since then, every Orc other than the 2 Knights and the General fell to Esta¡¯s fire arrow without being able to leave the marsh.


    Only 3 remained but it¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that this is where the actual battle begins.


    Esta didn¡¯t give up and continued firing Fire arrows at them but after a while, the Orc knights finally stepped on to the fields.


    From the gap between the shields, I felt like the Orc general was smirking at us.


    Now that they had escaped the marsh, they could easily defeat someone like us¡ª¡ªthat¡¯s what it must be thinking.


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, can you two attract the attention of the two Orc knights? In that time, I¡¯ll kill the general¡±


    ¡°I mean could if I use the [Roar of the Guardian] but¡­¡­..will you be fine alone Chris?¡±


    ¡°Yeah don¡¯t worry. Just leave it to me.¡±


    ¡°I believe in you! After helping Ralf attract their attention, I¡¯ll stop them from turning back to you with [Fire wall] and [Earth Wall]!¡±


    ¡°Then, I guess I¡¯ll trust you with it as well! Chris, don¡¯t lose okay?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Ralf, Esta, I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    Saying that to them, I focused solely on the general and maxed my concentration.


    Orc soldiers were barely an enemy so I wasn¡¯t able to properly judge my strength but¡­¡­..with an orc general as my opponent, I can finally get a good test of my skill.


    I pulled out my steel sword, and while maintaining my stance, I created some distance from the two.


    At that moment, Ralf used his [Roar of the Guardian], which signaled the start of the final battle with these Orcs.

 CH 85

    VS Orc General


    With Ralf¡¯s [Roar of the Guardian] all three Orcs turned their attention to him.


    I used that chance to move behind them, and attack the Orc general who was hiding behind the knights.


    Our aim was to first split these 3, not to deal damage, and so I basically needed to attract its attention as quickly as possible.


    While thinking that I thrust my sword at the Orc general, and it pierced its hand¡ª¡ªnot. Before the sword could reach its skin, the orc noticed me and parried it with the axe he was holding.


    The gold fur on the Orc general fluttered in the wind.


    Its size was about the same as normal orcs but it had enough strength to swing around a one meter tall axe with runes inscribed on it with a single hand.


    Also judging by how easily it cancelled out Ralf¡¯s skill, it¡¯s instincts were at another level as well.


    This might be a tougher monster than I imagined.


    While I was unable to land the hit, I did succeed in getting its attention.


    The Orc knights who had been separated from their General didn¡¯t realize it and continued heading towards Ralf like moth to a flame.


    With this, there was no one else around me and the general, and it was true 1 vs 1 fight.


    We intentionally created this situation but¡­¡­


    Let alone show panic, the Orc general¡¯s face was smirking as if ridiculing me.


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    I was only half its size and had a thin sword in hand no less.


    The Orc general was giving off this feeling that it was sure it wouldn¡¯t lose no matter what.


    It¡¯d be nice if it was simply underestimating me but, it wasn¡¯t exactly like that.


    What it had was raw confidence based on years of experience, and judging by how quickly it repelled my earlier attack, it was definitely not being careless.


    Finally facing an enemy as strong as the bear-like monster in peixa forest, I too unconsciously broke into a smile.


    Under this tense atmosphere where you could forget to even breathe, the Orc general slowly approached me step by step.


    Being wary of the length of its arm combined with the length of its weapon, I kept the distance in check and waited for the Orc General to make its first move.


    Since it¡¯ll have to raise that Axe before it swings down at me, as long as I pay attention to its movements I should be able to dodge it¡ª¡ª-or so I thought but as if it was wielding some flimsy one-handed sword, it swung the axe freely aiming straight to lop my head off.


    I bent my body just in time somehow to avoid it and quickly stepped backwards to create a distance between us once again.


    I felt something warm on my forehead, I was slightly bleeding.


    It was very shallow but looks like I got a cut on my forehead.


    The cold sweat only increased, but this battle of life and death was truly the best.


    ¡­¡­.if it can swing the axe that fast, the best way to fight was to remove the distance between us and fight at extreme close range.


    As I made my resolve, I quickly rushed in to close the distance.


    Seeing me try and close in on it, the Orc general showed no panic and simply swung its axe horizontally to repel me.


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    I rolled on the ground to dodge and then kicked the ground again to step to the left to avoid the Orc¡¯s next attack as it swung the axe down from above.


    I moved towards the Orc¡¯s right side, since he didn¡¯t hold any weapon in this hand, and rushed in finally succeeding in making it right in front of him.


    Seeing it this close by, the pressure it gave off really was nothing to joke about.


    I worried whether my thin sword would even get through its tough skin but I did possess boosted strength thanks to the Lizaf fruit.


    I slashed straight at its belly but it dodged it by using a back step.


    It was more agile than it looked, as it took another back step and thrust its axe at me like a spear this time.


    I somehow managed to divert it with my steel sword, and avoided the thrust but still¡­¡­.this Orc general has quite the variety.


    Looking closely now, it seemed the top of the axe had a sharp spear like attachment to it, making me realize that what it used wasn¡¯t an axe but a halberd.


    Physique, weapon range, physical ability.


    The Orc general had an upper hand in every field, and my chances of winning looked low but¡ª¨Cthe Orc general stopped and lightly touched it belly with his right hand.


    His right hand got stained with his red blood, showing that my slash had in fact reached it.


    Just like the scratch on my forehead, it did barely any damage but the fact that I was able to wound it even slightly brought some surprise to the General, and I didn¡¯t miss that change in expression.


    The orc general stabbed the halberd into the ground and invoked some kind of skill making its entire body get covered with red aura.


    Judging by the increase in its movement speed, it must be a physical ability enhancing skill as he began swinging the Halberd around almost twice as fast as before.


    Its movements were rapid and its strength must have increased as well.


    But¡ª¨Ceven in front of such a powerful attack, I felt no fear.


    Because if I had to compare, it was like when I faced Ralf during the start of our training, the dull moves of an amateur.


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    No matter how strong or fast its attacks may be, if I can read its movements there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.


    I focused my brain on only reading every little movement its body made, and began dodging the Orc generals fierce rampage.


    It was monotonous in both movement and pace, should have at least changed the tempo every now and then to make it harder for me but at this point, I had seen through every attack this Orc general made.


    First came the down smash¡­..then came the upswing.


    And, the moment I gets close enough¡ª¨Cit will without fail, switch to thrusting attacks.


    I matched that timing to go straight in front of it, avoided the same old thrust attack, and instead countered with me own thrust attack.


    My thrust pierced through its right shoulder and unlike the slash from before, this was a clean strike.


    ¡°UGUGUGGU! GURUAAAAAA!!¡±


    Pain, and the frustration of not landing a single hit of its own.


    As these emotions exploded, the Orc general roared loudly.


    ¡­¡­..but a mere roar won¡¯t change the flow of battle, if it did, everyone would be doing it no?


    For a second I thought that it had finally changed its attack patterns but the main part was the same¡ª¡ª-a horizontal slash after which came the down swing, while managing its right shoulder.


    I matched that big swinging motion, and this time stabbed straight into its left flank instead.


    This was another clean strike, as I could instantly see blood gushing out of the injured point.


    Yet, the orc general didn¡¯t fall back, and continued the halberd around recklessly.


    Since it was a completely random barrage of attacks, there was no real patter to it for me to read but¡­¡­.


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    It could only make 7 swings in a row before resetting.


    I focused on purely avoiding the first 6 swings and on the seventh swing¡ª¡ªI moved in thrust my sword into its right thigh.


    ¡°UGAHH! UGAAAAH! UGURAAAAH!!¡±


    The orc general roared again refusing to learn, but unlike the previous roar that was aimed at me, this was more aimed at itself as if trying to motivate itself.


    The red aura had already dissipated, and thanks to the three big wounds¡­¡­I could tell it had begun to fear me.


    The mocking smirk from before was nowhere to be seen and that was most certainly the face of one that knew it was about to be hunted.


    One would relax in a situation like this, but make no mistake, the Orc General was still above me in terms of raw strength.


    Remembering that, I decided I need to use this moment and put an end to this long battle.


    Having finally realized that swinging madly was not going to help it land any hits on me, it held the halberd under its armpit and waited to see how I move next.


    Probably thinking of attacking with the speartip?¡ª¨COr perhaps it had switched to reacting and countering my attacks instead.


    ¡­¡­..Well I¡¯m glad its my enemy but that is really the worst decision it could have made in this situation.


    Since the axe portion would reduce the speed of its movement no matter what, using a halberd as purely a spear was basically a less than efficient way to fight to say the least.


    The main part of an Halberd was the axe part, the speartip was an extra attachment to provide variety.


    I took my stance, and slowly began closing in on it.


    Since I don¡¯t know when it might attack, I showed no gaps or openings.


    And If I don¡¯t attack, it can¡¯t counter.


    I continued walking towards it. One step, two, three¡ª¡ª


    Unable to control itself any longer, the Orc general panicked and launched a thrust attack but it¡¯s aim was so clearly obvious that I it never had a chance to hit me¡­¡­¡­


    Avoiding the thrust, I rushed straight in front of it and repeated the first slash that it had originally avoided with the back step.


    Because of the thrust, the Orc general¡¯s body was pitched forward, and could not switch into making a back step so suddenly so this time, I got a clean hit.


    The moment I slashed it, blood spurted out and the Orc made an almost sad loud cry¡ª-but I didn¡¯t stop attacking.


    Continuing my slashes, I but it from down to up again, and when its arms fell limp, I aimed for the heart and thrust my sword.


    The steel sword went straight through to its heart.


    My slashes before had already fatally wounded it but this final stab delivered the killing blow, and I pulled my sword out¡ª¡ª-


    And with that momentum, the Orc general fell to its back.

 CH 86

    Conclusion


    After making sure that the Orc general was dead¡ª¡ª


    I turned my attention towards the battle between Ralf, Esta and the Orc Knights.


    Since I was completely focused on the Orc general alone during our battle, I had no idea of how things were going over there so I was a bit worried to be honest¡­¡­


    But, of the 2, one of the knights had already fallen and the other was also already seriously wounded.


    On the other hand, Ralf and Esta were basically unscathed.


    Ralf continued to perfectly handle the knights attacks with his shield meanwhile, Esta stood slightly away from them and continued firing magic at the Orc knight.


    To break this disadvantageous situation, the Orc knight would try to attack Esta first only to get stopped by the [Roar of the Guardian], making the battle constantly stuck in this perfect loop.


    While a [holy knight] his attacking prowess was still lacking, but on the defensive side his talent was already showing to a degree for everyone to witness.


    Wait, would it have been easier to let these to handle the general instead?


    They were dealing with the knights so efficiently that I ended up thinking so.


    ¡°¡­..Haaa, haaa, looks like you were able to safelt beat the general as well Chris.¡±


    ¡°It was close but yeah I did. Looks like you two had it pretty easy on the other hand.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true at all. It did get a whole lot easier after one of the knights fell, but it was an extremely tight battle when both were fighting.¡±


    ¡°Damn right. I was getting confident of being able to take an Orc knight but instead, this battle only made me aware of my own weaknesses and deficiencies more than ever before.¡±


    ¡°Same for me. Since the start of sweeping the normal Orcs to fighting these 2 knights, I have simply found more and more things I need to work hard on and learn from.¡±


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    Including the Orc General, we defeated a total of 19 Orcs yet, these two gave themselves a pretty poor score in their self-assessment it seems.


    Esta had dealt with almost all of the normal Orcs herself and thanks to Ralf¡¯s [Roar of the Guardian] our defensive manoeuvres were perfect which helped keeping the overall battle stable, And considering these 2 had only just promoted to silver rank, it was a clear passing marks for today in my opinion but¡­¡­.


    Well, I supposed it¡¯s better than getting carried away and cockily thinking that they were strong enough already.


    If they can see their own weaknesses themselves, I can instead simply praise the good parts for now.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you can see your own deficiencies. It only means that there still lots of room to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s true!¡±


    ¡°We can still grow a lot more, is what you mean right. Certainly, overall I suppose we can take today¡¯s experience as a positive in that regard!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..That said, can I speak what I thought of while seeing you two fight?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Please be as frank as possible!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­..maybe only mildly frank in my case!¡±


    They spoke so probably thinking I was going to harshly judge their performance.


    I don¡¯t plan on doing anything like that though.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll start with Ralf.¡±


    ¡°Geh, why me first¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°When you were fighting the normal Orc 1v1. It¡¯s not good to show the panic you had there but¡ª¡ªother than that you were almost perfect. Your defence as well as use of [Roar of the Guardian], you were using parries and shield bash more than you practiced as well, and your movement while on defence was quite frankly so well done that no one could complain¡­¡­It¡¯s been only a month since your recovery yet to be able to perform like this shows how hard you have worked in this short time.¡±


    ¡°Oi!¡­¡­..What kind of surprise attack is that? I-I¡¯m not gonna be satisfied with just this level of strength!!¡±


    ¡°I am fully aware of that. I simply spoke what I truly felt.¡±


    Ralf really wasn¡¯t expecting to get praised as he showed a completely surprised expression, and then turned away while holding the inner corners of his eyes.


    Well, I have never really praised him like this, and maybe no one has in his entire life until now. There was simply no situation where he could have experience that.


    No wonder he was shocked.


    ¡°Next, Esta. When you failed to kill one with a single hit, rapid firing more on the same target showed your lack of composure I think¡­¡­¡­That said, the way you optimized and adjusted after that was nothing short of amazing. Thanks to your minute adjustments, barely any Orcs made their way on to the fields after the first couple. And all that without ever running out of mana completely. Even though your job was to simply disrupt them and slow them down, you pretty much annihilated most of the Orcs single-handedly with both power and precision. The fact that you didn¡¯t miss even a single shot is proof of your continuous hard work. I was happy to see that your little night time sneak outings did show results after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Chris-san, that¡¯s way too much praise¡­¡­.Also, so you knew about it after all huh.¡±


    ¡°Obviously. We sleep in the same room after all.¡±


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    At least Esta didn¡¯t start crying as well but, her face had turned so red that one might get worried for her health.


    Well, maybe I did overdo it with the compliments but, Esta did perform way beyond what I was expecting or had asked of her after all.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s about it for my impressions. We¡¯ll talk more in detail about strategy and other details when we return back to our Inn, so lets clean up the corpses and go report about the quest completion.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..of course. Let¡¯s clean up and go back home.¡±


    ¡°O-Ou! I-I¡¯ll focus on collecting the bodies so burn them all together with [fire ball] after that.¡±


    ¡°Ah, leave the Orc General¡¯s body as is. Also, before burning be sure to cut their ears as proof.¡±


    The three of us began the cleanup instantly, and after the corpses had been dealt with, I picked up the body of the Orc General on my shoulder and we began on our way back to Oxter.


    By the way, this corpse will be used as proof for the subjugation of an orc general.


    ¡­¡­..Also, since we can do whatever we want with this body, I am thinking of putting this beside that goblin corpse that had Ongneer growing out of it.


    Maybe, just maybe, it would propagate to this body as well.


    If this works, I¡¯ll be able to freely choose what next living thing to use as the next host of Ongneer.


    It¡¯s more likely that bugs or germs destroy the body before that happens but it¡¯s well worth trying at least.

 CH 87

    Direct Confrontation


    Having returned back to Oxter from the Indera marshlands, I left the Orc general¡¯s corpse in a place closeby, and then walked back to guild.


    The receptionist called Suzanna-san was still probably looking for more adventurers so I wanted to let them know that the job¡¯s been done as quickly as possible.


    ¡ª¡ª-thinking that, when I opened the guild¡¯s doors, I saw Greath standing in the middle of the building imposingly.


    And behind him¡­¡­¡­were the guild chief and Suzanna-san who were kneeling down with their heads on the floor.


    I didn¡¯t really like the chief in the first place but still, this Greath really was a complete scumbag.


    Seeing this scene, I instantly knew what the situation was.


    ¡°Oi OI! I can¡¯t hear your voice at all!! Say it, the town is danger so please save us!! And that you¡¯ll never talk back to me ever again¡ª-right? Or should I go back like this? HUH!?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­I-I¡¯ll n-never talk back to¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°The Orc herd is already dead¡­¡­¡­Too bad, Greath. If you want to go back home, be my guest. You¡¯re not needed here anymore.¡±


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    I interjected between the two parties and provokingly spoke to Greath.


    I don¡¯t give a shit about the guild chief but I¡¯m not gonna shut up and watch this kind of treatment of the receptionist.


    ¡°Haa? You again!¡­¡­..Wait, what did you say?? The fuck is a Silver class like you talking about!! It¡¯s because of you that this town is danger you know? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT!?!?¡±


    ¡°Ralf, hand me that.¡±


    I took the bag with the Orc left ears and showed it to Greath who was yelping like madman.


    He was thinking of making me look like a fool but seeing the contents of the bag and realizing they were in fact Orc ears, his face slowly turned red.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªYou Bastard! What did you do!! Did you go to another town and ask for help from adventurers there?!?¡­¡­..You really are trying to get in way all the time, aren¡¯t you!!¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up already. Just go back¡ª¡ª-you are not needed here. Can you not understand words either?¡±


    ¡°gunununu¡­¡­¡­¡­fuh, GAHAHA! Ah, now I¡¯m really pissed¡ª¡ª-You, really should be ready for the worst, okay?¡±


    ¡°I said go back, you useless Mr. platinum adventurer.¡±


    Hitting me with his shoulder as he passed by, he walked out of the guild with heavy steps.


    With this I have fully earned his anger, but oh well, not that it matters.


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    I don¡¯t think I¡¯d lose to him, and I¡¯m sick to the stomach with that guy anyway and this feeling won¡¯t go away until I have a proper go at him sooner or later.


    It¡¯s best if he¡¯s the one that comes at me directly, I¡¯m honestly excited to see how he¡¯ll try and hurt me.


    ¡°U-um, thank¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°How many times must you do this! Thanks to you this guild will get destroyed!¡ª¡ªjust stop fighting with Greath already, I begged you didn¡¯t I!?¡±


    The moment the receptionist tried to thank me, the guild chief instead spoke angrily.


    Unlike the pathetic look from before, he sure was acting all tough against me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember agreeing to you though? ¡­¡­.and allow me to say one thing, if you can survive without sucking up to that Greath, then maybe it is better for this guild to be finished.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.you, are you serious? I could really expulse you from the guild, you know?¡¯


    ¡°Oh, so rather than kick out Greath, you want to get rid of the guy that got rid of the Orc Herd instead? If you are serious, then you are the same kind of scum as Greath himself you bastard.¡±


    He was technically still on his knees, so I looked straight down on him as I spat out these words.


    The Carlisle forest was so close and the overall feel of the town was not bad either.


    But if the top of the guild was like this, I really might have to consider moving away.


    ¡°Oh and, I¡¯d like to get my reward for the emergency quest in full right now. Any one of you guild employees free? I need someone to check some things and come with me.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll come!¡ª-guild chief, why don¡¯t you go and take a breather in the back, please?¡±


    A young, smart looking man jumped out from behind.


    Quite the contrast when compared to the bitter and scummy guild chief himself.


    ¡°Then, follow me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please lead the way.¡±


    With the single guild employee following me, I left the guild.


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    A few minutes afterwards.


    As if a switch had been flicked on, Ralf who had been quiet while in the guild suddenly started talking.


    ¡°Oi, Chris! Why did you pick a fight with Greath!¡­¡­.is what I¡¯d like to ask but damn you really laid it into him there! He really is the worst though huh?¡±


    ¡°Almost as scummy as my dad and Klaus. Even more so that he¡¯s acting that tough while being a mere Platinum rank.¡±


    ¡°u-umm¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°I too was thinking about how unforgivable that man is. And that guild chief¡¯s no better! Why was he getting angry at Chris-san? I don¡¯t get it!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been under Greath¡¯s thumb for far too long. Unlike the receptionist, he had his head on the floor with zero hesitation.¡±


    ¡°U-umm Excuse me! Please allow me to really apologise on behalf of the chief!¡±


    While we were getting all fired up over the shitty acts of the chief and Greath, the guild employee that was following us interjected with a loud voice to apologize.


    ¡°What happened? And out of nowhere?¡±


    ¡°I understand that what the chief did was extremely rude¡­¡­¡­As the vice-chief of the guild, please allow me to once again apologize and give my thanks! Thank you very much for taking care of the Orc herd!!¡±


    ¡°Eh!? You were the vice chief of the guild!? So young, I thought you were just some clerk so I ended up complaining in front of you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I won¡¯t mind any level of complaints right now to be honest. While technically on his side, even I thought that the chief¡¯s actions a while ago were not right.¡±


    ¡°So why not stop him?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..yes, well, how do I put this, I think even the chief himself knows that he¡¯s wrong. But he simply crumbles and does it anyway during such situations. That¡¯s just the current state of this guild unfortunately.¡±


    All to keep that Greath happy.


    They are really backed into a corner, I could tell from the vice-chief¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Is that how much power Greath has within the guild right now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Outside you three, there is no adventurer in the entirety of Oxter that isn¡¯t under him. If you earn his anger, he¡¯ll order everyone to not take up any requests whatsoever. In fact, in the past they did go on a boycott for several days¡­¡­. I think the guild chief has never forgotten what that was like and that fear is embedded inside him at this point.¡±


    Well, that still doesn¡¯t make me want to forgive him but as expected, it all comes back to Greath in the end huh.¡±


    ¡°indeed. He¡¯s strong and his ability is real. He basically holds the reins on all adventurers here. That¡¯s the kind of problematic adventurer he is.¡±


    It¡¯ll all fall apart if an adventurer with a higher rank than Greath came here from Norfast or something but, then again, why would an adventurer move here from one of the three great cities in the first place?


    And that is what gave birth to this disastrous situation.

 CH 88

    Completion Report


    ¡°Is there really no other way? For the guild to handle this that is.¡±


    ¡°With guild chief acting like that, we could only give up so¡­¡­. We simply have to wait for an adventurer stronger than Greath to appear.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t work anyway I think. People who were raised in such a situation will end up twisted in their own way. If a person stronger than Greath was born in this town, they¡¯ll just become another Greath in the end, repeating the cycle.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me¡­¡­..that the adventurers of Oxter will remain like this forever?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t be completely certain but the probability is high. You¡¯ll basically have to cut ties with every adventurer that works for Greath and completely lock him out instead for it to work.¡±


    The vice chief made a pained expression, but I really think that¡¯s their best solution


    We made it here from the lowest level as well so I know, there is a limit to how much you can refuse to take requests.


    I highly doubt that Greath would ever pay anything to the adventurers; and if anything, I felt that the guild chief was too weak to have crumbled only a few days into the boycott.


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    If it was me, I¡¯d be prepared to not let anyone take requests until they bowed their head to me¡ª¡ªor at least that¡¯s my view on the matter.


    While talking such stuff about the guild chief and Greath, we finally reached the place we had kept the Orc general¡¯s corspe.


    I showed this corpse to him, and basically asked for extra reward on top which was why I brought him here.


    ¡°This is¡­¡­..an O-orc General?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Including this general, there were 19 orcs in the herd. I don¡¯t think I need to say this but I can expect a hefty reward for our work, right?¡±


    ¡°Of-Of course! Just thinking about what would have happened if this kind of herd had reached the town¡ª¡ªI can already feel the cold sweat on my back. Seriously, thank you so much.¡±


    ¡°Well, give your thanks to the receptionist called Suzanna-san. If she wasn¡¯t there to recruit us, I probably would have never taken this job.¡±


    ¡°Su-suzanna-san you say? Could it be that you took this only because she intervened and mediated the fight between you and Greath back then?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I mean I did cause that fight. Since I inadvertently dragged her into it, I took this request as an apology.¡±


    ¡°is that so¡­¡­¡­very well, I¡¯ll be sure to give my thanks to her as well.¡±


    The vice-chief kept bowing his head as he strongly spoke so.


    With this, she shouldn¡¯t get into any more trouble.


    Especially with the number 2 in the guild, the vice-chief said so, so it should be fine.


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    ¡°Be sure to do that. Also what to do with the Orc General¡¯s body? Since the proof has been shown, I¡¯d like to use it for raw materials and stuff so.¡±


    ¡°Allow me to take its left ear at least. You can do what you want with the rest.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Thanks for coming with me. You can go back now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, then I¡¯ll go ahead and return back to the guild¡­¡­¡­.Um, can I ask a question before I go?¡±


    As he began to leave, the vice-chief stopped and turned around to ask something again.


    ¡°Sure, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Are you guys really only silver rank? That too, newly promoted ones?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡­..though in terms of ability, I¡¯d say we are closer to Gold though.¡±


    ¡°just who are you people? It seems like you didn¡¯t become adventurers too long ago either, and from the reports I¡¯ve seen, Esta-san and Ralf-san were originally struggling with even Rookie quests.¡±


    So they have that much info huh.


    When you become an adventurer and what requests you take.


    I could tell from this that the guilds were always sharing information.


    ¡°Me and Esta were simply saved by Chris that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We became strong thanks to Chris-san¡¯s help!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..No, it¡¯s because of your own hard work. While the adventurers of Oxter simply gather in crowds and act all tough, we have simply worked hard day and night to get stronger and stronger. So obviously, we did actually get strong in the end.¡±


    ¡°thank you, for answering me¡ª¡ªI don¡¯t know how much I could help you but please think of me as your ally from now on. If you get into any trouble, please come talk to me. And once again, thank you for everything today.¡±


    He gave one last deep bow and then returned.


    Greath and the Chief were both shit but maybe the vice-chief was a decent person.


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    ¡°phew, is it finally over? It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been this tired.¡±


    ¡°Same. The battle itself didn¡¯t last that long but facing a strong enemy is a lot more tiring that I thought it was.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just shows your nervousness. Your muscles go stiff, and you have to think and do a lot of things¡­¡­.But anyway, let¡¯s finish up for today. You two, go on ahead back to the inn.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Hm? Chris, where do you plan on going then?¡±


    ¡°I need to go and visit the Carlisle forest for a bit.¡±


    ¡°haa!? Right now!? Even though we just fought an entire herd of Orcs, you¡¯re going back into a forest?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going for my usual gathering trips. I need to test something out, and want to leave this Orc General corpse there.¡±


    ¡°nonono, I didn¡¯t understand anything! Shouldn¡¯t a big victory party come first!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be tomorrow. Since we¡¯ll get our reward tomorrow anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well, as long as the party happens I guess it¡¯s fine¡­¡­¡­since you did fight the Orc general only a while ago, be careful alright?¡ª-actually, should I come with you?¡±


    ¡°If Ralf¡¯s going, I¡¯ll come too!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going into a place filled with deadly poisonous plants, so you¡¯d only be in the way if you came so no. I¡¯ll be fine so go take a rest ahead of me.¡±


    Saying that to them, I parted with them at the entrance of Oxter, and carried the Orc general¡¯s corpse all the way to the Carlisle forest.


    It was almost dusk so if I don¡¯t hurry, it¡¯ll be night by the time I get there so I need to make haste.


    On the way, since I was carrying the corpse of an Orc General, I did get treated like a complete weirdo by the people I crossed by but¡­¡­¡­.somehow I able to carry it all the way to Carlisle forest.


    Now, I just need to leave it near the Ongneer tree.


    With the corpse on my back, I walked through the forest and made my way to the tree.


    As for the monsters in the way, maybe because I was carrying the corpse of a orc general, they all ran away from me so I was able to reach the Ongneer tree without much trouble.


    Avoided by both people and monsters.


    More so than when I carried those stray cowbird corpses, my ¡®hated by¡¯ stat probably ranked up again.


    While thinking of such worthless things, I aligned it right alongside the goblin corpse and lay the body there beside it.


    But still¡­¡­..it¡¯s quite the gruesome scene no matter how many times I looked at it.


    While observing the plant that was releasing a darker aura than most monsters I have seen, I prayed that it planted itself inside the Orc general as well, and after harvesting another Ongneer fruit from the grown tree, I left the place.


    The sun had already set, and I was alone in the dark forest as I walked  back the way I came.

 CH 89

    Reward for the Emergency Quest


    The next day.


    While rubbing my still sleepy eyes, I forced myself to wake up.


    Yesterday, on the way back I ended up getting attacked by monsters in the end after all so it was after midnight by the time I made it back to [Tree Top Tower] inn.


    Thanks to that, I just took a shower and fell asleep instantly, but I was still lacking sleep and was hungry as well.


    The only thing I ate yesterday in its entirety was Esta¡¯s special made breakfast and Lizaf fruits.


    And since the afternoon, I almost didn¡¯t eat anything else at all other than Ongneer fruit that plucked on my way back from Carlisle forest.


    Since the gap between calorie intake and my calorie consumption was too high, my stomach was making growling noises from the moment I woke up.


    ¡°Chris-san good morning! I¡¯ve made breakfast already.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Thanks. I really am hungry as hell so that sounds great.¡±


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    Esta seemed to have woken up even before me and had made breakfast  for me, so I decided to start my day with eating her breakfast.


    Toast, sausages, and eggs sunny side up.


    And I added a Lizaf fruit to the set which made my usual breakfast but¡ª¡ªit felt a lot more tastier than usual.


    I guess hunger really is the greatest ingredient.


    ¡°Chris, how did things go yesterday? Did you get a good harvest?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡­¡­.like I said, yesterday¡¯s trip was not for my usual plant gathering. I went to put the Orc general¡¯s corpse there.¡±


    ¡°So why go all the way to the forest just to put a corpse there?¡±


    ¡°I told you yesterday, there was something I wanted to test¡­¡­¡­anyway, let me enjoy my breakfast please.¡±


    ¡°Cold as always! Won¡¯t kill you to talk while you eat will it?¡±


    Ignoring Ralf who was grumbling and mumbling complaints, I slowly relished my breakfast.


    After that, we did our usual prep, and headed to the adventurer guild.


    Today¡¯s plans include, first collecting the reward for yesterday¡¯s request, then take a silver rank request.


    The emergency request changed our plans yesterday so we¡¯ll go for it today.


    And after we¡¯re done with our request, I want to take these to the [Travelling Cat Store] and introduce them to Shantell, as well as see how much progress she¡¯s made with Jinpi potions.


    ¡­¡­..fufufu, I¡¯m really excited to find out what kind of effect Jinpi will give me.


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    In a good mood thanks to the delicious breakfast, I reached the adventurer guild alongside Ralf and Esta in high spirits.


    First, I quickly checked the interior to make see whether Greath was here or not, then headed straight to enquiry desk in a straight line.


    I wonder how much we¡¯ll get for the reward.


    I hope the guild chief didn¡¯t try and lessen it or something.


    ¡°Welcome, this is the enquiry desk, how may I help you?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, I took the emergency quest. The name¡¯s Chris. And I wanted to collect my reward.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Chris right¡­¡­..Please can you wait a minute?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    After my curt reply, she quickly disappeared into the backroom.


    Soon after, the vice-chief showed up from there.


    ¡°Chris-san, nice to see you again.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Why did the vice-chief himself show up?¡±


    ¡°I figured it would be easier for me personally to fully explain in regards to your reward, so I had told the receptionist in advance to call me.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯ll be nice.¡±


    ¡°Well then, as for your reward¡­¡­¡­this is how much we have decided.¡±


    The amount put in front of me was, 2 platinum coins and 5 gold coins.


    I couldn¡¯t hide my surprise at the much bigger than expected reward.


    Could it be, that the urgent nature of the quest also added to the final reward?


    ¡°you sure this much is fine?¡±


    ¡°of course. It¡¯s for three people after all. In fact this isn¡¯t exactly a huge reward¡­¡­..but this is the best this  guild can offer at this moment.¡±


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    I felt that this was big enough already, yet the vice-chief looked almost apologetic about it.


    ¡°No, this is already more than what I expected  so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­¡­? An Orc general subjugation alone would give around 3 gold coins. A normal Orc was 5 silver, orc soldier was 6 silver, And Orc knight is 1 gold coin¡ª¡ªso just the overall reward alone for the kills should be 13 gold coins. Add the fact that you had to fight them all together as well as it being an urgent quest,¡­¡­..apologies to say this as a guild member myself but, this is not a decent enough reward with all due respect.¡±


    In a show of candidness, the vice-chief openly talked about the breakdown of the reward.


    Certainly, when he explained it all in such a manner, I did realize that the reward was maybe not as big as a I thought, but at the same time they did add 12 extra gold coins as an extra so I don¡¯t really have any complaints.


    Even when split between us 3, it comes to about 8 gold per person.


    Even if we give a bigger cut to Esta considering her contributions, we¡¯ll still have more than enough left for us.


    ¡°That may be so, but I¡¯m satisfied with this amount. Thank you for the polite explanation though.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I can only give my thanks for saying that. I¡¯m glad it was your party that took on this request.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that in a place like this. You¡¯ll get in trouble if someone hears it.¡±


    It¡¯s only some words but if they reached Greath, he¡¯s bound to go on a rampage because of it.


    ¡°¡­¡­.that¡¯s true. Thanks for the warning. If something happens, we¡¯ll be counting on you again if possible.¡±


    ¡°Sure. If its something we can handle, and you guys approach in good faith, we¡¯ll gladly help as much as we can.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much. Now then, I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡±


    Giving a deep bow, he disappeared back into the backroom.


    And then¡ª-at the same time he disappeared, Ralf who had been listening behind me started jumping in joy.


    ¡°Alright! This is amazing! 2 platinum and 5 gold coins!! Today¡¯s a party!¡­.no, a grand party!!¡±


    ¡°Calm down Ralf, we¡¯ll talk about money after we¡¯ve finished today¡¯s request.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. We got sidetracked due to the emergency request, let¡¯s take on our first silver rank request with the same enthusiasm as yesterday!¡±


    ¡°Oioioi! How are you two so calm! We just got platinum coins as reward¡­¡­.? Am I the weird one?¡±


    Leaving the confused Ralf behind, I quickly went to check on the available requests on the bulletin board.

 CH 90

    Silver Rank Quest


    The three main candidates for the request were the same as yesterday.


    I didn¡¯t spend much time thinking and simply picked the first one I saw.


    ¡°Chris-san, which one are we taking?¡±


    ¡°Snow Panther one. I did say I¡¯ll pick the first one that I see after all ¡­¡­but, honestly this was going to be my last pick.¡±


    ¡°OOH! Snow Panther! This was my first choice!¡±


    ¡°So what will you do Chris-san? Maybe return it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.no, we did make a decision, so let¡¯s stick with it and go ahead with this one. Since all three of us are gonna challenge it together, I highly doubt it¡¯s going to be harder than taking on an Orc herd.¡±


    Though I say that, I did feel a bit nervous about this monster.


    Since it was not a humanoid type like Orcs, and excelled in speed and power as well as use of capable of using multiple elements¡ª¡ªit was one the strongest monsters in the Silver rank class.


    Even its reward for subjugation of just 1 monster was comparable to gold rank ones, at 2 gold coins.


    Making it around 6 silver and 6 copper per person which was not a bad reward at all.


    ¡°What? Is it really that strong? This snow panther?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk about the details on the way. Let me first go an a formally accept the request at the desk.¡±


    .


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    After that was done, we headed towards the mountains in the north, the designated location for the request.


    The northern mountains were the very same mountains from which the Orc herd came down from yesterday, so we headed towards the same direction, that of Indera marshlands once again.


    ¡°Oh man, that sure sounds a whole lot tougher than some Orc.¡±


    ¡°If you compare it to a normal Orc, the snow panther was obviously the stronger one. Since its not a humanoid type, I¡¯m a bit worried of leaving Ralf alone to draw its attacks as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, I can take it!¡­¡­.is what I¡¯d like to say but this time¡ª¡ª-could I avoid being the tank for some time?¡±


    ¡°Why? So suddenly?¡±


    ¡°Since you came back late yesterday, me and Esta did our little self assessment meeting ourselves and talked about and pointed out each other¡¯s weaknesses, so I¡¯ve decided to stop being the tank for a while.¡±


    Ralf suddenly said so.


    As you could tell by his skills and stats, a [Holy Knight] was very well suited to play the role of tank and draw monsters attacks to himself, and that role was where he would shine the best.


    Yesterday during the battle with Orc herd as well, he was the best when he was drawing enemies to himself and keeping them at bay rather than when attacking, so to put it simply, focusing on being a tank was the best choice for him.


    ¡­¡­.But what Ralf was aiming for was to be the strongest adventurer, a power to surpass the [Sword God].


    In that case, his decision wasn¡¯t wrong.


    ¡°I see. Well, it¡¯s fine I guess? Ralf¡¯s biggest weakness is obviously his attacking ability. Not just in defence, you want to be the best in every way no?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Only then could I call myself number one!¡±


    ¡°pfft, that¡¯s very like you, Ralf.¡±


    ¡°Umm, actually I had an idea as well¡­¡­..I wanted to put less focus on accuracy I think from now on.¡±


    ¡°less accuracy you say¡­¡­..?


    ¡°Yes. Yesterday, during the battle with the Orcs the thing that bothered me the most was the same as Ralf¡ª-a severe lack in the power of my magic. During practice, I was able to infuse more mana and fire stronger magic but it heavily decreased my accuracy. So I¡¯m want to try using it in real battle and see if I can get better at it that way by creating stronger version of my spells from the very start¡­¡­¡­.what do you think Chris-san?¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­.now this is a tough one.


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    Honestly, I felt that she was more than good enough yesterday and that was with Esta still only using elementary magic.


    If she learnt how to use high tier magic, her attacking power would automatically increase with it so it was fine to maintain her focus on accuracy.


    ¡ª¨Cbut, I¡¯m no expert when it comes to magic either.


    I still can¡¯t even sense my own mana, so its better to trust her and let her do what her instinct says.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m an amateur when it comes to magic so I don¡¯t really have strong opinion either way so just do what you feel is best for you. Trusting yourself above all is good. But, id you¡¯re gonna make a choice be sure to see it through all the way. Don¡¯t half-ass anything in life because that is the worst thing you can do.¡±


    After that I continued listening to their various opinions and thoughts as we made our way through the Indera marshlands and finally reached our destination, the northern mountains.


    These mountains were quite high above sea level and at the higher areas of the mountains even snow would accumulate, something that was quite a rare sight in this kingdom.


    And, the natural habitat for our current target, the snow panther, was said to be in those very snow covered mountains at the top as well¡­¡­¡­


    But there have been sightings of Snow Panthers who come down from the mountain just to attack humans apparently.


    And this time around, our subjugation target was also one such Snow Panther.


    With our plan set to exploring the base of the mountain to look for this Snow panther who had come down to hunt, we began our search for our target.

 CH 91

    Snow Panther


    About 2 hours had passed since we began searching for the Snow Panther.


    Let alone run into it, we hadn¡¯t even found any traces of it being here.


    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing here! I can see all sorts of monsters here and there except that thing!¡±


    ¡°maybe we should looks for some Stray cowbirds at the same time? They showed up in similar locations near Realzard after all.¡±


    ¡°You two, let¡¯s look for it harder still! Maybe we should go an visit the place it attacked before?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t sense even its presence, and even though this was designated location request, we were still running around like headless chickens when Esta, who still hadn¡¯t given up, made a suggestion.


    Certainly, maybe it has made a nest near the place it attacked the last time.


    We went back from the mountain trail to the main path which people could use, and walked down this road instead.


    If I recall correctly,¡­¡­. it was around here where it last attacked.


    Stopping for a second, I looked around hoping to find something when¡ª-


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    ¡°I can sense a monster. And its coming towards us with great speed from that slope.¡±


    ¡°Wait really! I did think it was odd during the orc herd attack as well, but how in the world can you see that far away?¡±


    ¡°Enough of that and get ready. I don¡¯t if its actually the snow panther but it¡¯s a strong monster regardless.¡±


    Saying that to them both, I drew my sword and entered my stance to face the oncoming monster.


    Soon after the identity of the monster that came running down the slope became all too certain.


    ¡ª¡ªno doubt, that¡¯s a snow panther alright.


    2 meters in length, pure white fur with blue spots.


    Quick and agile in its movements, and possessing sharp fangs and claws.


    But even with all its obviously wild looking features, the monster still had a certain beauty in its appearance.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be the tank and draw its aggro this time around. Ralf, Esta find gaps and strike them when you can.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m counting you!¡±


    ¡°please take care!¡±


    Giving quick orders, I moved forward to stand in the way of the Snow Panther who was approaching at breakneck speed.


    Though I said I¡¯ll be the tank, I can¡¯t really draw an enemy with a skill like Ralf can, so I have to do it with brute strength instead.


    First, let¡¯s see how the Snow Panther reacts¡­¡­.


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    Even with me standing in its way, it didn¡¯t slow down even for a second and jumped at me with full momentum.


    Lunging in, it first tries to pin you down with its claws then uses its fangs to bite you to death¡ª¡ª


    As if I¡¯d let it actually go through with such easy to read attacks.


    With the leather shield in my hand, I swung it at the perfect moment to smash the side of the snow panther¡¯s face.


    Since my shield bash landed right when it was in the air, the Snow panther got smashed straight into the ground and rolled across the land but¡­¡­.


    It swung itself back into a normal posture instantly, lowered its head in a threatening stance and howled sharply.


    Thanks to it rushing straight at me, I was able to draw a lot of heat without much problem.


    The snow panther didn¡¯t even look at Ralf and Esta behind me, and continued howling at me alone.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, come at me.¡±


    I doubt it understood what I said, but I motioned with my hand to try and provoke the snow panther to attack me.


    If I too had [Roar of the Guardian], I wouldn¡¯t have any need to do something like this, but alas.


    While I thought of such things as I very obviously taunted the Snow panther, it prowled in a circle as it approached me to attack once more.


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, I¡¯m counting on you two.¡±


    Saying that to them, I fully focused my gaze at the snow panther alone.


    It¡¯s way faster than myself.


    But no matter how fast, it¡¯s final objective was to attack me so it will come to me regardless.


    Without letting its movements confuse me, I stood there in place with a defensive stance, I kept my focus solely on the head of the Snow Panther.


    I didn¡¯t fall for its feints, or get baited by its obvious fake openings.


    I threw the idea of defeating it myself completely out of my head, and just stood there in stance¡ª-the one who lost the battle of patience was the Snow Panther.


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    From a distance, it used its claws to slash the air and a wind attack similar to Esta¡¯s [Wind Arrow] came flying at me.


    So this was snow panther¡¯s elemental attacks.


    Realizing that my leather shield wasn¡¯t gonna do much against that, I quickly dodged  and then took another step to get out of Esta¡¯s line of sight as well.


    ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡±


    The moment I did, Esta who had waiting for this moment instantly fired a Fire Arrow.


    The power of this fire arrow was far stronger than the ones she used yesterday against the Orc herd¡ª-however even though the Snow Panther was stuck in its place stunned, it completely missed the monster and passed by it.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorr¡ª¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize.¡±


    I cut Esta¡¯s attempt to apologize short, and prompted her to get ready to use her next magic.


    No challenge is achieved without failure.


    If you fear failure, you¡¯ll never grow.


    Without reproaching Esta, I once again stood in front of the Snow Panther.


    This time it didn¡¯t rush into another attack again, and simply observed me as it slowly and steadily reduced the distance between us.


    The Snow Panther¡¯s target was still me it seems.


    I gave a signal to Ralf who was behind me and told him to attack this time when the chance arrives.


    The next instant, I noticed the Snow panther put strength in its hind legs, so I quickly put up my shield and put my hand on my sword.


    As if matching my movements, the Snow Panther opened its jaws, and the now visible sharp fangs started getting covered with ice.

 CH 92

    Pursuit


    As the ice covered the fangs¡ª¨Cthe overall length of the fangs grew longer and became even more menacing looking.


    This was its trump card, ice element attacks.


    It could cover its fangs and claws in ice, and greatly increase its slashing ability and got boosted with the cold damage.


    What made it annoying was that even if you don¡¯t take a clean hit, the cold damage will still accumulate over time.


    Not to mention, I was using a leather shield. The moment I try to block it, my body temperature will instantly drop.


    ¡­¡­¡­..I know I planned to leave all the attacking to Ralf, but if its gonna come at with ice attacks, I¡¯ll have to counter attack otherwise I won¡¯t last long.


    Well, if I do attack, the battle will end almost instantly, but it can¡¯t be helped in this situation.


    I pulled my sword out, and got ready to slash at it at any given moment.


    After slowly approaching me for a while, the Snow panther instantly lunged at me to attack with its icy fangs and bite me.


    I had waiting for this attack, and I crouched down to be completely below the four legged beast¡¯s leap.


    From there, I used my shield to strike its jaw from below to stop its attack and then thrust my steel sword straight at its belly.


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    At the same timing, Ralf who had been hiding behind me jumped out from over me.


    As he rotated in air above us, he brought down his sword straight at the back of the snow panther as it stood in place after getting stabbed in the flank by me.


    This will be a fatal blow¡ª¨Cthought Ralf, of course, but also me who witnessed this move from the side but at that moment, the snow panther used the ice to cover its entire body, and not just its fangs.


    As if its back had horns of ice growing out of it, Ralf¡¯s simply deflected off of it and broke his balance.


    As if it had been waiting for that moment as he rolled on the ground, the Snow Panther slashed at him with its claws but¡ª¨C


    I quickly closed in the distance and deflected its claws with my sword.


    ¡­¡­¡­this snow panther, is pretty damn used to fighting.


    That too, against human opponents specifically¡ª¡ª-I could tell from its rapid decision making.


    ¡°Ralf, get back for now.  Esta!!¡±


    ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡±


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    When I spoke, Esta launched another [fire arrow] from behind.


    This time it headed straight at the Snow Panther and got a clean hit¡­¡­.but this time, the power was weaker.


    It was not the powerful blast from before but was closer to the weaker accuracy focused version that she had been using till now.


    I mean, yes, when facing a strong opponent, its no time to be experimenting but¡­¡­this weak kneed attitude is not okay either.


    I wanted to warn Esta right now but, I held back and kept my focus on the battle at hand.


    When the [fire arrow] hit, the snow panther staggered heavily.


    Part of the ice covering its body also began to melt, so I aimed for that part and thrust my sword.


    After the belly, now I stabbed right into the base of its neck.


    This one struck in really deep, so I¡¯m sure its pretty weakened by now.


    All that¡¯s left is to coordinate our next attacks, and if I can land a counter, it¡¯ll kill¡ª¡ªor so I thought but¡­¡­..


    The snow panther turned its back at us and while still stumbling, began running back up the slope it came down from.


    I never even thought a wild monster would ever run away from a fight, so my reaction was delayed and I let it escape.


    ¡°[Fire Arrow]¡±


    Esta¡¯s fire arrow cut through the air but couldn¡¯t hit the rapidly escaping Snow panther.


    ¡ª¨CShit, I let it get away when it was just one hit away.


    ¡°Sorry, Chris, all because I lost my balance.¡±


    ¡°We can reflect on it later¡ª¨Clet¡¯s pursue it first. I¡¯m not gonna let it run away after all this.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, look! There¡¯s still bloodstains on the ground. If we follow this trail of blood we should be able to make it to the snow panther!¡±


    Looking towards the direction Esta was pointing at, you could certainly see traces of blood on the ground.


    Must be from the wounds I gave it on its belly and neck.


    ¡°let¡¯s follow it then. My second attack hit hard, it should close to dying anyway. Couldn¡¯t have gone too far.¡±


    ¡°True. Let¡¯s be quick about it then!¡±


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    With the bloodstains on the ground as our guide, we began pursuing after the snow panther.


    Worst case scenario would be if it ran all the way to the summit of the mountain like this but, I highly doubt that¡¯s possible with the wounds it has.


    It was a half wish, half realistic conclusion I came to, as we continued climbing the slope in search of the Snow panther.


    The further we followed the tracks, the amount of blood began increasing¡­¡­and the spots of blood had now become a line of blood instead.


    ¡°Should be around here no? these signs look like it was almost dragging its body at this point.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right! This is definitely Snow Panther¡¯s fur right here!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Chris-san, you think it¡¯s in that cave over there?¡±


    After climbing up the slope, we were standing in a spot with lots of blood around the place. A further deeper inside, where Esta pointed, was a small little cave.


    Looking closely, the blood was also leading to the cave as well which means there¡¯s no doubt its hiding in that cave.


    Like I expected, it didn¡¯t run too far away after all but a small cave was an annoying place to hide in.


    But we can¡¯t just stand in front of the cave hoping for it to come back out either so we have to go inside no matter what while its still weak.


    After taking a deep breath and preparing ourselves, we entered the cave the snow panther had escaped into.


    Today, I¡¯m acting as the tank so I was took point as vanguard as we entered the cave.


    The stench of beasts was thick inside the cave and now, so was the smell of blood.


    The snow panther was no doubt inside this cave.


    While looking for its presence, I slowly headed inside the cave, further and further¡­¡­..


    I couldn¡¯t sense even a single monster.


    Could the snow panther completely erase its presence perhaps?


    I wondered but¡­¡­suddenly I saw the snow panther lying on the ground in front of me.


    Judging by its looks, size and colour, it was the exact same one we fought, no doubt about it.


    I gave a couple hand signs to the two behind me and began approaching it steadily.


    If it attacks back, I¡¯ll block it with the shield¡ª¨Cand then stab straight at its head.


    I approached with this kind of preparedness but, the snow panther didn¡¯t even look towards us. Even after standing right by it, it showed no signs of moving.


    ¡°¡­¡­..It¡¯s dead.¡±


    Seeing it closely, I muttered so.


    Looks like it made it back to its den but collapsed right here.


    Part of me wanted to complain about why kit couldn¡¯t die right where we fought, but I¡¯m glad we were able to find the corpse at least¡­¡­.so I guess all¡¯s well that ends well.


    Well, in any case, looks like the Snow panther subjugation has been completed successfully.

 CH 93

    To Kill or To Spare


    After quickly cutting off its left ear, let¡¯s quickly get out of this cave.


    ¡ª¨Cthinking that, I moved towards its head right when, from around its stomach area, a small cry could be heard.


    ¡°Chris, what happened? Why did you stop!¡±


    ¡°The one we fought is already dead, but there might be another one. Come over here and help me, Esta please create some light for us.¡±


    ¡°Understood! [Fire]¡±


    I called the two were slightly away from us, and tried to move the Snow Panther¡¯s body.


    I¡¯m pretty sure I heard a small cry from around its belly area¡­¡­.


    As the two of us moved the snow panther¡¯s body aside, underneath the body¡¯s cover was a small baby snow panther.


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    ¡°So small and cute! Is it a baby snow panther?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Probably.¡±


    ¡°Chris, what are you gonna do with this baby?¡±


    It was around 20cm in length, must have been born very recently, I could tell.


    It¡¯s white fur didn¡¯t even have any blue spots yet and had beautiful pure white fur.


    I couldn¡¯t even see any sharp fangs or claws, and if left alone, it will probably die within a week.


    ¡°¡­¡­..We have to put it down.¡±


    Even if let it live, it won¡¯t survive more than a week alone.


    And in the off chance it did, all it would do is become another dangerous Snow panther that attacks people like its parent.


    Then, wouldn¡¯t it better for everyone if I just put it down right here and save everyone the pain and trouble in the future?


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    ¡°umm¡­¡­.can we not let it live?¡±


    ¡°And what then? It can¡¯t hunt on its own, and so will probably die of starvation 99%. Just because its cute, letting it live won¡¯t give it a happy future.¡±


    ¡°Then, maybe we can leave it near the mountain tops! If its there, it won¡¯t get killed by adventures and maybe some other snow panthers might take care of it!¡±


    Both Ralf and Esta desperately pleaded to let this little one live.


    Well, we¡¯re the ones that orphaned it in the first place so it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand their feelings.


    ¡­¡­..but, the reality is we can¡¯t do much for it. Not to mention the hypocrisy of the entire idea in the first place.


    ¡°Even if we do that, all that awaits it is a painful future and you two know that as well. Especially you two should understand that better than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..But still, both me and Ralf did survive without giving up and that¡¯s precisely why, we are now able to enjoy life to its fullest!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! That¡¯s why we should¡­¡­¡­.Hm? maybe we could just raise it instead no? This baby snow panther!¡±


    Once again, Ralf came up with some insane idea.


    What kind of idiot would raise a monster that attacks humans.


    ¡°Well we can¡¯t do that, for one. Or did you already forget the appearance of the monster we just fought. That¡¯s what this grows into.¡±


    ¡°Well if it grows up and attacks us, we could just throw it back into the wild then¡­¡­¡­I mean we did kill its parent. Chris, didn¡¯t you say it yourself? You always payback what you take!¡±


    ¡°But we didn¡¯t really take anything in that sense though.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, I¡¯m begging you as well! We understand that it¡¯s not right but please let us raise this snow panther!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.Fucks sake. This sure turned into something problematic.


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    The right answer is to kill it right here there¡¯s no question about that but, if I were to ask myself whether I feel guilty like the two are implying¡ª¨C


    As the baby watched me hesitate over what to do, the little snow panther made cute purr as if asking to be spoilt.


    After that, it made its way to me with shaky steps and began rubbing its small head on me as if wanting to cuddle.


    ¡ª¡ªAhh shit.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Fine. But if something bad happens, you both will take responsibility for it understand?¡±


    ¡°All three of us¡ªright! Chris, you agreed in the end after all!¡±


    ¡°How do we take it back? Should we put it inside our bag?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªHa? Take it back? Are we not going to just come here once in awhile to check in on it?¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯d be worried if something happened, so it¡¯d be better to just take it with us.¡±


    This conversation was going even further in a crazy direction.


    If someone found out that we were raising a monster, it¡¯d be all over.


    In the first place, you can¡¯t raise pets in an Inn.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t care no matter what happens alright. I¡¯m not a part of this at all.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for agreeing to taking it though! Maybe it¡¯ll fit inside my bag? ¡­¡­¡­..Hey, don¡¯t cause a ruckus alright?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it got in easily. Looks perfect to me.¡±


    From the bag on Ralf¡¯s back, just the baby Snow panther¡¯s head could be seen poking out.


    Well yeah I mean it¡¯s obviously cute if you¡¯re really gonna ask me that, but I was also worried that this might turn into a trend if a similar situation happened again.


    In the end, we are the ones that killed its parent.


    If it ever grew mature enough to understand that, and it tried to kill us¡­¡­.just thinking about it made me leak a huge sigh.


    ¡°One more promise¡­¡­.This is a an exception among exceptions. If we see a similar situation again, I will kill, no questions asked, I want you to carve that into your brains.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­We know. This¡¯ll be the first and the last one.¡±


    ¡°Same here. Just to get rid of these feelings as well, we¡¯ll raise it and only this one and then release it into the wild afterwards.¡±


    After making sure they made their promises, I watched as the two left the cave with the baby snow panther in tow.


    Once they were out of the area, I cut off the left ear from the Snow panther we killed, dug a big hole and buried the corpse inside it.

 CH 94

    Naming it


    After hunting the Snow panther and taking the baby snow panther with us, we sneaked inside our Inn without getting found out.


    ¡°Uwaah, it¡¯s really so cute.¡±


    ¡°I know right! Looks even cuter now that we can see it properly in a bright place.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.to kill the parent and then take the child to raise is some proper psychopath stuff alright.¡±


    ¡°Why would you put it like that! This child¡¯s parent was the one that started attacking people so it¡¯s only natural that it gut hunted. Also Chris, you agreed to this in the end so stop complaining!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Just look at it. It¡¯s cute isn¡¯t it?¡±


    With the baby snow panther held in both her hands, Esta proclaimed as if presenting it to me.


    I extended my hand to push it away but for whatever reason, the snow panther began licking said hand instead.


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    ¡°It tickles so stop licking me¡­¡­¡­So anyway, how are we go handle the Inn rules? We can¡¯t just raise it here like this.¡±


    ¡°Surely there are other Inns who accept pets, right?¡±


    ¡°That, or should we just rent our own house already? There¡¯s the reward from the Orc herd subjugation, and also the money me and Esta have been saving up! ¡­¡­..Well, that was technically meant for Chris as repayment for what you¡¯ve done for us though!¡±


    Well if we really plan to raise it in the town, it would be best to rent our own separate house in my opinion as well.


    ¡­¡­..maybe I should start looking for a house big enough where I could grow my poisonous plants as well?


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly a good option. To be honest I wanted to get a clan house but¡­¡­.that¡¯s for the future I guess. If this is how it¡¯s going to be, I guess we¡¯re gonna rent our own house now.¡±


    ¡°Chris, what happened? Why did you suddenly get so eager about this!¡±


    ¡°I mean I have been wanting to have my own garden to raise my own plants for quite some time now. Might as well use this occasion to finally get a some space for that, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Sounds fine to me, no? It¡¯ll save you from having to constantly go to the forest all the time as well.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll still be going to the forest regardless but yes, the amount of times I¡¯d need to go would decrease by a lot. Depending on how things go, perhaps I¡¯ll find a way to even increase the effects I get from these plants.¡±


    ¡°I see! You are technically a [Farmer] after all. Maybe the time to actually showcase your ability has finally come?¡±


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    I don¡¯t know how much ¡®ability¡¯ I could show but, my suitable job is supposed to be a [Farmer] so I should be better at raising plants than fighting technically speaking.


    At least, I should be able to grow these poisonous plants for one. This is something I¡¯ve been planning for a very long time now.


    ¡°I have never actually done any kind of farming but still, I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll get the hang of it fast. I have been learning stuff since I was in Realzard and have been learnt some few tricks and tips already.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s do it! Let¡¯s rent out a house already! In fact, let¡¯s do that tomorrow itself!¡±


    ¡°Only if we find a good place, alright? For today, let¡¯s lay low and stay inside.¡±


    Unaware of our worries, the baby snow panther simply tilted its head and licked the air while make cute purrs hoping I¡¯d give it my hand to lick again.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Speaking of, what do baby snow panthers eat?¡±


    ¡°No idea. Probably something similar to dogs and cats right?¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t even grown any teeth yet, maybe just milk would do?¡±


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll have to go buy some milk later.¡ª¡ª¨CAnd, what should we name it? We can¡¯t be calling it Snow Panther all the time, so maybe we should give it an actual name?¡±


    ¡°I have already thought of a good one! How about Kerberos? It¡¯s the name of a strong monster after all, and easy to say!¡±


    ¡°Why would you ever call it by a different monster¡¯s name?? You really have no sense.¡±


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    ¡°I thought something like Yukiko would be cute but¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Is it even a girl? If it grew up and it turned out to be a male, the name would make no sense.¡±


    ¡°Then you pick a better one Chris! Instead of simply objecting on other¡¯s opinions, why not give your suggestion instead.¡±


    The moment you name it, the more you¡¯ll get attached to it.


    In the first place, I don¡¯t think we should be naming it. But now that we¡¯ve brought it all the way here to the Inn, I guess its too late for that.


    ¡°Just stick with Snow? Simple, easy to use, understandable and would work regardless of its gender.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost too simple, no?¡±


    ¡°I think its fine! Snow, nice to meet you again.¡±


    I doubt it even understands the concept of names yet but, as if answering Esta¡¯s words, it gave small cry.


    Seeing Snow like that, both Esta and Ralf¡¯s eyes were completely enraptured.


    ¡°First, maybe we should wash it up in the bath. It¡¯s quite dirty after all.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll handle that! In that time, Esta go buy some milk for it.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Wash it gently, okay Ralf?¡±


    Esta went shopping and Ralf went into the bath with Snow in his hands.


    With nothing more to do, I guess I¡¯ll go eat some Lizaf fruits.


    Making my decision, I spent my time eating Lizaf fruits on my own.

 CH 95

    Introductions


    After getting washed and drinking some milk, Snow went straight to sleep.


    ¡°Just watching it alone heals me¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°When washing it, its fur was so fluffy as well. I want to bury my face in it but I need to resist so as to not wake it up.¡±


    Both of them just sat there watching Snow sleep.


    Well its not like I don¡¯t understand their feelings but we need to go visit [Travelling Cat Store] soon or it¡¯ll close for the day.


    ¡°You two, c¡¯mon we need to go visit the Alchemist. It¡¯s deep asleep so it should be fine in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure¡­¡­¡­? What if it suddenly woke up and started crying?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not gonna stay awake all day is it?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true! Besides, as long as we¡¯re adventurers, we can¡¯t stay with it all day anyway¡­¡­..we can¡¯t pamper it too much either huh!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.I guess so. Understood. Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    Esta still looked worried as we left, and headed to the [Travelling Cat Inn] while Snow slept alone.


    Today, I plan to introduce these two, as well collect my Jinpi potions.


    After leaving the Left side Residential area, we reached the Commercial Streets.


    The sun had already begun to set so we quickly made our way to [Travelling Cat Store].


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    ¡°Is this the Alchemist¡¯s place? Looks quite fancy.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like anyone¡¯s here though? Are you sure its open?¡±


    ¡°Well the door sign still says [Open] so I say yes.¡±


    True, it seems empty inside but, I pushed the door to the store regardless.


    The same old soothing bell sound rang inside the store, and Shantell quickly showed up reacting to said sound.


    ¡°Welcome! Ah Chris-san¡ª¨Cand are these your colleagues!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, allow me to introduce them. This is Ralf, and this here is Esta. And this is the owner¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°The owner of [Travelling Cat Store] Shantell !! Ralf-san, Esta-san, happy to finally meet you both!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, nice to meet you too!¡±


    ¡°I have heard many things from Chris-san, Once again, I¡¯m Esta, a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    All three of them gave bows  and greeted each other.


    Alright. That¡¯s introductions done.


    ¡°Eh! Chris-san, said many things about me?¡ª¡ªWhat kind of things exactly??¡±


    ¡°Eh, ummm¡­¡­.Th-that you¡¯re anno¡ª-Uh, no, that you¡¯re an extremely knowledgeable person and so on.¡±


    ¡°Knowledgeable you say! Chris-san, you held such a high opinion of me!¡ª-And, and anything else?¡±


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    Because Esta gave an unnecessary compliment, she quickly started chatting up more and more.


    To be honest, I¡¯ve barely talked much about Shantell¡­¡­.so let me help Esta out here.


    ¡°And I also called you a pain in the butt. Someone who mistook me for a pervert on the first day we met¡ª¨C¡°


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    ¡°WA WA WA!? L-L-let¡¯s not recall such old tales!! I will apologize as many time as need for that so please forget about it already!¡±


    Shantell and jumped and tried to block my mouth with her hands.


    I gave a strong chop to get her off me, and since going along with her nonsense only wastes time, I quickly changed the subject to the more important topic at hand.


    ¡°So, how did the potion crafting go? Still not done?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­fufufu what do you think? Take a guess Chris-san?¡±


    With a truly punchable self-satisfied look, Shantell spoke as such.


    Judging by this, she has probably succeeded in making them.


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    ¡°Don¡¯t care. Just tell me, yes or no?¡±


    ¡°you could go along at least once in a while¡­¡­¡­.Wait a second here.¡ª¡ª-Behold!! It has been completed as you requested!¡±


    I took one potion from Shantell, and carefully observed it.


    With a colour almost close to black, it really looked like a suspicious potion.


    ¡­¡­¡­.is this even drinkable?


    ¡°Well, it certainly is a potion alright.¡±


    ¡°I was especially particular about the extraction rate and took it to the limit, so it turned out to be a truly deadly potion in my opinion! Please be careful with its use¡­¡­¡­?Um, this question did come to me before but, how exactly do you plan on using this potion?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for me to drink.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh? No-no-no-no-absolutely no way!! Su-suicide?¡ª-it¡¯s too early for you to do such a thing!! There¡¯s still many good things to live for and look forward to!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to kill myself. My skill is [Null Poison]. Poisons don¡¯t work on me.¡±


    ¡°Nu-Null Poison¡­¡­..?¡­¡­..Haah, Oh. So that¡¯s how it is! Please don¡¯t make me worry like that!¡±


    ¡°Anyway, thanks for the potion. These two will come to you every now and then so be good to them as well okay?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no! Wait a second! You didn¡¯t tell me why you need to drink a poisonous potion yet!!¡±


    After saying what I wanted to Shantell who was panicking, since it was already late, we quickly left the store.


    Shantell seemed like she had more to ask and say but, I have no idea how much time I¡¯d lose if I kept talking with her.


    ¡°How do I put this, she¡¯s kind of incredible in her own unique way huh.¡±


    ¡°Just as I said right? A pain in the butt.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, she is a bit¡­¡­hard to deal with.¡±


    Esta, while chuckling, agreed with my words.


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    ¡°Well still, she¡¯s pretty good both as an alchemist and as a source of info so stay on good terms with her¡­¡­¡­.Did you try out her healing potions?¡±


    ¡°I did. It was really great! The pain subsided very quickly and I would definitely like to have more of those.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, those potions were awesome! It stung at first but then the pain went poof! We already used up the ones we got from you, so maybe we should have bought a couple more while we still there.¡±


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    ¡°Well, you can do that later at any time. anyways, I¡¯m a bit worried so let¡¯s hurry back to the inn.¡±


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    When I said that, both of them looked at me while grinning.


    For a second, I didn¡¯t get why but then¡­¡­..


    ¡°Wait, when I said worried, I don¡¯t mean it that way! If it made some noise or caused ruckus while we were away, it¡¯ll cause problems for the Inn!¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah we get it! No need to get all flustered about it! So you worried for it after all!¡±


    ¡°You were acting all cold but I guess it did weigh on your mind after all!¡±


    ¡°Like I said¡­¡­¡­Ah whatever. Let¡¯s go back already.¡±


    I got teased due to a weird misunderstanding but¡ª¡ª-I decided to ignore it.


    I really didn¡¯t mean it like that but, it¡¯s annoying to try and explain it as well.


    Having left the [Travelling Cat Store], we made our way straight back to the [Tree Top tower] with zero detours.

 CH 96

    Real Estate Agent


    The next day,


    After getting trampled on by Snow running around the room, I woke up.


    It was snow panther but it¡¯s walking was still unsteady and its movements were dull.


    ¡ª¡ª-but, maybe because of excitement, it was running around the room with shining eyes.


    ¡°Chris-san, good morning. Snow, looks pretty energetic huh!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­.It¡¯s fine right now but when it grows up, this is gonna be problem for sure.¡±


    ¡°I wonder how big will it grow! It¡¯s parent was massive after all¡­¡­..Won¡¯t it destroy our house if it grows up into that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯ll have to let it go back in to the wild at the right timing. If it grew too big, it¡¯ll be difficult to get it out of our house.¡±


    While watching Snow, all three of us pondered such.


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    Our food expenses will skyrocket so we need to teach it how to hunt by itself as well.


    Just when I thought I had regained a sense of normalcy after solving Esta and Ralf¡¯s issues, a new problem has come rushing to me.


    ¡°Anyway, I plan on going to the realtor today. What are you two going to do?¡±


    ¡°We were thinking of completing some Bronze quests. We still need to keep making money after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..but I¡¯m worried for Snow. Should we take it with us?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you yourself say that we shouldn¡¯t pamper it too much? It was fine yesterday by itself. And it¡¯s not like its ill or injured either, it should be fine to leave it alone for some time.¡±


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    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true. Then maybe you could look after him Chris! Since you¡¯re gonna be in town, you could drop by the inn just to make a quick check no?¡±


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    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll come take a look around lunch time.¡±


    With our plans for today decided, I saw Ralf and Esta off.


    Honestly, I wanted to teach them both on the mistakes they made during the snow panther hunt but¡­¡­.I guess that¡¯ll have to wait till tomorrow.


    ¡°Today, I have to look for a house to rent, and if I can find a good one, I¡¯ll settle it today in and of itself.


    Afterwards¡­¡­I still need to identify which plant is it that raises my magic as well try out the Jinpi potion.


    I don¡¯t wanna use too much money, but it was important to get this done as soon as possible.


    While thinking of such things, after some time, I too left the Inn and headed towards the realtor¡¯s place.


    Realizing that even I was going to leave the room, Snow began whimpering, wanting to be spoiled but¡­¡­.


    After leaving the room, I put my ear on the room¡¯s door and soon it stopped crying and when I sneakily checked inside by opening the door just a little¡ª¡ªonly to see it asleep on the bed with an exposed belly.


    It had zero caution quite unlike its parent but hey, if it was asleep that was for the best.


    I once again quietly left the room, and headed to the realtor


    .


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    Soon afterwards, I reached the realtor¡¯s place in the commercial street.


    I have never rented a house so I don¡¯t know much but, anyway, I entered the building.


    ¡°Welcome. Are you looking for a property?¡±


    As soon as I entered, a fresh-looking young man came up to talk to me.


    If I ask, maybe they¡¯ll find a place with my specifications for me?


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m looking for a house to rent. Will you search one for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Please come inside and take a seat.¡±


    I followed his words, and sat down in front of the young man.


    ¡°First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Victor. A pleasure meeting you.¡±


    ¡°Chris. Thanks for having me.¡±


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    ¡°Then, first of all, which area are you looking to get a house in?¡±


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    ¡°Area¡­¡­.? I don¡¯t really mind. Anywhere would do.¡±


    ¡°Understood. No specification in regards to area. Well then, do you have any specific requests or things you want or are looking for in your new home?¡±


    ¡°I want an individual, detached house. As spacious as possible but with a not too huge rent if possible?¡±


    ¡°Spacious yet cheap¡­¡­.and specifically, a detached house, yes?¡±


    I know I said it myself , but I just made some ridiculous demands didn¡¯t I ?


    Isn¡¯t it okay as long as it¡¯s a detached house even if it¡¯s not too spacious¡­¡­..?


    I started rethinking myself, and wanted to amend my demand but¡ª¡ª


    ¡°For now, I have found a couple that fit your criteria, will you come and look right now?¡±


    ¡°Wait already?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Since area is not an issue, then spacious detached rental houses are a plenty. From there I just make a list of the cheap ones that¡¯s all.¡±


    I looked at the paper handed to me with the details of the houses written on it.


    All them ranged within 10gold coins per month, a lot cheaper than I originally thought¡­¡­..


    ¡°Wait, why is this one so much more cheaper?¡±


    The one that caught my eye was a spacious and big detached house in the Right-side Residential district.


    Judging by the details, it looked pretty high quality but the rent was only 6 gold coins per month.


    Which came at about, 2 silver a day more or less.


    I mean yeah it was costlier than a cheap inn obviously but for big house, 2 silver a day was beyond reasonably cheap.


    ¡°Ah that house is a bit¡­¡­¡­The person who lived there before died from suicide. So the price has severely fallen.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it. But most people get turned off by that is the reality of the situation. Even after reducing its price that much, no one has yet to take that one as you can see.¡±


    I mean I get not wanting to live in a house where someone killed themselves but¡­¡­.


    But it makes the price of the house this cheap, I have no problems in taking it.


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    I know I should probably look at other choices as well but I knew deep inside that my decision was already made.


    ¡°Then, can I take this one? I want it done quick as well, if possible.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh? You¡¯re deciding already? At least take a tour and inspect it, you know?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for that. If we can sign the agreement right now, that¡¯d be for the best.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Thank you very much. Allow me to bring the documents and papers so please wait a minute. As for your moving in, I¡¯ll make it so you can do so as soon as possible.¡±


    And, just like that our new house was decided in a jiffy.


    Judging by the looks alone, no other place looked anywhere close to as good as this one but let¡¯s see how it really is.


    After that, I got a lot of explanations from Victor confirming and signing the documents, we sealed the contract.


    As for the day for moving in, they already talked with the current owner of the place, and as long as we pay they¡¯ll let us move in as soon as tomorrow.


    At worst, it¡¯ll take three days or so I thought but it seemed to have moved along much faster than I thought.


    Also, before leaving you have to give a 2 weeks advance notice but with my situation, I have no idea what might happen, and when I might have to run away from here so I¡¯ll need to come up with a way to deal with that when such a situation arises.


    Maybe I¡¯ll hand over money to Shantell and have her deal with aftermath for me, I guess. We¡¯ll see.

 CH 97

    The Effects of Jinpi


    With the contract for the new house sealed, I returned back to the Inn.


    I also spent some time asking all sorts of things as well so it was already afternoon, which was perfect.


    Reaching [Tree top tower], I entered my room.


    Since I entered while making noise this time, Snow who realized I was back jumped up energetically and ran to greet me at the entrance.


    It must have been sleeping all this time as its eyes still looked a bit hazy but¡­¡­.its tail was swaying all over the place and was trying to jump up a me.


    ¡°I can¡¯t move so get off. Here, look I brought some food.¡±


    Since it was stuck to my legs, I picked up Snow in my arms and walked inside the room.


    It was licking my hands as I held it so much you¡¯d think it wanted to eat me, so I put it down and poured some milk in a plate that I had bought on my way back.


    Judging by its looks, it seems capable of eating of solid food already but I¡¯m not sure yet.


    While watching Snow as it licked the plate clean leaving not even a drop of milk, I also ate some Lizaf fruits as my lunch.


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    And after watching Snow run around the room for some time, I decided to leave to get my ability assessment done when¡­¡­..


    Snow came and bit on to the cuff of my pants in a desperate attempt to try and stop me from leaving again.


    But since it hadn¡¯t properly grown its teeth yet, it couldn¡¯t hold on properly and then it would try again. This repeated again and again as I slowly made my way to the door.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­you wanna come with me?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    I plan to go back to the room right after the assessment is done anyway¡ª¡ª-It¡¯ll be a pain if this happened everytime I had to come and go out of the room.


    Making such excuses for myself, I put snow inside my bag and left the room.


    It wont get found while its inside, and even if it did, it doesn¡¯t look too different to a dog or cat right now.


    Besides, I¡¯m heading to the church of all places.


    I doubt it understands my words, but I still warned it to stay quiet, and I made my way to the church.


    ¡°Be quiet inside the church, alright.¡±


    ¡°kuun¡±


    It replied so smoothly, I really wondered if it actually could understand me.


    After giving a couple headpats, I entered the church.


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    Just like last time, there were no believers or worshippers inside, and only the Priest stood there looking somewhat bored.


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    I wondered how this church was still functioning but anyway, my assessment was more important.


    ¡°Ah! Hello, it¡¯s been a while! You¡¯re the one who had the ability assessment done some time ago, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. And that¡¯s why I¡¯m here today as well. Will that be okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course. As you can see, I have nothing but time on my hands!! Now, come please take a seat!¡±


    Led by the priest, I entered the room inside.


    I sat down in front of the usual crystal, and handed over my card and a gold coin and waited for the assessment to be over.


    ¡°Ufh, fuuu¡­¡­¡­.It¡¯s done. Here¡¯s your card back.¡±


    ¡°Thanks a lot.¡±


    Since this was only the first one, the priest wasn¡¯t as tired as last time.


    Judging by this, it should be okay if I come at least 3 more times today I reckon.


    While thinking that as I observed the priest, I turned to look at my card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 16(+55)


    Strength: 11(+54)


    Stamina: 11(+50)


    Magic: 3(+2)


    Agility: 8(+4)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ooh!


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    I began looking over to see how much I have grown since last time but¡ª¡ªthe numbers had gone up a lot more than I had expected.


    My stamina and endurance hadn¡¯t increased as much but the strength stat has had a (+18) increase when compared to last time.


    Well, I have been eating Lizaf fruits basically everyday and sine I harvested a huge amount, I still have stock left.


    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from grinning after seeing the fruits of my hard work.


    As for the increase in agility, it must be from the Ongneer fruit I harvested when I dropped the Orc general body beside the plant.


    There¡¯s no changes in the skills section, probably because that specific Ongneer fruits effects was to give (+2) agility and granting [Increased Breeding Ability] skill to the eater.


    It¡¯s a skill that is basically worthless to me, but even the (+2) to agility was a great reward to me.


    That said, I had only found one Ongneer plant in all this time and the time it takes for a fruit to grow is also pretty long.


    To raise my agility efficiently and faster, I think I¡¯ll have to find another plant with that effect after all.


    ¡­¡­¡­..And of course, my own base stats have also risen somewhat.


    Since I defeated the Orc General, my endurance, stamina, and strength have all gone up by 2 and even my magic increased by 1.


    All said and done, seeing this side of numbers increase also gave me great satisfaction and happiness,


    After feeling satisfied, I left the church, and decided to drink the Jinpi potion just someplace nearby.


    After finishing, I¡¯ll get another assessment done.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    I sat down under the giant Olive tree that stood near the small pond, and let Snow out of the bag as well. And then took out the Jinpi potion as well.


    It¡¯s was gross coloured liquid, but I wonder what the actual taste is like.


    I took of the lid, and first tried smelling it.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Well, the smell wasn¡¯t too bad.


    It basically smelled like leaves mixed with a scent of the soil.


    Snow continued staring at me as if interested, as I first lightly stirred the container and then took a big gulp.


    ¡ª¡ªOh? Surprisingly not a horrible taste.


    It was bitter, but was a lot easier to drink than even a healing potion.


    The colour of the liquid was disgusting but as far as the taste goes, it¡¯s pretty normal so I downed the remainder as well.


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    Now the real problem is whether my ability actually rose or not from this but¡­¡­¡­Since I spent 2 gold coins just to create these, I really hope they aren¡¯t failures.


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    After giving Snow some time in fresh air, I returned it back inside the bag and entered the church again.


    As usual, the Priest was slowly sucking on a mana potion but realizing I had entered, he stood up in silence and went back in the room as if to get ready.


    I followed after him and sat back down on the same seat.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go ahead and perform the second assessment¡ª¡ª-fuh, hhah, haah¡­¡­¡­I-it¡¯s d-done. Please check.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    Since I had brought the potions with me, there was not a lot of time between the two assessments so the priest seemed quite out of breath.


    While glancing at the priest from the side, I checked my card once again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 16(+55)


    Strength: 11(+54)


    Stamina: 11(+50)


    Magic: 3(+2)


    Agility: 8(+6)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ooh! My agility rose again!


    And like Ongneer, it¡¯s by 2 points.


    Looks like Jinpi leaves are capable of increasing your agility.


    I am so glad I didn¡¯t throw them away back then and actually brought them with me.


    ¡ª¡ª-With this, Endurance, strength, stamina, magic and now agility; I have found all main stat increasing plants.


    Jinpi leaves need to be turned into a potion which is a bit of an extra work but if it increases my stat by 2 then there¡¯s no problem.


    Now I have permission from myself to request Shantell for mass production of these I suppose.


    Now all that¡¯s left is for Esta and Ralf to get as strong as me as well.


    Well, those two are naturally talented so I¡¯m not too worried but¡­¡­..normal growth won¡¯t be enough.


    To tell them both results of today as well our future plans, I headed back to the Inn in a good mood feeling satisfied from today¡¯s work.

 CH 98

    The Problematic Property


    The next day.


    I spent the rest of the day yesterday on finding out which plant raised my magic and thanks to the hard work of the Priest as well, I was finally able to narrow it down.


    It was an egg-like pure white mushroom, and looked quite tasty. Actually it was pretty tasty but also possessed a ridiculous amounts of poison as well and I have seen many goblins who died after eating it.


    I decided to name this mushroom [Eggmash].


    Now I had, Reizen grass for Endurance, Lizaf fruit for Strength, genpei mushroom for Stamina, Eggmash for magic and Jinpi leaves for Agility¡ª¡ª-a plant for increasing every stat.


    Now what would really become the key to my strength after this would be the ability to grant skills that Ongneer fruit seems to possess but¡­¡­..


    There were still too many mysteries about it and I had only found one of its trees so far, so I lacked material to fully experiment and research on it.


    My stock of Lizaf fruits seems to be going down as well, so I should probably pay a visit to the Carlisle forest before long, but I also need to do some requests as well.


    Our moving expenses as well as rent for some time will be covered from the reward from the emergency request but add the costs of making more Jinpi potions as well, and suddenly the money feels like it¡¯ll run out before you realize.


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    Our primary objective should be to gather some funds by finishing a lot of requests.


    ¡°Chris, will we finish moving today itself?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m about to go and pay the realtors right now. You two, along with snow, should make your way to the place I told you about yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Got it! I¡¯ll carry your stuff over as well.¡±


    ¡°After some time, we¡¯ll go and wait for you in front of our new house okay?¡±


    I parted with them at the Inn, and I began prepping before heading to the realtor¡¯s place.


    As for what I have to do, first I need to pay a couple month¡¯s rent in advance, deposit some caution money, and then take the keys to the house itself. Won¡¯t take too long.


    Making sure to not lose the money, I kept it inside my bag and made my way to the realtor¡¯s place.


    .


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    After wrapping up the contract details and receiving the key to the house, I left the realtor¡¯s place.


    They offered to take me there as well as give a tour of the place and its rooms etc but I didn¡¯t really need that really so I refused and headed towards the house we rented in the right-side Residential district.


    Since I had no time, I never even bothered to actually go there and check even once so I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of place would it be.


    It¡¯s gonna be rough if it turned out to be some old rundown building but¡­¡­¡­well, the rent is like 6 gold a month, so I guess even that wouldn¡¯t be too bad.


    I tried my best to decrease my level of expectations, as I made my way to the house but¡ª-


    ¡°Eh¡­¡­¡­? Are you sure this is the right place?¡±


    The house I reached was actually a mansion bigger than even my family house and even had a bigger garden.


    It stood at the very edge of the town yes, but still¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s way too big.


    I checked my map multiple times to confirm but there was no doubt, this was the right place alright.


    ¡°How the hell are we getting a house of this size for just 6 gold a month? I mean I instantly made my choice, precisely because it looked too good in the images to ignore but still¡­¡­.¡±


    I ended up talking to myself out loud in shock.


    Since I finished my work at the realtor¡¯s place faster than I thought and rushed out instantly when done,  Ralf and Esta had yet to show up so I considered waiting here for them to come but in the end I decided to open the place and go check the interiors.


    It was big enough for at least 10 people to live comfortably.


    Walking through the garden that had weeds growing out in places, I put in the key and entered the house.


    Since the house had been vacant for quite some time now, it was certainly dusty but far from being a turn off.


    If anything, keeping this place clean is gonna be a tough task I already know. Truly one of the great worries of the rich.


    The hall was obviously the first thing you came to after entering the house, and the stairs to the second floor were located here.


    On the right was the drawing room, on the left was an odd looking room with tatami mats laid all across the floor.


    Further inside through the hall came the living room. To the left of the living room was the kitchen, and the drawing room and kitchen was separated by a store room in between.


    And on the right of the living room, across the tatami mat room, was the toilet, the washroom and the bathroom; all separate which I was thankful for.


    That was just the first floor, so I headed to the upper floor.


    Here, there were individual room lined across one by one, and there were 8 of them no less.


    There was a toilet on this floor as well, and also had a balcony that looked over the entire garden.


    ¡­¡­¡­what a ridiculously big house.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    To be able to get such a house for just 6 gold a month was nothing less than huge luck.


    While I was hesitating over which room to use as my personal gardening area, I heard the sound of the door opening.


    Looking down from the stairs, I saw the two alongside Snow.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally here. I¡¯ll come down right now.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.hey, are you sure this is the right house? Are we really going to live in such a place from here onwards?¡±


    ¡°My mouth is still stuck open from shock. How did you even manage to get such a house¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, even I thought that I had made a mistake when I saw the house but the key works so there¡¯s no doubt this is the place. And remember, this place is 6 gold coin per month only. There was an incident which really dropped the price apparently.¡±


    ¡°Incident? Wait, what happened?¡±


    ¡°The person who used to live here before us committed suicide in this very house. So the price became this cheap.¡±


    ¡°Woah are you sure everything will be okay? You sure we won¡¯t get haunted or something?¡±


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    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. All people die one day sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s too cheap to not worry! Hey do you know why he committed suicide?¡±


    Well I never bothered to ask because I was too focused on the of the price, but I¡¯m sure there were some complicated situations for him to do something like that.


    I did make light of it and say it¡¯ll be fine but depending on the strength of his grudge, they may turn into a monster that¡¯s a fact.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t ask. Well, there¡¯s no point worrying over things you don¡¯t know about. And if we did get an undead appearance, If it¡¯s us we¡¯ll just kill it again.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡­that is true huh! Well, guess I¡¯ll enjoy living here no worries I guess! C¡¯mon Snow, you can run around as much as you want here!¡±


    No, don¡¯t let it go too crazy. If it actually destroyed something we¡¯ll have to pay repair fees on top whenever we leave the place after all.¡±


    I warned Ralf who was saying some irresponsible things and while keeping sidelong eye at Snow who started roaming around, we began unpacking our stuff.


    We decided to each use one room for ourselves on the upper floor, so I guess I¡¯ll use the remaining space for my plant cultivation.


    Going by the direction of the sunlight, the balcony was obviously the best spot, but that place was completely visible to the outside.


    I wish we had a proper terrace instead of a balcony but¡­¡­¡­now I¡¯m just being too greedy.


    ¡°There are 8 rooms on the upper floor, let¡¯s pick one for ourselves. I¡¯ll use the empty ones for my plants, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you can use them however you wish!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t really care either! As long as I have room to my own there¡¯s no problems but¡­¡­¡­if you¡¯re growing them in the house, are you sure they won¡¯t spread poison across the house as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only growing plants that contain poison inside them not those that can spread so it should be fine¡­¡­¡­.probably.¡±


    ¡°Can you stop putting that ¡®probably¡¯ every time at the end! It¡¯s scary!!¡±


    Well, I¡¯m actually not sure so it can¡¯t be helped.


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    Well I don¡¯t plan on raising something like Ongneer so it should be fine.


    ¡°What will we do about Snow? Will it live alongside someone in their room?¡±


    ¡°Just the living room should be fine no? We¡¯ll make a kennel or something for it and not being locked inside a room all the time will keep it stress free as well.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I guess I won¡¯t get to sleep with it anymore. I¡¯ll be lonely.¡±


    ¡°If you do feel lonely, just pick it up take it with you at night. Anyway, c¡¯mon let¡¯s quickly tidy up.¡±


    We moved our luggage to our respective rooms and with that, for the time being, our moving was complete.


    It was a pretty empty looking house with no furniture or even basic stuff but, starting from having no money or house¡ª¡ª¨Cwe had finally made it this far.


    The path to where I want to be is still long but slowly, step by step, I was getting closer to Klaus.


    ¡­¡­¡­But I won¡¯t let myself get conceited, I will continue to devote myself towards getting more and more stronger still.

 CH 99

    Advice


    ¡°We¡¯ll buy some furniture when we¡¯ve saved up some more money. So for the time being, we¡¯ll just have to sleep in our sleeping bags.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a table at least in the living room but yeah, it sure is pretty empty in here! The house being as big it is only makes it worse.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. We have only lived in Inns up till now, never bought any furniture. And we don¡¯t exactly have the leeway with funds to be spending on furniture right now anyway, so let¡¯s go all in completing requests and make some money alright?¡±


    ¡°Then, should we go and get one today as well?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, well, it¡¯s still not even noon yet, so yeah we should go and a some requests done.¡±


    With Snow, and Esta¡¯s handmade chew toy in its mouth, seeing us off, we left our new home.


    This are going to get a whole busier from now on.


    While making money, we need to buy a whole lot of furniture for the house, then I have to also build basic place to grow my plants, and then go and gather more plants from the forest as well.


    I also need to figure out the full effects of Ongneer as well¡ª¡ªreally, I¡¯m not going to have even a day¡¯s worth of rest for a while.


    With more and more things to do, my workload kept increasing yet, I felt happy for being able to live such a fulfilling life every day.


    Now if only Greath didn¡¯t exist, it would be truly perfect.


    Feeling a bit dejected from suddenly recalling that man¡¯s existence, we headed to the guild to complete requests.


    .


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    This time, the request we took was for Forest Doll.


    It was one of the three we had planned to take from the very beginning, a monster that lives in the Carlisle forest that could mimic trees.


    Depending on the request details, woodcutters had been getting attacked by these monsters, and thus this request came to deal with the problem.


    If a woodcutter got attacked, it¡¯s probably close to the entrance of the forest but¡­¡­..I never noticed a single one.


    ¡°Hey Chris, what kind of forest is the Carlisle forest?¡±


    ¡°From a normal person¡¯s perspective, it¡¯s just the usual forest with goblins and kobolds I guess. It¡¯s basically paradise for me though.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a statement alright. Is gathering plants that much fun to you?¡±


    ¡°Rather than the gathering part, it¡¯s seeing your own ability increase is what¡¯s really fun¡ª¨Cis what I meant. The excitement you feel when you find a poisonous plant you had been looking for, I don¡¯t think Ralf will ever understand that.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s nice to have a way to get stronger outside of just training and fighting, right?¡±


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    While making such small talk, we reached Carlisle forest.


    Just as always, you could see a bunch of low rank adventurers and woodcutters around the area.


    If we could get some info from these adventurers we could probably find out the Forest Doll¡¯s location quickly but, having openly opposed Greath means they are very unlikely to do so.


    While keeping a sidelong eye at the adventurers whispering and gossiping about us, we entered the Carlisle forest.


    ¡ª¡ª-no matter how many time I come, I can¡¯t help but get excited.


    Not that I came here today for gathering plants anyway but still, my eyes just unconsciously strayed towards any plant I saw.


    ¡°Chris-san, sure looks like he¡¯s having fun.¡±


    ¡°I know right! This is the first time I¡¯ve seen him so excited.¡±


    ¡°Really? I was pretty excited when looking around our new home as well you know?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­That aside, are we ever going to find this thing like this? Even if you say that it¡¯s mimicking a tree, you really can¡¯t tell shit when surrounded by so many trees. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to tell even if it was right in front of me.¡±


    Just like Ralf said, even I who took pride in his enemy presence locating ability, had yet to find one.


    I don¡¯t know how good it even is at mimicking a tree but, if we have to just walk around while searching, it¡¯s highly unlikely we¡¯ll find one in a day or even two.


    ¡°And that¡¯s where this flute comes into play! We should be thankful to the Vice-guild chief for lending this to us.¡±


    What Esta held was a flute that could supposedly remove a Forest Doll¡¯s disguise.


    When we accepted the quest, the vice-chief who just happened to be passing by lent this to us.


    Just as he declared that day, he really was helping us in his own way.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°After we proceed a little further, let¡¯s start playing the flute as we walk. And once a Forest Doll shows itself, Esta, it¡¯ll be your turn.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Since it¡¯s weakness is Fire, I¡¯ll be the main force of attack right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, and that¡¯s why Ralf, you¡¯ll be the one playing the flute. Since I¡¯ll be the tank and hold the Forest Doll down in place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, got it!¡­¡­¡­Sorry once again, for making you do what should be my job again.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize, just focus on getting better at attacking as quickly as you can.¡ª¡ªthat said, you did pretty well against the Snow Panther. The opponent was just a level above you.¡±


    ¡°But that won¡¯t do though. I need to get good enough to not let even those kinds of enemies get an upper hand on me.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t look like Ralf was too discouraged from his previous failures.


    If he¡¯s like this, he¡¯ll be eager to try more things this time around as well and get even better.


    The problem was¡­¡­Esta.


    ¡°Speaking of, last time things went all crazy one after another and I forgot to properly ask but, Esta, why did you decrease the power output of your magic in the end that day?¡±


    Since I was busy with the baby snow panther, and then the house etc, I couldn¡¯t find the timing to ask until now.


    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡­..it was moment I couldn¡¯t afford to miss my shot, that¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°You wanted to be certain you won¡¯t miss, eh? What do you think would have happened if your fire arrow had missed?¡±


    ¡°Ralf, who was retreating, would get attacked¡­¡­¡­.no, actually Chris would have been the one that got rushed down and would have become the focus of its attacks I think.¡±


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    ¡°Well, that sounds about right. The Snow Panther was waiting for one us to move to launch its pursuit, and if I had tried to back off, it would have gone for Ralf instead, and in this case all of its focus would have been on me¡­¡­..But, let¡¯s say I did get rushed down and attacked by the Snow Panther. Esta, do you really think that I would have died to it?¡±


    ¡°No I don¡¯t think so. You never got hit even once from any of its attacks after all.¡±


    ¡°Then, shouldn¡¯t you have stuck with the higher power magic after all? Your timidity in that situation was not a good thing. And I felt that while I was still fighting, no less.¡±


    Gathering all info, I once again explained from the top what exactly she did wrong.


    Even though the Snow Panther was in fully serious mode with its body covered in Ice, I still think I would have been able to take on its flurry of attacks.


    Esta is the type that can calmly analyze the situation and make the most optimal decision even in the heat of battle, but that¡¯s exactly why she went for the high accuracy shot instead¡­¡­..


    If that¡¯s the kind of fighting style she wants to focus on, that¡¯s fine but in that case she should only focus on further improving that aspect wholeheartedly.


    ¡­¡­..However, if Esta wants to be magician that can change the course of battle with a single spell, if she wants to focus on raw power, she¡¯ll have to change her mindset.


    Because one day a situation will arise, where she¡¯ll have to surely hit her target with a powerful magic no less.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­that¡¯s true. I, unconsciously, ran back to my usual safer methods in the name of efficiency. Missing that first shot really got to me, I will not lie about that.¡±


    ¡°Well, this is the path you chose yourself. If you want to become capable of turning the tide of battle on your own, you should continue on this path.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Outside truly critical situations, I¡¯ll try and take even more risks! I will most certainly cause problems to you both, but please take care of me nonetheless!¡±


    ¡°Causing problems for others is part of being in a party, right Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Damn right! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m any better in that regard but, if we get stronger in return, then that¡¯s the reward for all of us after all!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good way of putting it¡­¡­..It happens very rarely, but sometimes I do get jealous of how simple your brain is Ralf.¡±


    ¡°The hell is that supposed to mean! You¡¯re the stupid one, Esta!!¡±


    It somehow turned into another bickering scene but I¡¯m glad I was able to get my point across properly.


    I look forward to just how much Esta will change and grow in response to this.

 CH 100

    Forest Doll


    An hour had passed as we walked through the forest under the sound of the flute being played.


    Right around when we were about to be at the halfway point between the entrance and my base¡ª¨C


    Reacting to the flute, to our left, I noticed one of the trees shook greatly.


    ¡°Hey, look at that tree. Isn¡¯t moving oddly?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you just say ¡®that tree¡¯, where is it!? Also, is it even within our eyesight range!?¡±


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    ¡°I can¡¯t tell either unfortunately. Perhaps we should go closer?¡±


    With me as the guide, we made our way closer to the swaying tree.


    Ralf, continued playing the flute throughout it¡­¡­.and the closer we got, the more the tree shook.


    ¡°No doubts about it, that one¡¯s a forest doll. Esta, you¡¯re free to blast it with magic.¡±


    ¡°You sure it¡¯s that shaking one? Alright, here it goes. [Fire Arrow]!¡±


    After our previous talk, I was hoping to see a power focused Fire arrow but¡­¡­¡­It was another accuracy type one.


    While weak, it¡¯s accuracy was perfect as it flew through the air in a straight line and cleanly hit the Forest Doll.


    ¡­¡­..But, why accuracy again? I was so curious that I ignored the monster and turned to Esta to ask but¡ª¡ª¨C


    Before me, Ralf shouted at Esta.


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    ¡°Oi! Why did you go for a weaker one again!?¡±


    ¡°Just like I told Chris-san before, I only use them when it¡¯s a critical situation. If I missed a powerful one and hit a normal tree, inside a forest, it¡¯ll start a huge forest fire so this was obviously a place to use an accuracy one.¡ª¡ª-right, Chris-san?¡±


    Hearing her perfect reply, my heart jumped.


    I was saved the embarrassment thanks to Ralf¡­¡­..I almost made the same mistake.


    ¡°Yes, exactly as she said. The choice must depend on the situation and location always.¡ª¡ª-Ralf, c¡¯mon let¡¯s go and take that Forest Doll down.¡±


    ¡°What the hell! After all that talk, I was sure we¡¯d get to see a big blast!!¡±


    ¡°Enough of that, hurry up, you¡¯re the main attacker Ralf, don¡¯t forget.¡±


    We rushed in close to the Forest doll who was still reeling from the fire arrow, and promptly launched our attack.


    Even though the fire arrow was weak, it took its weakness element head on.


    Since it¡¯d be a pain, if we let it recover and allowed it us its earth magic, we should kill it as quickly as possible.


    ¡°Ralf, match my pace.¡±


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    Since it was still staggered, there was probably no need but I kept my shield in front as I rushed in with a hand on my steel sword, ready to strike.


    Making sure there was no signs of it launching an attack still, I stabbed my sword into and Ralf who jumped up from behind me also brought down his sword in a full swing.


    If Ralf¡¯s attack was against me, I would have avoided it even if my legs were injured but this Forest Doll had been hit by Esta¡¯s fire arrow, as well as had been stabbed by me. Since it was unable to move, this was the best attack Ralf could make in my opinion.


    The swing with all his strength behind it had enough strength that it almost cleaved the Forest Doll in half, and having lost so much of its body, the Forest Doll stopped moving where it stood.


    Before I could check whether it was truly dead, Esta launched a [Fire ball] right at it, and as it struck, the Forest Doll simply fell backwards on to the ground.


    Compared to the Orc general or even the Snow panther, it was far more easier to complete.


    I mean, the Orc general was at least Gold rank so it makes sense, but even the Snow panther might be much stronger than this thing.


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    ¡°Chris-san, good work! That went pretty smoothly huh!¡±


    ¡°Well, the flute allowed us to find it easily, so this might be quite a efficient job to take on for the future as well. It¡¯s 2 gold for one kill after all.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still so why not go look for a second one? There¡¯s rewards for more kills no?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­.that¡¯s not a bad idea but¡ª¡ª-can I also gather some plants as we look for it? Since we already technically finished the request proper.¡±


    When I made the proposal, Ralf looked at me with weird eyes.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­shit did he find out that gathering plants was always my main objective behind picking this job?


    ¡°it¡¯s fine no? We could also gather other herbs and stuff to sell, and we¡¯d have something to do as we go around while Ralf plays the flute as well.¡±


    ¡°What do you even mean by herbs you could sell? I have zero confidence in telling actual herbs and normal plants apart you know.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll teach you. The easiest to find and sell is Oar Grass, used predominantly in cure-alls. It¡¯s creamish-yellowish coloured leaves are its main distinguishable feature, and usually grow behind big trees. It also smells a lot like menthol so it¡¯s easy to confirm. Also, it¡¯s roots¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°Oi Oi, just wait a second! I don¡¯t have a problem with your plant gathering so just explain slowly!¡­¡­.It¡¯s like he turns into a different person when talking about this stuff!¡±


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    Oops, I guess I went a bit too fast there.


    I had already done lots of research while in Realzard for whether I could make money off of sellable herbs that I could find while gathering poisonous plants.


    Among those, the best choice in my opinion was this Oar grass, which was, like I said, used as the main ingredient in cure-alls that could supposedly be used in all sorts of situations.


    In the end, due to not having enough space, as well as worrying that being stored with poisonous plants might cause some effect on it, I gave up on that idea but¡­¡­¡­because I was asked, all this stored info in my head just exploded out all at once.


    ¡°I agree, explaining as we gather it would be much better indeed. Anyway, let¡¯s cut off the part from the Forest Doll for proof and quickly move to the best gathering spot.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.This guy definitely chose Forest Doll just for this, didn¡¯t he.¡±


    Acting like I didn¡¯t hear Ralf¡¯s mutterings,  we quickly took out the needed part and moved to gathering plants.

 CH 101

    Alongside Snow¡­¡­.


    A week had passed since the day we went to Forest Doll subjugation, and plant gathering after that.


    During this period, Greath didn¡¯t pick a fight with us even once and things have been pretty peaceful.


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    And above all,¡­¡­¡­the Forest Doll request turned out to be a gold mine.


    The first day, we only ever got that one kill, but the 6 days after that, we kept taking the same job and got at least 2 kills every day since.


    Moreover, our little side job of selling Oar grass was also going well and had made almost 5 gold from just that alone.


    Now I haven¡¯t been able to gather as much poisonous plants as I wanted in that time but, at least I was able to gather a couple days worth of Lizaf fruits everytime so overall, it was a hugely profitable request.


    The only problem was, that because of our merciless hunting, forest dolls were mostly gone from the area and now there were no more requests for its subjugation.


    Unfortunately, unlike Stray Cowbirds, because these Forest Dolls didn¡¯t provide some use to people, there was no constant demand for it.


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    ¡°C¡¯mon! Snow, fetch!¡±


    ¡°Looks it¡¯s finally gotten used to running around like normal eh.¡±


    While sitting on the table in the living room, I watched as they both played and ran around with Snow.


    Snow had finally started growing some teeth so it had become capable of playing Catch with the toy homemade toy Esta made for it.


    It should be monster close to a Panther-cat but it looked more like a Dog right now.


    Not just its movements, but even its personality was like that of a dog.


    Also, it learnt to respond to simple things like ¡°Show hand¡± and ¡®Sit¡±, so I wondered if Snow was a pretty smart one.


    ¡°You two, I think it¡¯s almost time.¡±


    ¡°What, already!?¡­¡­..Alright Snow, be sure to live a happy and healthy life on that side as well.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t forget about us, okay?!¡±


    While Snow sat there swinging its tail and meowing happily, these two began giving some super emotional words to it.


    ¡­¡­..Goodness me, how over dramatic.


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    ¡°It¡¯ll only be for a week that it¡¯ll live away from you two. And besides, if things look bad, I¡¯ll bring it back to you two alright.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll be lonely! Damn it, Chris it¡¯s not fair!¡±


    ¡°uuuu¡­¡­.I want to go together too¡­.¡±


    What the hell are these two talking about¡­¡­..


    Starting today, I plan on heading to Carlisle forest for a week for my usual plant gathering trip.


    And since we decided that I¡¯ll take snow with me for that time, this has been the reaction non-stop.


    ¡°And what use would Esta have from coming with us? I¡¯ll take care of it so don¡¯t worry so much.¡±


    ¡°I think it should still remain inside the house to be honest. I mean, it¡¯s still basically a baby, it¡¯s too early for it to be hunting¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯ve had this talk in full over the week many times. If you coddle it too much, it will never learn how to survive on its own, so this is all for Snow¡¯s own sake. That¡¯s why I¡¯m taking it with me so that I can teach it how to hunt.¡±


    ¡°No, I understand that but still¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Alright enough of this, C¡¯mon let¡¯s go. You¡¯ll meet it in like a week again anyway.¡±


    I forcibly made the two, who were still grumbling, to go out, as I picked up Snow, who didn¡¯t know what was happening really, and left for the Carlisle forest.


    Since I had already finished my prep yesterday, all I had to do was just pick up my things and leave.


    As for my objectives for this trip, it¡¯s to gather seeds to start my home gardening as well as gather all five types of ability increasing plants that I have found.


    My main focus this time would be to gather as many Jinpi leaves as possible and I¡¯ll avoid gathering any new types of poisonous plants this time around.


    Also, I plan to teach Snow how to hunt¡­¡­¡­and check on the Orc general¡¯s corpse as well.


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    If everything goes as planned, there should be an Ongneer tree growing out of the Orc general¡¯s corpse as well¡ª¡ª¨Coh man, I was excited to find out.


    Since a mere goblin¡¯s fruit gave me (+2) in agility, just what kind of bonus would fruit born from an Orc general¡¯s body would give me I wonder?


    And on top of that¡­¡­¡­maybe I¡¯ll get a new skill as well.


    I¡¯m still not exactly sure what it was that granted me the [Increased Breeding Ability] skill; but if it was the Goblin¡¯s body, then I should hypothetically get one from the Orc General¡¯s body as well.


    That red aura it showed when facing me was most definitely a skill and from what I could tell as I fought, it was most probably a skill that raised your physical attributes .


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    While yearning for this unknown skill, I slapped my cheeks to reenergize myself.


    And with Snow in my bag, who was peeking out of it looking amused, I departed for the Carlisle forest.

 CH 102

    Teaching how to Hunt


    Since all sorts of new and unique smells existed in the forest, Snow looked more excited than usual.


    While holding Snow back from jumping out of the bag, as well as driving any monsters that attacked us on the way, I finally reached my base.


    After letting Snow loose inside the base, and I too sat down to take a breather.


    Now then, what do I start with?


    The thing I wanted to do the most was to go check on the Ongneer tree, but I think I¡¯ll leave it for last.


    If I found out that it didn¡¯t work and grow as I hoped, I¡¯ll lose my drive so it¡¯s best I leave it for last for my own mood¡¯s sake.


    In that case, I could either start gathering the set of poisonous plants I know, or start teaching Snow how to hunt right away¡­¡­.


    After hesitating for a while, I wondered if I should start with teaching Snow how to hunt after all.


    It looks full of energy right now so it¡¯s better to use this timing to teach, and hope that it gets tired and sleeps at the base while I go around gathering plants.


    On that note, I chose to teach Snow hunting as my first task.


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    Now then, as for how I¡¯m going to teach it to hunt, Well, it quickly caught on to how to play catch ball with the toy so if I show how it how to hunt, maybe it¡¯ll learn to imitate me as well.


    When I got attacked by goblins and kobolds on the way here, it was already trying to jump out of the bag to help me so it should work.


    While watching Snow who was playing around while wagging its tail, I made my decision and took snow with me to hunt some animals.


    Our target will be an easy one, a wild rabbit.


    Putting Snow back into the bag, I left the cave again and searched around the area for a rabbit.


    ¡ª¡ªOh, well that didn¡¯t take long to find.


    I quickly ran into a wild rabbit loitering and jumping about in front of me, unaware of any presences around it, and I quickly rushed in and grabbed it by its ears.


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    I tied it up and then began skinning it and draining its blood and smelling that, Snow got even more stimulated and began howling while trying to jump out of the bag.


    Now, once I let it eat this rabbit meat, it should get a taste for blood and its instincts should make it want to hunt more.


    Returning back to the base, I let Snow out and gave it the rabbit to eat.


    I think it should be fine even raw but since Snow was still small, I did roast it a bit just in case.


    ¡°Here, try eating this.¡±


    I put the roasted rabbit meat on a plate and presented it to Snow.


    It had been consuming only milk for some time but recently, it had started eating solid stuff so it should be fine ¡­¡­..


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    Curious of the food, Snow came running to the plate, and after sniffing it for a while finally took a small bite to taste it.


    After that, it suddenly jumped as if shocked and howled once before rapidly devouring the entire rabbit.


    I guess it enjoyed the taste as the plate was licked clean in no time at all.


    ¡°You liked that huh? This is what a real hunt feels like. You¡¯ll learn how to get your own food like this as well.¡±


    ¡°Awooo!¡±


    I still don¡¯t know if it actually gets what I say but it did give a howl as a reply so I gave it a couple headrubs in return.


    Now I just need to find a perfect target for Snow to actually hunt itself.


    Leaving Snow in the base, I looked around the area to see if there was any small animal that would fit the criteria.


    Rabbit might still be a bit too big for it so I was hoping to find something smaller than that when¡­¡­.


    I caught sight of a squirrel climbing a nearby tree.


    Even Snow should be able to hunt that.


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    I quickly closed in on the tree the squirrel was on and caught with a fast jump.


    This time I didn¡¯t kill it, and instead decided to release it near Snow inside the base.


    If it really understood the act of hunting from just now, it should be ready to attack this as well.


    I sealed the exit from the base and then released the squirrel and waited to see how Snow reacts.


    Noticing the Squirrel, it tilted its neck a couple times, and crouched down as if taking a stance¡ª¨Cand then suddenly leaped at it.


    Wow did it actually succeed already?


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    ¡­¡­¡­..Or so I wondered but rather than bite it or slash it with its paws, it just started playing around with the squirrel instead.


    Clearly having fun, Snow chased the squirrel around the base and the squirrel desperately ran from it.


    And in the end they both got tired and just huddled together and went to sleep¡ª¡ªmaking my plan a complete and utter failure.


    ¡­¡­..Well, I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be that easy but it¡¯ll be fine as long it can hunt even one animal within this week.


    Renewing my own feelings on the matter, I left the two sleeping peacefully alone, and headed out to gather some plants.

 CH 103

    The Heart


    An uneventful Six days had passed since I entered the Carlisle forest.


    In the end, Snow refused to kill the squirrel and just continued having fun playing around with it.


    Well, thanks to the Squirrel running around, it made for a good playmate for Snow and in a way helped Snow get better at running and chasing things. And compared to the first day, Snow¡¯s movements were completely different and had improved by a lot.


    This Squirrel was meant to food for Snow but¡ª¡ªI have a rule of paying back any and all favours.


    As thanks for being a good playmate to Snow, I put in a lot of acorns in the place that looked like the squirrel¡¯s nest and I carefully took the squirrel itself and released it safely back into the forest.


    Now then, I should start getting ready to return.


    I spent a lot of time training Snow in how to hunt but I didn¡¯t slack off on my plant gathering either and had successfully gathered seeds of Reizen, Lizaf and Jinpi as well collected tree logs that had Genpei and Eggmash mushrooms growing on it.


    With this I could perfectly grow one plant in each of the empty rooms.


    Thanks to my personal notes, I had already collected enough info on every plants suitable environment, so as long as there isn¡¯t an accident, I should be able to grow these plants at our home.


    Once again, I felt glad that I took all these notes from the start.


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    I also collected my normal batch of plants, that were for consumption and not gardening as well, and with the Jinpi leaves as my main target this time around, I had collected about enough to last a month.


    Now I just have to ask Shantell to turn these all into potions as well¡­¡­¡­but I wonder just how much that was going to cost.


    The first one cost 2 gold but if I recall correctly, once a potion has been made, the cost for consecutive ones can be much cheaper, so I guess it¡¯ll depend on how well I negotiate with her.


    The process of turning Jinpi leaves into potions was vital to me so I had to make sure to maintain good relations with her.


    ¡­¡­¡­..And now, finally.


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    I was about to head to the place where Ongneer was.


    I had been looking forward to this moment. Whether it really took root in the Orc General¡¯s body or not.


    I hope it went well but, I need to check it first hand before I think of anything else.


    I left Snow at the base and headed to the place alone.


    If my home gardening project succeeds and I can disregard having to collect plants from the forest in the future, I¡¯d love to spend that time finding more Ongneer plants in the forest instead.


    With just one alone, I can¡¯t experiment properly enough.


    With such a desire at heart, I approached closer to the Ongneer.


    As usual the atmosphere around this is¡­¡­¡­..Hm?


    Maybe because it has been some time since I last came here but that eerie heavy atmosphere had gotten even stronger I feel like.


    As I slowly made my way closer, I noticed the plant growing out of the Goblin¡¯s corpse.


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    And I also noticed that the Orc general¡¯s corpse was still there as well.


    Going even further closer¡ª-I saw a small bud sprouting out from the place where the Orc General¡¯s heart would be.


    ¡­¡­¡­But, the sprout was not green but was brow coloured instead and I knew instantly that it had withered.


    I felt vexed on the disappointing result but, I calmed myself to try and better analyze what had happened.


    Was it because it was already a corpse?


    ¡ª¡ª¨CNo, it did sprout after all, so it can plant itself in corpses no doubt.


    Then, does that mean it lacked nutrients?


    ¡­¡­¡­That seems unlikely as well.


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    I barely spent any time in bringing this corpse here after killing it.


    If it could grow from the nutrients off of a single Goblin, a Orc General¡¯s corpse would provide much more, even if it had been dead before I brought it here.


    In that case¡ª¡ª


    At that point, I realized my one major oversight.


    Ongneerwas a plant that grew by drawing its nutrients from planting itself into the ¡°heart ¡± of the living being.


    On the other hand, this Orc general¡­¡­¡­Was killed by me by stabbing it straight through its heart, so its heart was ¡®defective¡¯ in this case.


    This is still my hypothesis but that might really be the reason why it didn¡¯t grow.


    I pulled my sword, and ripped open the Orc general¡¯s chest.


    ¡°¡­¡­..I knew it.¡±


    There were traces of the Ongneer¡¯s roots trying to embed itself into the Orc General¡¯s heart but failed to properly do so.


    This was all a complete waste¡ª¡ªbut this failure was not without its own usefulness.


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    I felt that it was a waste that was unable to get the Orc general¡¯s skill or whatever ability improvement I would have gotten from it but, I gained knowledge in return.


    Only a little, but now I have a better understanding on how this Ongneer works.


    For the time being, I should remove this ORc general¡¯s corpse from here and replace it with some random Kobold¡¯s corpse instead.


    Honestly, I wasn¡¯t sure if a mere kobold would have enough nutrients to make an Ongneer sprout but there wasn¡¯t much else in this forest to use as feed either.


    Well at least I can take another fruit that had grown from the goblin¡¯s corpse while I¡¯m here.


    After understanding how the Ongneer took root, I had several ideas run through my head that I wanted to try but in the meantime, I looked for a Kobold to kill.

 CH 104

    Enemy sensing ability


    Last day of my plant gathering trip in the Carlisle forest.


    I had already done pretty much everything I wanted to and I was well satisfied with the amount of plants I had gathered.


    My prep for my home gardening was also all done, and there was quite literally nothing more left I could do more¡­¡­¡­


    I gave a quick glance near my feet.


    Snow sat there looking at me with shining eyes while wagging its tail.


    In the end, I wasn¡¯t able to teach Snow how to hunt.


    Well at least it was having fun while playing tag with the squirrel, and it was able to release the stress of being stuck inside a house all the time¡­..


    But I really hoped it could hunt at least one animal.


    But that¡¯s not going to happen no matter how much I wish for it, so I gave up and put Snow inside my bag.


    Since my back had the giant bag with poisonous plants packed in it, Snow was in a small rucksack hanging in front of me instead.


    It was right around my chest area, popping out its head to look around. It¡¯s head would sometimes enter by vision which bothered me a bit but it shouldn¡¯t be too much of a problem.


    ¡­¡­..But it¡¯ll be difficult during a battle and I couldn¡¯t properly hold a sword with this bag in front of me, so I¡¯ll have to put it down if I run into any enemies.


    I couldn¡¯t afford to get ambushed in these circumstances so I raised my vigilance and awareness to the maximum, and began walking back to Oxter.


    .


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    Around when I passed the half way point between my base and the entrance of the forest,¡ªsuddenly, Snow popped out and started looking around for something.


    While wondering what weird thing it was doing now, I continued walking while observing Snow when¡­¡­.


    It pointed towards one specific direction and began howling and barking towards it.


    Nothing had been noticed inside my detection net so I was confused over what was going on.


    Since I couldn¡¯t tell the reason, I decided to continue walking while ignoring it when¡ª¨C


    ¡°¡­¡­.It¡¯s a goblin. Were you barking at this because you noticed it?¡±


    ¡°Auun?¡±


    I began sensing the presence of a Goblin from the exact same direction where Snow was barking towards.


    Perhaps, it had noticed this goblin before even me.


    As expected of a monster, it¡¯s sense of smell and hearing was far better than my own.


    I gave a headrub to Snow for trying to warn me in advance, and then put Snow down to fight the Goblins.


    Soon enough, 3 goblins showed up.


    Usually you¡¯d only run into goblins that are roaming around alone in this forest, but this time it was 3 together in rare moment.


    Well, in the end its just some goblins so they won¡¯t make much of an opponent no matter how many there are¡ª¡ª


    While thinking so, I began walking closer to them when suddenly, a white shadow jumped past me and ran towards the Goblins.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªSnow!? Oi, Wait, STOP!!¡±


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    In panic, I shouted to try and tell it to stop but it showed no signs of doing so as it continued rushing towards the Goblins at top speed.


    Realizing the danger, I chased after it as well, but damn, those small legs sure have a lot speed hidden in them!


    The goblins who finally noticed Snow and myself running towards them, held up their wooden clubs to fight.


    ¡ª¨Cnow that its become like this, the safest way was to kill the goblins as fast as I can before they even get a chance to do anything.


    I changed my focus from Snow to the goblins, and decided to go all out in a quite some time to instantly crush them.


    Making sure that I didn¡¯t step on Snow, I first raised my voice and shouted to pull all their attention to me and then quickly closed the distance between us.


    2 more steps, one more¡ª-


    Right when I entered the range and was about to release my sword slash¡ª¨CSnow jumped and attacked the Goblin from the front.


    It¡¯s gonna die¡­..


    I feared the worst but¡ª¡ªthe one to die was the goblin instead to my surprise.


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    My head went blank and I didn¡¯t understand what had even happened but I can see the Goblin¡¯s head fly in the air.


    Flustered, I looked back at Snow, only to see it already jumping off the headless corpse of the first and on to the second goblin.


    The goblin tried to hit it down with its club as this white ball leaped at it but, Snow simply swung its small paw and tore the club in two and the goblin itself alongside it.


    Was that, wind magic? The same attack its parent used on us¡­¡­?


    But, it felt a whole lot stronger than that.


    ¡ª¡ª-Wait, now¡¯s not the time for that!!


    Why was I calmly analysing its attacks? I need to put the last goblin down right now.


    I jumped in between the two, and instantly chopped the last goblin¡¯s head off.


    ¡­¡­¡­.fuuh.


    Now that, almost gave me a panic attack. I swear my heartbeat right now is faster than even when that [Sage] Mielle tried to attack me.


    I didn¡¯t even take a breath throughout this as I could feel my breathing had turned ragged, and I sunk down to the ground and sat there for a while.


    Snow, who had no idea what I had just gone through, came jumping back to me looking all happy.


    It climbed up all the way to my face and started licking me.


    I¡¯d rather it didn¡¯t do that while the stench of goblins is all over it to be honest¡ª¡ªHm?


    Wait, it feels a lot colder than usual.


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    ¡°Snow, open your mouth for a second.¡±


    I pulled Snow off my face and put it down on my lap face up and checked the insides of its mouth.


    ¡­¡­.I knew it.


    On its newly grown teeth, you could see a layer of ice covering it.


    I finally get my answer as to how it instantly ripped the first goblin¡¯s head off. It obviously ripped it off with these ice fangs.


    ¡°Snow, are you perhaps, really strong?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..kuun?¡±


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    It tilted its head, but this small body was strong enough to kill two goblins instantly.


    It didn¡¯t even look tired and it was clear it was far stronger than it actually looked.


    Unlike me, or even Ralf or Esta, Snow might be an actual prodigy.


    ¡°I think you might have survived even if we left you in that cave and never brought you with us¡­¡­..Actually, if I had tried to kill you there¡ª¨CWould you have actually killed me instead?¡±


    I felt a bit shocked at my own realization that I came to.


    I had my guard completely down because it was a newborn baby and if I had gotten attacked in such a situation, perhaps my neck would have flown like those goblins as well.


    Snow seems to instinctively attack all those who show hostility to it meanwhile, it seems to play around with those that don¡¯t, from what I can tell at least.


    In that situation, if I had released killing intent I probably would have gotten attacked¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Perhaps you let me live rather than the other way around huh.¡±


    ¡°Auwoo!¡±


    I gave a couple headrubs as Snow happily howled, and I returned it back into the bag.


    Now I know that Snow is strong, and maybe it¡¯s strong when compared to Goblins but there¡¯s always a chance things go wrong.


    So from here on, I used its ability to detect enemies and instead made sure to completely avoid everything as we made our way out of the Carlisle forest.

 CH 105

    Snow¡¯s Future


    By the time I left the Carisle forest and reached back home, it was already evening.


    If they had been completing requests in my absence, the two shouldn¡¯t be back home yet but¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Snow!! Were you okay? Alright, alright. Looks like it¡¯s healthy, I¡¯m glad nothing happened!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, let me pet it too! Don¡¯t keep it to yourself.¡±


    They knew I¡¯d be back today so they finished their requests early and had been waiting for us apparently.


    Behind them, I could see a dish with Milk and Snow¡¯s favourite muskmelon already prepared.


    A single muskmelon cost a whole 3 silver you know¡­¡­.Well, Snow must be tired as well, I¡¯ll let them splurge a bit just for today.


    ¡°If you wanna touch it that much, do it after giving it a bath first. It¡¯s smell has been getting worse.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡­¡­¡­Sniff sniff¡ª¨CAh, you¡¯re right, that¡¯s pretty bad!¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take it into the bath with me. I¡¯ll make it sparkling clean again.¡±


    Esta basically snatched Snow from Ralf¡¯s hands, and headed into the bath together.


    Realizing he had no choice but to wait till they were out of the bath before he¡¯d get to play with Snow again, he turned towards me to talk instead.


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    ¡°So Chris, how was your week?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, went pretty much as perfectly as it could go. Probably one of my best trips ever if I¡¯m being honest.¡±


    It would have quite literally been ¡®perfect¡¯ if the Ongneer had grown successfully from the Orc General¡¯s corpse I suppose¡­¡­.But it can¡¯t be helped.


    ¡°Looks like things are moving forward pretty well for you Chris. Did you get whatever you needed for your gardening and stuff as well?¡±


    ¡°My bag is full with the soil that has the necessary buds already planted in it, and as for the logs that had the mushroom growing on them, I have left them in the garden for now but I¡¯ll bring them in later as well.¡±


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    ¡°¡­¡­..Damn, you really did get everything huh! ¡ª¨C don¡¯t know how to put this in words but, even I¡¯m super excited!¡±


    ¡°Pfft, you really need to work on your vocabulary huh.¡±


    Flailing his arms around, even Ralf seemed super excited as if this was all for him or something.


    Well, I too am very excited, but this is just the start still. Long ways to go yet.


    We can¡¯t be satisfied even with our current status and need to keep growing, furthermore I don¡¯t even know if these plants would even grow properly inside a house as of yet.


    ¡°Alright enough about you, so how was Snow throughout the trip? Did you actually teach it how to hunt?¡±


    ¡°uhh¡­¡­..Not exactly but Snow did kill two goblins all by itself.¡±


    ¡°Go-goblins!? You let it fight goblins already!?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to, no. It just jumped out of the bag and went for it all on its own. Before I could even try and stop it, it already killed 2 goblins instantly.¡±


    ¡°Killing 2 goblins instantly¡­¡­¡­? Eh? It¡¯s so small though, yet it¡¯s that strong!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think it really might be a genius when it comes to battles. It was already using wind and ice type attack magic and even its movements got a lot better after constantly playing tag with a squirrel.¡±


    Even Ralf was shocked as expected.


    Even though it was improving its movement ability, I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d get that better so quickly.


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    ¡°Wait, elemental attacks? Playing tag with a squirrel? That¡¯s too much info, I can¡¯t keep up anymore!!¡±


    ¡°Let Esta return as well, then I¡¯ll explain from the top in detail. We need to plan for what comes next as well.¡±


    ¡°Uugh, I want to hear all the details now though!¡±


    Ralf started flailing his arms around again, frustrated.


    ¡°So how were things for you two? Anything worth reporting?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Nah not much¡­¡­Ah, actually, we did decide to simply not have anyone act as a tank when its just us two taking requests.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re both completely focusing on honing your attacking skills huh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Esta has stopped hesitating and overthinking things and has been rapidly getting stronger again. I need to work hard to keep up. I don¡¯t wanna get left behind again after all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah you do¡­¡­.else even Snow might surpass you at this rate.¡±


    ¡°Snow!? Is it actually THAT strong!?¡±


    I ignored Ralf who once again started asking more questions about Snow and once Esta came back, I explained everything that happened in detail.


    .


    ¡°Snow, really has become that strong!¡±


    ¡°Or perhaps, it was always that strong I think. Nobody taught it how to use wind or ice magic did they?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just cute but also strong¡­¡­.Snow, you¡¯re amazing!¡±


    Having become all fluffy and clean, Ralf gave it lots of headrubs.


    Happily, Snow too nuzzled against Ralf¡¯s body.


    ¡°on that note, we need to figure out what to do with Snow next.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be direct, should we start taking it with us on requests? I want to let Snow hunt the easy monster on the way and further help in its growth.¡±


    ¡°ooh, sounds good! Being able to adventure alongside Snow sounds so fun!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m against it I must say. It¡¯s still too small, isn¡¯t it a bit too early for this? If we¡¯re talking eventually at a later time, I¡¯d agree but for now¡­¡­.¡±


    I had a feeling the opinion would be split here.


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    If I were to calmly analyze Snow¡¯s actual strength, I don¡¯t think there should be any problem with taking it with us.


    But if, like today, it jumped out ahead on its and challenged a much stronger monster, just thinking about it is a scary thought.


    ¡°Ehh¡­¡­.I think it¡¯s precisely why we should take it though! By your logic, if we wait until it¡¯s ¡®safe¡¯ wouldn¡¯t that just mean that you¡¯ll never take it out? There¡¯s always danger outside or is Snow going to be the strongest being there is one day automatically?¡±


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t go that far but we can at least find a balance between¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Also, at least right now we can keep it inside our bags! It¡¯s because its still small and controllable, we should try this out while we still have time, in my opinion anyway!¡±


    In a rare occasion, Ralf made a sensible point.


    I¡¯m sure he just wants to go on an adventure together and isn¡¯t thinking too deeply about it but he did make a great point that it is easier right now because it¡¯s still small.


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    ¡°I must say I do agree with Ralf¡¯s point there. While we can still keep it inside a bag, we need to let it experience all sorts of things.¡±


    ¡°Even Chris-san is taking that side huh¡­¡­..I¡¯m sorry but just thinking about the worst case scenario makes me deathly afraid.¡±


    ¡°Then, why don¡¯t we put Snow in your bag specifically Esta? Since you are usually distance away from the monsters anyway, and since you use magic, it won¡¯t get in your way too much while fighting either, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe we could put a safety belt to make sure it can¡¯t jump out of the bag as well! Right, Snow?¡±


    ¡°Awuff!¡±


    Seeing Snow¡¯s energetic response as well, Esta reluctantly agreed with it in the end.


    We¡¯ll let Snow hunt small fries like goblins and kobolds and outside of that, it¡¯ll stay safe inside Esta¡¯s bag.


    ¡­¡­¡­it seems for the time being we¡¯ll be a 3+1 party.


    I¡¯m still scared of when Snow might become more of a normal monster that attacks humans but¡ª¨C


    Now that I have made the decision to take care of it, until that day comes, I will do my best to raise it as well as possible and make it as strong as possible.

 CH 106

    Abnormality


    Around 2 weeks had passed since I went to the forest with Snow for my plant gathering.


    In the meantime, we had been taking on Silver rank quests almost everyday.


    Having decided to take Snow with us as well, and thanks to the collar we bought to keep it from running, these two weeks have passed by without any major incident.


    As for Snow, it¡¯s battle sense was truly remarkable as it could now kill goblins faster and with more finesse than even myself.


    Esta had been getting better and more stable at using more firepower magic, and Ralf had also learnt many more variations to add to his attack and the strength behind his every swing seemed to have gotten much stronger as well.


    I¡¯ve been thinking of getting another ability assessment for these two done before long.


    ¡ª¡ªAs for me, I had succeeded in successfully growing all 5 types of ability increasing plants at home.


    Although all I did was install a Planter inside every room, recreate a similar environment, give enough sunlight and water them daily, that¡¯s all really¡­¡­..


    But I had been able to harvest fruits and leaves pretty well.


    Especially the mushrooms, all I had to do was spray the logs and the mushrooms would start growing which made things really easy.


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    Also, maybe because it was indoors, or maybe because they were poisonous, these plants never really got any bugs or insects on them.


    I had heard that the hardest part of farming was to make sure bugs or insects don¡¯t eat the plant leaves or fruits but, it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll have to worry about that.


    And the thing I was most curious about was how much effect would homegrown plants have when compared to wild ones.


    Would it drop? Or would my [Farmer] job make it better instead?


    Well, it¡¯s not like I raised them from when they were seeds so perhaps there¡¯ll be no change at all¡­¡­.but I still ended up hoping for some kind of effect.


    I kept the homegrown plants separately from the ones I had collected from the forest directly so when I have time, I should properly check to see the difference.


    ¡­¡­.Now, I just need to go check back on Ongneer as well.


    There was so much to do, it made my head hurt but I was getting results from my work and we had been getting stronger so I can¡¯t complain.


    .


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    ¡°Hey Chris, what are we gonna do today? Should we take one for dokudoku Dog today?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking the same but, a night job just doesn¡¯t sound fun you know? But anyway, let¡¯s go take a look at the notice board before anything.¡±


    ¡°I agree as well! I was also thinking it was time we started taking some non-designated requests already.¡±


    ¡°As long as there is a efficient money maker like Stray Cow bird, that¡¯d be great.¡±


    While chatting, we entered the guild.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Unlike normal days, something felt off within the guild today.


    Usually when we enter the guild, we get pelted by stares and glares from other adventurers but that didn¡¯t happen today.


    It seemed extremely noisy considering it was early in the day and even the guild employees seemed to be running around busily.


    ¡°What¡¯s with all the ruckus!? Did another emergency request come in or something?¡±


    ¡°Like Ralf said, it might be so¡­¡­..if that as the case, what do you two think we should do?¡±


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    ¡°We should take it of course. It¡¯s not always we get the chance to battle stronger monsters. To check our growth¡ª¨Cand to grow our abilities in the first place, it is the best chance!¡±


    ¡°I think we should take it as well! I agree with what Esta said but also¡­¡­..the money you get is nice too eh! We ended up burning the last time¡¯s reward during our moving into a new house but this time, we have to have a huge party!¡±


    Both were correct in their own way.


    It was good test as well as a great way to make money.


    It was also equally dangerous but if we can ascertain how much danger it will be, there are very few chances this good.


    ¡°I agree as well, let¡¯s talk to the vice guild chief and take it if there is actually an emergency request.¡±


    Having made our decision, we decided to call the vice chief and ask what was happening.


    As the vice chief finally appeared from the inside, he looked really haggard as he must have been running around urgently due to whatever¡¯s happening.


    ¡°Chris-san, Esta-san, Ralf-san, it¡¯s been a while. How can I help today?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just, everyone seems to be in a rush so we got a bit curious, and thought of asking you what was happening that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Ah, I suppose it is very obvious huh. Actually¡­¡­.and the info is still unclear, so an emergency quest might not be put out just yet but, apparently we got a report that in the northern mountains, a herd of Venom Pythons has appeared and they have come down from the mountain in search of food.¡±


    ¡°Venom Python? What kind of monster is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a normally 10meter long giant poisonous snake type monster that usually only shows up in warmer regions. Subjugation rank is Platinum. It¡¯s very good at sensing heat and can find living things from faraway distances, and then quickly rush in to attack making it a very aggressive monster.¡±


    Well that sounds ridiculously dangerous even for a monster.


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    Poison won¡¯t work on me but if it¡¯s 10m tall, even a normal bite would cause serious damage to me.


    ¡­¡­¡­We really had to think before accepting this request.


    ¡°You said ¡®herd¡¯, but how many exactly are we looking at?¡±


    ¡°At the very least, 10 minimum. Remember when Chris-san and your team took care of the emergency request that happened some time ago ¡­¡­.Well, we have reason to believe that it was this group of venom Pythons that made that herd of Orcs leave the mountain in the first place. As such, no matter how optimistic we make our estimations, at the very least it will still be a far more harder of a request than that Orc herd subjugation request.¡±


    Recommended rank was Platinum for a single monster, and this was an entire group of them.


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    We really couldn¡¯t accept this carelessly.


    ¡°So why is it exactly a Platinum rank request if I may ask? Is it because it is purely that strong physically?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡­..the main reason is obviously the deadly poison that it possesses. It can splash poison on its targets from its fangs which would completely paralyze your body. And if you get bit and have it injected inside¡ª¡ªYou¡¯re more likely to die than survive to put it simply.¡±


    ¡°I see. Hypothetically speaking, if it didn¡¯t possess said poison, what rank monster would it be in that case?¡±


    ¡°let me think¡­¡­..Around Gold I¡¯d imagine?¡±


    So if we can take care of the poison, it¡¯s basically a gold rank monster eh.


    It was still an extremely dangerous monster for Ralf and Esta but if I act as the tank alone, it¡¯s not an opponent we can¡¯t defeat.


    ¡­¡­¡­which also means, the reward would be pretty damn good.


    ¡°Vice guild chief. We¡¯ll accept this request¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Oi oi, Chris-san! We can¡¯t have you getting a head start on us everytime now can we! We¡¯ll accept that request as well! EHEHE!¡±


    Right as I told the vice chief that I¡¯d take this request¡ª-someone cut between our conversation and spoke.


    Looking back, it was a man with a big fat ugly bulging body.


    Of course¡ªit was Greath.


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 CH 107

    Trapped


    ¡°Then, you guys can take this one, we¡¯ll pass. Ralf, Esta, C¡¯mon let¡¯s go.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t come picking a fight with us for some time now but now he suddenly showed up again.


    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m ever taking a request alongside these lot, so we quickly tried to leave the place.


    ¡°Oi!! Wait a minute! If you guys don¡¯t accept this request then we won¡¯t either!¡­¡­.ehehehe, what will happen to this town in that case I wonder eh?!¡±


    ¡°Like I give a shit about this town.¡±


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    ¡°Oi oi oi oi. Mr vice chief, did you hear this man?! Even though its their fault this town might get attacked, they don¡¯t give a damn! Can you allow such arrogant and audacious behaviour??¡±


    Turning away from me, Greath targeted the vice chief next.


    ¡®Look who¡¯s talking!¡¯ is what anyone would want to say but no one here had the gall to say that to him.


    ¡°ch-chris and his party would take this request, if you guys don¡¯t so¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°LIKE I SAID!! You can¡¯t allow others to have such an advantage like this! Or can you not understand simple words anymore YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!!¡±


    Smashing the desk, Greath put pressure on the vice chief.


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    This problem showed no signs of solving itself, and I felt bad for the vice chief but I don¡¯t want to be involved and will be returning.


    Just as I was about to leave the guild¡­¡­.


    ¡°Chris-kun? Please wait a minute.¡±


    The one who stopped us from leaving was the guild chief himself.


    ¡°Ooh! Well if it isn¡¯t Guild Chief Michael! I¡¯m sure you understand what I¡¯m getting at right!!?¡±


    ¡°Chris-kun, please accept the request with Greath-san. If you were to refuse¡ª-I will see that as an act of abandoning your duties and will have no choice excommunicate you from the Guild.¡±


    ¡°Haa?¡±


    Hearing unmistakably inexcusable words, this I walked closer to the guild chief.


    The desk separated us but I stood straight in front of him and glared at him.


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    ¡°You can glare at me as much as you want. As long as it¡¯s a emergency request that puts the town in danger, and on top you have received an obligatory ¡®request for support¡¯ from a Platinum rank adventurer. And the guild acknowledges this request as well.¡±


    ¡°Guild chief! This hasn¡¯t been officially declared as a emergency quest just yet! Not to mention the recommended rank is Platinum! You can¡¯t force a Silver rank to¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°I personally officially confirmed it as an emergency quest just now. And as this is only to help the Platinum rank, the normal rules of ranks are not applied¡­¡­..Loren, you shall keep quiet now.¡±


    ¡°Then, let us take this request on our own, just not with Greath. I¡¯ll happily clear it for you in that case is what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    ¡°I will repeat this again, the actual rank is Platinum. It is not a request we can or will give to a Silver Rank party alone.¡±


    ¡°EHEHEHEHE! Now ain¡¯t this just the best! What will you do now? Will you get excommunicated or will you take the request with us?¡ª¡ª-You only have two options, Oh dear Chris-san!!¡±


    I was hit with a impulse to go berserk and just rip Greath to shreds right here and now but¡­¡­..if he really wants to do a request with me that much, fine let¡¯s do it.


    ¡ª¡ªI¡¯ll be sure to make him regret everything.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­very well. I suppose I must help this helpless adventurer that can¡¯t finish request without the help of mere Silver rank adventurers. That said¡ª¡ªDon¡¯t complain if you end up dead because of it.¡±


    I turned back towards Greath, and declared full of killing intent.


    But even after hearing that, Greath continued to smirk with a disgusting expression on his face.


    Looks like he has zero intentions of changing his attitude.


    ¡°That should be my line, you bastard! I¡¯ll be waiting at the foot of the Northern mountains, and don¡¯t try and run away!¡±


    Saying that, he left the guild alongside his lackeys.


    The guild chief also returned back to the inner room while glaring at me.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªChris-san, I¡¯m really, really sorry!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..It¡¯s not like it¡¯s your fault. I could see you still tried your best to help me.¡±


    ¡°b-but¡­¡­..taking a request alongside that Greath¡­¡­.he¡¯s almost certainly planning to do something!¡±


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    Oh I¡¯m sure of that as well.


    I don¡¯t know exactly what he¡¯s planning but, if he had stayed low until now, he was probably waiting for a moment like this emergency quest to arrive.


    ¡°Say, can I really not avoid being expelled if refuse?¡±


    ¡°Well, ¡­¡­.that is the case I¡¯m afraid. It will come under ¡®just cause¡¯ since you have already been suspended once due to acts of violence. The Guild Chief is too desperate to do anything to maintain this Guild¡¯s existence and will probably go to any length to get back at you¡­¡­¡­..Once again, I¡¯m sorry for not being much help.¡±


    ¡°So it really is like that huh. Also like I said, it¡¯s not your fault. But once we succeed in this request, I¡¯m really gonna make that Guild Chief properly apologize to me¡­¡­..Also, I¡¯ll take care of Greath myself¡ª¡ª-so be sure to pay me extra accordingly for that okay?¡±


    Saying that, we left the guild and headed towards the Northern Mountains.

 CH 108

    A Ball of Energy


    ¡°Man, things sure have turned into something crazy huh! To think we¡¯d have to complete a request with that Greath of all people!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Will it be fine? It¡¯s already a platinum rank monster herd request, you know? Can we do something like that while alongside that Greath?¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not sure if things will be ¡®fine¡¯ or not but we have to manage somehow. That¡¯s just the situation we¡¯re in. I mean that Chief went far as to threaten us with expulsion.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, that Chief really pisses me off!! He¡¯s constantly sucking up to that Greath, yet acts all bold against us!¡±


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    ¡°Well we can¡¯t waste time complaining anymore. Let¡¯s think of ways to handle this.¡±


    Just like Esta said, we need to find a way to clear this situation safely.


    ¡­¡­.but, let alone Greath, I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯d lose to that herd of Venom Pythons either right now.


    As long as Greath doesn¡¯t try something too crazy, things should be fine.


    It just shows how much more stronger I have gotten thanks to the poisonous plants to be this confident.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s go back home and leave some food for Snow first. Then let¡¯s go get some Potions from Shantell.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the Northern mountains, I really wanted to take Snow and have it meet some other Snow Panthers as well! But now I¡¯m too scared to take it with us.¡±


    ¡°I just thought of something but¡­¡­¡­.could it be that Snow¡¯s parent, the one we killed, also came down the mountain because of these Venom Pythons as well?¡±


    ¡°Considering the timing, there is a good chance that that is indeed the case.¡±


    ¡°Then, Snow and its parent had to run from their home because of these Venom Pythons as well!? I guess this will revenge for Snow as well now!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­No, Snow¡¯s revenge would be against us. We¡¯re the ones who actually killed its parent, don¡¯t you forget that.¡±


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon! it¡¯s normal to blame the main villain for everything bad in the end, right?¡±


    Alongside Ralf who had gotten fired up for some weird reason, we returned home to prepare, told Snow to look after the house and then headed to [Travelling Cat Store].


    .


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    .


    ¡°6 healing potions, and 10 antidote potions!? Yay!! And you made another mass production order for Jinpi potions as well, Chris-san, you really are my saviour!¡­¡­.sob sob.¡±


    After doing a great jump to show her happiness, Shantell suddenly got all emotional and started wiping her tears away.


    ¡­¡­..Well, judging by the quick glances she keeps giving in between it all, it¡¯s obvious she¡¯s acting it all up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your over dramatic reactions for everything. It makes the conversation last way longer than it needs to be.¡±


    ¡°Ehh, it¡¯s fine! I spend all my time alone in this shop, and I get very few customers  so I get really lonely! You all are like the only customers I get who are close to my age after all!!¡±


    ¡°Like I care. Hurry up and go get the potions I asked¡­¡­¡­Ah, also, give me at least 2 Jinpi potions that I asked you to make last time.¡±


    ¡°jinpi Potion as well? Understood! I¡¯ll bring them asap!¡±


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    Seeing her walk off energetically, all three of us gave a deep sigh.


    After the incident at the guild and now having to deal with Shantell, these ups and downs in mood might make me go crazy.


    ¡°Thanks for the wait! These are healing potions, and these are your antidotes! I have used my secret trick to reduce the bitterness of both making them much easier to drink as well!¡ª¡ªand here¡¯s your requested Jinpi potions!!¡±


    ¡°Thanks. All right, let¡¯s go.¡±


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    Completely ignoring Shantell¡¯s over-the-top presentation, we tried to leave the shop as quickly as possible but¡­¡­.


    ¡°Oi, what now? I paid you already no? Don¡¯t grab my arm suddenly.¡±


    ¡°Cold! You¡¯re way too cold! Please talk with me at least a bit more!¡±


    ¡°No chance. We don¡¯t have the time.¡ª¡ªlet go of me or I¡¯ll stop buying potions from you.¡±


    ¡°Muh!? Mumumu¡­¡­¡­not fair. That¡¯s not fair! Next time, you have to have a proper chat with me okay!!¡±


    Leaving the clamouring Shantell behind, we finally left the [Travelling Cat Store].


    Anyway, with this our preparation for fighting Venom Pythons is done.


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    ¡°man, she really has unlimited amount of energy inside her huh! They say that if spend time with a bright and energetic person they¡¯ll automatically give you some energy as well but¡­¡­¡­She gives way too much which makes you tired instead!¡±


    ¡°You two didn¡¯t even talk and just stood behind me¡­¡­..think what it¡¯s like for me.¡±


    ¡°But she isn¡¯t a bad person at heart, so it¡¯s fine I believe. I quite like Shantell-san.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then Esta you¡¯ll be going to the shop alone from here onwards.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh, eh, umm, that might be a bit too much, how do I even put this, even for me!¡±


    ¡°HAHAHA! So you can¡¯t handle her after all either! I did go alone a couple times and man, she really just doesn¡¯t let you go!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not lying when I said I like Shantell-san, I really do. But, going alone is a bit much¡ª-that¡¯s all I said! Ralf, you need to shut up!¡±


    Leaving the [Travelling Cat Store], we ended up chatting about Shantell as we headed towards the Northern Mountains.


    The atmosphere was a bit heavy due to everything that happened with Greath, the chief, and the emergency request as a whole but, going to Shantell¡¯s really did lift the mood a little.


    Perhaps, we really needed that overdose of energy this time around.

 CH 109

    Venom Python


    Crossing the Indera marshlands, for what would be our third time through here, we finally reached the foot of the Northern Mountains.


    And¡ª-it has been almost 2 hours since we came here.


    ¡°Shit! That shithead Greath really knows how to piss me off.¡±


    ¡°Is he even gonna come? Cuz it sure doesn¡¯t look like he will!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he leave Oxter before us? This is really weird. Don¡¯t you think?¡±


    At first I thought that we just overtook him on the way at some point maybe, but after this much time had passed, I wondered if they had just left us and gone ahead instead.


    It¡¯s a bit worrying that they were nowhere to be found but¡­¡­.since it would be a waste of time to wait here, we might as well go and finish the subjugation by ourselves.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s better for us if they don¡¯t show up anyway. Either way, I was planning to finish this requests with just us three anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true! We waited 2 hours already, they have no ground to complain any longer!¡±


    Leaving behind Greath and his party who refused to show up, we decided to climb the mountain by ourselves.


    If I recall correctly, the Venom Pythons are usually witnessed near the summit of the mountain but some of them had come down in search of food.


    While being careful on the path to the summit as well, let¡¯s gradually climb the northern mountains.


    .


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    ¡°Hey this is where we fought that Snow Panther and then met Snow right? It¡¯s been less than a month since then but things have been so busy, I am already feeling nostalgic about it!¡±


    ¡°Since it came down across the slope, it wasn¡¯t exactly along this path was it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the cave where we met Snow was further in and not along the usual path¡ª¡ª-Hm? Everyone, be quiet.¡±


    It¡¯d been only about 30mins since we started climbing the mountain but¡­¡­.


    I sensed the presence of something coming down the mountain at a rapid speed.


    Giving a signal to the two, I took a stance with my sword and my brand new iron shield.


    The thing that came down running¡ª¡ªno, crashing down the slope was a Snow Panther.


    It had already been killed by something, as a dead Snow Panther came tumbling down from up top.


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    ¡°What the hell¡¯s that!? It just came tumbling towards us!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a Snow panther. Let¡¯s go closer and check on it.¡±


    Judging by the way it was rolling down, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s dead already but¡­¡­..just in case, we kept vigilant and slowly made our way closer to it.


    The corpse of the Snow Panther that had landed on the mountain path was riddled with wounds but most of them seemed like they were from its fall from the mountain top.


    Then the actual cause of death was¡ª¡ª


    ¡°There are bite marks near the neck. 2 sharp fangs, by the looks of it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Could these be from a Venom Python?¡±


    ¡°Most likely. Judging by the state of the body, it looks like it died instantly after getting lost of poison injected inside. No wonder every single one is ranked as a Platinum rank target.¡±


    It killed that troublesome Snow Panther with a single attack.


    We increased our caution levels, and continued walking towards the summit of the northern mountains.


    .


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    The more we climbed, the more the temperature fell.


    We could now see snow in front of us, and so we put on our thick coats that I had prepared beforehand just for this situation.


    ¡°It¡¯s gotten really cold now. At least the weather¡¯s still nice so it¡¯s still manageable.¡±


    ¡°Damn it¡¯s cold alright! Chris if you hadn¡¯t told us to pack some coats, we were definitely failing this request!¡±


    ¡°I have a coat and gloves on but I¡¯m still shivering, unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Just use [Fire] then? Esta your [mana regen] will make it work somehow, no?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..You¡¯re right! Let¡¯s get a bit more closer though, it¡¯ll keep you and Chris-san warm as well! [Fire].¡±


    We got a bit closer, and with Esta¡¯s magic keeping us warm, we continued our climb to the summit area.


    From here onwards, we are now in an area where we could get attacked by Venom Pythons at any point.


    As we continued walking while looking at our surroundings, a shrill ultrasonic sound that gave us the chills hit our ears.


    Looking in the direction of where it came from, I could see a stupidly big snake coiled up.


    ¡°There¡¯s one. Can¡¯t see any others but¡­¡­..that¡¯s definitely a Venom Python.¡±


    ¡°Where!? Give an exact location!¡±


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    ¡°Look towards the giant tree, it¡¯s right below it¡­¡­..it seems to be targeting something else though?¡±


    ¡°Chris-san! Should I stop using [Fire]? Wasn¡¯t it hypersensitive to heat if I recall correctly?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Don¡¯t use it while it hasn¡¯t noticed us, although once it does notice us, you should start using [Fire] again.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡­.? But why?¡±


    ¡°Since it is that hypersensitive to heat, a constant source of heat like a ball of fire will instead confuse it. Think of it like getting hit with a flash bomb for us humans.¡±


    ¡°I see! Understood. I¡¯ll figure out the right timing and use [Fire] or [Fire Ball].¡±


    Making sure to not get noticed by the Venom Python, we slowly and carefully approached closer to it.


    We kept our awareness of our surroundings high still, as we continued closer until we could see the Python¡¯s entire body.


    With jet black skin, it ominously stood out against the pure white snowy background.


    You could see why its skin was often considered a highly valuable item, as the jet black body had strange patterns decorating it giving it a mystical look.


    This Venom Python, was looking the opposite direction from us and was sitting completely still.


    Judging by its looks, it¡¯s definitely targeting a prey right now or so I thought but¡­¡­.


    In the place where the Venom Python was looking, was a beast like monster with giant horns, a Horndeer specifically.


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    Since it¡¯s completely focused on that Horndeer, I should be able to get as close as possible.


    And I¡¯ll wait for the moment its goes for the Horndeer¡ª-and then launch my own attack at it.


    ¡°The momennt Venom Python preys on that, I¡¯ll launch my attack. And right when it notices me attacking, Esta you¡¯ll launch a [FireBall] at it¡­¡­¡­Ralf, sorry but this time you have to focus just on defence. Forget about attacking it.¡±


    ¡°Understood! I¡¯ll fire my strongest [FireBall] at it!¡±


    ¡°Got it! Even I know that entering close combat with a poisonous monster is asking for death. Especially when we have you Chris with [Null Poison], I¡¯ll just stick to defence this time around!¡±


    Explaining the plan to them both, I continued reducing the distance between us and waited for the Venom Python to make its move.


    The Horndeer, the Venom Python, and us three.


    All three of us, slowly crept closer to each other¡ª¡ªthe moment I heard that ear hurting ultrasonic sound again, the Horndeer froze in its place and seeing it like that, it launched its attack on the Horndeer.


    Since it had no limbs, there were no clear movements per say, and the Venom Python simply launched its body at a fast speed aimed directly at its prey.


    It bit straight into the Horndeer, and quickly began coiling around it to constrict it. And once that was done, it began swallowing it whole from the rear.


    While watching the Python slowly swallow the entire body of the weakened Horndeer, I, who had been waiting for it to enter eating mode, jumped out to begin my assault.


    I¡¯m not afraid of the poison, but getting bit or getting constricted would still end me.


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    With my shield still up, I closed in rapidly while making sure it doesn¡¯t somehow lunge at me .


    It had already swallowed almost half of the Horndeer when it finally noticed me approaching.


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    Since it was mid swallowing, it couldn¡¯t move so it tried to quickly push it all back out but¡ª¡ªit was too slow.


    Like we planned, the moment it noticed me, an extra large [Fire Ball] made a direct hit.


    And aiming for it neck, I swung my sword at full strength.


    It¡¯s scaly skin was harder than I thought and the flesh below it was also thicker than expected so I didn¡¯t slice through clean but, I did succeed in slicing through just enough.


    Fresh red blood poured out of the sliced part, and the part that had been hit by [FireBall] gave off a charred smell.


    With the Horndeer still in its mouth, the Venom Python¡¯s body continued to twitch.


    To deal the killing blow, I quickly fixed my posture¡ª¡ªand aimed for the same place I slashed the first time, and this time severed it in two completely.

 CH 110

    Desperate Situation


    Its body and head had been completely severed yet its body still moved as it was still trying to jump at me.


    It was eerie seeing its unusually strong vitality.


    ¡°Chris-san! You did it!¡±


    ¡°Your [fireball] helped too. Let¡¯s get the next one the same way.¡±


    ¡°man, though that sure was anti climactic huh! Since it was a platinum rank, I really thought it¡¯d be stronger!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s platinum rank mostly comes from its deadly poison. Against a holder of [Null Poison], the result is bound to end this way as long as it¡¯s 1v1 that is. Not to mention, I got it while it was preying on another monster. I caught it completely off guard.¡±


    After pulling out the dead Horndeer by its horn from inside the Python¡¯s mouth, I cut off its split tongue as proof of subjugation.


    If we could continue hunting Venom Pythons at this rate that¡¯d be great but, now that I¡¯ve actually killed one, I know that fighting more than one at the same time will be a whole lot more difficult than this.


    I want to try and separate them and kill them one by one¡­¡­¡­but it never goes that smoothly, does it?


    After incinerating the corpse with Esta¡¯s [fireball], we once again began climbing up the path to the summit area while searching for more.


    ¡­¡­..maybe because of the influence of these Venom Pythons, there¡¯s barely any other monsters or animals in view.


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    Still we maintained our focus and continued walking up the silent mountain when I finally caught sight of 2 Venom Pythons in front of us.


    This time there was signs of them preying on something else either, and they seemed to be examining their surroundings while hissing and flicking their tongues in and out.


    If possible, I wanted to only hunt isolated pythons but considering there are at least 10 minimum here, fighting 2 together was still within permissible range.


    ¡°2 Venom Pythons in front of us. That¡¯s more than we originally planned for but we¡¯re gonna fight them anyway.¡±


    ¡°What about our plan? Same as before?¡±


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    ¡°I think that¡¯ll work still. Oh, and Ralf, lend me your sword.¡±


    ¡°My sword¡­..? what, you¡¯re gonna dual wield now?¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m unable to slice through with one, I¡¯m gonna need it. I¡¯ve raised my strength enough to be able to use both I think. And, well, I¡¯ve always wanted to try dual-wielding at least once since I was kid.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Sure then, go for it. Just take care of the sword!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. In return,¡­¡­.. I¡¯ll give you my iron shield.¡±


    I handed the shield to Ralf, and held his sword instead in my other hand.


    Now, I¡¯m fully attack specialized while Ralf is all on defence.


    I¡¯ll have Ralf defend Esta with his life on the line, and in the meantime, I¡¯ll kill the Venom Pythons as soon as I can.


    I took a quick breath, and then began moving closer to the 2 Pythons.


    And the moment they noticed me¡ª¨CI began running at them at full speed to decrease the distance.


    With a sword in both hands, I repeated every move in my head that I needed to make to win.


    I focused entirely on every single movement of the Pythons, and when one of them fully noticed me¡ª¡ª


    Right at that moment, I heard a group of something running towards us from behind.


    I knew I should keep my focus at the enemy in front, yet I subconsciously turned back to check what was coming towards us.


    The one running at the front was¡ª¡ªGreath??


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    And behind him were his party members¡­¡­¡­who were all grinning and smirking evilly.


    I got a bad premonition of what was about to happen and I looked further behind them to see a bunch of Venom Pythons chasing after them


    Greath¡¯s party who were all smirking and a group of Venom Pythons behind them.


    ¡ª¨Cand two more Venom Pythons behind me now.


    Realizing what was happening here, I tried to order an escape instantly but¡ª¨Cthere was a wall to the left of us which meant we¡¯d have to jump off the cliff on the right if we wanted to escape.


    But we were close to the summit area, if we tried jumping off that cliff¡­¡­.that was basically death.


    In this extremely desperate situation, we were left with no moves¡ª¡ª


    But then, Greath who was running in the front, with no hesitation, ran straight towards said cliff and jumped.


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    For a second, I thought he was committing suicide or something but, suddenly, Greath¡¯s body swelled and expanded massively.


    And, behind him all of his party members jumped straight on to his hugely inflated body.


    ¡°[Body Expansion][Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement][Fortification]!¡ª¡ªChirsss!! I leave the rest to you lot!! EHEHEHEHE!! I DID SAY YOU¡¯D BE THE ONE TO DIE!!!¡±


    After activating multiple skills, he spoke to me while laughing, and slowly descended alongside his party.


    ¡ª¡ª-Shit!! We¡¯ve been completely fooled!!


    They dragged every monster with them and led them all to us¡­¡­.An act often referred to as bringing a ¡®Train¡¯.


    It¡¯s considered taboo but to I never thought he¡¯d do it with Venom Pythons no less.


    The venom Pythons that he led here gave up on Greath after seeing him jump off and turned their attention towards us who were right in front of them.


    And the two I was about to attack were also slithering towards me as well.


    ¡°A-are we gonna die¡­¡­..? SHITT!! G-Greath YOU BASTARD!!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, calm down. We can still save ourselves. You two stick to the wall side and use Esta¡¯s [Earth Wall] to create cover on all sides and hide yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Just us¡­¡­.? Like hell we¡¯d do that!! You¡¯re coming with us then!¡±


    ¡°Then all it¡¯d do is slightly delay our inevitable deaths. The moment Esta¡¯s mana runs out that is¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll be brutally honest, you two who don¡¯t possess [Null Poison] are basically dead weight to me in this situation.¡±


    ¡°D-dead weight¡­¡­..s-surely w-we could give you some kind of help Chris-san!?¡±


    ¡°This is not the situation where you have to be of use to me. If you two die here that¡¯s far worse for me. Just trust me¡ª¡ªDon¡¯t worry. This is not the place I die.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Understood. I will believe in Chris-san!¡±


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    Saying that to them, I took a step forward.


    The total number of venom Pythons was, 2 that were already here plus 4 that Greath and his group led here; a total of 6 at the same time.


    From an outsiders perspective, this was a despair inducing situation, yet, I still didn¡¯t feel like I was going to lose.


    ¡°Chris!! You sure about this!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. When I call, only then should you release your magic, okay?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªyes¡­¡­.Ralf, come over here. [Earth Wall].¡±


    Making sure that they were covered and hidden with Earth Wall, I poured a vial of Jinpi potion over my swords.


    I brought it specifically for Greath, but I never thought it¡¯d be of use in such a way.


    Just because they have poison themselves doesn¡¯t mean they are resistant to all kinds of poison so this Jinpi¡¯s poison should work.


    Their bodies are big so it¡¯ll take some time before the poison spreads but even a small cut could become a fatal wound with this.


    ¡°C¡¯mon then, let¡¯s have a fun fight, shall we?¡±


    Taking a stance with my two poison imbued swords, I proclaimed as such towards the group of Pythons encircling me.


    As if reacting to my words, one of the Venom Pythons lunged towards me to attack¡ª¡ª


    And thus my battle began.

 CH 111

    One vs Many


    The first Venom Python that attacked used the same instant lunging bite that the previous Python used to kill the Horndeer.


    My eyes could just barely keep up with its speed but I deflected its bite with my iron sword and then stabbed at its neck area with my steel sword.


    The stab¡¯s main motive was not to deal damage but to inject poison inside its body¡ª¨Cit¡¯ll basically feel like an needle injection to it I¡¯m sure.


    If it can dull its attacks, that¡¯d be great but even after getting stabbed it showed no signs of slowing down and it continued attacking at me.


    I need to be careful otherwise it¡¯s large body might coil around me and suffocate me.


    Just like the Horndeer, even I¡¯d become completely unable to move and be swallowed before I could do anything.


    And, once I was swallowed, the force of it alone would stop my heart and kill me instantly.


    I continued running away while dodging its attacks as much I could to avoid that, but I also need to find gaps in its attacks to deal my own attacks as well.


    All 6 of them had gleaming eyes, desperate to devour me as food, which sent chills down my spine but¡ª¡ª


    This feeling of intense tension just felt so incredible.


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    Reliving a situation as dangerous as the time I ran into that bear-like monster, I entered a level of focus I had never reached before.


    The first venom Python from the right as well as the 2 from the centre were all launching attacks at me one after another.


    The first one slithered towards me while the 2 behind it had their heads raised and attacking from above.


    So this is how smart these monsters are. If I focused on the two from above, the one slithering below will try and attack, and vice versa.


    And in such a situation¡­¡­..most living things would focus on the two from above more but I focused solely on the one slithering below.


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    It was much easier to deflect attacks from above at a moment¡¯s notice but if you lost your footing from a low attack, it was all over right there and then.


    No matter how high the attack from above comes from, its target was in the end ¡®Me¡¯, who was on the ground after all.


    I maintained my stance and continued deflecting their attacks¡ª¡ªmeanwhile I focused on stabbing my steel sword to inject poison whenever I could.


    The one to make the next move were the venom pythons from above.


    They released a spray of poison to completely shower me in it, but of course, I simply ignored it and let it cover all over me.


    And right as they sprayed their poison, the Python from below, who I had stabbed before, launched an attack.


    It was an action based on the prediction that my movements would be sealed due to getting drenched in their poison but¡­¡­¡­Sorry, poison doesn¡¯t work on me.


    Obviously unaware of that fact, it quickly slithered towards me and tried to bite my legs.


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    But just when it was close enough, I stabbed my sword down at it from above and pierced right through its neck.


    It got conceited seeing me drenched in poison, and launched a dull easy to read attack so I matched its attack, that¡¯s all, nothing too complicated.


    Having its neck pierced from above, I further sliced its head that had stopped moving with my steel sword and then, I kicked its face with full strength. It¡¯s body flew in the air, doing a couple air rolls before it crashed into the ground.


    ¡ª¡ª¨CAlright.


    I¡¯m pretty sure that one¡¯s not gonna move again.


    I should have dealt a further finishing blow knowing how strong its vitality is but unfortunately, this is not the situation to be focusing on that.


    I pointed my sword to the two in the centre, and then smoothly moved towards the right side area that had now become empty.


    5 Pythons remain.


    Thanks to the one on the right now gone, I was able to get out of their encirclement as well. Now I just need to be patient and careful and deal with the rest.


    Seeing 1 of the six getting killed right in front of them, the remaining Venom Pythons began hissing and slithering menacingly trying to intimidate me.


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    But in front of such a scene, my head was in its own world where I was simulating attack patterns one after the other to decide my best route of attack.


    It¡¯s only been a while since the battle started but I have more or less grasped all the attack patterns these Venom pythons have.


    Their main attack was that instant biting lunge that had no prior movements, and their strongest attack was when they pulled back like bow before launching to bite.


    I suppose the poison spray will also count as their ¡®main attack¡¯ technically but it was meaningless to me so I didn¡¯t bother putting it into consideration.


    Outside of that, they also try to encircle their prey before coiling around and constricting them completely, and then they sometimes also tried to trip you by going for your feet as well; and that¡¯s about it as far as their attack patterns are concerned.


    Maybe because they had no limbs, I really felt that their attacks were pretty monotonous and dull.


    On the contrary, unlike other monsters, they had much better coordination with other Venom Pythons but¡­¡­¡­..


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    If it¡¯s around 2, I was now confident that I could deal with it pretty easily.


    I took a short breath, and decided that it was my turn to go on the offence.


    I wanted to not stay in one spot and while moving around the 5 Pythons constantly, I need to create a situation where no more than 2 of them could attack me at the same time.


    Making that my focus, I ended up smiling to myself as I began approaching closer.


    The two in the centre who had been attacking me from above until now, pulled their bodies backwards like a bow and were planning to lunge at me as soon I came close enough.


    The Goblin Archers in the Carlisle forest were the same but, if I know that I can react to their attack speed then¡ª¨C


    There is nothing more easier than dodging something that comes at you in a straight line.


    It lunged at me at a high speed with its mouth wide open ready to bite me but, I shifted my upper body to dodge it and drove my iron sword straight into its face.


    It¡¯s Ralf¡¯s sword not mine, and I swung it in attempt to repel the attack but¡­¡­..


    The sensation in my hands was perfect and perhaps because of the strength the Python¡¯s own lunge adding to it, the sword just went straight through its head and split its head in two.


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    Blood sprayed all over the place as the Venom Python with its head torn up fell to the ground unmoving.


    ¡­¡­¡­somehow I had succeeded in killing a venom python with a single attack.

 CH 112

    Peerless


    As blood sprayed all over, the Venom Python fell to the ground.


    And seeing that¡ª¡ª-the other Python that was about to launch a similar attack froze in its place. And I didn¡¯t let that chance pass by me.


    While stepping on the corpse of the dead Python, I rushed straight under the other Python and stabbed my steel sword straight into its abdomen.


    Panicking, the Python tried to move its body and constrict me by coiling around me¡ª¡ªbut I just calmly jumped in place to avoid that and launched another thrust at it.


    ¡ª¡ªThis is fun. I¡¯m having so much fun right now.


    I was feeling the same sensation I felt whenever my father made me exchange blows with him until I was a step away from death.


    My brain perfectly grasped every morsel of info that my eyes saw, everything around me felt like it was moving in slow motion. I was fully in the Zone.


    Until now, my brain could react my body was never able to keep up but¡­¡­..now, still just barely, but my body is able to match my brain.


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    After being stabbed through twice, the Venom Python¡¯s body writhed in agony.


    In an unsightly manner, it tried to bite me again but I let it come close enough to me before simply side stepping its dull attack and then stabbed right through its head from the side with my steel sword.


    Pulling the sword back out quickly, I jumped backwards to create a distance¡ª¡ªbut the Venom Python simply fell to the ground in pain.


    After getting stabbed in three different spots, and it had been poisoned as well.


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    Even if it is a big sized Venom Python, it had to be a fatal wound.


    Regardless, now only 3 of the original 6 remained.


    At this point, I¡¯m not even afraid of losing anymore.


    I exhaled deeply, and thought of next move.


    I could call Esta and Ralf, and deal with these 3 together easily.


    As I am right now, I could easily protect those 2 while fighting.


    It¡¯s a good chance to gain some experience for them as well, so that should be priority, I know, but¡­¡­..


    I feel bad for them but I really want to end this solo.


    I flicked my sword to get rid of the blood on it and then applied another coat of Jinpi potion on it.


    And then I headed directly at the Venom Pythons in front of me.


    Even though they had seen 3 of their kin die in front of them, they still showed no sign of running away like that Snow Panther did, in fact all 3 of them began moving towards me together.


    Thought I could only take on 2 at a time at best but, now that I was in the zone, even 3 together seemed doable.


    As the distance between us kept reducing, and I entered right within their range¡ª¡ªOne of them jumped to bite at me with the speed of a bullet.


    It was the usual dull and uninspired way of attack but if its three attacking together, it was not so simple.


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    I need to avoid the first lunge with minimal movement while getting ready for the attack from the next two as well.


    I made sure to always dodge away from their face as I continued to match their timing, and avoid every single attack they made one after another.


    I stopped their attempts at trying to constrict me with me sword but made sure not defend against their bites with my sword, and instead dodged them fully.


    ¡ª¡ªThis¡¯ll be some good practice.


    Having gotten used to their movements, I could kill them whenever I wanted but¡­¡­¡­


    They wasted my time by trying to kill me, the least they can do is go along with my training as payback, otherwise it won¡¯t be worth it.


    And so I didn¡¯t attack and simply continued to dodge until their movements began to get dull.


    At first, I had to deflect their faces with the sword whenever they attacked from all sides together from 3 directions, but now, having gotten used to it, I wasn¡¯t even getting a scratch.


    Since I had stabbed all three of them once with my steel sword, their movements began to grow dull over time.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-I guess they¡¯ve reached their limit huh?¡±


    Their menacing hissing had disappeared, and even their bites were getting slower and slower.


    ¡­¡­..at this speed, this barely counts as training anymore so I decided to finish them off.


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    I matched the rhythm of their now dull attacks, and then smashed its head by driving my sword into it¡ª¡ª-that¡¯s one down.


    Then I rushed in to the next and cut its abdomen in half, and as it dropped unable to move, I then drove my sword into its head¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s two.


    As the last finally began to retreat in fear, I slowly walked towards it¡­¡­¡­only for it to lunge at me to bite one last time as a last ditch effort trying to catch me off guard.


    I casually moved to the side to avoid it¡ª¨Cand as I saw its neck pass by right in front of my eyes, I slashed it down from above cleanly into two pieces.


    With the momentum of the lunge the head flew ahead, but the body fell right there¡­¡­¡­..


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    With all six of the Venom Pythons finally dead, silence enveloped the Northern Mountains.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Fuuh, that was a tough fight.¡±


    My whole body felt languid and my vision grew hazy.


    I probably showed the most amount of focus in my entire life during this fight, and I feel like I overdid it by greatly surpassing the limits of my actual body.


    When I had tried to attack the Venom Python trying to eat the Horndeer I was unable to cut through it cleanly in a single slash yet by the end here, I was doing it very easily.


    After wiping the blood off my sword, I sheathed it back and headed towards the two who were still hiding behind [Earth Wall] to call them out.


    ¡°Esta, Ralf, It¡¯s over. You can release the magic now.¡±


    As I put my hand on the [EarthWall] and called out to them, the magic was released immediately and the wall crumbled instantly.

 CH 113

    Weird Face


    And so the Earth Wall that Esta had created crumbled into dust.


    And the two that appeared from within it¡ª¡ªhad a horrible expression due to, for whatever reason, crying too much.


    ¡°fu¡­¡­.fufu,ahahhaha!¡­¡­¡­..C¡¯mon now I¡¯m already very tired. Don¡¯t make me laugh on top with those weird faces.¡±


    ¡°Be¡¯re nod drying to mage you laugh!!! Both me and Esda were borried sick for you!! Yet you¡ª-Gris, you¡¯re really amazing!!!¡± (T/n: in case its not obvious, they¡¯re not typos just slurring because they¡¯re crying)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Really, I¡¯m really glad you¡¯re alright¡­¡±


    Bothe of their noses were dripping from crying too much, and seeing them like that made me burst out in laughter but¡­¡­¡­I guess they really were worried sick.


    Ralf wiped his face with his sleeved, and Esta¡ª¨C


    After muttering that, she ran and jumped straight at me.


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    I was surprised from her sudden actions which made me freeze for a second but, I somehow dodged her jump by rolling on the ground.


    ¡ª¡ªWell that was dangerous. Thanks to my training against Venom Pythons and their lunges, I was able to react in time.


    Having dodged that, Esta couldn¡¯t stop her momentum and face planted straight into the snow.


    ¡°Puuah!¡­¡­Wh-why did you aboid me!!?¡ª¨CHow cruel!¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m completely drenched in venom Python¡¯s poison right now, you know. And even Jinpi potion is sticking all over my hands, so it¡¯s genuinely dangerous to touch me right now.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Oh, is that so.¡±


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    Hearing my calm and reasonable response, Esta turned red from embarrassment.


    Anyway, since I¡¯m technically a dangerous person right now after being covered in all sorts of poison, I maintained a distance with both of them while we talked.


    ¡°First of all, I have killed all 6 venom pythons. Since they said, there were at least 10of them here, I do want to kill 3 more but¡ª¡ª-before that, I¡¯m gonna go and cut of the tongues from the 6 here for proof so you two stop your crying in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°God id.¡±


    ¡°undersdood.¡±


    And so I moved to cut off the tongues from the Venom Pythons


    Their jet black snake skin also looks like it¡¯d sell for a high price but, it¡¯s impossible for us to carry it all back this time around.


    Since their fangs could still have poison on them, I did the tongue cutting work all by myself.


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    In the meantime, having finally settled their tears, the two finally returned back to normal, though their  eyes were still red.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done here¡­¡­¡­You two, are you done crying now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sorry for showing a shameful sight!¡±


    ¡°Me too¡­¡­Apologies for my actions earlier!¡±


    Ralf apologized with a refreshing smile while Esta bowed her head while blushing still.


    Well, with their apologies out of the way, I wanted to talk about our next course of action.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your apologies. We need to plan for what comes next.¡±


    ¡°What comes next¡­¡­¡­? Are we not returning to Oxter? We need to report on what Greath had done!¡±


    ¡°no, the vice chief said that there were 10 so we need to kill 3 more otherwise the request won¡¯t be considered complete.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious¡­¡­¡­.You almost died you know?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, that¡¯s just you lot being overdramatic. I said this before the fight, but to me who has [Null Poison] they are just slightly oversized snakes. Of course, it was dangerous I won¡¯t deny, but never did I think that I was going to get killed here.¡±


    ¡°The difference between your personal feelings on the matter and what we were going through is incredible¡­¡­¡­..Inside the [Earth Wall], both me and Ralf were huddled together desperately praying for your safety you know.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t ask for it did I?¡ª¡ª-And as you can see, not a single wound on my body, is there?¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right¡­¡­¡­okay then, I suppose us three will now go and kill the remaining Venom Pythons then?¡±


    Right, that would be the normal thing to do but¡­¡­..


    ¡ª¡ª-We need to also think about to what to do with Greath.


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    ¡°No just that, I¡¯m asking what o do we do about Greath¡­¡­..by the way, I have already decided to kill him.¡±


    ¡°k-kill¡­¡­you will commit murder?¡±


    ¡°Greath led those Venom Pythons to us with intent to kill us after all¡­¡­.Eye for an eye. Payback what you get. Those who try to kill me will get the same in return. And well, he did try to kill me¡ª¨CSo I will kill.¡±


    With murderous intent filled within, I told so to them both.


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    Both of them shuddered for a moment, and straightened their backs.


    ¡°If it¡¯s known that we killed him, we won¡¯t get away so easily, and quite frankly I¡¯m against committing murder¡­¡­¡­But, it¡¯s fact that Greath tried to kill us all, and I can¡¯t let that go either.¡±


    ¡°C-could we not find some kind of middle ground¡­¡­..?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve turned a blind eye to his actions one too many times already, and now he¡¯s done something unforgivable. Even if you two don¡¯t want to be a part of it, I¡¯ll go kill him myself.¡±


    Realizing that my resolve was set, both slowly nodded and raised their heads.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Got it. If you aren¡¯t going to change your mind then we¡¯ll help as well. We promised to share each other¡¯s burdens after all.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. I will go along with Chris-san, always.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, for making you two go along with my selfishness¡­¡­..Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t make either of you bear the burden of murder though.¡±


    ¡°No, if we choose to go along with you, we¡¯ll go all the way! If we let Greath get away, he¡¯ll somehow manipulate things to make us look like the bad guys again. I¡¯m not that na?ve.¡±


    And thus, rather than the remaining venom Pythons, we decided to go after Greath and his party who had jumped off the cliff.


    If we let them get back all the way to Oxter, killing him would become a whole lot harder.


    They must already be going back thinking that we¡¯re dead so¡ª¡ªif we run at full speed we should be able to catch up to him.


    After burning away all the Venom Python corpses, we began rushing down the mountain path to catch up to them.

 CH 114

    One on One Fight


    Climbing down the Northern mountains, and now in the middle of the Indera marshlands.


    Right in front of us, I caught sight of 5 people talking and laughing with a stupidly loud voice.


    The one with a exceptionally huge frame was most certainly Greath.


    Judging by how unhesitatingly they jumped off that cliff and the fact that there were no bodies at the foot of the mountain, I already knew¡ª¡ªbut I guess they really did all survive that jump off that cliff.


    ¡°Hey that one in front of is¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s g-greath right?¡±


    ¡°pretty sure, yeah. Looks like we caught up.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s finally about to begin¡­¡­¡­.Chris-san, what should the two of us do?¡±


    ¡°To be frank, neither of you need to do anything specific but if any of his lackeys move, I need you two to hold them down. You don¡¯t need to kill those extras¡­¡­..Well, not like people like them would make much of a difference even if they tried to.¡±


    Muttering that, I began approaching closer to them.


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    Were they that dull, or they simply weren¡¯t being cautious at all¡ª¡ªneither Greath or his party members seem to notice me coming closer to them.


    Now then, what should I do?


    I could just stealthily approach from the back and stab him with my steel sword and it¡¯ll be all over but¡­¡­..that¡¯ll cause problems later.


    I don¡¯t want to really involve Ralf and Esta too much in this, but I actually need his lackeys to get involved


    Then first¡­¡­.alright, I think I¡¯ll go and instigate and intimidate them straight upfront.


    ¡°oi, look this way, Greath.¡±


    After coming close enough, I spoke that¡­¡­¡­which made all of them jump in place and they turned around like machines to see where the voice came from.


    They seemed to chatting merrily but¡ª¡ªseeing my face alone, completely changed their expression.


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    ¡°Y-y-you¡­¡­..HOW ARE YOU ALIVE!! How did¡­¡­.how the hell did you escape from that situation!?!?¡±


    ¡°Escape? Why would I have to escape?¡±


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    As Greath asked that with a cramped up face, I simply threw the bag with the tongues of the Venom Pythons in it in front of him.


    As the bag landed on the marshlands grounds, its contents spilled to be shown to all.


    His Party stared at the contents and realizing that they were indeed Venom Pythons¡¯ tongues¡­¡­..suddenly began shaking in their place.


    ¡ª¡ªthese guys had no idea of what my skill was.


    As long as I have [Null Poison], venom Python is basically a gold rank request.


    But to these who had no idea about that, it looked like I had just killed 6 platinum rank monsters together¡ª¡ªthat too, without spending much time.


    ¡°I just properly subjugated them. Including the ones you lot brought¡ª¡ªSay, Greath. Did you really a think a mere normal Silver Rank would ever pick a fight against you for no reason? I did it because I know I¡¯m stronger than you.¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re lying!! H-H-HOW!? H-H-HOW DID YOU!!? That many Venom Pythons¡­¡­..!!!¡±


    ¡°You sure talked a lot of shit to me until now, didn¡¯t you? You know, I really wanted let it all go and forget about it but¡­¡­¡­¡­Today¡¯s ¡®Train¡¯ incident, you clearly tried to kill me today didn¡¯t you? Which means¡ª¡ªyou were prepared to get killed in return as well, right??¡±


    When proclaimed as such, the 4 party members shivering threw their weapons into the ground and slammed their head into the marshland to bow in apology.


    And began, begging for me to let them live.


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    ¡­¡­..As expected, those who easily bend to power will do it against anyone.


    They never even fought me, neither did they see me fight yet their minds broke so quickly. Too quickly, honestly.


    Well, this just shows that they didn¡¯t have that much real trust in Greath in the first place.


    ¡°Y-You bastards, are you joking!! It¡¯s a bluff! He¡¯s obviously bluffing!! Get up, get up and attack him!!!¡±


    ¡°if you think it¡¯s a bluff, why the hell are you not attacking first then¡­¡­¡­.GREATH! I AM PRETTY DAMN PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW.¡±


    True, there was little chance I would die to those Venom Pythons.


    ¡­¡­¡­.But that wasn¡¯t the case for Ralf and Esta.


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    Those two didn¡¯t possess any resistance to poison, and if anything had gone wrong, there was a strong chance they would have lost their lives.


    I resisted from instantly lashing out and ripping his neck off, and continued provoking Greath.


    Under these circumstances, from the fact that I was asking for a 1v1, I think even Greath realized that this was not a bluff¡­¡­..


    But his petty pride must be getting in the way, as he slowly, step by step walked towards me while his body twitched and shook.


    ¡°Calm down. The two behind me won¡¯t attack either. This is a 1v1, just me and you. I just took down 6 Venom Pythons on my own, and you surely could take on 4, the number you felt comfortable in leading to us.¡ª¡ª-I feel like the battle¡¯s already decided though, to be honest.¡±


    ¡°SH-SHUT UPP!! Ha, You¡¯re just bluffing! There¡¯s no way its not a bluff! Lying bastards like you¡­¡­.I-I¡¯ll definitely K-KILL YOU!!¡±


    He raised the axe he had been carrying, and aimed it at me.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Facing me him like this, I could tell, Greath was no doubt a genuinely strong adventurer.


    He seemed to possess many skills, and if he fought in perfect mental condition, this would have been a much closer fight.


    ¡ª¡ªBut, getting completely fooled by my bluff, and getting scared before the fight even began, his chances of winning were zero from the start.


    Allow me, to repay all of my debts to you right here, right now.


    ¡°[Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement][Fortification]!!¡±


    Activating all his enhancement skills, Greath faced me.


    ¡ª¨Cand thus, the battle to end this all began.

 CH 115

    Complete Conclusion


    He was faster than the Orc General, but¡ª¡ª slower than the Venom Pythons.


    I dodged the Axe swung down on me, and stabbed my steel sword at his fat arms.


    Maybe because of his skills, the sensation I got was like hitting a rock but¡­¡­.


    I put all my strength into striking a single point with the thin steel sword and¡ª¨Csucceeded in piercing through.


    ¡°UGUAAHHHHH!! M-my arm¡­¡­.uguguuhh¡ª¡ª-Wh-Why!? Even though I activated [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] and even [Fortification]!!¡±


    ¡°you talk too much. C¡¯mon, hurry up and come at me.¡±


    Since I washed my sword of all the poison before the battle, he wasn¡¯t going to have his body go numb mid battle either.


    Or so I thought but¡ª¨C


    After just one swing of the axe, he was already slowly retreating backwards.


    ¡­¡­¡­..no way, did this guy actually lose all his will to fight after getting stabbed just once, did he?


    ¡°Why are going backwards? The battle only just began. C¡¯mon, come attack me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..U,Ughh, My arm, My arm hurts so much!!!!!¡±


    While pathetically crying, he refused to launch another attack so I gave up¡­¡­..and started attacking instead.


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    When I feigned a thrust aimed straight at his face, he dropped his axe and defended his face with both of his hands.


    Feeling disappointed from seeing his defenceless state, I switched my aim to his right thigh and pierced through with my sword.


    ¡°AGYAAAHHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    As he screamed in pain, he fell face down into the marshy ground.


    While getting covered in the mud, he writhed in agony from the pain of his wounds.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­this is so stupid. Completely and utterly worthless.


    This guy really did nothing but pick fights with people who were for sure weaker than him and was protected by strong skills, and must have gotten used to getting out of fights without taking a single wound.


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    That¡¯s why he was exceptionally weak to pain, and his mind broke from just the first stab on his arm.


    Let alone me, neither Ralf or Esta would lose their composure this much even after getting their arm or leg stabbed.


    Perhaps because I intimidated him a bit too much before the fight, it had an effect but I still expected a much better fight from him.


    On top of that, I was planning on slowly and  painfully hurting every part of his body as repayment for every time he caused problem for me but¡­¡­¡­


    This guy, can¡¯t even continue fighting at this point.


    ¡°You, are you really a bloody Platinum Rank adventurer? How did you rise to this point while being this weak?¡±


    ¡°Ughugigigi!¡ª-It-It hurts, my arm, my leg!! So-someone please¡­¡­h-help me please!!!¡±


    He¡¯s feeling so much pain he couldn¡¯t even hear me talk anymore it seems as he rolled around the marshland. Seeing him like that, I gave a sigh and turned towards Esta and Ralf instead.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Chris, is it over?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet¡ª¡ª-Sorry, but can you two head back to Oxter ahead of me?¡±


    ¡°No way! Greath¡¯s party members are still al here, if they attack Chris-san¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. They are just Greath¡¯s lackeys. Seeing me absolutely dominate him, I doubt any of them would even think of attacking me¡­¡­.And even if they did, I won¡¯t lose to the likes of them.¡±


    ¡°But still, at least let us watch till the end. We are meant to share each other¡¯s burdens aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen enough. What happens next, I don¡¯t want either of you to witness it. Ralf, Esta, please understand.¡±


    I bowed to them as I made my request.


    I will kill Greath here.


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    ¡ª¡ª-I don¡¯t want these two to see my dark side; it¡¯s just my selfish wish.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Fine. If you are going to go as far as to bow your head for it, we can¡¯t refuse anymore. Just come back to us safely okay?¡ª¡ªAlso, once you¡¯re back we¡¯re gonna have a huge party this time for sure!!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, are you okay with that? If Chris-san¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Esta. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Ralf left the Indera marshlands with Esta, who wasn¡¯t fully convinced still, and headed back towards Oxter ahead of me.


    After making sure that not even their backs were visible, I once again turned back to Greath who was still writhing on the ground.


    ¡­¡­¡­From here on, I need to make it seem like Greath died to Venom Pythons, so I need to make a perfect testimony from his Party members as well.


    If the fact that I killed him spread, it¡¯ll make it difficult for me to stay in Oxter, even though we¡¯ve finally gotten rid of the main problem, Greath.


    ¡°Oi, you guys are prepared for what comes next as well, right?¡±


    I ignored Greath again, and spoke up to his lackeys who were frozen while still bowing with their heads in the ground.


    Having watched Greath completely outdone in a second, these 4 continued apologizing while shivering.


    ¡°I will now¡­¡­..The reason why I let my party members go ahead, was because I plan to kill all of you as well. You can try to run if you want¡ª¨CLet¡¯s see, you¡¯re gonna be the first one.¡±


    ¡°Hii,hiiiiii! I¡¯m sorry!!! W-we had no choice but to obey Greath!! P-please let us live¡­¡­I beg of you, let us live!!!¡±


    ¡°W-we¡¯ll do anything!! We¡¯ll apologize for everything we¡¯ve done¡­¡­..so, so please, FORGIVE US!!¡±


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    All these fine adults were crying like babies and begging for their lives to me.


    Their selfishness made me want to puke.


    I really, really wanted to kill them all as well but¡­¡­.


    ¡°¡ª¨CAlright, I¡¯ll let you live on only one condition.¡±


    ¡°R-really!? P-please, we¡¯ll do anything! Anything you say!!¡±


    ¡°ju-just don¡¯t kill us please!¡±


    ¡°W-what is your condition, please tell us!?¡±


    A single thread dangled at the verge of sure death.


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    All 4 of them jumped at that thin thread as fast as they could.


    And the condition I put up for them was¡ª-


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­You all will Greath who¡¯s rolling in pain over there. Not just one of you, all 4 of you must take part¡ª¡ªif you do that, I¡¯ll let you go.¡±


    I ordered them to kill Greath.


    By making them bear the sin of murder as well, I can completely cover up Greath¡¯s murder with this plan.


    To make sure that none of them ever talk about this, this was the best way.


    ¡°W-we¡¯ll have to kill G-Greath-san¡­¡­?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you really don¡¯t want to that¡¯s okay too. I¡¯ll have to send you all to the other side to cover it all up though.¡±


    ¡°W-we¡¯ll do it! No, please let us do it!!¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­..then you can live. Focus on attacking only the limbs¡ª-Now get to it.¡±


    Seeing them enter a frenzy, I ordered them to act upon their words right now.


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    They all picked up their weapons, and began walking towards Greath who was still rolling in pain, and while saying words of apology, began stabbing him with their swords.


    ¡°y-y-you BASTARDS!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOOIINNGG!!!!!¡ª¨CSt-STOP¡­¡­.ugh, pl-Please, STOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!¡±


    His skills must have run out as well, as the swords began stabbing easily into his body.


    And as Greath grew weaker and weaker perhaps their pent up guilt began flaring up so¡­¡­..


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    Their mutterings changed from words of apology to words of resentment for making them do all sorts of things they didn¡¯t want to and hate for what all he did to them, and by the end they were slashing at his limbs with the face of madmen.


    Bloodied all over, his body stopped moving and the lackeys fell to the ground and began crying with rough breathing.


    To check whether Greath was already dead, I began approaching¡ª¡ª¨Cand against all odds, this guy was somehow still alive.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Pl¡­.eas¡­¡­..He¡­¡­lp¡­¡­¡­me¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll¡­¡­¡­¡­be¡­¡­of¡­..use¡­¡­.to¡­¡­..you.¡±


    With a feeble voice, he still managed to beg for his life.


    ¡ª¡ª¨Cbut this was his last wish. Who was I to deny his last wish?


    ¡°Oh yeah, don¡¯t you worry. You most certainly will be of use to me.¡±


    I gave a curt bow in front of Greath¡ª¨Cand then stabbed my sword right through his head.


    A part of Indera marshlands got stained in red, and Greath¡¯s corpse lay dead centre of it all.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­I have finally ended up killing a human.


    Yet, I felt no guilt, all I had in my head was the idea to steal all of his skills.


    It seems, I have inherited my Father¡¯s blood after all, and was certainly the blood brother of that Klaus.


    ¡ª¡ª-but, once again I swore to myself to never hurt anyone who doesn¡¯t try to hurt me.


    Kindness to those who offer kindness. Violence to those who offer the same. Payback what you get. Eye for an eye. And¡ª¨CKill if they try to kill you.


    These were my beliefs, my ideals, and until I completed my revenge on Klaus¡­¡­.I will continue to struggle in this dog-eat-dog world, where the weak die and only the strong reach the top. Until the day I die. I swore.

 CH 116

    It¡¯s Finally All Over¡­.


    ¡°I-is, G-greath-san, d-dead?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just now. By your hands¡ª and mine.¡±


    ¡°u, u, uu¡­¡­..¡±


    The lackeys began to sob uncontrollably.


    Their minds sure work conveniently huh.


    ¡°With this, you all are criminals who killed your own party leader. If I report this to the guild, your lives would be over for good.¡ª¡ªSo listen carefully, [Greath, died after getting eaten by some Venom Pythons], that¡¯s what you¡¯re going to say. Are we clear?¡±


    After saying that, to hide Greath¡¯s body, I carried it all the way to Carlisle forest.


    It¡¯d be all a waste if someone saw me on the way there, so I put his body in a bag to hide it and made the lackeys carry it while I kept an eye on our surroundings.


    After safely reaching Carlisle forest without getting noticed or caught by anyone, I made them carry it around the area my base was located.


    ¡­¡­¡­all that¡¯s left, is for me to bring the body to the Ongneer tree.


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    ¡°Here¡¯s good enough. You lot can now go back to Oxter. And report to the guild in detail of ¡®what happened today¡¯, alright?¡±


    ¡°Ye-yes, understood.¡±


    ¡°And also, never ever try and even interact with us ever again¡ª¡ª-if you do so, I¡¯ll leave you alone as well.¡±


    ¡°y-yes, of course. We-we¡¯ll never come even close to your party ever again.¡±


    After making the lackeys go back to Oxter ahead of me, I alone stayed in the forest.


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    ¡­¡­¡­To make the Ongneer use Greath as host, I need to carry his body close to that goblin corpse after all.


    My last attempt had been a failure, but now I had someone even stronger than the Orc general with a lot more skills as well.


    I never thought I¡¯d be experimenting with human bodies but, if this succeeds¡ª¡ª-that¡¯ll be one hell of an accomplishment for me.


    With the bodybag on my back, I headed towards the place where the Ongneer grew.


    ¡°Looks like,¡­¡­.the Kobold didn¡¯t sprout after all.¡±


    Last time I was here, I did leave a Kobold body near it as well but it didn¡¯t seem to have grown out of the Kobold.


    Was it lacking in nutrients, or did fail in planting itself in the first place?


    I didn¡¯t know what was the actual reason but it was clear that the Kobold was a failure.


    ¡­¡­..Which meant there was a chance that Greath might end up as a failure as well but, I have no other choice but to try and hope.


    Taking out the body from the bag, I lay it down alongside the goblin¡¯s corpse from which ongneer grew.


    It was a completely bloodied body in a miserable state but this time I made sure to cause no damage to the heart.


    I just killed him a while ago, so there should be no issues with the amount of nutrients available either.


    I realize that my actions had long passed the realm of what sane people do but, there was no difference between whether I bury him or let an Ongneer use it as host, was there?


    Then, just as Greath himself proclaimed with his dying breath, letting him be of use to me after death was a better choice.


    ¡­¡­¡­Though I feel this was not what he originally meant.


    Regardless, after leaving his corpse, I left the Carlisle forest.


    A lot of things happened today and I was tired enough to not want to move anymore.


    But I desperately made my heavy legs function, and first took a bath in nearby pond to get rid of the blood and changing clothes, else I¡¯ll catch the eye of everyone; and then returned to Oxter.


    .


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    .


    By the time I reached home, it was already dark outside.


    The two of them had obviously returned home safely, and I could see the lights inside the house.


    Opening the door, and entering inside¡ª¡ª


    I saw Ralf and Esta both come out to welcome me back home.


    I wasn¡¯t sure why but for whatever reason, I felt a bit like crying¡­¡­..


    Watching Snow helplessly trying to get out of Esta¡¯s embrace and jump out, changed my mood and I was able to hold those tears back.


    ¡°I¡¯m back¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.So it¡¯s all over?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, its finally over¡­¡­¡­.Sorry, for making you two go along with this stuff.¡±


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    ¡°I told you, don¡¯t apologize! We may have been against killing Greath but it¡¯s a fact that he would have tried to kill us again if we had let him go. It¡¯s us that are still too soft and na?ve, Chris, you made the right choice, I know that.¡±


    ¡°I agree¡ª¡ªSo please, Chris-san, don¡¯t apologize.¡±


    ¡°Auwoo!¡±


    Seeing those two, and sensing the mood, Snow gave a small howl as well.


    Snow seemed to be trying to cheer us up which made all of us break into smiles.


    ¡°Greath tried to get us killed but¡­¡­¡­the emergency quest was also half-completed , let¡¯s go and party! You promised we¡¯ll have a big one! Didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Sorry, but I¡¯m really not in the mood today. I¡¯m extremely tired, and just want to sleep so we can go have fun tomorrow, okay?¡±


    I haven¡¯t been this tired in a long, long time.


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    My feet felt heavy, and after finally coming back home I don¡¯t have the energy to go and have a party.


    But, completely ignoring me feelings¡ª¨C


    ¡°Eh? But I already called even Shantell-san to celebrate?¡±


    Tilting her head, Esta innocently made a ridiculous declaration.


    I tried to object against it instantly but right at that moment¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°pardon the intrusion!! Shantell-san has come to play!!!¡±


    The door of our house slammed open, and Shantell showed up with incredible timing.


    Shantell who had no idea about our situation, was energetic as always¡ª¨Cno, because she was invited to ¡®party¡¯, she seemed even more energetic than usual.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I can¡¯t believe you actually called her.¡±


    ¡°Well! With Shantell-san here, the mood will become brighter no matter what happens!¡±


    ¡°Alright! Now you can¡¯t run away Chris! Everyone, it¡¯s party time!!!!¡±


    ¡°Awoooo!!¡±


    ¡°Party! Party! ¡ª¡ªI even brought all sorts of party goods, so let¡¯s have fun till we drop tonight!!¡±


    With Shantell involved as well, the three + one animal began frolicking energetically.


    Seeing such a view, you really can¡¯t stay gloomy even if you try, it¡¯s true.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­guess I have no choice.


    I stopped thinking about all the dark stuff, and decided to enjoy myself as well.


    So I gave myself up and thoroughly enjoyed the big party hosted by Ralf late into the night.

 CH 117

    What Happened after That Day.


    A week has passed since the emergency request.


    No one found out the truth about what happened to Greath, and the case was officially declared as death by being eaten by Venom Pythons.


    As for Greath¡¯s lackeys, with the leader dead, the party disbanded and they all left to different towns.


    Even if they change their minds later after leaving the town and tell the truth, they¡¯ll have no proof to go with it and will have no way of proving what had actually happened.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Well, I doubt they¡¯d do that in the first place, having seen their actions for a while I know what kind of people they really are.


    As for the reward for the emergency quest, since Greath was the main receiver of the request and since he had ¡®died in action in servitude to the people¡¯¡ª¨Ca third of the reward went to his family.


    We only got a part of the total reward as well but that was still around 3 platinum coins which was still a hefty reward.


    On top of that, the vice-chief definitely suspected that I had gotten rid of Greath, so he added a further 5 platinum coin reward for my ¡®work¡¯.


    Greath¡¯s lackeys, fearing me, tried to hand me their share of 3 platinum coins to me as well but I refused that.


    Consider it hush money.


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    Also¡­¡­.we had finally succeeded in finishing a platinum rank emergency request.


    Since we went back to the mountains the next day to kill the remaining Venom Pythons as well, our work was acknowledged and all three of us were promoted to Gold Rank.


    Even though we had just recently promoted to Silver, I kinda wanted to go about doing all sorts of silver rank jobs one by one but, there was no loss in getting promoted instantly either.


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    I accepted the promotion with gratitude and thus becoming gold rank adventurers together.


    Also, during this week, the guild chief who was taking Greath¡¯s side till the end, finally resigned from the seat of guild chief.


    He didn¡¯t reveal the reason, but it must be because of Greath dying.


    The day he stopped being the guild chief. We just happened to run into him at the guild on his last day, I saw him finally smiling instead of having his perpetual sour look¡­¡­¡­


    And the rest of the employees were seeing him off with tears in their eyes.


    Just like the vice-chief had said, the fact that the rest of the guild went along with his actions even if unwillingly, showed that he was still well liked among his colleagues.


    And¡ª¨Cas he passed by me, in a very small voice- ¡°I¡¯m sorry for everything.¡± He said that, and then left the guild.


    It was an unsatisfying and selfish way to go from my perspective, but the vice-chief bowed and begged to me to forgive him, so I decided to just forget about the guild chief as a whole.


    ¡­¡­..Well, if he ever got in my ever again, even a little, I will genuinely kill him right there and then.


    And of course, as his successor, the person who took the seat of the Guild Chief was of course, our one and only Vice Chief.


    He was still young and strong minded, so for a long time from here onwards, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll take good care of the guild.


    Perhaps that is presumptuous on my part, but I genuinely believe that to be the case.


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    ¡­¡­¡­¡­And, that concludes everything that happened during this week. For one, with Greath now gone, we can finally live in peace.


    And today again, I will go and complete all sorts of requests, I thought as I began my day getting up from my bed when¡ª-


    ¡°Chris! Hurry up and come down!!¡±


    From the ground floor, Ralf shouted, calling for me.


    Going down, Ralf pulled me and made me sit on the table.


    While rubbing my still sleepy eyes, I looked around the room to see Esta feeding Snow in the kitchen, while also preparing our breakfast.


    ¡°I have good news and bad news, which do you want first?¡±


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    While I was preoccupied with what Esta was cooking for breakfast, Ralf suddenly said that to me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care either way. Just talk.¡±


    ¡°Then¡ª¨Clet¡¯s start with the good news! The vice-chief dropped by early morning before heading to work, and dropped the goods you had asked for!¡±


    ¡°Really!? Show me, quick!¡±


    Those words alone, instantly woke me up.


    Finally, it¡¯s here.


    I opened the heavily sealed box, and brought out the small bottle that was within and held it up against the light to properly observe it from all sides.


    As for what was contained in this bottle?¡­¡­¡­..it was the poison from the Venom Pythons that we had subjugated.


    We had ended up burning the corpses of the six we had killed the day I killed Greath, but for the 4 we subjugated the next day, I left a request to the vice chief to have the poison from their bodies be extracted and given to me.


    As a possessor of [Null Poison] I could have done it myself but, I wasn¡¯t knowledgeable on how to extract their poison so I figured putting in a request was the better option¡­¡­¡­¡­so I¡¯m glad to see I made the right decision.


    If you were to ask what do I need this Poison for? Well, to drink and consume it of course.


    I¡¯ve been wondering whether it¡¯s the plant or the poison itself that holds the ability increasing effect, so I¡¯m going to test it by drinking a Venom Python¡¯s poison.


    ¡­¡­..My personal opinion is that the chances of that are actually very low but, there¡¯s no point in not trying either.


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    Failure was not a bad thing after all, and even if it was fail¡ª¨CI could just use this Venom Poison to imbue my blades with like I did when fighting these monsters.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Also, Ralf, he¡¯s not Vice chief anymore. He is THE guild chief.¡±


    ¡°yeah yeah, whatever, vice chief is vice chief to me. Think of it as a nickname for the guild chief!¡±


    ¡°What kind of stupidly complicated nickname is that?¡±


    When I tried to correct him, Ralf instead came up with something even sillier.


    ¡­¡­..Well, I suppose even I end up calling him vice chief every now and then though, so maybe it really is okay to just keep calling him vice chief.


    Leaving aside the nickname stuff, I asked what the bad news was then.


    ¡°So, go on, what¡¯s the bad news you have for me?¡±


    ¡°This is also something I heard from the vice chief but¡­¡­.it¡¯s info on your younger brother, Klaus.¡±


    Bad news regarding Klaus¡­¡­


    Just when Greath¡¯s case finally cleared up, another slumbering problem woke up to trouble me again, did it?


    It really is one thing after another for me.


    I could smell more problems brewing in my future already.

 CH 118

    Bad News


    We were talking about this so called bad news that Ralf had received from the Vice Chief about Klaus.


    I had a bad premonition, but it¡¯s not like I can ignore it or choose not hear it either.


    ¡°So what info do you have on Klaus? If you said its bad news, wait, did he find where I am¡ª¡ªand is coming for me here?¡±


    ¡°Wait wait! It¡¯s not that bad of a news! Apparently Klaus cleared the floor 50 of the Edestor Dungeon in the fastest time recorded in history!¡±


    [Edestor]¡­¡­.


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    If I recall correctly, it¡¯s one of the three great cities, as huge as Norfast or the Capital, and the dungeon city mentioned here shows up even in the tales of the first hero.


    And in that Edestor dungeon, he had cleared the floor 50 in the fast time ever recorded?


    While we were squabbling with Greath here in Oxter¡ª¡ªKlaus had cleared a dungeon.


    While it made me envious and a bit anxious, this is not something to panic about.


    ¡°Does this even count as bad news¡­¡­..?


    ¡°of course it does! In the first place, the amount of adventurers that can clear floor 50 are a rare sight! From what I¡¯ve heard¡ª¨Cevery adventurer that has cleared floor 50 were at least Diamond Rank!¡±


    Diamond, huh¡­¡­¡­


    We just promoted to Gold rank a couple days ago, yet Klaus and his group were already Diamond.


    Gold, Platinum, then Mithril, and then came Diamond.


    When you think about it that way, it¡¯s just a difference of 3 ranks. His back suddenly seemed a whole lot closer, if anything.


    When I ran away from home, I was a failed vagrant and he was a Hero candidate¡ª¡ª-the difference was quite literally similar to the heaven and the earth.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Why are you grinning after hearing that!?¡±


    ¡°Sure, there¡¯s still a big gap between us but if anything, aren¡¯t we closing the gap on him? I mean, this party¡­¡­ was originally made of a failed vagrant, and 2 kids who could barely make a living in the slums, remember?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I-I guess! We¡¯ve been living so good these days I kinda forgot where we were just a little while ago. When you put it that way¡­¡­..I guess we are closing in huh!?¡±


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    Letting our positivity rule our thinking, both Ralf and myself became happier.


    And it¡¯s true. While on rent, we have a mansion to live in, and from here on, I have a precise path for quickly increasing my abilities as well now.


    ¡ª¡ªI don¡¯t need to panic. Not just yet.


    ¡°Exactly!¡­¡­.well, all that said, it¡¯s fact that there¡¯s still a pretty wide gap between us and Klaus¡¯ abilities. So let¡¯s work even hard and keep at it.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!! I was feeling a bit depressed but now, I¡¯m all motivated again!¡­¡­¡­Ah, right! Also, there¡¯s someone looking for you in Norfast as well. The vice chief told me to warn you to be careful.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..What?¡±


    Right when the conversation was ending at a nice point, Ralf suddenly dropped a real bombshell.


    ¡­¡­¡­Why the hell would you not tell me that first you dumbass!!?


    ¡°Hey, That¡¯s the actual bad news! Why the hell did you think Klaus clearing some dungeon was worse than this!?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh? But it¡¯s in Norfast right? Why would it affect us here?¡±


    ¡°Haaah, whatever. Just explain, properly, what did he say?¡±


    ¡°That it¡¯s just one guy constantly looking for you. A middle aged man apparently. The vice chief didn¡¯t know the exact details either so that¡¯s all he told me.¡±


    Just one middle-aged man eh.


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    I had no idea who it could be but it¡¯s more than likely a man sent by Klaus.


    ¡­¡­¡­damn, they¡¯ve even started searching for me in other big cities already?


    Even though he¡¯s been clearing dungeons as well, he sure is a spiteful guy.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a pursuer sent by Klaus, if we¡¯re careless they¡¯ll find us soon enough. I¡¯ll start looking into this as well.¡±


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    ¡°I feel like you¡¯re worrying too much though! Well, that¡¯s your forte so I¡¯ll let you handle this stuff I guess.¡±


    Right as our conversation ended, Esta brought in our breakfast.


    Bread, eggs sunny side up, sausages and yogurt.


    Putting the stuff about the pursuer in the back of my mind, I do plan to keep a lookout for this¡ª¡ª¨C


    But first, let me enjoy this gloriously delicious looking breakfast alright.

 CH 119

    The Things We All have to do


    Since the day I heard all that info on Klaus, another 2 weeks had passed.


    As for what we did during these 2 weeks, well, nothing too special, as we simply continued earning money while earnestly completing silver rank requests.


    The reward from the emergency request, the reward for eliminating Greath, as well as the reward from the various requests in these last three weeks; thanks to all of that, we have saved up on a lot of money.


    And so¡ª¨Cfor the next two weeks, I¡¯ll be secluding myself once again inside the  Carlisle forest for the next two weeks.


    I haven¡¯t started eating them but my gardening has been going well, so there wasn¡¯t any real reason for me to stay there for so long anymore, or so you¡¯d think but this time around, my main objective of going in the forest was to find a completely new Ongneer plant.


    I have only found the one growing on the Goblin corpse until now, and the nutrients from the goblin must be running out as it was showing signs of withering the last time I saw it.


    In the off chance, it doesn¡¯t plant itself into Greath¡¯s body, I will lose access to Ongneer as a whole, so I had to find another new Ongneer at all costs.


    And thus, I decided that I¡¯ll head to Carlisle forest to look for one.


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    My original plan, is to search for a new plant for the entirety of the first week. If I find one, I¡¯ll use the next week to return to my usual poisonous plant gathering, and if I don¡¯t find one, I¡¯ll use the remaining week in search as well.


    ¡°So you¡¯re leaving for the forest today for two weeks right?¡±


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    ¡°Yeah, you two aren¡¯t planning to do requests as usual this time around though if I recall.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Me and Ralf are thinking of heading to Norfast. We¡¯re going to try and reverse-search the guy looking for your whereabouts Chris-san, gather some info in general as well as do some shopping at the same time.¡±


    ¡°I see. Do be very careful though. I think you two will be fine but there¡¯s a chance that both of your faces are already known as well as being related to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll stay on guard!¡±


    Apparently these two are planning on going to one of the three great cities, Norfast.


    Just as I explore the forests, these two are also looking for ways to further get stronger.


    Snow, who remained, was originally going to come with me to the forest but¡ª-


    Shantell enthusiastically asked and promised to take good care of Snow so we¡¯re gonna take her word for it this time around.


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    Since I¡¯ll be searching for Ongneer, I¡¯ll be spending most of my time away from the base so it¡¯ll be more fun for Snow to stay with Shantell as well.


    Well, just like last time, I would have just grabbed its old friend and made it play with Snow while I was away, but this works as well.


    And so, while it¡¯ll only be for two weeks, we¡¯ll be going on our separate ways doing our own thing.


    In these two weeks, maybe these two will grow exponentially more than they would normally, and so I¡¯ll need to get some results to not fall behind as well.


    Soon after, I picked up my luggage that I had packed and set yesterday, and began on my way to the Carlisle forest.


    .


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    .


    After leaving Oxter and reaching the forest, I quickly made my way to my base and dropped my luggage and then¡­¡­¡­


    Headed straight to check on Greath¡¯s corpse.


    Feelings wise, it might have been better to leave it for last like last time but, this time around I need to check the status of Greath¡¯s corpse before I start as it directly affects my actions here.


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    It¡¯ll be nice if it probably sprouted, but what was I going to do if it hadn¡¯t?


    Unlike the failure with the Orc General, I made sure to keep his heart undamaged¡­¡­¡­.


    As I continued walking with the unique atmosphere the plant releases as my guide, I finally reached the goblins corpse from which Ongneer grew.


    And then, I looked at Greath¡¯s corpse beside it.


    Just like last time, there were no signs that an animal or even insects had come to eat this corpse.


    You¡¯d think maggots would start growing in a corpse like this but I guess the Ongneer keeps them all away.


    While thinking of such things, I slowly approached closer to his corpse to confirm¡ª¡ª¨C


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.It¡¯s growing, yes.¡±


    An Ongneer plant had most certainly sprouted out of greath¡¯s corpse.


    And unlike the brown withered look that the one from Orc General¡¯s had, multiple roots could be seen wrapping around it, and a fat bud was sprouting out of the place Greath¡¯s heart was.


    I even wondered whether this was like a different species but no, this was another Ongneer plant alright.


    I¡¯m happy. I¡¯m really happy but, more than that¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°¡­¡­..This is ridiculously creepy.¡±


    The goblin¡¯s corpse was pretty creepy on its own but, seeing greath¡¯s corpse like this was on a completely different level.


    It was written in Otto¡¯s book as well, but ¡®every Ongneer has its own characteristics¡¯ finally truly made sense to me.


    ¡­¡­¡­.But, at least I was successful in make it grow from Greath¡¯s corpse.


    Although I felt a bit repulsed by the idea of eating a fruit that grew out of a human¡¯s corpse, but just looking at it I could tell that the amount of potential hidden within this one was in a whole different level when compared to the Goblin¡¯s ongneer.


    Judging from the rate of growth, it is highly likely that the fruit will have grown by the time I leave the forest, so I¡¯ll have to come back to check on this before heading back home.


    Leaving the place, I began my search for a brand new Ongneer plant.

 CH 120

    Search for Ongneer


    4 days had passed since I began my search for a new Ongneer in Carlisle forest.


    I had been searching and exploring the forest in every direction, but I had yet to find anything, not even a trace.


    It poisons its surroundings, it can propagate aggressively, and has no natural enemy, so it wouldn¡¯t be weird if it was growing all over the place.


    ¡­¡­¡­yet, not even a single sign of another plant anywhere could be found.


    Well, calmly thinking, it¡¯s not like it can grow directly in soil like normal plants and considering it failed to bug out of a kobold, normal monsters probably don¡¯t usually have enough nutrients for it to sprout.


    Did the goblin just happen to miraculously have enough nutrients to make it work, or maybe there just weren¡¯t enough monster that were compatible with its propagation in this forest.


    This explained why Otto¡¯s book had no records of Ongneer being in Carlisle forest.


    Judging by how well it stuck to Greath¡¯s corpse, maybe it¡¯d be easier to think of a way to propagate more out of that plant itself¡­¡­.


    But first, let¡¯s not give up before the original planned 1 week had passed.


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    With such thoughts, today once again I began my search¡ª¡ª¨Cwhen I suddenly heard a cry that I had never heard before. And I sensed a strong presence from the direction of that cry.


    There were mostly Goblins and Kobolds in this forest, with the occasional LoudFrog mixed in but, suddenly I sensed a really strong presence in the Carlisle forest.


    It was much, much stronger than even a ForestDoll.


    ¡­¡­..which means it was at least a Gold Rank monster, but should I check it out or run right now?


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    After hesitating for a while, I decided to go see what it was at least.


    Worst case, I¡¯ll just have to run as fast as I can towards the Ongneer plant, because no living monster will ever go close to that and will have to give up on me.


    Making sure that I don¡¯t get found out, I silently made my way towards this presence.


    As I got closer while using the cry and its presence as my guide, what my finally came into my sights was an extremely flashy coloured giant bird monster.


    It stood on its two legs and was flapping its wings around, having fun it seemed.


    Underneath its legs, I could see a couple of goblin corpses lying about messily eaten in parts.


    It was a carnivorous bird monster, much bigger than me in size.


    After confirming all that¡ª¡ªI quickly recalled Shantell telling me about a ¡®strange bird¡¯ that was seen in the forest.


    Well, both its look and personality certainly lived up to the nickname of ¡®strange bird¡¯.


    Observing it carefully, I could tell it was a tough monster but not one I couldn¡¯t defeat.


    But, I had no experience fighting things that can fly so that was my main concern.


    ¡°¡­¡­..But, I can¡¯t just run away can I?¡±


    The last thing I want was to spend the entire 2 weeks time without getting anything to show for it.


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    This bird should make for a great host for Ongneer, I was sure. And normally, someone would see me if I carried a monster this big around, but considering how deep I am in the forest, I doubt I¡¯ll run into anyone on my way from here to the plant.


    Resolving myself, I prepared for a bird hunt.


    My first priority was to make it incapable of using its wings.


    Dealing with attacks from the air would be troublesome to say the least, and it¡¯ll be even more annoying if it just flew and ran away the moment I corner it.


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    While moving under the shadow of the trees, I made my all the way to the tree right in front of the bird without getting noticed.


    Now I just have t wait for it to turn away, and I¡¯ll jump and cut its wing off in that instant.


    I waited to find an opening, as the bird continued flapping it wings about, dancing almost¡ª-


    The moment it showed its back, I instantly jumped out to attack.


    My aim was¡­¡­..obviously its spread out wing.


    I stepped in forcefully and swung my sword as hard as I could towards the wings.


    ¡ª¨Cbut, before I could slash it, it must have sensed me as it turned and jumped into the air.


    Because of that, all my swing did was shed some of its feathers and mostly cut the air.


    Maybe I should used a stab, as it would have hit, but then again a stab wouldn¡¯t have done enough damage to stop it from flying so I guess it can¡¯t be helped.


    With the moment of the jump, the bird flew into the air so I had no choice but to give as it flew away, when¡­¡­¡­.


    The bird made a loud cry and then turned in the air and began diving back straight towards me.


    I thought for sure it had run away so I had completely dropped my guard but¡ª¡ª-somehow, I rolled across the ground to dodge its attack.


    The bird landed perfectly, and stood back up on its two legs, before turning towards me and fully spreading its wings in an attempt to intimidate me.


    As the wings lifted it back to the air, it shook its belly and made a strange cry at me.


    ¡­¡­.judging its appearance as it is now, it sure lived up to its nickname of a ¡®strange bird¡¯ alright.


    I fixed my balance and took my stance with the sword when¡ª¡ªthis time, it ran on the ground and tried to kick me from the front.


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    Looking closely, the muscles on its legs were pretty well developed, and it was fast as hell.


    It ran straight at me and threw a kick up front.


    I matched its kick with the slash of my own sword and as if two swords had collided, a sharp metallic clank resounded in the area.


    ¡­¡­¡­.this thing, is a lot more stronger than I had originally presumed.


    It looks weird, and so were its movements, but nonetheless, it was strong.


    It¡¯s beak was huge, and its claws were sharp enough to match its developed legs.


    Not to mention, it can also fly and has instincts good enough to doge my surprise attack.


    This might be stronger than a Gold Rank.


    I might have to fall back and rethink my plan, but I doubt I could run away with how fast this thing is.


    I also have some of the plants I have gathered, but I don¡¯t think I could put my had inside its giant beak.


    ¡­¡­..panicking over results, I rushed an attack which I was now regretting, but now I had no choice but to overcome this situation so I tried to cheer myself up.


    ¡°Sorry but¡­¡­¡­I am going to start taking this seriously, from here onwards.¡±


    Muttering that, I instantly increased my concentration levels.


    Having finally mastered it during my fight with Venom Pythons, my senses strengthened to their highest focusing only on the battle in front me and so I entered -[The Zone].


    I began using my full strength, and decided to hunt this bird down for good.

 CH 121

    Carlisle¡¯s Monster Bird


    From the time I was a child, I was always able to enter this ¡®Zone¡¯, but the gap between my physical abilities and the speed of calculations going off in brains was so huge that my body would just end up freezing in place instead.


    But now, thanks to slowly increasing my physical abilities thanks to the poisonous plants, I am able to keep up with my own brain, if only just barely.


    Any surrounding scenery or extra sounds disappear from my head, and all my thoughts are focused solely on my target, the monstrous bird.


    Every little detail that my eyes perceived was perfectly processed, and every inch of my body moved only in the most efficient manner possible with zero wastage allowed.


    Watching the bird¡¯s strange dance now I realize that it was in fact some kind of skill, as every time the bird finished its dance, the amount of muscles on its body seemed to increase.


    And even its sharp cry, was actually reverberating through the surrounding and was used to search for enemies around it.


    Since it had normal looking eyes, I didn¡¯t realize but apparently this bird¡¯s eyesight is actually weak so it makes those strange cries and uses echolocation to find its enemies.


    Realizing that all its strange actions had meaning behind them, I reflected on my lapse of judgement as I was clearly underestimating it.


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    ¡­¡­¡­But now that I DO know what these actions are for, the chances of me losing have significantly decreased.


    If didn¡¯t notice me until I was that close back then, it is probably because there was no reaction from the echolocation since I was hiding unmoving behind a tree.


    Which means, I could use cover to avoid getting noticed.


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    Just like flash bombs for us humans, or [FireBalls] for Venom Pythons¡­¡­¡­for this bird, if I make a huge explosive loud sound, it¡¯ll also make for a great smokescreen of sorts, without actual smoke of course,¡ª¨Cbut I have no way of creating such a sound right now so it¡¯s better to take cover instead.


    I hastily moved from this empty open area and hid in an area with a lot of trees.


    The bird also chased me partway, but after I hid behind a tree, and then kept moving during the gaps between the cries from tree to tree to stay unnoticed and finally¡­¡­


    It completely lost my location, and continued making those cries and tried to search for me.


    Now as long as I correctly predict where it¡¯ll move next and then hide on top of one of the trees in said direction¡ª¡ª-I just need to then wait for the bird to move under that tree.


    Since its hearing was extremely sensitive, I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d be able to climb a tree without getting caught but somehow, I managed and hid on top.


    Now if the bird gave up and ran away, I will give up on hunting it today as well.


    As I waited while thinking that¡­¡­¡­maybe mistakenly thinking that I wasn¡¯t hiding to lure it here but was instead simply trying to run away, the bird quickly walked straight towards my direction with confidence.


    I held my breath, and waited for it to be directly underneath me¡ª¡ªand the moment it was there, I jumped and swung down my sword instantly.


    It was a monster that could fly even with its huge size.


    Perhaps thinking that no one could ever attack it from above, it didn¡¯t detect me like last time, and my sword cut right through its wing.


    The cut wing flew in the air, and blood sprayed all over the place.


    As the bird staggered from the pain, I grabbed the base of its wing and climbed up on top of its body, without getting shaken off, and continuously stabbed my sword into its back again and again.


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    As long as I¡¯m on its back, I can¡¯t get attacked by its claws or its sharp beak.


    After the number of stabs passed 10 times, it finally lost its balance and crumbled to the ground.


    I got flung into the air as well but, I rolled on the ground to recover quickly fix my posture, and headed towards the bird to deal the killing blow.


    With blood flowing out of its wings and back, it was crying in pain and desperately trying to run away but I aimed for its legs specifically and slashed them, making the bird fall back on to the ground¡ª¨Cand then, I moved towards its stabbed my sword into its forehead.


    The thrust must have made it to the brain as, after flapping its remaining wing a couple more times¡­¡­the bird stopped moving completely.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.phew, I beat it.¡±


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    Because of my extreme focus until now, my body now relaxed and became languid and my vision blurred.


    It was impeccable when fighting but since I surpass the limits of concentration that a brain normally should be at, the fatigue that hits me after the fight was no joke.


    I want to fall asleep right here, but first I needed to think of what to do with the bird.


    The best thing was to turn it into a host for Ongneer but, since I didn¡¯t have the willpower to carry it all the way back right now, it just seemed like a huge pain to do.


    I mean, it¡¯s still a bird, even if it looks strange, so maybe I could just fry and eat it? I bet its tasty.


    Its claws and beak could be used as raw materials as well¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­nah, I have to carry it back don¡¯t I?


    Trying to escape from reality, I tried to think of any better use of it that would let me avoid carrying it back but, the harsh reality was that there was no way there was any choice better than using it for Ongneer.


    It was even using skills, so if probably plants itself in this, it could give a fruit almost as good as Greath¡¯s even.


    I sat down on the ground to take a short brake and then I lifted the bird, bigger than myself, on my back, and began walking towards the place where Ongneer grew.


    .


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    .


    10 days had passed since my fierce battle with the Monster bird.


    In the end I was unable to find another Ongneer plant so I stopped my search on the ninth day, and spent the remaining week gathering more plants.


    And finally today was the day I return to Oxter, and also the day I go check on the bird¡¯s corpse as I never went back to the Ongneer¡¯s place even once after I dropped it there.


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    Whether a fruit has ripened on greath¡¯s Ongneer, whether a plant has sporuted properly from the Bird; while praying that both had happened, I left my base and headed towards the Ongneer area.


    As I approached closer to the area¡­¡­¡­I felt that the odd eerie presence that the plant gave off had become much thicker and stronger.


    It was getting larger two weeks ago as well, but this time I was able to sense it from even further away.


    However that only increased my excitement and expectations, and as I finally reached the place¡ª¡ª


    I saw an Ongneer, fully grown, sprouting out of Greath¡¯s heart.


    Compared to the Goblin¡¯s Ongneer, the tree was almost five times bigger.


    It also had a ripened fruit as well, and unlike the goblin¡¯s fruit that I could completely envelop with just one hand, Greath¡¯s Ongneer was big enough that I wouldn¡¯t be able to properly hold it with one hand even.


    Now my expectation were even higher¡­¡­¡­.and also the fear of having to eat such a big fruit.


    It barely had any taste, and the Goblin¡¯s fruit was small but I still needed to resolve myself everytime I ate one.


    If only I could make it into easy to consume potions like the Jinpi leaves, but as you¡¯d expect, considering even approaching Ongneer is taboo¡¯d, I don¡¯t think I could drop in a request to turn this into a potion to anybody.


    But I have no choice but to eat so let¡¯s stop thinking about that. I plucked one of the fully grown fruit, and after properly sealing it in a box, I put it inside my bag.


    As for the bird,¡­¡­¡­I can¡¯t tell if it has properly taken root or not.


    I could see something like a small bud sprouting out of its chest area I think.


    It hasn¡¯t been long since I dropped it here so maybe it just hasn¡¯t had the time to properly grow yet, so I shouldn¡¯t lower my expectations just yet.


    Now that both of my objectives were done, although I couldn¡¯t find another Ongneer, I think this trip was pretty worthwhile in the end in my opinion.


    ¡­¡­..But as the new Ongneer grew, the Goblin¡¯s Ongneer also seems to have finally withered away.


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    It was already withering 2 weeks ago but now it had completely wilted.


    This Ongneer miraculously grew out of small Goblin¡¯s body and massively increased my own potential to grow with it.


    I could never return the favour to a plant as my own ideals require, so all I could do was give a deep heartfelt bow to it as a show of my eternal gratitude.


    ¡ª¡ªAlright


    Now then, let¡¯s return to Oxter.


    I¡¯m curious as to how Ralf and Esta¡¯s trip to Norfast went, and I¡¯m worried to see how Snow fare in the meantime as well.


    Also,¡­¡­I need to get an assessment after returning, check the results of my gardening and see if there¡¯s a difference, and then discern the effects of Greath¡¯s Ongneer as well.


    There¡¯s lots to do, but all were things I looked forward to, so I left the forest feeling excited and returned back to Oxter.

 CH 122

    The One-Armed Man


    With the huge bag on my back, I made my way to our house in the right-side residential district.


    Crossing the dreary garden, as I entered through the door¡ª


    ¡°Aurf! AwoAwooh!!¡±


    With breakneck speed, Snow came running while howling and jumped at me.


    I was able to somehow catch it, but the momentum behind it was so strong that I fell backwards and hit my head on the door.


    ¡°oww that hurt. Well, at least you look energetic as always¡­¡­..¡±


    As it continued licking my face while I lay in front of the entrance door, Snow¡¯s tail also wagged its tail in happiness.


    ¡­¡­..man, Snow sure has grown pretty big now that I look at it properly.


    It was about only 20cm big when we picked it up but now it was almost double in size.


    ¡°Chris! You¡¯re back! How did your forest exploration go!?¡±


    ¡°Pretty well¡­¡­¡­but first let me take a bath, and take Snow from me.¡±


    ¡°Got it! Also, once you¡¯re done bathing, come back down quick. There¡¯s a lot to report!¡±


    Handing Snow over to Ralf, I made taking a bath my first priority.


    I washed myself trying to get rid of two week¡¯s worth of dirt and filth, and once I felt fully cleaned, I returned to the living room.


    Looks like Esta had also come down from her room to the living room, and they were both, alongside snow, waiting for me to come.


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    ¡°Sorry for the wait. So let¡¯s begin our reports¡­¡­..Who¡¯s starting first?¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s start with Snow! Under Shantell-san¡¯s care, he was as obedient as they come or so she told me! Also¡­¡­Snow, BAM!¡±


    Esta made a gesture resembling knocking and launching an arrow at it, seeing which Snow who was sitting normally, quickly turned over and lay down on its back.


    It even acted like its body was convulsing and bubbles frothing out of its mouth.


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    ¡°This is a technique Shantell-san taught Snow! It seems a bit over the top certainly but, it¡¯s basically learnt playing dead!¡±


    ¡°I-I see.¡±


    Shantell, you mad woman, what kind of weird shit are you teaching Snow?


    When Esta made a signal again, Snow sat back normally again and gave a bark.


    ¡°Is that all as far Snow is concerned¡­¡­..?¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s start with our results then! Firstly¡ª¨Cin regards to the person looking for you, he really does exist as the Vice chief had informed us.¡±


    ¡°So pursuers have already made it Norfast huh.¡±


    ¡°But, it doesn¡¯t look like our info has reached them yet. From what we could tell, the people of Norfast had zero clues on any Gold Rank adventurer from Oxter!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.hm? how did you look for the guy hunting for me anyway?¡±


    ¡°We basically imitated him, and went around asking for ¡®a man named Chris¡¯. And whenever we got a response like [more questions about this guy, again?], we instead asked them who was the one that was asking about you before us.¡±


    I see.


    That¡¯s smart.


    ¡°Not a bad plan. So, what kind of guy is this man who¡¯s searching me?¡±


    ¡°A man in his thirties or forties, that clearly smells danger even at a glance. He only has one arm, and that he had a scar on his forehead apparently.¡±


    ¡°hmm¡­¡­¡­.doesn¡¯t ring a bell at all. Is that all the info you got?¡±


    ¡°More or less. In the end, we couldn¡¯t really trace him all the way back unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good enough for now. Even knowing that there¡¯s guy actively looking for me is good info. ¡ª¡ª¨CSo? What else did you guys do while over there?¡±


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    When I asked that, the two looked at each other first, then started talking as if proud of something.


    ¡°Actually¡ª¨CWe, got some good coaching while there!¡±


    ¡°Hm? Coaching, you say?¡±


    ¡°It was from someone we randomly happened to meet while looking for your pursuer! They are Mithril rank adventurers based in Norfast, and after we became friends with them, they gave us some light coaching and help as we went with the flow¡­¡­¡­¡­It was only for about 3 days though!¡±


    ¡°A mithril rank adventurer party?¡­¡­.That must have been expensive no?¡±


    ¡°They taught us out of kindness, as a favour you could say! Well, we did at least pick up the tab during meals as thanks though!¡±


    ¡°It was because we come from similar backgrounds, they were also raised in an orphanage and so we hit it off very well!¡±


    Mithril adventurers that were once orphans?


    Must have been hard and long journey¡­¡­¡­¡­..or they got gifted a super strong job by luck. It¡¯s either one of those two cases really.


    ¡°Okay now you have me curious. What kind of party was this?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re called the [Silver Winged Lions] and the party is made up of a [Scout], a [Hunter] and a [Monk]; these three plus their leader, who was a [Battle Master]. These 4 made up the entire party!¡±


    ¡°It might look irregular but that was definitely a good and balanced party. The standout was obviously the leader, the [Battle Master] I¡¯d imagine?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely! He was a super cool beastman! He¡¯s the one that coached me by the way!¡±


    Recalling his experience, Ralf began talking very excitedly.


    ¡­¡­¡­though, even I¡¯m very interested now.


    We hadn¡¯t really bothered building any lasting relationships with other adventurers so I¡¯m happy they took this chance to make some friends.


    They are mithril rank as well, so they must have learnt a lot from those guys.


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    ¡°So who did you get coached by, Esta?¡±


    ¡°I took lessons from the [Hunter]. I got taught tricks and tips over how to accurately hit long range attacks specifically!¡±


    ¡°Now that certainly sounds useful¡­¡­¡­I¡¯d like to meet them one day as well.¡±


    ¡°Apparently they have some business near Oxter soon-ish, so they might come to meet at that time and we¡¯ll introduce you to them then!¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±


    These two had achieved a lot more than I had expected during these two weeks.


    If they really coached them both so readily, that¡¯s really good for both of them since they never had a proper teacher. Not to mention, having good relations with a mithril rank party is never a disadvantage.


    ¡°That about sums our report from Norfast. We also did some shopping as well but nothing worth mentioning really.¡±


    ¡°So how did things go for you Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really anything special to report. I just did my usual poison plant gathering as always¡­¡­..Ah, though, I might be finally able to learn another new skill now.¡±


    ¡°A NEW SKILL?!? You did mention some ridiculous [Increased Breeding Ability] skill that you had gotten before, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°This one might be a bit more exciting than that one I think.¡ª¨CAh, right. I was thinking its about time to get another assessment done for you two as well, how about it? You two haven¡¯t had one done since the last time in Realzard right?¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    I¡¯m interested in seeing their current ability.


    How much have they been growing when compared to me.


    The last time we did, they were still hunting only goblins after all.


    I think we can all look forward to seeing the increase in their stats.


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    ¡°Sounds good to me! We certainly have money to spare, so let¡¯s get one done since it has been a while!¡±


    ¡°Same, I¡¯m excited to see mine as well! I am curious to find out how much stronger we have become since last time!¡±


    ¡°That settles it then. I¡¯ll be doing my assessment tomorrow so¡­¡­..let¡¯s have you two do it the day after.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..hm? What¡¯s wrong with us doing it tomorrow with you as well?¡±


    ¡°Well apparently, these assessment cost a lot of mana. The priest here doesn¡¯t have a lot of mana so I alone will have him barely managing it by the end. Adding you two on top of that will be impossible.¡±


    ¡°Wow really!? The priest in Realzard made it look so simple and easy, I thought it didn¡¯t require much effort to do.¡±


    ¡°Well, there is also the possibility that the priest here in Oxter is just that bad at it as well but¡­¡­..regardless, I¡¯ll have mine done tomorrow, so you two will go the day after okay?¡±


    With this, our individual reports were over, and I headed straight to sleep to prepare for tomorrow.


    Tomorrow, the entire day will be spent on me checking out how much I¡¯ve grown since last time, discerning the effects of my homegrown plants, as well if the Venom Python poison has any effect and finally, to see what effect does Greath¡¯s Ongneer has. So that¡¯ll be around 4 trips.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said that this was not the most exciting event for me not to mention, I cannot wait to see just what effects this Greath¡¯s Ongneer will grant me.


    To not get too dejected later, I tried to keep my excitement as low as I could, as I slowly drifted to sleep.

 CH 123

    The Effects of Homegrown Plants


    The next day.


    After having just breakfast, I headed empty-handed, straight to the church.


    First of all, I need to see my current abilities, and compare how much they have increased from last time.


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    The last time I went was when I found EggMash, the magic raising plant, so it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise to see a huge increase in the stats.


    Sice then, I had completed multiple silver rank quests, defeated the Venom Python herd, Greath and the monster bird.


    I have defeated countless things since then.


    Not just the (+) values, even my base stats must have increased, so while feeling hopeful, I pushed open the doors of the church.


    Inside, the priest was taking dozing off on the lecture platform, with his elbow resting on it.


    ¡­¡­¡­.is this priest really alright?


    I never see him doing any kind of work but¡ª¡ª¨Cwell, as long as he does my assessment properly, I don¡¯t really care about anything else so I woke him by calling him out.


    ¡°sorry to disturb your sleep, but I need my abilities assessed.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨CUeh? Ah¡­¡­¡­.i-I wasn¡¯t sl-sleeping!! I was simply, uh, meditating, yes! An-anyway, welcome. Please come over here, into the room. Please!¡±


    Considering the drool on his face, he was almost certainly sleeping but I didn¡¯t need to retort so I simply followed him into the usual room.


    Sitting down in front of the crystal, I quickly handed over one gold coin and my adventurer card.


    ¡­¡­¡­.But still, this priest really never even asked me any questions and just continued doing his job.


    Since he rarely gets any visitors, maybe he doesn¡¯t even know how odd my actions are.


    ¡°Ngahh,phew¡­¡­.it¡¯s done. Here¡¯s your card.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the help.¡±


    Taking back the card, I quickly turned it check.


    Let¡¯s see these stats shall we?


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    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 20(+77)


    Strength: 18(+91)


    Stamina: 16(+69)


    Magic: 4(+10)


    Agility: 11(+20)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Holy shit¡ª¡ª-what an increase!


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    Almost every stat has gone by 10 or even 20, and thanks to the numerous Lizaf fruits, my physical strength had gone up by almost 40!


    As far as just numbers are concerned, I wonder if I¡¯m already equal to Platinum rank adventurers?


    Maybe I should have found a way to see Greath¡¯s stats to compare. I could ask the Vice chief to see how I compare with other adventurers.


    Also¡­¡­.my own base stats have also increased by quite a lot since last time as well.


    Well, at the same time considering how many things I have defeated, the increase was far less than normal but, even if little, I was happy to see my own progress.


    Now then, with my current stats confirmed, time to start testing the plants that I have been waiting for.


    First I¡¯ll return home once, and eat all 5 types of sundried homegrown plants that I have stored for myself.


    My hope was that it increased the value by 1 just like the wild plants, but I was afraid that it would be 0.


    Praying in hope that all my work wasn¡¯t for nothing, I went back home.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    .


    While dealing with an excited Snow, I consumed all 4 plants as well as the Jinpi potion and then returned to the church.


    The priest showed no surprise on my second arrival and quickly redid my assessment.


    ¡°Fuh, hah! phew¡­¡­.it¡¯s done, here¡¯s your card.¡±


    I took the card, took a deep breath, and then checked.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 20(+79)


    Strength: 18(+93)


    Stamina: 16(+70)


    Magic: 4(+11)


    Agility: 11(+24)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


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    OOH! All of them increased normally, and Endurance and Strength went up by 2 even!


    Not to mention, agility went up by 4 somehow.


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    Since potions made out of wild Jinpi leaves increased agility by 2, this was basically double in effectiveness.


    On the other hand, Stamina and Magic only went up by like normal but that was still more than satisfactory.


    Stamina and Magic were increased from genpei mushroom and Eggmash, which were both easy to grow mushroom types so it wasn¡¯t much of an issue.


    I don¡¯t know if there was an individual difference between every item, or was this increase a fixed value yet, but I can slowly figure that stuff out.


    I sundried my homegrown plants as well so I had a lot more stored already¡ª¡ª-and I will continue growing a lot more like this.


    Since I¡¯m raising them inside small room, there¡¯s only so much they can cover so I¡¯ll still have to go to the forest, but the amount of times I¡¯ll have to will most certainly decrease thanks to my home gardening.


    Not to mention, I genuinely enjoy exploring the forest as I gather these plants so, if anything, I was in weird way, happy that this didn¡¯t completely replace the need to go to the forest¡­¡­.


    But considering how I could use that time more effectively now, overall it¡¯s obviously a good thing for me.


    .


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    .


    After that, I drank the Venom Python poison that I got from the Vice Chief, and after taking a break for lunch in between, I headed to the church for a third time for an assessment.


    The result¡­¡­..was unfortunately that nothing increased.


    As I originally thought, it was not the poison itself, but the plant that could create and hold such poison that has the ability increasing effects.


    While thinking of other uses of the Venom Python poison, I continued exploring for new solutions¡­¡­..


    And finally, it was time for discernment of Greath¡¯s Ongneer fruit.


    I wonder what stats would it increase. I felt excited¡ª¨Cand also dread from having to actually eat that thing.

 CH 124

    The Ongneer born from Greath


    Returning to my house once again, I decided to finally eat the Ongneer tucked away inside my room.


    Just in case, if I need to wash the taste away, I have already bought some honey, chilli pepper and coffee.


    Sweet, Spicy, and Bitter. I had one of each to deal with another.


    I brought out the fruit from inside the bag and held it up to the light to observe it.


    It looked like a plump green apple.


    Its smell was similar to the Goblin¡¯s one, and it had sweetish smell that made it feel like it¡¯d be tasty but¡­¡­..it¡¯s actual taste was the absolute worst.


    I took a deep breath to resolve myself, and then bit into the fruit.


    With a crunch, a taste similar to biting iron and something similar to when I ate the rotten meat back in Peixa forest, spread inside my mouth.


    I promised myself to not think about it but unconsciously, the moment I bit it, the image of Greath¡¯s corpse came into my head.


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    Suddenly this sensation, as if I was eating Greath¡¯s body directly, rushed into my head and I almost vomit everything out¡ª¡ª-but I sealed my mouth with my hands and forced it down into my stomach.


    After somehow swallowing it, I quickly bit into the pepper I had prepared in advance, and made the strong spiciness erase the taste of the fruit, and then used the honey to kill said spiciness.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..fuuh. That was really the worst I have ever tasted.¡±


    I ended up muttering to myself, that¡¯s how horribly bad the taste of this Ongneer was.


    ¡­¡­..no, it wasn¡¯t just the taste itself, it was the fact that the face of the corpse came into my head that made it much worse.


    As long as I don¡¯t think of Greath¡¯s corpse, I shouldn¡¯t at least feel like vomiting again but considering that this fruit was literally grown using his blood and flesh as its ingredients, it was nigh impossible to not imagine that.


    The goblin¡¯s fruit left a bad aftertaste at best, but this one felt like biting into months old rotting meat.


    After eating just one mouthful, I felt completely fatigued.


    I drank some coffee to calm myself and convinced my body that seemed to want avoid eating it again on instinct. And so, I decided to eat it all down in a single go.


    If I swallow it with chewing as little as possible, I should be able to avoid the taste somewhat.


    And after its down, I¡¯ll slam some pepper into my mouth.


    After simulating it in my head, I pushed the entire remaining fruit inside my mouth.


    I tried to achieve mental void as much as I could, and I held down on my mouth with both hands as I desperately swallowed it down and then threw multiple peppers inside my mouth.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Ngh!!¡­¡­¡­..Haah, haaah. Fin..ally¡­.it¡¯s ¡­..done.¡±


    After surviving what felt like the longest minute of my life, I was able to fully eat the thing.


    Before I knew it I was sweating all over, and my heartbeat had risen to the point I could hear it outside normally.


    The peppers were spicy no doubt, but the Ongneer was far, far worse than anything I have ever eaten.


    I collapsed on to the floor, and waited silently while slowly drinking both the honey and the coffee.


    .


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    .


    An hour later since then.


    Finally, my body felt calm again and my brain felt like it was working normally again.


    This was so bad¡­¡­.that there was no way that it didn¡¯t have some crazy effects. But I needed to find out right now or else.


    Finally becoming capable of moving again, I headed back to the church for the fourth time.


    I called out the Priest who was sitting down and sipping on mana potions as always, and headed to the room.


    Handing over another gold coin and my card, I had him do my assessment one last time for today.


    ¡°zeehaaa¡­.zeehaaa¡­¡­i-it¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°thanks.¡±


    Giving a quick thanks, I took back the card.


    ¡ª¡ªI felt more nervous than usual.


    I took a deep breath, and slowly turned over the adventurer card to check.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 20(+85)


    Strength: 18(+102)


    Stamina: 16(+82)


    Magic: 4(+11)


    Agility: 11(+24)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡­¡­.Wha? What the hell is this?


    The increase in the amount of stats was obviously surprising, but more than that suddenly the number of skills I had had increased by three.


    Rather than happiness, I was more utterly shocked if anything.


    Was it even possible? To suddenly gain so many skills?


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    The ability and potential that Ongneer had was far beyond belief or my understanding.


    While almost fearing the increase in my skills¡­¡­..It also felt like Klaus¡¯ back seemed a whole lot closer to me all of a sudden.


    ¡°¡­¡­.A-are you alright? Did something bad happen?¡±


    Because I was staring at my card in utter shock, it seems like I made the priest worry about me.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright, I¡¯m fine. Thank you once again for your work. Tomorrow I¡¯ll come with 2 of my comrades so please handle their assessment as you always do as well.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Assessment of your friends¡­¡­¡­? And two of them!?¡±


    ¡°Ah don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t be having mine done tomorrow, and they both will only have their done once each.¡±


    ¡°o-oh, I see. I really thought that all three of you would have it done many more times¡­¡­¡­well, that will fine then. I¡¯ll be waiting for your arrival.¡±


    ¡°yeah, alright then. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    Saying that, I left the church.


    I was thinking of going back home to consume more of the usual poisonous plants but now¡­¡­.things have changed.


    I want to go outside and need to test my skills and see if I can properly activate them in a real battle.


    Until now, I had only depended on my raw physical abilities to fight but now that I have skills I can use, the range of my tactics will also increase with it.


    As I walked from the church towards the exit of the town, the fear I felt of suddenly gaining these skills slowly disappeared¡ª¡ªand the excitement of wanting to try them out increased.


    While thinking of many things, I made my way to the open plains that spread before the Indera marshlands.

 CH 125

    Skill Testing


    Reaching the plains, I quickly began trying to use my skills.


    Since all I had until now was my [Null Poison] and [Increased Breeding Ability] that I got from the Goblin¡¯s Ongneer, I have never actually actively used a Skill in my life.


    According to Ralf, using skills instantly generated a lot of fatigue, but that sensation was also a proof that the skill got activated properly.


    Back when I got just [Null Poison] and job [Farmer] during the [Heaven¡¯s blessing], I was sure I¡¯d never get to experience the feeling of activating a skill in my entire life¡­¡­¡­.yet here I am on this day, about to prove myself wrong.


    Giving my heartfelt gratitude to Greath, a man I hated so much I wanted to kill him, and in fact did kill; I tried activating my skill filled with excitement.


    ¡°[Skin Strengthen].¡±


    Like I said, I¡¯ve never used an active skill before but I have seen Ralf do it, and Greath also spoke the skill¡¯s name out loud to use it so this should work.


    By first making your own body aware that you wish to use a skill, you then speak out the name of the skill to activate it.


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    ¡ª¨CWhen I did that,


    I got hit with a slight bit of fatigue, and then felt my skin hardening across my body.


    I tried touching it to see how much it changed my skin, but since even the palm of my hand was hardened, my sense of touch was not normal either so I couldn¡¯t really tell.


    With no other choice, I drew my sword and lightly hit my skin with the edge of the blade to test it.


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    Yeah¡­¡­¡­


    Unlike the feeling I got with Greath which was like hitting a solid rock, mine felt more like solid wood at best.


    Was my lack of stamina the issue? Or was that feeling only created because of the other skills Greath layered on top of this one¡­¡­..


    Well, at least I was able to activate it safely for starters.


    Now then, let¡¯s try overlapping multiple skills at once.


    ¡°[Flesh Enhancement]¡±


    I activated another skill on top of [Skin Strengthen].


    Unlike the previous skill, [Flesh Enhancement] and its effect could be felt instantly as soon as the skill activated.


    My body suddenly became lighter, and the muscles on my body seemed to have increased.


    When I tried swinging the steel sword in my hand, I was able to easily swing the sword with a speed I couldn¡¯t generate unless I was using my full strength and focus.


    This¡ª¨Cis so much fun.


    I tried jumping and dashing around, and the movement made it almost feel like this wasn¡¯t even my body that I was using.


    On the other hand, I could feel the amount of fatigue generate with every movement was also higher than normal but in spite of that, this seemed like a really useful skill.


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    If I can master turning this skill on and off like I¡¯m flipping a switch whenever I want, I could even switch the pace of my attacks at will and bring further variety in my offence.


    I continued rampaging about with my new skills for some time, and soon enough I started wanting to try them out against actual monster¡­¡­¡­


    I suppressed my excitement, and went back to testing my skills.


    ¡°[Fortification]¡±


    This was the last one.


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    This was also the one I understood the least among the three, but the moment I activated it, I suddenly felt my body getting heavier.


    In complete contrast to before where it felt like I had suddenly grown wings and could glide around, now my body felt like someone had put stone weights on top of me.


    Unlike the other 2 skills, the fatigue generated was also much higher, and it felt like I had just been running at full speed or something like that.


    Of course part of it because I was using all 3 skills on top of each other but, considering the sudden increase in weight I felt the moment I activated this, it was clear that this skill was rough on your endurance and stamina consumption.


    I wanted to release the skill already but I needed to test how much tougher it made my skin and body.


    Once again, I lightly hit my arm with my steel sword.


    Before, it was close to the toughness of wood but¡ª¡ª-now my skin felt closer to having the same kind of toughness as Greath¡¯s skin.


    [Skin Strengthen] increased the toughness of your skin based on your Endurance stat.


    [Flesh Enhancement] increased your Strength and Agility.


    [Fortification] heavily decreased Agility but in return, it massively increased your Endurance instead.


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    Now that I have used them all, I could tell this was quite the balanced set of skills.


    [Skin Strengthen] coupled with [Fortification] would make your skin as tough as rocks, meanwhile the Agility you lost due to [Fortify] could be compensated for by using [Flesh Enhancement].


    I was now convinced as to how Greath got to Platinum rank after trying out this Skill set.


    If I had to complain about something, that¡¯d be the fact that using all 3 together cost a ridiculous amount of stamina.


    I think I¡¯ll personally avoid using all 3 together unless I was facing a really tough opponent.


    For the time being, I¡¯ll be focusing mostly on getting used to using [Flesh Enhancement] freely because it showed a lot of potential in its uses.


    Also, it seems like I need to start focusing on increasing my Endurance as well, something I wasn¡¯t focusing on that much until now.


    Having fought Greath directly, I know that both [Skin Strengthen] and [Fortification] are strong skills to have.


    ¡­¡­..now, I am going to look for some mid-tier monsters, while wandering these plains, to go and test my skills and get used to using them in actual battles.


    After making that decision, I began testing my skills out on every goblin or kobold I could find.

 CH 126

    Pressure


    The next day.


    Since I kept spamming my skills over and over to get used to them as quickly as possible, I was completely exhausted by the end, something that hasn¡¯t happened in a long time.


    I wanted to tell Ralf and Esta about my gains yesterday but I ended up falling asleep instantly and so I had yet to tell them anything.


    I left my room while yawning, and headed to the living room where they both probably were.


    Not missing the sound of me leaving the room, Snow was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs to ambush me while wagging its tail.


    ¡­¡­¡­Snow has grown a lot bigger since then, but it still shows no signs of being hostile against humans.


    Can even a monster become a gentle pet if raised by humans from birth?


    Picking up Snow in my arms, I continued pondering over this idea as I walked into the living room.


    ¡°Chris, good morning! You sure went straight to sleep yesterday, were you not feeling too well?¡±


    ¡°No, I was just really tired, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Tired¡­¡­.? Wasn¡¯t yesterday a rest day for you. I thought you were just going to be doing ability assessment throughout?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but things happened. Once Esta¡¯s here, I¡¯ll explain in full.¡±


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    While I was playing with Snow, Esta finished making our breakfast and brought it to the table.


    As always, her breakfast looks delicious.


    Originally we planned to rotate cooking duties, but both me and Ralf were so bad at it, that in the end we had to just leave it all to Esta.


    Well, she seems to genuinely enjoy cooking so it¡¯s fine¡ª¡ªor so she said but, I should probably give her something as thanks for her work someday.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s eat shall we? Thanks for the food!¡±


    ¡°¡±Thanks for the food.¡±¡±


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    With the pre meal greetings done, we enjoyed the breakfast made by Esta.


    Today¡¯s menu was, Rice, miso soup, and grilled fish.


    There was also pickled seaweed (nori) which might seem like a bitter choice but¡­¡­..it was more of an acquired taste in my opinion.


    ¡°So Chris, why were you so tired yesterday? You said you¡¯ll talk once Esta was here.¡±


    ¡°Oh right. After getting my final ability assessment done, I found out that I had received new skills.¡±


    ¡°SKILL!? You did talk about that fruit that could give new skills last time didn¡¯t you? Was it that one?¡±


    ¡°Amazing¡­¡­¡­you really did find a way to learn new skills.¡±


    ¡°Right. And unlike last time, these are useful ones. So I went out to try them out and ended up exhausting myself because of overusing them.¡±


    When I said that, both looked at me with rounded eyes from shock.


    Well I suppose learning skills like this was basically close to cheating¡­¡­¡­¡­not to mention, getting three of them at once.


    ¡°Okay, so what kind of Skill is it?¡±


    ¡°[Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement], and [Fortification], these three skills.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Wait what? You got three of them at once?!? ¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Three at once, indeed.¡±


    ¡°So finally the day has come when Chris-san¡¯s abilities have surpassed the realm of reality¡­¡­..even though all you had was [Null poison] when we first met, and [Farmer] as your job. To think you would get to this point, I could have never imagined.¡±


    ¡°Well, not even I myself could have ever imagined that either back then.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CNo no no, this is way too crazy!! Aren¡¯t your abilities crazier than even the Hero!? I still can¡¯t fully believe that you actually have three new skills out of nowhere!¡±


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    Ralf began shouting from being agitated, so I decided to activate one to show them as proof.


    ¡°[Skin Strengthen], Here, touch and see for yourself.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Uwaah, it¡¯s really become so much tougher!¡±


    ¡°I told you. I¡¯m going to continue raising both my stats and my skills to become more and more stronger¡­¡­¡­so you two better find some way of keeping up with me okay?¡±


    ¡°Damn, my confidence took a hit if I¡¯m being honest but it¡¯s not like we have a choice either eh! I won¡¯t lose to you even if you keep growing like a crazy person!¡±


    ¡°Me too, I won¡¯t lose either!¡­¡­. I really need to start mastering intermediate level and higher tier magic, don¡¯t I!?¡±


    While eating breakfast, I once again lit a fire inside these two.


    If I was the only one getting stronger, sooner or later, our party would fall apart.


    So I need these two to get stronger no matter how.


    .


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    .


    After breakfast was done, we headed to the church to have Ralf and Esta¡¯s ability assessment done.


    I wonder what their stats have become.


    I was very curious to find it our as well.


    ¡°I was looking forward to it until now, but man, I¡¯m starting to feel a bit nervous now. What will I do if I haven¡¯t gotten stronger at all¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. You are still a [Holy Knight].¡±


    ¡°Well, what if it¡¯s a ¡®there¡¯s no increase even though you¡¯re a [Holy Knight]¡¯ case? This is all because you put this crazy pressure on us Chris!!¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall doing that. I simply stated a fact, that I need both of you to get stronger with me that¡¯s all.¡±


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    I smiled and instigated Ralf.


    He really seemed like he wanted to not go, but I pushed his back into the church with me¡ª¡ª the Priest greeted us right at the entrance.


    ¡°Welcome everyone! Please, come inside, over here in this room.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be counting on you today as well.¡±


    Following the priest, who seemed full of energy, all three of us entered the room.


    Esta was going first it seems, and after handing over a gold coin and her card, she sat down in front of the crystal.


    ¡°then allow me to begin. ¡ª¡ª-Fuh! Haaaaaah!¡­¡­.It¡¯s done. Here¡¯s your card back.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Thank you very much.¡±


    Esta jumped a bit, startled by the Priest¡¯s sudden shout, before taking her card back with a word of thanks.


    Next up, Ralf sat down to take her place but¡­¡­..


    ¡°O-oh? A-are we really doing two co-consecutively?¡±


    ¡°Is that perhaps too much for you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­N-no! I¡¯ll do it. Please let me do it!¡±


    I did wonder if doing two consecutively was a bit tough for the Priest, but then again, I probably shouldn¡¯t have forgotten to tell him that.


    Well, if he says he can, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.


    ¡°Well, then here it goes.¡ª¨CFuh! UUriyaaaahhh! Unuuuunnurahahaaa!! Haa..haa¡­¡­¡­i-it¡¯s d-done. Please check.¡±


    He shouted the loudest I¡¯ve seen him, and it seemed like he sucked out every drop of mana inside him to finish the ability assessment.


    Blood drained out of his face and his lips looked blue but, looks like he succeeded in the end.


    ¡°thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°n-no need. I-I¡¯ll l-look forward to your next visit.¡±


    We gave a bow to the priest who was breathing roughly, and left the assessment room.


    Now then how did their stats look like¡­¡­.can¡¯t wait to find out.

 CH 127

    The Extent of Their Growth


    ¡°So? How does it look? Has the stats increased?¡±


    ¡°This is¡­¡­..I wonder? I mean I do think they¡¯ve increased but¡­¡­..really, I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    ¡°Mine have increased as well but¡­¡­.hell, if you ask if they¡¯ve greatly increased, I¡¯ll say yeah they have but at the same time it also seems like it hasn¡¯t grown much either?¡±


    ¡°The fuck kind of vague answer is that? Just show it to me directly.¡±


    I took Esta¡¯s card first and checked the stats.


    I don¡¯t remember much of what they looked like last time but, if I recall her magic stat stood out and the rest was more or less similar to my base stats.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Esta]


    Suitable Job: Magician


    Endurance:28


    Strength: 18


    Stamina: 21


    Magic: 118


    Agility: 24


    Unique Skill : [Mana Recovery]


    Common Skills: [Mana Rampage]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


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    Yeah, she¡¯s strong alright.


    Her other stats have increased somewhat equally all around and her magic stat is in a whole different level like last time.


    If I didn¡¯t have poisonous plants to increase my abilities, she¡¯d be strong enough that I¡¯d never be able to beat her.


    ¡°What do you think¡­¡­..?have I really gotten stronger?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you have, no doubt about it. From last time, your stats have increased more than double I think?¡±


    ¡°I see! I was thinking the same thing to be honest!¡±


    ¡°you have been completing requests pretty much constantly and haven¡¯t been slacking with your magic training either. I am happy to see you clearly growing well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much! It¡¯s all thanks to Chris-san!¡±


    ¡°I mean it¡¯s not ¡®all¡¯ thanks to me but¡­¡­¡­..anyway, Ralf show me yours.¡±


    I took the card from Ralf, who looked a bit reluctant, and checked his stats.


    Almost all of his stats were better than mine last time around.


    Hopefully, this time it¡¯s the opposite but¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Ralf]


    Suitable Job: Holy Knight


    Endurance: 61


    Strength: 46


    Stamina: 82


    Magic: 23


    Agility: 32


    Unique Skill : [Divine Protection]


    Common Skills: [Divine Strike] [Guardian¡¯s Roar]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


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    Alright!


    Magic aside, I¡¯m higher in every other stat.


    ¡­¡­¡­that said, this guy really is strong.


    I¡¯m basically cheating with the poisonous plants yet Ralf was not that far behind me and still keeping up well.


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    Probably the biggest gap is in Strength where I¡¯m at 126 while he¡¯s only 46 but, that¡¯s still only about three times.


    Not to mention his Stamina almost matches mine¡­¡­¡­as expected of a high rank job I suppose, he¡¯s really getting stronger and stronger.


    ¡°Ralf, you really have gotten a whole lot stronger than before. Is this the benefits of high rank job eh?¡±


    ¡°Wait really!?¡­¡­..Am I close to yours?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re getting close but¡ª¡ª-unfortunately, I¡¯m just getting stronger at a faster rate.¡±


    ¡°mugugu¡­¡­! Well of course you are! You¡¯re the one who beat the Orc general, and the Venom Pythons and then Greath as well!¡±


    ¡°no it¡¯s because of the plants I consume. If I didn¡¯t have those, I would be much weaker than you both. Wanna take a look? At my abilities?¡±


    I took out my card and showed it to them both.


    They were obviously surprised by the numbers in the (+) column as well as the new skills but¡­¡­..they were also surprised by how low my base stats were.


    ¡°Is it even possible to not increase your stats this much? You were fighting monsters much stronger than us, and beat them, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, like Ralf said before, you have certainly killed monster far stronger than anything we have.¡±


    ¡°Well, this is the difference between the jobs you two and I got from [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] after all. If I didn¡¯t have [Null Poison], and had to increase my strength normally¡­¡­¡­I wouldn¡¯t even be able to look you two in the eyes.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I guess. To think after everything you¡¯ve fought, to have your stats only increase by that much¡ª¡ª- I guess unless you have a combat job, becoming an adventurer really is impossible.¡±


    Just as Ralf said, if I had to raise my abilities ¡®normally¡¯, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach Klaus even if I had infinite lives.


    Maybe I could have poisoned him in his sleep or something, but really, it wasn¡¯t realistic.


    That¡¯s how tragic and ruthless the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] was yet, also amazing enough to grant me [Null Poison] at the same time.


    ¡°For the time being, I¡¯m glad to see both of you have been getting stronger steadily¡­¡­..that said, don¡¯t be satisfied with just this, and I hope you two will continue working as hard as you have until now.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Satisfied? Who would be satisfied with just this! To make sure you don¡¯t leave me in the dust, I¡¯m gonna work even harder than before!¡ª¡ªSo, once again, take care of me from here onwards as well!¡±


    ¡°Same for me as well! Seeing both of your abilities, I realize that my only strong point is Magic. But since that¡¯s my only strength, I¡¯m gonna use magic, again and again and again and¡ª¨CI¡¯ll keep climbing higher and higher to the very top!!¡±


    Both of them made this declaration with glittering eyes and a smile on their faces.


    ¡­¡­¡­..really, I¡¯m glad I made a party with these two.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    Even after knowing my ridiculous goal, they simply chose to aim for the top alongside me without ever complaining about it.


    ¡°That, certainly is good to hear¡­¡­¡­tomorrow, we¡¯re going to take our first gold rank request, so you two better be ready for it.¡±


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    ¡°HOH! Finally, a gold rank request! We never failed even a single silver rank request so lets keep that up with the gold rank requests as well.¡±


    ¡°I agree! Let¡¯s give it our all so as to not dirty that record!¡±


    I also want to talk to the vice chief and ask about the stats of other adventurers before that but, like I said tomorrow we¡¯re going to take our first Gold Rank request.


    Judging by our current abilities, these two are now finally ready for gold rank.


    As for the request itself, that¡¯ll have to wait until I actually check the request board¡ª¨C


    And today, we¡¯re going to have to spend the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow.

 CH 128

    Recommended Stats


    The next day.


    Today, we¡¯re going to start taking gold rank requests.


    We were already at the guild, and made our way towards the reception counter.


    ¡­¡­..Seriously, the guild without Greath is so peaceful and nice.


    With all the chaos gone, this guild very quickly became as peaceful as the one in Realzard¡ª¡ªand by the looks of it, most adventurers were only obeying Greath because they had no choice and didn¡¯t think very highly of him in the first place.


    Greath¡¯s lackeys, who may have taken his place, all ran away to different towns thanks to my little intimidation, and the Vice chief took over as the Guild chief as well so for the time being, the Oxter guild should be pretty stable for the near future.


    While observing the now peaceful place, I sat on my chair and waited for the Vice Chief to come, and soon enough he showed up from the inner room after a while.


    He looked tired, and clearly hadn¡¯t gotten used to his new workload yet.


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    ¡°Everyone, apologies to have kept you waiting. Work just doesn¡¯t seem to stop piling up¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it. If anything, we should be apologising for taking your time when you¡¯re this busy.¡±


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    ¡°N-No no! of course not! Chris-san, Ralf-san, and Esta-san are the heroes of this guild! I will gladly come talk to you guys whenever you want!¡±


    ¡°You look more tired than happy right now though¡­¡­.no seriously, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Well, the job of a guild chief is a lot busier than even I imagined¡­¡­..Since the previous chief resigned so suddenly, I haven¡¯t even properly trained the new Vice chief either, so I swamped with  my own work and also helping the new vice chief on top of it.¡±


    He made a deep sigh, and spoke of his situation.


    As expected, the previous guild really was basically functioning on the shoulders of Greath and the ex-Guild Chief.


    I am not gonna say that I wish they were back obviously, but regardless, them not being here anymore was bound to shift all that burden on to someone else.


    And the amount of that is pretty huge by the looks of it.


    Greath was a shit head, but was still a platinum rank adventurer. No doubt him and his party were completing numerous requests as well.¡ª¡ª-Goodness me, even after being removed they were both still somehow causing problems for everyone. Quite the duo, those two were huh.


    ¡°You have my condolences. Now I can¡¯t help you with the guild stuff but, if you need a request done, call us at any time, we¡¯ll take it. Since you¡¯ve been good to us, we¡¯ll gladly accommodate, if it¡¯s for you Vice chief, and help you whenever we can.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much! Seriously, that means a lot!¡­¡­.oh by the way, can you stop calling me Vice chief now? There is a new vice-chief as well now after all¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Eh? But Vice-chief is always going to be vice-chief! Ain¡¯t that right, Chris?¡±


    Ralf, who was silently listening to our conversation from behind, suddenly spoke on hearing the Vice-chief¡¯s request.


    Certainly, even for me, the Vice-chief was now set as ¡®Vice chief¡¯ in my head now.


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    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s as he says. You may have become the Guild chief, but the Vice-chief will always be Vice chief.¡±


    ¡°Eh!?¡­¡­Then can you at least also use my name with it?¡±


    ¡°What was it? Michael?  Michael Vice-chief sounds good to you?¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m not Michael, it¡¯s Loren!! Michael was the previous chief¡­¡­.ah, whatever! Just keep calling me vice-chief as always! I feel like it¡¯ll just be more complicated to ask you lot to change it now.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for that. We¡¯ll keep calling you Vice-chief as you asked then.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡­.What business did you have for calling me today?¡±


    After our little chat, we finally entered the main topic.


    ¡°Oh I was wondering if you guys had like a recommended stat level for every rank or something like that and if you could show us that. You¡¯re not gonna tell me that you guys don¡¯t keep a record of that are you?¡±


    ¡°Recommended stats for every Rank? Umm¡­¡­..if I recall correctly, for Rookies it is 10 all around, and from there we basically double it with every rank to use as a base value for recommendations. i.e bronze would be 20, Silver would be 40, Gold would be 80¡ª¡ªso on and so forth.¡±


    ¡°I see. So Gold rank class requests would generally require your stats to be in the 80s all around?¡±


    ¡°More or less yes! Ah but of course, that is only one type of criteria¡­¡­basically built for people who possess no skills or techniques. Even if your stats aren¡¯t in the 80s, if you have enough experience or possess strong Skills, you will still be able to complete those requests after all.¡±


    That was definitely a pretty easy to understand method. The higher rank you go to, the higher the wall is to surpass before you¡¯re allowed to take those requests.


    So Platinum would 160, and Mithril would be 320.


    Klaus and his team are apparently already close to Diamond Rank so¡ª¡ªtheir estimated stats would be around 640 huh.


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    Well, there¡¯s also a chance that they are high rank because of the powerful skills they possess and that they do not have as high physical stats but¡­¡­.


    I really thought I had gotten closer but it seems I still have long ways to go.


    That said, if Gold rank recommended stat is around the 80s, then we should be able to finish Gold requests pretty easily.


    Ralf is definitely a bit lacking but his stamina and endurance is above normal and has great skills on top so he should be fine.


    Esta is far behind the recommended on most stats but the most important Magic stat is far above anything so as long she focuses on long range assault¡­¡­¡­.add her [mana regen] on top of that and she actually could pass in Platinum rank requests as well.


    ¡°hey, vice-chief! Which means that¡­¡­¡­Greath had an all around 160 stat ability then?¡±


    While I was calculating whether we would be fine with gold rank requests, Ralf suddenly asked such a thing.


    Certainly, if Greath had 160 all around then¡ª¡ªthings would make a lot more sense.


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    He had better skills than me as well, and while he was nervous then, I still shouldn¡¯t have been able to overpower him as completely as I did.


    ¡°Greath was a platinum rank adventurer but he mostly did gold rank requests. He did take on Platinum rank requests twice but failed both times¡­¡­¡­so he continued doing gold rank requests and after some time he was obviously given the platinum rank but as far actual skill goes, he was still in that ¡®above gold but below platinum¡¯ category I think.¡±


    Yeah, that made a lot more sense.


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    Judging from the pressure I experienced when facing him, if he had taken time to calm himself back then, he would have been able to evenly match me in a fight at least.


    He really was a typical, above gold but below platinum rank adventurer till the end huh.


    ¡°Thanks, that¡¯ll give us some good reference for the future.¡±


    ¡°But of course, I¡¯ll gladly tell you this kind of stuff whenever you need¡­¡­¡­so, would that be all for your questions?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Now then, I have more work waiting so I¡¯ll take my leave. Do call me, without hesitation if you need my help again!¡±


    Saying that, he gave a quick bow and returned back inside the back room.


    Us, who remained here, ¡ª¡ªlooked at the request board, and began deciding which gold request we should take.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s nice to have heard the recommended stats huh! It¡¯s clear I still have to improve a lot!¡±


    ¡°I agree, I felt the same as well. If we¡¯re going by what he told, Klaus and his party should have stats around the 640s¡­¡­¡­.. There is also the chance that they are more dependent on their skills, so their actual stats might be lower but still.¡±


    ¡°What we do know is that we do not have the time to be taking it easy for one! Let¡¯s keep working harder than before and continue to grow!¡±


    Knowing now how much higher we have to climb still, we once again renewed our resolves together.


    To surpass Klaus, I swore to complete as many requests as I could with all of my ability.

 CH 129

    The South-western Ruins


    Together with Snow, we left Oxter and began walking in the south west direction.


    The gold rank request we undertook was investigation of a Golem in the south-western ruins. A Golem by the way, is an artificial monster that sleeps within these ruins apparently. And the request require us to go find and investigate it.


    This is the first time we¡¯ve taken a non-subjugation request but the reward was great and I personally wanted to witness a golem at least once in my life so, we decided to take this one.


    ¡°I wonder what kind of monster this Golem is! Doesn¡¯t the idea of an artificial monster make you excited?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen and read about them in a couple of books but¡­¡­.they were apparently originally created by humans back then to fight against the Demon Lord¡¯s army as a secret weapon.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh? Never knew that. There were no records of it in the legend of the hero that I read in the past.¡±


    ¡°Me neither! Today¡¯s the first time I even heard of this thing!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s surprised by you not knowing about it Ralf¡­¡­¡­¡­if I recall, the first hero¡¯s party member, the [Wise Emperor] Melkirouhi created these monster.¡±


    A party member of the first hero eh.


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    I didn¡¯t know their name but the title [Wise Emperor[ definitely showed up in the legend I¡¯ve read as well.


    ¡°Ehh! Then isn¡¯t this golem a incredible monster! If a comrade of the first hero, what¡¯s his name? Melki-whatever, created this one as well right?¡±


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    ¡°Yes, I presume so but¡­¡­apparently the golems Melkirouhi created had too many deficiencies and they couldn¡¯t control them like normal monsters and these golems ended up rampaging on their own. Because of that, the golems themselves were sealed, and their production was stopped as well. These Golems were then sealed in secret places, like the ruins we are currently heading to.¡±


    ¡°Esta, you sure know a lot about this. Did you research golems beforehand?¡±


    ¡°No, not the golems but I was researching Melkirouhi instead. As someone who supposedly possessed the greatest magic user type job to have known to mankind, I figured I¡¯ll get some inspiration at least.¡±


    Man, Esta really is a studious and hardworking girl.


    I definitely made the right decision to properly teacher how to read and write.


    ¡°Soooooo, why did they specifically fo out of their way to seal these golems and not just destroy them for good?¡±


    ¡°Well, even I don¡¯t know that much. But, maybe they hoped they¡¯ll figure out a way to make use of them in the future? I mean, our current request this time is also to ¡®investigate¡¯ after all.¡±


    ¡°I see! That¡¯s true!¡±


    ¡°To collect parts of the Golem¡¯s shell as well as check the colour of the Golem¡¯s core, that¡¯s what we have to do. Well, in case our lives are in danger, we do have the permission to destroy it so don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡±


    While chatting of such things, we finally reached the Southwest Ruins.


    It looked like a normal flat plains but in a certain part, there was big hole in the ground and while simple, a staircase going down was also built.


    ¡°It¡¯s under here right? Feels a bit odd going underground.¡±


    ¡°True¡­¡­..! It feels like it¡¯d be poisonous inside, and how do I say this, it¡¯s not a place you can run away out of that easily!¡±


    ¡°Haha, if there really is poison inside, everyone will die except me of course.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh about it!¡­¡­..hey, it¡¯s really fine to go down right!? Can we at least leave Snow outside?¡±


    Hearing its name being called, Snow showed its head from inside Esta¡¯s bag.


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    Tilting its head, it looked at Ralf wondering why its name was called.


    ¡°No, I highly doubt there¡¯s any poisonous gas inside. And also, leaving Snow alone out here is much scarier.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡­..that¡¯s true as well¡­¡­.¡±


    With a nervous Ralf at the very front, we slowly went down the stairs, step by step.


    After climbing all the way down, there was a massive door¡ª¨Cand we had been given the key to this door in advance.


    ¡°alright, I¡¯m opening it. If it looks too dangerous, be sure to run back up top instantly.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Vigilantly, I unlocked the door, and slowly pushed the huge door open.


    From inside, I don¡¯t know whether it was dust or sand, its particles scattered about making us all cough from irritation.


    ¡­¡­¡­..well, looks like there¡¯s no poison at least but by the looks of it, no one has come here for a very, very long time.


    ¡°I totally thought it¡¯d be some ancient structure but this place looks pretty modern if I¡¯m being honest.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. Perhaps this place was created to make a Golem in the first place maybe?¡±


    ¡°Looks like it. Well, can¡¯t sense any monster at least but¡­¡­¡­.there¡¯s something deeper inside.¡±


    It was a wide empty open space.


    And deep within that area, a single body was sat there, kneeling down on one knee, unmoving.


    It was around 5 meters tall by my estimations, not exact because it was kneeling, and was humanoid in shape.


    ¡­¡­..Probably the Golem in question.


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    ¡°Is that the Golem!? Isn¡¯t that bit too big? I-it¡¯s not gonna move suddenly, is it?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t show any signs of moving right now. You¡¯re supposed to put the core of a monster in its central area and this Golem would then use that core as a source of energy to move. It¡¯s been here for more than a hundred years, I doubt it can move but¡­¡­¡­¡±


    As we talked about it and made our way closer to it¡ª¡ª


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    A suspicious light flashed underneath its legs, and a magic circle with the Golem at its centre suddenly appeared.


    Realizing the danger, I was going to tell everyone to retreat but before I could do that¡­¡­..the Golem stood up vigorously, and suddenly smashed the ground with its full strength.


    In the next instant, the door behind us suddenly closed¡ª¡ª-and we were left sealed inside this vast room alone with the Golem.


    It¡¯s body was made up some material that looked like a mix of stone and iron, and at the end of its thick arms were sharp hands made of steel.


    Even with such a massive unrefined body, it¡¯s movements didn¡¯t seem like they were heavy at all.


    ¡°Th-this is like super bad , right!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s a golem yes, but it¡¯s a rank Gold Golem in the end remember? I¡¯ll act as the tank and draw its attention, so Ralf and Esta, and also Snow attack it together in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°S-snow as well? Snow¡¯s going to take part as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll keep it safe so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Declaring that, I decided to activate [Skin Strengthen] and [Flesh Enhancement].


    I don¡¯t know how effective it¡¯ll be against a enemy that does mostly blunt damage, but [Skin Strengthen] doesn¡¯t cost much stamina so I¡¯ll activate it just in case.


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    As for the reason why I¡¯m letting Snow take part in attacking as well was because it was confident in keeping it safe thanks to [Flesh Enhancement].


    Also¡ª¡ª-Snow¡¯s just that damn strong.


    Against an enemy with high defence, Snow¡¯s elemental attacks would be pretty effective.


    ¡°[Skin Strengthen] [Flesh Enhancement]! First, let¡¯s focus on stopping it from moving. If it becomes clear that we can¡¯t hold back, then we¡¯ll destroy it completely.¡±


    Leaving one final instruction, I stepped forward right in front of the golem to face it directly.


    I¡¯ll focus on deflecting its attacks with my iron shield and then using shield bash to do damage whenever I see an opening.


    And so, abruptly, a battle with a Golem began.

 CH 130

    Vs Golem


    The one to make the first move was the Golem.


    Marking me as its enemy, the Golem raise its leg and brought it down with force to try and crush me underneath it¡¯s weight.


    Now I could deflect this attack as well to be honest but¡­¡­¡­there¡¯s no point to it, so I¡¯ll continue dodging such attacks.


    Rolling on the ground to get out of the way, and then I used my shield to block the right hand straight that the golem launched at me soon after the stomp.


    I could feel the weight behind it as I blocked but¡ª¡ªthanks to my skills, I took no damage at all.


    Thanks to the [Skin Strengthen] I used just in case, even shock based damage was nullified.


    ¡­¡­..I see.


    If you end up getting such skills right at the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing], no wonder Greath had zero resistance to pain.


    If you¡¯re this protected by skills your entire life, there¡¯d be very little times you¡¯d take any kind of damage.


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    Even against a rank Gold Golem, I barely felt any damage.


    I¡¯m pretty sure until he fought me, Greath had never taken any genuine damage in his life.


    He was able to get that strong thanks to these skills, but at the same time that also created his biggest weakness.


    It was just a little observation, but I felt like I got an idea of what kind of weaknesses people who were granted strong jobs and skills from the start would have.


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    ¡ª¡ªwell, this is not the time to be thinking about that stuff.


    I ended up going into deep thought, and although only for a second, my focus went away from the battle.


    I regained my concentration, and began deflecting the Golems attacks again.


    Reading the incoming full swinging punch from the Golem, I dodged and deflected its barrage of attacks.


    It¡¯s attacks had weight and the pattern had a lot of variety but, since it was only punches and kicks, I was able to deal with them in the end.


    ¡°Ralf! Esta! You can start attacking now!¡±


    Having come to the conclusion that I could deal with its attacks, I ordered them both to start attacking and decided that we should be aggressive against this enemy.


    Snow jumped out of Esta¡¯s bag as well, and soo the onslaught of attacks from these two + one animal began in earnest.


    Making sure than no attacks reached these three, I continued using my shield bash to attack it as well to make sure it¡¯s target remained focused on me.


    I didn¡¯t originally enjoy playing the Tank but now that I¡¯m getting more used to it, I have started having more fun with it.


    Irritating the enemy, and watching the enemy look helpless as I blocked all of their attacks really tickled my inner sadist.


    After I deflected its arm once more with a shield bash, Ralf rushed in and drove his sword in to attack, and when the Golem tried to launch a barrage of punches to hit him, Esta¡¯s [icicle arrows] sealed its movements.


    And snow as well, with its wild movements, continued attacking whenever it saw an opening.


    The golem must have been weak to Ice element specifically as I could clearly see its movements become more and more dull whenever it got hit by Esta or Snow¡¯s ice attacks.


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    Esta seemed to have realized that as well as she started aiming directly at the Golem¡¯s core with more ice magic, and when it tried to defend its core with its arms, she used that opportunity to blast ice magic at its joints to further seal its movements completely.


    Golem wasn¡¯t a joke though as it didn¡¯t just stand there taking our attacks¡ª¨Cas the damage accumulated, a crest appeared on the Golem¡¯s body, seemingly stretching out of its core, and as the light of that crest grew brighter its attack speed also began increasing.


    By the end, it was basically moving around as agile as a human would¡­¡­..


    But unfortunately for it, even with a normal human¡¯s speed, it was still far below myself who was using [Flesh Enhancement] on top.


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    In the end, it failed to land even a single clean hit on me and Esta¡¯s [icicle arrows] completely froze its upper body, and once Ralf shaved off its legs, the Golem finally stopped moving completely.


    Now we could start our investigations with ease, or so I thought but¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Aurf !! Awooo!!¡±


    Snow lunged on the stopped Golem, and without any hesitation ripped out the Core from inside.


    With its Core lost, the Golem lost all functions, and turned into nothing more than a humanoid shaped piece of scrap iron.


    Unaware of why we just looked at it dumbfounded, Snow came to me, wagging its tail happily, with the core in its mouth.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­Well, I guess it¡¯s my fault for not giving proper orders to Snow I suppose.


    I gave it a couple headrubs before taking the core from it, and then began the retrieval process for what was once a Golem.


    Well, it did close the doors and seal us here so I can just say that our lives were in danger and we had no choice.


    It¡¯ll probably decrease the reward but, since Snow recovered the source of its power, the core, cleanly without damage, I don¡¯t think we have to worry too much.


    ¡°Snow made a bit of a mess of things, but overall I¡¯d say that¡¯s a job well done. Both of you, good job on the attack.¡±


    ¡°Really? I swear, Snow was doing more damage than me!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because the Golem¡¯s weakness just happened to be ice. In this case, you did a good job sealing its movements by aiming for its legs. Speaking of, Esta you noticed the weakness mid battle as well didn¡¯t you?


    ¡°Of course. It seemed to be getting really irritate by Snow¡¯s ice attacks so I gifured that would be the case. It took a lot of hard work, but I¡¯m glad I made the effort to learn complex compound magic as well.¡±


    ¡°Ah shiit! I¡¯m so jealous of Esta. I can¡¯t learn new skills, but you can learn all sorts of new magic after all.¡±


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    I thought he did pretty well, but Ralf probably couldn¡¯t feel how much he contributed it seems.


    Well, since Esta keeps learning new magics, and I have found a way to get new skills, he must be feeling a bit panicky I suppose.


    ¡°Ralf, there are still skills you have that you haven¡¯t mastered yet though, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I can¡¯t seem to activate either of them. I¡¯m been trying to activate them the same as I do with [Roar of the Guardian] but they just don¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°[Divine Protection] and [Divine Strike]. They sound pretty string at least, but since the word ¡°Divine¡± is attached, I wonder if there are more conditions to make them work. Well, since you have stuff that you can still learn, don¡¯t get depressed about other things alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not depressed! I just, feel like I should be able to do so much more, and its frustrating that¡¯s all! I don¡¯t plan on getting beat by you, Esta, or even Snow for that matter alright!¡±


    ¡°If you say so, good. ¡­¡­Now then, let¡¯s leave these dusty ruins already, shall we?¡±


    Having collected the remains of the Golem, we reopened the doors and left the ruins.


    We ended up destroying the golem, but technically we did complete the request so it¡¯s fine.


    I was also able to test my skills against a strong opponent as well, and I got a better feel of the usefulness of [Flesh Enhancement] as well.


    Now I just need to get good at using [Fortification] but I have a feeling that will take some more time.

 CH 131

    Apprenticeship


    Having returned to Oxter after leaving the ruins, we left Snow at the house first, before heading to the request giver.


    Apparently the person who made the request was a person that came from [Edestor], one of the three great cities, just to investigate this Golem.


    This persona came all the way to Oxter just for this, so I presumed they¡¯d probably be a weirdo but¡­¡­


    Reaching the appointed place, and checking around the caf¨¦, all I could find was a normal looking old man.


    ¡°You the client? Phillip or whatever?¡±


    When I spoke up, the man suddenly looked at me surprised.


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    ¡°y-you¡­¡­..assuming I am this client of yours, is that any way to talk to someone? Y-you sure have rude manner of talking, don¡¯t you think!?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. But I don¡¯t care how old you are, or how rich you are or how strong you are either. I only use formal speech with those I truly respect from the bottom of my heart. Don¡¯t take it too personally.¡±


    ¡°M-My God!¡­¡­what a crazy adventurer! Dear me, are there no normal adventurers anywhere these days?¡±


    ¡°Enough already. Let me give my report.¡ª¡ªas for the results of our investigation, the Golem was most certainly sleeping inside the ruins. Still active as well. It attacked us as soon as we entered so we had no choice but to destroy it.¡±


    ¡°D-destroyed it!?¡­¡­¡­mumumu, well if it attacked I suppose it can¡¯t be helped. Did you at least recover its remains properly?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Here¡¯s the remains. And this its power source, the core.¡±


    ¡°O oooh! ¡ª¡ª-You managed to take out the core this cleanly!? I was disheartened when I heard you destroyed the golem but if the core is in such pristine condition, it¡¯s hardly an issue!!¡±


    The old man suddenly started getting all excited on his own.


    Back when I bought the Grimoire from [Shichifukuya] and I saw the store owner get all happy, I felt it back then as well but watching old people get all excited and happy without showing any restraint or reservation is¡­¡­..how do I say this, makes you want to just walk away slowly.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re happy. Then I¡¯ll take that as request completed then. We¡¯ll take our leave now.¡±


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    Saying that, I began to leave the caf¨¦ but, the Old man still in high tension, called me back.


    I wondered if there was something I missed but, apparently that was not the case.


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    ¡°Wait wait. Since you did such a fine job, I was planning on giving some kind of additional reward, but do you not want it?¡±


    ¡°Not reall¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°Umm! Mister are you a magician?¡±


    The reward that was designated before hand was good enough so I was planning on refusing but¡­¡­.


    Esta suddenly interjected and joined the conversation, and then asked so.


    ¡°Hm? But of course. Young miss, are you one too?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Umm¡­¡­..could you teach me about Magic please then?¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a sudden request¡­¡­¡­umu, well if you want magic teaching as the additional reward for this¡ª¨CI suppose I don¡¯t mind?¡±


    Scratching his chin, the old man said so.


    Well if he¡¯ll really teach Esta about magic, I¡¯d be thankful as well.


    ¡°Chris-san! Can we take his teaching as the additional reward then!?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Yeah sure. I wasn¡¯t planning on taking anything in the first place so if the old man¡¯s okay with, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much! Mister, I¡¯ll be in your care!¡±


    ¡°Sure. It¡¯ll only be for the short while I¡¯m in this town but, it that¡¯s okay with you I¡¯ll gladly teach as much as I can! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had an apprentice so I¡¯m not sure how good I¡¯ll be at teaching though, I¡¯ll say this beforehand.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll happily take whatever I can get so please, it¡¯s fine! Once again, please take care of me.¡±


    And so, somehow, Esta became a disciple to the strange old man.


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    Just like the comrade of the first hero, it was a magician that could make these golems, or so I recall Esta telling me.


    That¡¯s why¡­¡­¡­she was probably planning on asking him to teach her from the start, when we took on this job.


    ¡°Then that means, you¡¯ll be busy with this magic training for a while and not take any requests I imagine?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but¡­¡­¡­yes, that would be the case. Is it really okay?¡±


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    ¡°Of course. I go on my personal trips for plant gathering as well don¡¯t I, I will never be against anything that you¡¯re doing to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much!¡±


    That said, doing requests with Ralf, just the two of us, can get a bit dicey.


    Not only did Esta handle the information gathering part, she also carried Snow around and also chose when to let it go out of the bag as well.


    Although judging by today¡¯s battle, even without her over protective guidance, I think Snow will be fine even during Gold Rank requests.


    ¡­¡­¡­..man Snow is a quite the curious case as well huh.


    As we all know it¡¯s just a silver rank monster, a Snow Panther, I mean we killed its parent after all.


    And its lacking battle experience as well, and its far from full grown on top, yet it could go against a Gold rank golem as well.


    I¡¯m going to have to do some investigation as to why Snow is this strong in the future as well¡­¡­..


    But for now, I need to first figure out how we¡¯ll manage things from yesterday while Esta is busy with her training.

 CH 132

    [Silver Winged Lion]


    Leaving Esta in the caf¨¦ to talk, me and Ralf headed to the guild to report the completion of the request.


    I was also thinking of checking out what request we could take on tomorrow¡­¡­.


    When we entered the guild, Ralf suddenly pointed his finger and raised his voice in exclamation.


    Looking towards where Ralf was pointing to, it was towards four distinctly dressed adventurer.


    You could tell at a glance that they were all powerful, especially the one in the middle¡ª¨Cthe beastman, was unleashing an incredible amount of pressure.


    For a second I was confused, but thinking of Ralf¡¯s reaction, the fact that it was 4 member party and the leader was a Lion-type beastman. I figured it out quickly.


    These were most probably the adventurers that Ralf and Esta became friends with in Norfast, the [Silver Winged Lion] adventurer party.


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    ¡°Ooohh! Well if it isn¡¯t Ralf!! I knew we¡¯d run into you if we stopped by the guild!¡±


    ¡°Leon-san!! You came to meet us so quickly!?¡±


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    ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t exactly come here just to meet you lot you know! We did tell you that we had some business near Oxter soon didn¡¯t we? So we thought we¡¯d drop by since we were near here after all!¡±


    The lion-type beastman called Leon talked heartily with Ralf.


    It¡¯s rare to see Ralf be on such good terms with someone else but if I recall he took coaching directly under Leon so it does make sense.


    ¡°Still, I¡¯m happy to see you guys again! How long are you going to be here?¡±


    ¡°How long¡­¡­..well we¡¯ve actually already finished the work we had here so technically we¡¯re free till however long we want! Also, I don¡¯t see Esta here!¡ª¡ª¨COh and, is that person behind you your Leader, the one you spoke of?¡±


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s our party leader Chris!¡±


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m the one leading our 3 person party, Chris. Ralf and Esta were in both in your care from what I¡¯ve heard, thanks for that.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨COh! So Chris is a cheeky type eh! Let me introduce my party members as well!¡±


    With Leon¡¯s words, the three standing behind him also moved forward.


    If I recall,¡­¡­..they were the Scout, the Hunter and the Monk?


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    ¡°I¡¯m the Hunter, Janet! I was the one that gave Esta accuracy training!¡±


    The woman named Janet had black hair, shorter than even my own, but had a nice face and gave off big older sister vibes.


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    She had big scar above her right eye, and she wore all green, probably for camouflage. Her bow looked simple but I could tell that it was very high quality.


    She was clearly very capable.


    ¡°I¡¯m the Monk, Joyce. Nice to meet you.¡±


    Joyce was¡­¡­another woman.


    Unlike Leon and Janet, she spoke in a less energetic, kinda monotone voice.


    Her striking blue hair stood out matched with aloof looking face, but overall I¡¯d say she was still pretty good looking.


    She wore Priest-like clothes, and she carried a longstaff with mystical ornaments adorned on it.


    ¡°And I¡¯m the Scout, Alyazi. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡±


    The last to name themselves, was the scout Alyazi.


    He was a man cloaked in black, but shorter than me in height.


    You could only see his eyes so I couldn¡¯t really tell what he looked like¡­¡­¡­but from the way he carried himself, I could tell he was a strong person alright.


    I¡¯ve never really heard of the ¡®Scout¡¯ job but I have to assume he¡¯s very strong.


    ¡°I know I just said it but once again, I¡¯m Chris. Nice to meet you all.¡±


    ¡°Nice! I don¡¯t mind guys like Chris you know? What should we do? If you have time, maybe we could give you some coaching again?¡±


    ¡°Really!? Please, it¡¯ll be an honour! Chris you want to coached as well right!?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t¡­¡­¡­..¡±


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    I spoke but stopped there. I mean it¡¯s a good chance to get to know them well.


    Since we¡¯ve finished our request for today anyway, and while it might be a bit of a bother, there¡¯s no reason to refuse it either.


    ¡°Sure, why not. Allow me to take you up on your offer then. I¡¯m curious to see the ability of a Mithril adventurer as well.¡±


    ¡°HEHEHE! That¡¯s the spirit! Is there a good open space somewhere nearby?¡±


    ¡°The plains in the north seem like a good spot no? Not a lot of monsters, and it¡¯s a pretty huge open land.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that does sound nice! Since these plains are close by, you can teach us there!¡±


    The northern plains were of course the ones that spread right before Indera marshlands.


    The place I was testing out my skills.


    ¡°Great then! Let¡¯s head there right away!¡±


    And so, out of nowhere, we ended up getting taught by the members of the [Silver Winged Lion].


    They are all people more powerful than me.


    This is a good chance, I should absorb as much knowledge and techniques that I can from them.

 CH 133

    Mock Battle


    Leaving Oxter, we reached the northern plains.


    First, to see how strong I am currently, Leon asked me to have a mock battle with him.


    With wooden swords in both of our hands, we were to go all out without wasting any time.


    The first one to get three hits first would be the winner, or if one of us were to give up or become incapable of continuing any further.


    I don¡¯t think I can win but, I want to get in at least one hit on him.


    He was currently stretching his body that was over 2 meters tall, and doing his warm up.


    It wasn¡¯t just his muscles, he had a great spring to his body as well.


    I need to keep the difference in physique in mind when fighting or else I¡¯ll lose before I can even do anything.


    ¡°Now then, let us begin the duel between Leon and Chris! You may begin when I finish the countdown! 3..2..1¡­¡­.Start!¡±


    With the signal from the Hunter Janet, the mock battle began.


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    Leon lunged at me as soon as the battle started, and swung his sword at me with full strength.


    Both the speed, and the strength behind his swing was impeccable but¡ª¡ªI can turn it to the side.


    I matched my blade with his, and made it slide across the steel, completely parrying Leon¡¯s first attack.


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    He was probably expecting our swords to clash directly as this seemed to catch him off guard and he lost his balance.


    Against his completely open back, I smacked my sword with full strength.


    ¡°OWwww!!¡±


    Leon screamed in pain, and feeling confident after landing a clean hit already, I grinned to myself and tried to create a distance between us again but¡ª-


    Suddenly, a strong impact hit me from the side.


    I had just smacked his back with full strength while he was already leaning forward so I thought for sure, he¡¯d fall to the ground but¡­¡­.


    He balanced himself on his right leg alone, and somehow managed to launch an attack from a completely ridiculous posture.


    His sword was in his hands, so this was a bare handed attack yet¡ª¨Cit was strong enough to almost stop my breathing.


    I wanted to squat down on the ground from the pain right there and then but, I endured it and frantically pulled away from him.


    ¡°Ow ow, no wonder you¡¯re the Leader, that was not bad at all! That was legit, a good strike.¡±


    ¡°I could say the same, only a Mithril rank could launch a ridiculous attack like that.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the compliment! But¡­¡­unfortunately, it¡¯s gonna be a lot more one sided from here onwards! [Acceleration][Gale][Ability Unleashed].¡±


    Suddenly activating multiple skills, Leon took a strange forward leaning stance.


    And then¡ª-


    The next instant, he disappeared from my sights, and then from my back I got hit twice.


    ¡°he he he! That¡¯s my win! It¡¯s your loss, Chris!¡±


    ¡°Damn, I didn¡¯t even see anything until I got hit. As expected of a mithril I suppose¡ª-you¡¯re strong.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re no slouch either. When you parried my firt attack, it was only for a second, but I thought I might lose!¡±


    I shook hands with Leon, and we talked about our little duel.


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    To be honest, the last 2 hits were kind of dull and boring since they were mostly dependent on his Skill usage as well as his natural physical ability, but that first one that got me was definitely worthy of a mithril class no doubt.


    Regardless, this made it clear that I was still far from Mithril class still.


    ¡°Then, next¡­¡­..how about Ralf and Alyazi have a go? If I recall, Ralf, you only had a mock battle with me last time right?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡­¡­.is Alyazi-san strong as well?¡±


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    ¡°Strong? Well, yes he¡¯s certainly strong in a way but can also be weak if you wanna believe that!¡±


    ¡°Precisely. That phrasing is not far from the truth. I am definitely as strong or weak as you¡¯d imagine.¡±


    Even Alyazi agreed to Leon¡¯s odd explanation.


    Ralf could only tilt his head in confusion to that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really get it but, well, I¡¯m fine either way! Alyazi-san, I¡¯ll be in your care!¡±


    ¡°Of course. Come, Ralf-kun, let¡¯s have a good match.¡±


    I wonder how strong the others are like.


    Ralf only won once in every ten matches against me, but he is by no means weak.


    Also, this mock battle will allow me to see Alyazi¡¯s¡­¡­..A Scout¡¯s abilities as well.


    While slowly rubbing my side that got hit hard, I watched over Ralf vs Alyazi.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be referee for this one! The signal to start is the same! Here I go, 3..2..1¡­.Start!¡±


    With Leon¡¯s loud voice, the mock battle began but Alyazi stayed where he stood and watched to see how Ralf will move.


    Realizing that Alyazi was not going to attack first, Ralf stepped on the ground with vigour and rushed in to launch an attack.


    He ran circled around Alyazi as he waited for an opportunity to strike, this was Ralf¡¯s usual style of attacking.


    Maybe because of his experiences with a damaged leg, now that he was healed, Ralf really liked running around and using the full length of the area available, and would make all these extra movement before launching an attack.


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    Or well, at least it looked like there was excessive movement involved but, in all honesty, it wasn¡¯t easy to deal with when you actually go against him.


    I stood to the side of Alyazi, while wondering how he would handle Ralf¡¯s attacks when¡­¡­.


    I realized that his atmosphere suddenly changed for a second there.


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    Even when Ralf was behind him, he didn¡¯t bother looking back, so he should only be able to see what¡¯s in front of him but¡ª¡ªI just couldn¡¯t see how he¡¯d lose this fight.


    Wait, why did I think like that though¡­¡­¡­?


    But just as I thought Ralf who launched attack from right behind him, was unable to even touch him.


    As if he had eyes on the back of his head, he dodged Ralf¡¯s attack by simply lowering his head, and in that same movement launched a triple attack, hitting Ralf on his thigh, stomach and head instantly.


    ¡°And that¡¯s that! Alyazi wins! Ralf, didn¡¯t I teach you to be more cautious!¡±


    ¡°B-but, I was completely behind him!?¡±


    ¡°but he didn¡¯t lose sight of you though? He knew exactly where you were and what you were doing!¡±


    ¡°Eh, Really!? But how? You weren¡¯t even looking my way, were you?¡±


    ¡°Not with my eyes no, but I felt where you were instead. I assumed that you¡¯d launch a big dull attack the moment you thought I couldn¡¯t see you, and I was right it seems.¡±


    After the battle, Ralf and Alyazi had such a conversation.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­watching it from the side, I still had no idea what he did right there.


    Was it like a much advanced version of my own ability to search for enemies?


    His job is Scout after all, so that¡¯s probably the case but¡­¡­.even still, it felt like he could see too much almost.


    While listening to those three talk, I pondered over that but I couldn¡¯t find an answer.


    After feeling frustrated, I decided to ask Alyazi directly.


    ¡°Um, how did you foresee Ralf¡¯s attack coming in advance? Even if you could sense his presence, this felt like you were seeing far more than that.¡±


    ¡°That is good way of putting it to be honest. I was simply using my skill.¡±


    Skill¡­¡­¡­? But when did he?


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    It didn¡¯t seem like he used a skill during the battle, so maybe before the battle even began?


    No that can¡¯t be right, I would have noticed that as well.


    Which means, it was a passive skill like my own [Null Poison]¡­¡­¡­or was it that strange feeling I felt for one second during the battle when I felt his atmosphere change.


    ¡°Did you use it mid battle? I did feel like something changed in you for a moment..¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨COh! Chris-kun, you¡¯ve got great instincts it looks like¡­¡­..you¡¯re correct. I can actively use my skill freely at any time and in different ways.¡±


    I felt shocked hearing something he spoke so nonchalantly.


    To be able to freely use skills in different ways was something I¡¯d been hoping to work at and achieve in secret.


    And to think I¡¯d run into someone who could already do that so perfectly ¡­¡­.


    Now¡ª¡ªI have to get Alyazi to teach me this ability no matter what.

 CH 134

    Tutelage


    ¡°Hey, Alyazi. Can you be my teacher then?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Eh? You want me to be your trainer, Chris-san?! I don¡¯t think I have much I can teach you though? For close combat, Leon-san¡¯s better, for ranged combat, Janet¡¯s better. And for magic, or healing magic, Joyce is a much better choice of course. Like I said before, my ability can be very weak depending on how you perceive it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that. Please, I only want to be taught by Alyazi.¡±


    When I bowed my head to him, even the other members of the [Silver Winged Lion] were surprised.


    ¡°Like he said, he¡¯s not really the teacher type you know! I can teach both you and Ralf well so don¡¯t worry about it!¡±


    ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll get much stronger if I learn from Alyazi rather than you Leon¡­¡­..So please, teach me Alyazi.¡±


    I bowed to him once again.


    Alyazi looked a bit troubled but, he realized that I was being very serious, so after a while he nodded his head.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Very well. If you¡¯re going that far to ask me, I cannot refuse either. I¡¯ll teach Chris-kun then. If you don¡¯t like my way of teaching, by all means please switch to someone else whenever you feel like it okay?¡±


    ¡°yes, of course, and thank you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­man, Chris you really are an odd fellow! To ask neither me or Leon for help, but instead Alyazi!¡±


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    ¡°I agree. But conversely speaking, it just means that he sees Alyazi¡¯s strength for what its actually worth¡­¡­¡­.He certainly has a good sense for things.¡±


    ¡°That must be true! No wonder both Ralf and Esta are constantly idolizing him! He¡¯s bit of a cheeky brat but he¡¯s also incredibly skilled for his age as well!¡±


    It seemed the members of the [Silver Winged Lion] had many opinions in regards to me asking Alyazi as my teacher.


    Ralf, like last time, stuck with Leon as his trainer, and Joyce who was free decided to support Leon with it.


    So Janet decided to act as support for Alyazi.


    ¡°No then, first of all, Chris-kun why exactly did you get so stuck with idea of asking me to teach you? I need to get at least some kind of idea of what sort of training we should focus on, so please tell me as that¡¯d help.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah! Most people would chose Leon there! He¡¯s flashy and strong and also really cool!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to look cool so. All I want is pure, refined power and felt that Alyazi could help be best with that.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡­¡­can you be more specific why you felt that?¡±


    ¡°Firstly, it was the way you observe the battle, then your movements and lastly¡ª¡ªthe way you use your skill.¡±


    After watching his duel with Ralf, I felt immense power from him even though he was short in height and was clearly lacking in his raw physical abilities, in comparison, as well.


    I had no basis for it but, that feeling I had where I was sure that he was not going to lose no matter what¡ª¨C


    I don¡¯t whether it was observational abilities, his defensive body movements or his way of using his skill, that made me feel that but, regardless if I want to grow, learning that would be an important factor me, I just know it.


    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t really get it! My field of vision is better, and defensive movements are Leon¡¯s speciality! Well, if its Skill usage then I guess it would be Alyazi¡­¡­¡­but is there really anything to learn, when it comes to using your skills?!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Janet-san, why don¡¯t you go to the other guys and support them instead? I think I¡¯ll train Chris-kun on my own.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why? So suddenly?¡±


    ¡°I changed my mind, so please.¡±


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    For whatever reason, he drove Janet away and I was left alone with Alyazi.


    He had these gentle eyes until now but, something was lit inside him¡­¡­or at least that¡¯s what it felt like.


    ¡°Now that the extra noise is gone, allow me to talk for a minute.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..wow, that¡¯s harsh.¡±


    ¡°Just speaking facts really. Now, as I said before¡ª¡ª I can be both as strong and as weak as you think depending on whichever way you believe it. Do you understand the meaning behind my words?¡±


    ¡°That your stats are low? You are strong, but compared to someone like Leon you are obviously much weaker one to one.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. Perfect answer. Outside my agility, my stats are not high at all¡­¡­¡­but to make up for it. I possess a total of 18(Eighteen) skills.¡±


    ¡°18?? Did you get them all during [Heaven¡¯s Blessing]?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Like I said while my stats are far from what you¡¯d consider high, those skills have allowed me to climb this high as an adventurer.¡±


    So that unexplainable strength that I instinctually felt was from the number of skills he possessed.


    But since you can¡¯t see those skill upfront¡­¡­.it was difficult to explain why I felt that way, but now I¡¯m starting to get a better idea of it.


    ¡°The thing I focus on most during a fight is the decision making ability. Which Skill to use, when to use and the speed with which I switch to a different skill. Hence, the only thing I can teach you is in regards to said Skills.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough¡­¡­¡­actually, that¡¯s what I want to learn the most.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose I am the right teacher for you after all. Well then, let¡¯s begin your training right away.¡±


    After a light bow, I quickly began my lessons with Alyazi.


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    This person was weak, yet learnt how to best utilize his strong point to the maximum and get stronger.


    I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll learn a lot from him.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s start with practicing activation and deactivation of skills.¡±


    ¡°Activate and deactivate eh. I can activate my skills normally like I always do, right?¡±


    ¡°yes, of course.¡±


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    ¡°[Flesh Enhancement].¡±


    When I spoke, my skill activated as always.


    Thanks to its effects, my body became lighter and I could strength seem into my body.


    ¡°Now, deactivate that skill.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªit¡¯s done. Was that fine?¡±


    ¡°yes. Now, you need to practice it again and again. Watch me. [Secrecy]¡ª¡ªhow did it look?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, the speed with which you activated and then deactivated it was abnormally fast. It was basically already deactivated by the time it even activated properly¡­¡­¡­..but, is there a point to this?¡±


    ¡°But of course. There¡¯s nothing that uses as much stamina as skills. In my case, my stamina is lower than average so to use all 18 skills properly without running out of stamina, it was vital that I learnt this super fast activation and release method¡­¡­¡­.but, even to a normal person, to be able to have complete mastery of this level on your skills will still be very useful.¡±


    Now, considering I plan on absorbing more skills in the future as well, it will definitely come in use in the future to me as well.


    Especially with something like [Fortification], if I can learn to activate it for a brief instant to guard against attacks and then instantly cancel it, it¡¯ll become a lot easier to use and will be a whole lot more useful to me as well.


    Having realized how useful this ability could be to me, with Alyazi¡¯s signal, I began the process of activating and deactivating my skill over and over again.


    While Alyazi clapped, and I just stood there doing it over and over again, the scene of us two must have looked strange from afar as I could feel the gaze from Leon and the rest get stronger, but I continued frantically going On and Off with my skills as my special training continued.

 CH 135

    Skill Manipulation


    2 hours had passed since my special training began.


    Even though I was just standing there activating and deactivating my skills, my body started becoming more and more tired and my knees began to tremble from the fatigue.


    This was consuming a lot more stamina than I expected, and with every little delay in deactivation, the stamina cost became worse and I could feel it in real time.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­yet, I seemed to show no signs of improving and even though Alyazi could do it all in an instant, I couldn¡¯t even begin to deactivate until it was fully activated.


    ¡°Alright, I think we should stop here for now. For your first day, you have shown a lot of improvement I must say.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..no need for flattery. I can tell I haven¡¯t done much.¡±


    ¡°Chris-kun, you are the type that is unnecessarily harsh on yourself huh. If it was something that could be learnt so easily, I would look like a fool. This is not flattery by any means, you have done well to have completed so many cycles of activation and deactivation on your first day, I mean it.¡±


    He tapped my shoulder, and encouraged me.


    He¡¯s both thorough and polite, he was good man no doubt.


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    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I can¡¯t learn it that quickly huh¡ª¡ªhey, can you show me how you do it one more time?¡±


    ¡°An example? Sure¡­¡­.in fact, why don¡¯t I show it to you how I do it in an actual fight?¡±


    ¡°You sure? You¡¯ll be showing me your secret trump card basically, you know?¡±


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    ¡°fufufu, a bit too late for that no? You already saw me once when I was facing Ralf-kun anyway, and not to mention, just seeing it alone won¡¯t make it easy to replicate.¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s the case, by all means, please go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Chris-kun, you don¡¯t need to use skills by the way. You have already consumed most of your stamina, so just purely focus on how I use my skills.¡±


    Saying that, Alyazi picked up a wooden sword and took his stance.


    I took a certain distance from him and like he asked, focused only on his method of using skills.


    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡±


    Right as those words were said, I began my attack.


    Like Alyazi said, I was already at the ends of my stamina but I was not going to let that dull my movements.


    I entered ¡®Zone¡¯ instantly and attacked with the full intention to beat him¡­¡­..and to cram every little movement and action that Alyazi makes into my brain.


    To make sure to not let even the twitch of a muscle pass by me, I fixated my eyes on him as I approached closer, but still, Alyazi showed no signs of moving.


    If he won¡¯t,¡ª¡ªthen I¡¯ll go ahead and just attack seriously.


    I slammed my foot on the ground strongly enough to crack it, and slashed at his upper body, when¡­.the person in front of me suddenly felt like he turned into a completely different person.


    His muscle mass, perception ability, the pressure he released, everything changed, and even though I had launched my attack first¡ª¡ªAlyazi¡¯s wooden sword, that began moving after mine, reached my own torso before my sword reached his.


    And then, instantly after, Alyazi returned back to normal and then took a couple steps back.


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    ¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯ll be honest, I have no idea what the hell just happened.


    Even though I should have sense everything when I¡¯m in the Zone, to think a phenomenon like this could happen¡­¡­¡­.this guy, he activated multiple skills all at the same time!


    Make no mistake, this wasn¡¯t like how Greath or even myself activate multiple skills to overlap one after another. No, he activated them all at the exact same instant.


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    And then instantly deactivated them all the next instant as well.


    ¡­¡­¡­..And on top of that, Alyazi was able to do that without saying the skills out loud or anything at all for that matter.


    Not even some small muttering or anything like that, he did this all while being completely silent.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Incredible. now that I have faced it directly I can tell, this is a ridiculous ability to have. The fact that you even thought of learning to do this is incredible as well.¡±


    ¡°Now now, that¡¯s a lot of compliments from you. Even if it is flattery, it¡¯s not often I get praised like this so it does make me happy though.¡±


    ¡°No, I promise you, this is not simple flattery. Tell me, was that simultaneous multiple skill activation?¡±


    ¡°¡ª-!! Chris-kun, I¡¯m amazed. This is the first time someone has noticed that in a single bout.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. Also, you are able to activate them without saying it out loud, or even muttering it as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I think the latter is something that anyone can learn given time to be honest. Well, I suppose if you don¡¯t make a conscious effort maybe you won¡¯t even if you spend a whole lifetime though¡­¡­¡­.just remember the fact that you can, in fact, activate skills without saying them out loud. That is also a great shortcut to learning how to quickly activate and deactivate your skills.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­This man is genuinely amazing.


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    I¡¯ve only had a glimpse at his ability at Skill manipulation but still, I could see how proficient he was and how much work he must have put into mastering it.


    In a way he was similar to how I found the plants as a method to get stronger¡­¡­..I could feel he possessed the same stubborn tenacity as myself.


    ¡°Alyazi-san. That was truly enlightening to say the least.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡­..? Where did the ¡®-san¡¯ suddenly come from?¡±


    ¡°I always honour those who I truly respect. You are the second person ever, Alyazi-san.¡±


    ¡°Only the second? Well now, isn¡¯t that quite the privilege. By the way, may I ask who was the first one?¡±


    ¡°An old man who runs a pawn shop in Realzard. He is, in many ways, my saviour¡­¡­¡­But all that aside, will you be willing to do these kinds of real duels again with me?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll go along as long as my own stamina lasts of course.¡±


    And so, hoping I could absorb even a little of his ability, I continued attacking and getting hit back by him¡ª¨Cuntil, like he said, Alyazi-san¡¯s stamina lasted.


    I still don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m getting even close to understanding it but, I still learnt things like how he breathed and what little movements he made before he activated his skills.


    I focused on the more minute details, and tried to inculcate those into myself as a starter.

 CH 136

    Gossiping


    By the time we left the plains, the sun had already begin to set.


    Both myself and Alyazi-san were of course exhausted, but Ralf had been getting taught by all three of them together and was now getting carried back, completely asleep on Leon¡¯s back.


    ¡°hey hey! So how did things work out for you guys? Did you learn anything from Alyazi?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I learnt something extremely valuable. Thanks to Alyazi-san, I¡¯ve found a brand new path to getting stronger faster.¡±


    ¡°Alyazi¡ª¡ªsan?? Why does Alyazi get a formal suffix!? Did you acknowledge him as your master or something?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly a master but more like a person I truly respect that¡¯s all¡­¡­¡­that aside Leon, how was Ralf?¡±


    ¡°OOI! Why do I not get an honorific! Didn¡¯t I beat you in our mock battle! Not to mention, I¡¯m the leader of the party Alyazi belongs to!¡±


    ¡°I lost because of the very obvious difference in our current abilities that¡¯s all. Given time, I¡¯ll surpass you and beat you sooner or later. Not much to respect there.¡±


    ¡°You little shit! Seriously, what a cheeky ass brat! Alyazi, the hell did you to win him over?!¡±


    ¡°No no, I didn¡¯t do much, he just started using an honorific out of nowhere. I was simply teaching normally.¡±


    ¡°Leon, like I said, enough about that and tell me how did Ralf do.¡±


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    From there on, I asked about how much progress Ralf had made in this time.


    According to him, Ralf was also able to learn quite a lot from the continuous practice.


    Apparently he has an exceptional talent when it comes to defence, and Leon was proudly telling about how Ralf was able to completely stop Leon¡¯s serious attacks many a times.


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    ¡­¡­¡­As I thought, not just because he¡¯s a [holy Knight], Ralf himself genuinely has a talent when it comes to defending.


    ¡°But still, why don¡¯t you let Ralf act as the tank then? If you let Ralf become a pure tank, you guys could even take on Platinum rank quests you know! Even though he¡¯s lacking in raw strength, his movements are that perfect after all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re only saying that because Leon, you don¡¯t rate him high enough. I am convinced that Ralf will one day become the best adventurer in the world that¡¯s all. Making him focus on only one thing is a waste in my opinion.


    ¡°W-world¡¯s best you say? Well that came out of nowhere huh!?¡±


    ¡°I mean it, truly. He¡¯ll get there, one day. If he specializes only on defence, he won¡¯t get there though¡ª¡ªDo you understand?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡­..wow, you are actually serious?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I would lie right now?¡±


    Leon though I was joking, but I looked at him with a serious gaze to make him understand my intention.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..You, really, really are saying that seriously huh! Now that¡¯s a crazy claim alright!¡±


    ¡°You only get one chance at life. It¡¯d be a waste to live a shit, boring life no?¡±


    ¡°hyuu, Chris is so cool! Even though Leon was also like this back in the day!¡±


    ¡°No no, even I was nowhere near as crazy as this guy, was I?!¡±


    ¡°No, you absolutely were. You¡¯d always tell be how you¡¯d become the world¡¯s strongest, behind everyone else¡¯s back, all the time.¡±


    ¡°Oi, Alyazi! Don¡¯t say more than needed!¡±


    ¡°So Leon you were like that in past as well huh¡­¡­¡­..tell me, Leon, why did you give up on that dream?¡±


    When I asked that with a serious look, Leon simply looked to the ground silently.


    I was sure he¡¯d give another energetic but vague answer as always but¡­¡­..


    He seemed to thinking seriously right now.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..because I got to experience, what the ¡®absolute best¡¯ actually looked like. A place so high, I could never reach no matter how much I struggled.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡ª¡ª-kinda lame.¡±


    ¡°AHAHHAHAHA! Leon, he just called you lame!! I like this guy! Guys like you Chris, are always interesting!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I can¡¯t say the same! Shit, why the fuck are you such a cheeky brat huh Chris!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really think he is though. After all he listened to everything I taught diligently, and even talks to me respectfully.¡±


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    And so, while talking to the members of the [Silver Winged Lion], we returned back to Oxter.


    I don¡¯t think everyone can fulfil their lifelong dreams, but I simply don¡¯t want to give up on mine till the day I die either.


    Talking to Leon, my conviction only became stronger.


    ¡°Ohh! Chris, you lot sure live in an amazing place!¡±


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    ¡°Damn, it looks crazy big as well! Even though we¡¯re still living in a Inn!¡­¡­. are you guys making that much money?¡±


    ¡°Nah, the rent was just very cheap. 6 gold a month.¡±


    ¡°6 gold a month!? That¡¯s crazy cheap!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there was an incident before, apparently the previous inhabitant committed suicide. Which really dropped the rent.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Ah that makes sense. That explains the odd presence I was feeling from this house.¡±


    The one said that was the Monk Joyce.


    As expected of a monk, she has an instinct towards things related to the Undead it seems.


    ¡°oi oi, don¡¯t say that. Now I¡¯m afraid of entering the house!¡±


    ¡°Leon, are you bad with undead monsters?¡±


    ¡°No! Of course not! But still, doesn¡¯t the idea of lingering regrets of a man that killed himself don¡¯t give you the creeps anyway?!¡±


    ¡°Not really to be honest. Nothing strange has happened in the house anyway¡­¡­¡­Well if you don¡¯t want to come in, you can stop here. Thanks for carrying Ralf till here though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m joking! I¡¯m not going to turn back after coming this far am I!?¡±


    Leon, with Ralf on his back, brushed me aside and opened the door.


    I tried to stop him, at that moment but¡­¡­.


    ¡°Buaafu! Wh-what!? I can¡¯t see !!¡±


    The moment he did, Snow, who was lying in wait behind the door, jumped right at his face.


    Thankfully, it didn¡¯t directly launch an attack at least.


    ¡°Oh, is it your pet? Wow, it¡¯s so fluffy and cute! I love cute animals like this!¡±


    ¡°Janet! Just take it off me!!¡±


    ¡°Here here, who¡¯s a good boy! It¡¯s fur is so white and fluffy, ahh so cute!!¡±


    Taking Snow off of Leon¡¯s face, the members of the [Silver Winged Lion] began adoring Snow.


    ¡°Hey, is this¡­¡­¡­a snow panther?¡±


    ¡°Oh you¡¯re right. It was so pure white that I didn¡¯t notice but this is definitely a Snow Panther.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you can tell just from looking?¡±


    ¡°Well of course! It¡¯s still a cub but it still has its distinctive features.¡±


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    Even after realizing that it was a monster, Janet and the rest continued petting and rubbing Snow¡¯s head.


    Huh, maybe there are other people that raise monsters a pets?


    ¡°Are people with monsters as pets not rare in Norfast?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s rare, but again not that rare either. I mean, among other Mithril ranks like us, there are a couple monster users as well.¡±


    This is the first I¡¯ve heard of this.


    Because there were no monster tamers in Realzard and Oxter, I thought that it was taboo or something but, maybe we¡¯ll be able to keep Snow as our pet for a long time then¡­¡­¡­


    Maybe we won¡¯t have to keep it constantly hidden inside our bags.


    ¡°So, whose Familiar is this? Ralf-kun seems unlikely, so it has to be either Esta-san or Chris-kun, right?¡±


    ¡°No, well, it was a stray so we just sort of took it with us that¡¯s all.¡±


    When I said, suddenly the air in the room froze¡ª-and suddenly Janet, put Snow down and slowly took a distance from it.


    Suddenly seeing the people who were petting it move away, Snow looked at them while tilting its head.


    ¡°Now that is not normal at all!! It¡¯s not a Familiar monster!?¡±


    ¡°Ah so it is not normal after all. I was right to keep it hidden from others.¡±


    ¡°Chris-kun, it really doesn¡¯t attack you?¡±


    ¡°No, Not yet anyway. Snow¡¯s very smart, and I just don¡¯t see it attacking us anytime soon to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose that¡¯s okay then¡­¡­..I guess?¡±


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    I picked up Snow while Janet tilted his head still confused.


    It started licking my face as always, as I returned it back inside a room.


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    After that, I welcomed everyone inside our house, and everyone started looking around the place with curiosity.


    ¡°Just let Ralf down over there and let him sleep¡­¡­..Will you four spend the night here tonight as well? Consider it a thanks for teaching us today, I can at least offer a nice play to stay the night.¡±


    ¡°Nah, we have an inn already rented out so its fine! Now then Chris, I think we should leave! See you guys tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°Chris-kun, make sure to properly rest your body. I will train in skill usage tomorrow as well.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I will make sure to take a full rest.¡±


    As so, after leaving Ralf in the house, the members of the [Silver Winged Lion] left the house.


    Judging by their words, they¡¯re probably going to be training us tomorrow as well, so while Alyazi-san is still in Oxter, I need to master how to use skills without speaking it out loud.


    Having set a personal goal, I carried Ralf to his room on the upper floor, and then headed outside to buy food for the night for everyone since it seemed like Esta will be late today as well.

 CH 137

    Farewell


    Since I began our training with Alyazi-san, 2 weeks have passed.


    All said and done, the members of [Silver Winged Lion] ended up staying for 2 weeks here and continued coaching and training us throughout this time. While Esta was getting taught magic from that old man, we also ended up focusing entirely on our training as well.


    ¡°Chris-kun, in these 2 weeks, you have improved incredibly when it comes to activation and deactivation of skills. Honestly, your sense regarding this is much better than my own even. The amount of growth you showed in the first 10 days is, quite frankly, unbelievable to the point I have never seen anyone get stronger at such a fast rate.¡±


    ¡°All thanks to your incredible coaching Alyazi-san¡­¡­¡­Also, although I actually learnt how to use skills without speaking, I still haven¡¯t been able to master simultaneous multi skill activation after all.¡±


    ¡°Like I said before, if you had done so, I would lose confidence in myself. But I have taught you all the basics and methods to practice so as long as you keep on practicing everyday, you¡¯ll get there eventually.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡­¡­Alyazi-san, once again, thank you for everything you did for these past two weeks. Thanks to you, I was able to have a truly deep and fruitful two weeks.¡±


    ¡°No, I should be the one thanking you. If the chance comes¡­¡­¡­let us meet again, perhaps in Norfast. I will show you around the city.¡±


    ¡°of course. We¡¯ll be sure to go meet you guys next time. Please take care of us then.¡±


    I shook hands with Alyazi-san, and finished our farewells.


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    Ralf and Leon seemed to be doing the same as well, albeit with a lot more passionate words.


    ¡°But still¡­¡­..Esta really didn¡¯t show even once to train these past two weeks huh! I really wanted a disciple as well!¡±


    ¡°unfortunately, Esta just happened to be training under a different person. She woke early, and came back late. Even me and Ralf barely met her in this time.¡±


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    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh? Are you sure she¡¯s fine? It¡¯s not some nasty old man right!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much but from what I could tell, he was a decent man. I did want her to at least come meet you guys at least once but, I can only apologize.¡±


    ¡°No need, it¡¯s fine! I just wanted to meet her that¡¯s all, we can do that any time later. This place is not that far away after all!¡±


    As I explained to them, Esta had been training under that old man from morning till night for the pst two weeks.


    Well considering that man was a magician that could handle Golems it seemed like, he might actually be someone far more amazing than I originally assumed.


    ¡°Now then, time for head off then! Ralf, don¡¯t you skip out on training alright! Chris as well¡­¡­..next time we meet, I¡¯m gonna make you respect me!¡±


    ¡°no, the next time we meet, I¡¯ll be stronger than you Leon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just your wishful thinking! Idiot! ¡ª-is what I want to say but, Chris really is a scary fella! I¡¯ll be looking forward to the day you do surpass me!¡±


    Saying that with a refreshing laugh, Leon and the rest began walking towards Norfast while waving back with one hand.


    I was about to wave back but then,. Suddenly I remembered something important I forgot to tell them, so I hastily stopped Leon.


    ¡°Sorry, I forgot to tell you something.¡±


    ¡°Oi oi! That was a nice farewell scene, why did you have to ruin that!¡±


    ¡°Who cares¡ª¡ª as for what I forgot to tell, there is someone hunting for me in Norfast apparently so please be careful. When talking to others, please be sure to not use the name ¡®Chris¡¯ openly.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Wait what? That was so much info I don¡¯t think I follow.¡±


    ¡°Chris-kun are you a ¡®wanted¡¯ person perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡­¡­..something like that.¡±


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    I mean they are Mithril rank adventurers, as well as strong.


    So is shouldn¡¯t need to warn them of danger per se but I still hope they are careful.


    If I didn¡¯t, I would end up dragging the members of [Silver Winged Lion] into my problems as well.


    ¡°Anyway, we just have to be careful as to not say Chris¡¯s name out loud in Norfast? You got it!¡±


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    ¡°Not just that, be careful of anyone who comes to you asking of me as well. It¡¯ll be too late afterwards otherwise.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine! We won¡¯t leak any info about you!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it dumbass, that was meant more to keep you all safe¡­¡­¡­. Anyway, just be careful. As for my pursuer, the only info we have is that it¡¯s a one armed guy that has a scar on his forehead.¡±


    ¡°Got it got it! With that much info, we¡¯ll be fine¡ª-now, it¡¯s finally farewell time! You two, stay healthy!¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem to treat my warning too seriously and, while laughing Leon continued walking away again.


    Soon after, Alyazi-san, Janet and Joyce followed him as well, all waving their hands towards us as well.


    ¡°Chris, those guys really are good people aren¡¯t they! The [Silver Winged Lion] are awesome!¡±


    ¡°Agreed. They are indeed, all nice people. And strong as well.¡±


    ¡°I know right? I want to become like Leon-san one day!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..yeah, but don¡¯t make that your goal. Make Leon more of a checkpoint on your journey.¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking but aren¡¯t you a bit too harsh on Leon-san?! He¡¯s really amazing you know!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not being harsh. Besides Alyazi-san, they are all flat. ¡­¡­¡­that aside, let¡¯s go to that old man¡¯s place. I¡¯m curious to see how¡¯s Esta been doing all this time.¡±


    ¡°Same here! In the end, we barely even saw her face for the past 2 weeks. Though it did seem like she came back home every night though!¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    After seeing off the [Silver Winged Lion], we decided to go check up on Esta afterwards.


    According to what little I¡¯ve heard, he¡¯s apparently teaching Esta magic in the same ruins where we destroyed the Golem.


    Since the old man could freely explore the ruins thanks to us destroying the golem, they probably figured it would be better to continue the investigation and teach her at the same time I imagine.


    Apparently the plan is to return early today, so we let Snow watch the house¡­¡­¡­


    And me and Ralf headed to the ruins together.

 CH 138

    The Results of Training


    The hole that led to the ruins was as it was in the middle of the flat plains.


    Going down the stairs, I suddenly heard a loud bang from inside the ruins.


    Even though the gate was closed, the sound of exploding magic could still be heard outside.


    I don¡¯t know much about magic but even I understood that something incredible was happening inside.


    With my expectations rising, I slowly pushed open the heavily shut door and¡ª¨C


    A blinding ball of light rushed straight towards my face.


    [Flesh Enhancement][Fortification]


    I activated my skills with no chanting.


    I instantly held up my iron shield, and flicked off the ball of light¡ª-the fireball.


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    ¡°Wha, what was that!? Was that a [Fireball]!??¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡±


    Since I didn¡¯t have my guard up, that was actually pretty dangerous.


    If I hadn¡¯t trained under Alyazi-san, I really might have gotten myself gravely injured.


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    Exhaling in relief, I looked inside the ruins to see Esta deep inside the place and the old man even further inside beyond her.


    Having realized of our presence in the direction where she launched the [Fireball], Esta came running towards us in a panic.


    ¡°Ralf, Chris-san!! Are you two okay!? Y-you¡¯re not hurt, are you¡­¡­..?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine. I was able to deflect it in the last second.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­..Thank god it didn¡¯t hit directly.¡±


    After confirming we were both safe, she put her hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.


    She wasn¡¯t overreacting either. That¡¯s how dangerously powerful the magic she had launched was.


    ¡°All that said, looks like your magic practice has been going pretty well huh. Your [Fireball] right now was in a completely different level from the ones in the past.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Thanks to Phillip-san¡¯s training, I¡¯ve gotten much stronger I think¡­¡­.Also, that wasn¡¯t a [Fireball] but [FlameBall], an intermediate class magic.!¡±


    ¡°Intermediate class!? Esta, you¡¯ve finally grown beyond beginner magic already??¡±


    ¡°I have been training till I could drop dead for the past 2 weeks continuously after all! Maybe I have increased the gap between us again Ralf.¡±


    Puffing her chest, she boasted.


    Ralf¡¯s mouth got stuck open from shock, and he seemed to be panicking a bit.


    ¡°I see, that explains the power alright¡­¡­¡­You¡¯ve definitely gotten a whole lot stronger.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Phillip-san is going to be in Oxter for only a couple more days so I¡¯m thinking of continuing my training with him until the very last moment, but will that be okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t mind. We haven¡¯t really talked for the last 2 weeks so we decided to go check on you that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry for making you worry¡­¡­¡­..So, how did it go for you guys? Have you been alright doing requests?¡±


    ¡°Sorry to tell you but you¡¯re highly mistaken if you think you¡¯re the only one that had been getting special training! The [Silver Winged Lion] came to visit and both me and Chris took lessons from them as well! They¡¯ve already gone back though!¡±


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    Puffing his chest, this time it was Ralf¡¯s turn to brag.


    And this time it was Esta who¡¯s mouth dropped from shock and seemed to be panicking.


    ¡°Wh- why did you not tell me!? I would have like to at least greet them once!!¡±


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    ¡°How though!? You came back only after we both had already slept, and left before we woke up!!¡±


    ¡°uuugh¡­¡­¡­..I wanted to meet Janet-san again¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Janet wanted to see you again as well.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san¡­¡­..that does not make it ¡®fine¡¯ at all though.¡±


    She must¡¯ve really wanted to meet her again as her shoulder drooped and showed she was very clearly disappointed.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Well, they are all good people so we could just visit them whenever we went to Norfast.


    ¡°Esta. C¡¯mon let us quickly continue!!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Sorry, I¡¯m being called back. So I¡¯ll return to my training. Thank you for coming to check up on me all the way though! I will definitely become more and more stronger so please let me focus on my training for just a little while longer.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and keep up the good work. We¡¯ll also keep at it and get stronger in the meantime as well.¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    Leaving Esta, we left the ruins again.


    It looks like Esta has finally moved on to intermediate magic thanks to her training.


    I was feeling good having learnt a lot and after having getting stronger from my training with Alyazi-san but I really can¡¯t be slacking now.


    A lot of time has passed while we were absorbed in our training so¡­¡­..I should go and check up on the Monster bird¡¯s corpse tomorrow. The plant should have surely grown by now after all.

 CH 139

    Familiar Registration


    After leaving Esta, me and Ralf headed to the guild alongside Snow.


    I was told this by Alyazi-san but apparently if we register Snow as a familiar officially at the guild, we should be able to take it around outside without needing to hide it.


    Well, to register a familiar, you did need a suitable job like a Monster Tamer or a Monster Master. Or, you needed a skill that allows you to control them but¡­¡­..well, if he ask the vie-chief surely he¡¯ll make an exception for us.


    Entering the guild quickly, we called the vice chief out.


    ¡°Hello, Chris-san, and Ralf-san! Oh¡­¡­Esta-san is not here with you today?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s been busy with something so it¡¯s just the two of us for a while.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. So anyway, how can I help you today? Do you need help with something?¡±


    ¡°Something like that, we need a favour from you¡­¡­¡­Actually, we want to register a monster as our familiar, but can you do it here in this guild?¡±


    ¡°Of course we can. As long as you clear the conditions, we will register it for you but¡ª¡ª¨COh is that the little one in question?¡±


    Letting just Snow¡¯s head outside the bag, we showed it to the vice chief.


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    Since we told it to be quiet and obedient, it was neither howling or trying to jump out either. Snow was as docile as they come.


    ¡°Yeah, this is the one we want to register however¡­¡­¡­..it¡¯s likely, we won¡¯t clear the conditions.¡±


    ¡°I see. So that¡¯s where you need the favour. You have neither a monster taming job nor a skill that allows the same but still want to register it as your familiar!¡­¡­..have I guessed it right?¡±


    ¡°Word for word. Yes.¡±


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    Instantly realizing our intent, he avoided any wastage of time.


    It was a crazy request but, maybe if it¡¯s the vice chief he could do something¡­¡­¡­.or at least that¡¯s what we¡¯re hoping for here, but let¡¯s see.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that is a very difficult request, I must say¡­¡­¡­..however as it is a request from none other than you Chris-san, I¡¯ll make an exception and let you register it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡­¡­..You sure it¡¯ll be fine?¡±


    ¡°I think it should be! As long as the monster you register doesn¡¯t go wild on a rampage or something, nobody should find out. However, if it ever brought harm on an innocent person¡­¡­¡­it will become a huge problem so please, be extra careful about that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I understand. Even if something happened we¡¯ll make sure your name doesn¡¯t get dragged into it and we¡¯ll take full blame so be at ease.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it will work that way but¡­¡­..I understand. But first, we¡¯ll need to make all sorts of records and you¡¯ll need to talk about its traits and characteristics etc.¡±


    And so I explained everything I knew about Snow to the vice chief, and the vice chief wrote it all down.


    After that, I was handed a smaller, adventurer card-like, card for Snow.


    ¡°This is called a familiar card, and will act as your certificate and proof of your registration. As long as you show it when entering any town, they¡¯ll let it in without any issues I think!¡±


    ¡°Huh, so there was card like this as well. Really, thanks for this.¡±


    ¡°No no, you¡¯re welcome. Anyway, I¡¯ve made it seem like Chris-san has a skill that allows you to control monsters so please don¡¯t forget that in the future.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I will be careful.¡±


    And so thanks to the vice-chief¡¯s handiwork, we were able to register Snow as a familiar.


    With this we don¡¯t really need to hide Snow inside our bag all the time but, for the time being, while we¡¯re inside the town, we¡¯ll still keep it inside the bag.


    I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll happen, but in the off chance it did end up attacking a normal person, there¡¯ll be no going back from it.


    Snow, who seemed knowingly happy, got a couple more headrubs from us before we returned home.


    .


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    After returning home, and taking a short rest¡ª¨CI alone headed to the [Travelling Cat Store].


    I feel like it has been while since I¡¯ve gone to the store directly myself.


    The Jinpi potions I ordered, would be delivered home by Shantell because she wanted to come meet Snow every once in a while anyway, so I never really needed to head to her store.


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    Ralf would occasionally visit because he needs to buy other potions though from what I¡¯ve heard.


    As I pushed the door, the usual sweet ringing sound echoed inside the store.


    This store really had a good atmosphere to it and the quality of the potions themselves was very high so I wondered why this place got so few customers, when¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°AH, It¡¯s Chris-san!! Long time no see!! Why haven¡¯t you been showing up to the store these days though!? I¡¯ve been really lonely you know!!¡±


    Right. She¡¯s probably the reason.


    I¡¯m already tired and this is just her greeting me.


    The only reason I came today was because I had already delayed coming here multiple times because I knew it¡¯d be a pain, and it was only now that I finally strengthened my resolve enough to come here.


    If there had been literally any other alchemy shops in Oxter, I probably would have never become her regular.


    ¡°Well, you drop potions directly at our house so I lost any reason to come here, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°N-no way!! Are you saying that just wanting to see me again wasn¡¯t good enough reason for you to come!?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no I don¡¯t really ever feel like seeing you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..mumumu, then maybe I¡¯ll stop delivering potions to your home then! Then, you¡¯ll have no choice but to come see me!¡±


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    ¡°then, we won¡¯t let you inside the house for no reason either. You¡¯ll only be allowed in if you take an appointment before hand and even then only when all of us are at the house.¡±


    ¡°Nooooo!! That¡¯s so harsh!! I just want to meet Snow more!!¡±


    ¡°Then, you will continue to deliver the potions to our house as usual. If you do, we¡¯ll let you in whenever you come. That¡¯s frankly easier for us as well after all.¡±


    Somehow I was able to convince her.


    Seriously¡­¡­..whenever I talk to Shantell, I always lose track of what I actually came for.


    ¡°Uwaah, Chris-san you¡¯re a dummy! Idiot! A Bully!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I don¡¯t care so let¡¯s get to the topic¡­¡­..how did the thing with the Venom Python poison turn out? Did you find anything?¡±


    The reason why I came here personally was to hear the status on the Venom Python poison, which failed to raise any of my stats.


    I still had two more vials left so hoping to find a good use for it, I asked Shantell to look some way to use it in a good way.


    I didn¡¯t really have much expectations but¡­¡­.


    I didn¡¯t miss the change from her crocodile tears to a sly grin on Shantell¡¯s triumphant face.


    Now then¡ª¡ªCould it be, that she actually got a good result?

 CH 140

    Surprising Effects


    Judging by her expression, she definitely got something to show for.


    If she didn¡¯t, I would have just used it to imbue my blades with poison but if there was a better more useful way to use it, I would go with that.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that face. Did you find something good after all?¡±


    ¡°uehehe, you wanna know? You¡¯re curious aren¡¯t you!? ¡­¡­¡­but since Chris-san is such a bad bully, what should I do, maybe I shouldn¡¯t tell you what I found!?¡±


    She kept flashing glances at me, trying to get a reaction out of me.


    ¡­¡­..Ah shit, what a pain in the ass this woman is.


    ¡°Alright, you can keep it to yourself then but¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll also stop ordering Jinpi potions from you as well. So let¡¯s end this relationship right here for good then, okay?¡±


    ¡°I-I-I am obviously joking!!! Please don¡¯t threaten me like that with such a scary face!!¡±


    ¡°Then, hurry up and talk already.¡±


    ¡°Booo! You could go along with me at least once!¡­¡­..So anyway, the poison you handed me¡ª¨CJust like Chris-san said, it really had the effect of boosting your physical body!! No but seriously, I¡¯ve never really worked with poison this much in my life before this but, I think I get where the phrase ¡®Poison and medicine are often the same thing, given in different proportions¡¯ comes from!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? It can really enhance your body¡­¡­¡­?


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    Shocked by her sudden words, I grabbed her by the shoulders and questioned her again.


    It¡¯s true I told Shantell that this poison might have body enhancing effects hidden in it, but that was only a bluff to make sure she shows interest and takes up my request earnestly.


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    Because, in reality even after I drank it, the assessment showed no change in my status.


    Then¡­¡­..did the Priest fuck up the assessment back then?


    No, if I am going to doubt someone, it should be Shantell first, not the priest.


    ¡°Just like I said! The poison you requested me to investigate has an effect that can boost your physical ability! Of course¡ª¨Cthe toxic nature of the poison will first numb your body, cause lung failure, make you hallucinate and cause spasms as well on top though!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. Tell me more, in detail, about the physical ability enhancing part!¡±


    ¡°W-wow, you¡¯re a lot more enthusiastic today huh!¡­¡­..I¡¯m getting a bit excited too from that!¡±


    ¡°JUST TALK ALREADY!¡±


    ¡°Boo! Just once, I beg, go along with it!¡­¡­..Umm, anyway, you see, it can temporarily increase your muscle mass after intake! Now I have obviously not consumed it personally but I imagine its close to a usual Enhancement potion or the like!¡±


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    Enhancement potion¡­¡­.


    Now I haven¡¯t seen a real one either but, I know that it¡¯s a potion that can temporarily enhance your physical abilities as well.


    Of course, it¡¯s only ¡®temporary¡¯ and was not like Genpei mushroom or Lizaf fruits.


    In contrast however, the effect of enhancement was much larger¡ª¡ªand was often used as a last resort by the explorers of the Edestor Dungeon, yes the same one that Klaus cleared, and cost a huge amount of money.


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    And apparently, this Venom Poison had the same effect as that potion it seems.


    If it was temporary, it also made sense why it didn¡¯t show up in an assessment either.


    Also¡­¡­when I got drenched in Venom Python during the emergency request incident, I did feel like my body got stronger all of a sudden. It all made sense now.


    I wasn¡¯t able to completely slice through the first Venom Python I faced yet, I was able to cut through them  like butter once I got surrounded.


    I thought it was all thanks to me being in the ¡®Zone¡¯ but this made a lot more sense.


    ¡°if what you¡¯re saying is true, I need you to turn this into potions as well. Can you do it?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can!¡­¡­.or rather, I already made one! Chris-san, please pay me highly for my hard work okay!!¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t pay ¡®highly¡¯. But, I will probably regularly make orders just like the Jinpi potion .¡±


    ¡°Tch, so you won¡¯t pay me highly after all¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°But no seriously, thanks for your help. As fees for your research as well as the prototype, I¡¯ll pay you 2 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°T-two gold coins!? YAAAY, LET¡¯S GOO!!!!¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    Shantell started jumping in happiness as I took the potion from her hands in return for the money.


    It was completely colourless. It could easily pass for water even, but of course, it was still a poison potion.


    I want to return and quickly try it but since there¡¯s only one right now, I¡¯ll keep it stored.


    I¡¯ll take it with me on requests, and use it if a truly dangerous situation showed up.


    I don¡¯t have a lot of raw Venom Python poison kept with me either, and since you can¡¯t find them nearby here naturally, I need to be cautious as to when I use them.


    Treasuring this enhancement poison potion, I left the [Travelling Cat Store] and went back home.

 CH 141

    The Ongneer of the Strange Monster Bird


    The next day.


    With Snow alongside me, I made my way to the Carlisle forest once again.


    Esta was of course still busy with her magic training and with me deciding to go to Carlisle forest, Ralf has been doing some personal training as well.


    I felt a bit bad for Ralf, but I decided to come check on the Ongneer and took Snow with me as well.


    Of course I wanted to check the growth of the Monster Bird Ongneer, enough time had passed for another Greath¡¯s Ongneer to have ripened again.


    I won¡¯t get any more skills from his¡¯ but the fruit still raised some of my physical stats greatly and was still very useful.


    Well, I¡¯d rather never have to eat it again if I could but¡­¡­..as long as its raising my endurance and Strength by 6 and Stamina by 12, I simply can¡¯t skip out on eating it.


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    While feeling complicated, I continued walking towards my base¡ª¡ª-and by the way, Snow has gotten ridiculously strong now.


    Every goblin or kobold we ran into on our way was killed by Snow by itself.


    I was thinking of helping but Snow¡¯s ability to sense enemies is so much better than my own that by the time I even sensed them, Snow had already gone and hunted them down.


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    Its wind based elemental attack was especially convenient¡­¡­..just swinging its claws from afar towards a goblin would result in the goblin getting ripped to pieces.


    Could it be that its stronger than its parent already?


    Judging by its fighting style, it couldn¡¯t be judged as a silver rank monster anymore. No seriously, are we sure that Snow was even a Snow Panther?


    Its body is still mostly pure white and it could be a different breed of cub, or at least I started feeling that way¡­¡­¡­.


    While watching over Snow happily hunting down Goblin and Kobolds, I raised this suspicion in my mind, and before we knew it, we had already reached the base.


    I then had Snow wait inside the base, and I decided to instantly go and check on Ongneer.


    ¡°Snow, be a good kid and wait for me inside okay?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    ¡°good boy. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±


    After giving Snow another couple of headrubs, I left Snow inside the base and headed out.


    I¡¯d  feel a bit bad for Snow, but I have been thinking of growing an Ongneer out of a normal wild Snow Panther sometime in the future as well.


    It could control ice type complex magic, that was a mix of wind and water, and seeing Snow they must possess a skill to accelerate their body as well.


    They also might have some more skills that I have yet to know about so it made for a great candidate for the next host for Ongneer¡­¡­¡­but they were only found at the top of the Northern mountains.


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    The distance from there to the Ongneer was no joke, not to mention, I¡¯ll definitely get seen on the way which could raise suspicions as well.


    Carrying dead monster around into the forest would make me look like a psychopath after all.


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    While I kept walking and continued thinking of who to use as host after the monster bird¡ª¡ª-


    I suddenly started feeling a heavy atmosphere surround me. It was even denser and thicker than the last time so my expectations only increased.


    ¡°I can see it. Both the corpses are still there¡­¡­..also, looks like Ongneer grew properly as I had hoped.¡±


    I muttered to myself.


    Greath¡¯s had obviously grown well but seeing another fully grown Ongneer from the Monster bird¡¯s corpse as well really made my tension level rise.


    Last time, it was still not clear whether it was going to sprout properly or not but seeing both trees growing alongside well, made me breathe a sigh of relief.


    Not to mention it has a fruit fully ripened as well¡­¡­.now I should be able to absorb the Monster bird¡¯s skill as well.


    I slowly approached the Bird¡¯s corpse and began gathering the fruit.


    It looked slightly smaller than Greath¡¯s fruit. But the colour, compared to the goblin or Greath, was a lot more deep green.


    I plucked the fruit and then plucked the fruit fully ripened on Greath¡¯s tree as well.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    I held two Ongneers in both of my hands. I almost wanted to eat them right away but I also want to make sure I discern their effects properly, and considering how bad they tasted, there¡¯s a good chance I¡¯ll just ended up vomiting if I try them out without proper preparations.


    I put them inside my bag and properly sealed them, and then returned back to my base.


    I had been thinking on the way as well but, I really need to figure out the next host for the Ongneer.


    It didn¡¯t seem like it was close to withering yet of course but I don¡¯t when it might end up drying out either.


    And considering I couldn¡¯t find a new one even after a whole week of searching, I need to be very cautious and make sure I keep it alive.


    After a little more time has passed, I should probably aim for a monster subjugation request that would make for a good host.


    While thinking about what kind of request to take, I made it back to the base with two new Ongneers inside my bag.

 CH 142

    New Skills


    A week had passed since my trip to Carlisle Forest and the gathering of the Strange Monster bird fruit.


    A few days ago, Esta¡¯s special training also finally ended and our party finally went back to completing Gold rank requests for the last few days.


    Esta¡¯s intermediate magic was tremendous, and her firepower was now strong enough that she was able to kill even Gold rank monsters 2-3 spells.


    And maybe because she was already practicing high power focused magic even with beginner spells, she was able to further make these new spells feel even more explosive than they were.


    Ralf also made good use of the lessons received from Leon, and his movements as an attacker had greatly improved, and it feels like his raw strength has somehow increased as well but¡­¡­.


    In contrast to Esta¡¯s happy mood, he looked a bit down.


    Seeing Esta¡¯s strength after learning intermediate magic, he must be also thinking of various things as to how to keep up with her I imagine.


    From my point of view, Ralf is also growing at a fast rate but even after I told this to him directly, his expression didn¡¯t seem to change much.


    Also, as for me¡­¡­..I earned two new skills after eating the bird¡¯s Ongneer.


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    The first was [War Dance]. The second was [Hearing Enhancement].


    Both were classified as common, and were active type skills.


    [War Dance] was of course, the strange dance that the bird did during our battle.


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    By moving the body around in weird ways, it was able to increase your physical abilities similar to [Flesh Enhancement] but, the funny part was that the enhancement only applied to the part of the body you moved and shook around during the skill.


    If you move your whole body around, it would divide the effects across your entire body and the overall effect was similar but a little weaker to [Flesh Enhancement]. But if you shook just your arms, for example, all of it would go to your arms alone and the increase in strength was many times bigger.


    If you limit it even further and only move one arm, all of the effect would accumulate in just one arm making it deadly.


    On top of its great utility, [War Dance] was also just a interesting and fun skill all around.


    The only downside was the fact that you had to shake your body around to activate it, but even with that, it was a skill with great amounts of flexibility and uses.


    The second skill, [Hearing Enhancement] was exactly what it sounded like.


    Just like the bird did, it allowed you to detect things all around from just the sound and it made your ears as good as Snow.


    It¡¯ll allow me to basically never get ambushed and during battle, it would allow me to detect even the most minute changes.


    But it¡¯s stamina cost was pretty heavy, though not as much as [Fortification], and while my stamina was still not that high, the amount of times I could use it was still limited¡­¡­¡­.but again, it was still a very useful skill.


    That was just the skills. As for the stats increase, Endurance by 8, Strength by 6, Stamina by 5, magic by 1, and agility by 9. As you can tell, it was quite an all around increase.


    The taste on the other hand was of course horrible as always but¡ª¨Cit was still much better than Greath¡¯s.


    ¡­¡­..well that about covers my updates.


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    I have been able to grow rapidly thanks to Ongneer, as well as learn new useful skills.


    If I can keep this up, I am bound to catch up with Klaus sooner or later.


    This confident was proof for how amazing the Ongneer really was.


    While I was thinking that, Esta began talking to me as we walked towards the Guild.


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    ¡°Chris-san, what kind of request are we going to be taking today?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of taking on the subjugation request for Red Kong in the North-east mountain-forest area  today.¡±


    ¡°Red Kong¡­¡­If I recall, was it the one that had a bonus cash reward?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I saw that too! But wasn¡¯t it platinum rank? If you had the normal reward, the total came out to be a crazy 5 platinum coins!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and that¡¯s why we¡¯re taking it. It¡¯s why we took a holiday yesterday, so that we are all in our perfect condition for today¡¯s battle.¡±


    ¡°You should tell that beforehand you know?! I would have gone and done some shopping for stuff!¡±


    ¡°No we don¡¯t need to do that stuff. I already have enough healing potions already. Also¡­¡­if I had told you, you two both would have wasted your energy doing excessive training on your own, right?¡±


    It was a bullseye. As both of them turned their heads away and started whistling to feign ignorance.


    It¡¯s nice to be hard working but resting your body regularly is also an important part of your training.


    Especially before fighting a strong enemy.


    ¡°But, can we even accept a platinum rank request? We¡¯re still gold rank after all.¡±


    ¡°I already got permission by asking the vie chief. The Red Kong has already caused a lot of damage, and even after offering a bonus, ¡­¡­¡­¡­no one has come forward to accept it after all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­¡­well, I mean we did get rid of the only platinum rank adventurer they had.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. If we don¡¯t take it, no one else here would, so since we have already proven ourselves before, I got the permission.¡±


    Once again, I was glad that we became friends with the vice chief.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°Well if that¡¯s the case, I guess there no problems there then! ¡­¡­..but what about our actual strength? Can we take it on?¡±


    ¡°It will be a tough monster, make no mistake. But as we are right now, I do think we can win. Red Kong is a monster that excels in close combat as well as uses fire elemental attacks. As long as I keep its attention and deflect his attacks, Esta and Snow can blast him water and ice magic and Ralf can cause damage with his sword¡­¡­¡­.We will win in the end.¡±


    ¡°Ohh! Kinda similar to how we handled the Golem huh?¡±


    ¡°I guess it is. Think of it as a stronger golem, that¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    It was right on the line whether it was a monster we could fight right now or not, and so I spent the entire last week pondering about it¡­¡­.


    But after seeing the force of Esta¡¯s intermediate magic, I am pretty confident now.


    If we win, that¡¯s 5 platinum coins as a reward, and we¡¯ll be a lot closer to being promoted to platinum rank as well.


    And on top of all that,¡­¡­.this was the perfect monster to become the next host for the Ongneer.


    The north-eastern mountain forests were pretty close to Carlisle forest which was in the east so it shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble to carry it all the way.


    It does create the extra restraint of having to defeat it without damaging its hear but, if I can suppress it perfectly, we should be able to clear that condition as well.


    And thus, after taking on the request officially we headed towards the north-eastern mountain forests to subjugate the Red Kong.

 CH 143

    Red Kong


    For once I had to ignore the Carlisle forests as we headed east, and made our way across the highway further beyond.


    The road slowly began becoming narrower and narrower , and the number of trees around us also grew.


    ¡°Man there¡¯s so many more trees around us now! Are we already in the designated area?¡±


    ¡°We are but the sightings of the Red Kong are much further ahead still.¡±


    ¡°But still,¡­¡­it¡¯s nice to not have to stop to fight every little monster on the way. Snow really is so useful!¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s killing them long before we could even sense them! That said, if its killing them so easily, is it even getting any stronger from this?¡±


    ¡°I think it is. It¡¯s movements are clearly getting much better, and its range of detection seems to be also increasing. I have also ordered it only attack the monsters told beforehand so it won¡¯t suddenly attack a stronger monster and become too strong either¡ª¨Cit will keep getting stronger little by little like this.


    ¡°Gah¡­¡­..is even Snow going to surpass me!? Shit, I really can¡¯t be slacking off!!¡±


    Ralf also lined up alongside Snow, and began trying to sense monsters with Snow.


    But no matter how much he tried, there was no way he¡¯ll ever beat Snow whose detection abilities were better than even my own¡­¡­


    It¡¯ll be a pain to stop him so I just let him do whatever though.


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    In the end, after two hours or so, Ralf tried his best to hunt scrubs alongside Snow but they were all killed by Snow and Ralf failed to get a single kill, and just wasted his energy for no reason.


    Funnily enough, to not make Ralf worry, Snow, who was unaware of Ralf¡¯s true intentions, worked even harder to kill everything by itself and then was nuzzling against Ralf asking to be praised for it.


    ¡°Ralf, Snow wants you to praise it you know! Don¡¯t leave it hanging!¡±


    ¡°ugh, uuu¡­¡­¡­.You did a good job Snow! Good boy!¡±


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    While giving a side glance at Ralf who was praising Snow with a complicated mental state, I also finally raised my vigilance towards the surroundings and began looking for enemies.


    It won¡¯t be strange to run into the Red Kong from here onwards after all.


    ¡°Enough playing around, time to focus up. Snow, back into Esta¡¯s bag. Ralf, stay behind me.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re finally close to it eh. Got it!¡±


    ¡°Snow, c¡¯mon, come here¡­¡­¡­.I will also be at full focus, for we could get attacked at anytime!¡±


    We took our usual formation, and we continued walking through the area, ready for battle.


    Since then, 20 minutes had passed.


    I suddenly sensed a monster rushing towards us from our right.


    From the pressure alone, I knew this was not a normal monster, so I began giving orders to the two, and took my stance with shield.


    While crushing down any tree in its way, the monster that appeared with such great speed was¡ª¡ªa gorilla-esque giant monster covered in red fur.


    In some ways it looked similar to the Orc General but, its appearance was a lot more wild and animalistic, and it possessed no weapons either.


    The amount of muscle mass on its body was also similar to the Orc General, and it had sharp fangs and claws on top.


    It¡¯s arms were big and strong enough to topple trees in its way, and it also had a tail a little more than half the size of its whole body.


    That said, its movements looked light and nimble and it seemed like its heavy body didn¡¯t affect it¡¯s agility at all.


    ¡°I-is it just me or it looks stronger than we thought!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, honestly, I didn¡¯t think it would come straight at us all the way here.¡±


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    It slammed its chest like a drum and roared, as the Red Kong¡¯s appearance alone made cold sweat run down my spine.


    Compared to the Venom Python that was a similar platinum rank monster, its aura was on a whole different level.


    Just like the vice chief had told, without the poison, the Venom Python really was a normal gold rank monster.


    The red kong certainly looked stronger than we expected but¡­¡­..I have also grown since I fought those Venom Pythons as well.


    And so have Ralf and Esta, and we even have Snow with us this time around.


    While keeping my eyes on the Red Kong that was still drumming its chest, I wordlessly activated [Flesh Enhancement].


    First I¡¯ll try and deal with it with this alone. If I can¡¯t handle it, then I¡¯ll further use [Skin Strengthen] and [Fortification].


    I ran the simulations in my head, and focused on the movement of the Red Kong.


    It still didn¡¯t seem like it was going to attack¡ª¡ªbut the moment I thought that, it suddenly rushed at me on all 4 legs.


    It rushed at me with the intention of slamming its giant body straight at me, and as it reached closer to hitting me, I took a step aside and completely dodge it.


    It was definitely fast overall, but its acceleration was what really stood out. This is definitely going to be a pain to deal with.


    It was the same with Venom Pythons as well but, sudden lunges were hard to deal with.


    At least in case of Venom Pythons, they could only lunge at you in a straight line but, this Red Kong could literally attack from anywhere which made it a whole lot harder.


    Not to mention, from what I can tell the strength behind each attack was in a whole different level as well, and I also know that it has elemental attacks in store for us as well.


    ¡­¡­¡­.this is a stronger monster than I had originally imagined.


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    Seeing me dodge its attacks, the Red Kong quickly fixed its posture and then rushed towards me again to launch a second attack.


    But this time it didn¡¯t just lunge at me again, it simply closed the distance between us to enter close quarters combat with me directly.


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    Well, from my perspective, I¡¯d rather face this than the lunges as well though.


    As the Red Kong approached me, setting up its own rhythm of attacks, I put up my shield to watch what it does next.


    I wasn¡¯t going to attack yet, I¡¯ll focus all on simply deflecting its attacks for now.


    As it launched a right upper from above¡ª¨CI used my shield to divert it straight into the ground.


    ¡­¡­¡­the weight behind its attacks was lighter than I expected.


    I was able to completely deflect the right upper, and while I was pondering on how light that attack felt¡ª¨Cit followed it up with full powered Left Straight punch.


    Seeing its left arm come towards me with full speed, I instinctively knew that I won¡¯t be able to block that like always.


    I had to activate [Skin Strengthening] and [Fortification]¡ª¡ªNo, I won¡¯t make it in time with two skills.


    Then,¡­¡­I choose just [Fortification].


    I instantly activated [Fortification], and somehow managed to block the might of the left straight.


    On top of [Flesh Enhancement], I also used [Fortification] yet I was unable to completely kill the blow and I got blown backwards as my feet slid across the ground a meter in distance.


    The Red Kong looked shocked that someone had managed to block its hit head on, but quickly moved into launching its next attack.


    That left straight was¡­¡­¡­not even a skill. It was just a normal punch.


    ¡ª¡ª-It¡¯s strong. This thing is bloody strong.

 CH 144

    Fierce Attack


    Watching me smile like a villain, the Red Kong stopped in its tracks for a moment, but soon recovered and started attacking once again.


    I quickly cancelled [Fortification], and activated [Skin Strengthen] in its stead.


    Furthermore, I gave the signal to Esta to start attacking as well, and with my shield in hand, I began slowly memorizing every single move and action the monster made.


    As it tried using its long thick arms to almost wrap around my body, I deflected the arm sweep with my shield once again.


    I then twisted my body to dodge the back kick after the sweep, and when it tried to grab me, I used shield bash to smack its face.


    Eating the shield bash directly to the face, it faltered for a second and during that timing, Esta hit the Red Kong with her [Frost arrows].


    ¡­¡­..The Red Kong was capable of flowing from one move to another and its attacks came in waves. But as long as they are only powerful enough that I can still deflect them with my shield, I can still manage.


    The strength behind its Back Kick was pretty high but I wasn¡¯t going to be blocking every single attack in the first place.


    Right now, of the ones I have seen, the only attacks I need [Fortification] to defend against are the Left straight and the Back Kick.


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    If its just this level, I have no chance of losing but, the Red Kong has yet to show all of its cards.


    After getting struck by the [Frost Arrows], it got back up while shaking its head and began drumming its chest even harder than before.


    Looks like we¡¯ve finally made it take this seriously, and every time it drummed its chest, its muscle mass seemed to increase further.


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    Furthermore, flames started flickering out of its body so it looks like its going to start going all out from now on.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to go all out from here on as well! Ralf and Snow, match my timing and launch your attacks when I give the signal. Esta, continue blasting it with magic like you did just now.¡±


    ¡°Got it! Snow, c¡¯mon let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    Giving them both their instructions, I activated [War Dance].


    I focused all the enhancement in just my right arm.


    My shield was in my left, and in my right I held my sword.


    Now, I won¡¯t just guard its attacks but will also start dealing back damage at the same time to create openings for the rest.


    As its red fur bristled up, the Red Kong launched its attacks with even more force of its entire body.


    ¡­¡­..My job was to restrain its movements, and to create openings for Ralf and Snow.


    I dodged every single blow that it aimed at me, and when it used its backhand to catch me off guard even at the cost of its own balance, this was where I used my shield to completely block and then deflect it into the ground.


    Doing that, I instantly realized that right now both hands of the monster were currently on the ground, and so I slashed directly at its belly.


    Since [War Dance] enhance the strength of my right arm, if I land a clean it hit, it could very easily be fatal¡ª¡ª-but even against such an attack, the Red Kong countered by enveloping its long tail in fire, and swung it aimed at me.


    ¡°Shit! Why is it so tough¡ª¨Calso hot!?¡±


    I quickly changed my target from the belly to the tail and swung my sword hoping to cut its tail in two but, only the sound similar to steel clashing steel reverberated and I was unable to cut through it, and we only nullified each other¡¯s attacks.


    The heat wave from the burning tail hit me and made me aware of how hot those flames were.


    ¡ª¨CIt¡¯s like a sword of flames.


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    As I made judgement on the nature of the burning tail, my attack had failed but¡­¡­


    ¡°Ralf, Snow! Now!!¡±


    Since the monster was still out of balance, I gave it no chance to reset or rest and told Ralf and Snow to launch their attacks.


    At the same time, Esta also launched her magic.


    ¡°[Hydro Ball]!¡±


    Intermediate water magic, [Hydro ball].


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    A powerful ball of swirling water headed in a straight line towards the Red Kong¡ª¡ª and crashed into its body in an attempt to extinguish the flames.


    Soon after the [Hydro Ball] hit, Ralf launched his attack first. Behind him, Snow followed as Ralf swung down hard on the Red Kong.


    Since its balance was already off, and had been by Estaa¡¯s powerful magic as well, it couldn¡¯t deal with his attack and so without getting interrupted by the tail, Ralf sliced right into the Red Kong¡¯s flesh.


    Matching the timing, Snow enveloped its fangs in ice and bit into its left arm.


    ¡°MUOOAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!¡±


    Roaring and screaming in pain, it flailed its arms to try and hit the two close to him.


    But,¡­¡­I rushed in right as their attacks ended to switch places, and deflected all of its attacks, and then followed up with my own counter attack to stab my sword into its flank.


    Couple with the boosted power of [Flesh Enhancement] and [War Dance], my sword thrust went in cleanly.


    Then, it got hit by the second volley of intermediate magic, followed by another diagonal slash from Ralf and Ice Bite from Snow, after which, I unleashed another stab into its side, finally making the Red Kong take a knee on the ground.


    ¡­¡­¡­But, it¡¯s eyes showed that it was from death, and was desperately trying to launch its next attack.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    To stop its vain struggle, we need to kill it right now.


    Feeling that strongly, I signalled both Ralf and Esta again and we all launched another attack to deal the killing blow.


    ¡°Esta, magic, again!¡±


    ¡°[Frost Edge]!¡±


    As I spoke, a blade of ice attacked the kneeling Red Kong and as it hit, I rushed straight to its right side.


    Ralf went to its left, and we both launched an attack together from both sides.


    ¡°Uriyaaah!!¡±


    Ralf shouted with vigour as he launched a full powered swing, and aimed for the part that had been ripped open by Snow¡¯s bites, and sliced all the way ripping apart the thick left arm into two.


    The [Frost Edge] had put wounds all over its body, and Ralf¡¯s strike cut off its left arm.


    ¡­¡­..Now, I just need to deal the final blow.


    I can¡¯t aim for the heart, and I can¡¯t slice its body in two either, which only leaves the head.


    So I aimed for the skull of the immobilized Red Kong, and stabbed my sword straight at it.


    The clean hit pierced straight through its skull, killing it, and finally its rampage ceased as the Red Kong fell face first into the ground.

 CH 145

    A Bad Feeling


    ¡°Chris! Is it over?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s dead.¡±


    I answered to Ralf who quickly came running to me to check.


    ¡­¡­¡­still, this was a strong one.


    I thought I¡¯d be able to take it down with just [Flesh Enhancement] and [War Dance] but that was not the case at all.


    We all had to work together with perfect coordination to narrowly attain victory.


    ¡ª¨CBut, now I can get the Ongneer to use this Red Kong as the next host.


    This was a risk, but the reward was well worth it.


    ¡°It was a close one. Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect it to be this strong. Even though I hit it perfectly with my [Frost Arrows] it just barely flinched.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I underestimated it a bit as well I must admit. That said, both you Esta and Ralf did incredible in such a situation. Of course, you as well Snow.¡±


    As I praised Snow who was nuzzling near my feet, I began dealing with the Red Kong¡¯s corpse.


    We burned the arm we cut off, took off its left ear as proof¡ª¡ªand the rest, I¡¯ll carry to Carlisle forest.


    Since it was pretty big and had huge muscle mass, it¡¯ll be pretty heavy but¡­¡­..with the amount of strength I have gained thanks to all the lizaf fruits, I should be able to carry it.


    I¡¯m definitely going to stand out and catch a lot of attention, and while dragging it with me was going to be tough, at least the Carlisle forest was between this area and Oxter, which made things much easier.


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    ¡°So you¡¯re gonna be carrying the Red kong back after all huh.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s necessary to get new skills for me. If it¡¯s a corpse I can carry the distance, I simply cannot miss the chance to do so.¡±


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    ¡°Umm, we never really asked any details but I feel like we should now so, how exactly do you attain these new skills Chris-san? And speaking of carrying corpses I did recall one other thing¡­¡­., If my memory serves me correctly, the skills you have now are the ones Greath had, am I correct?¡±


    ¡°Ah! You¡¯re right, the skills Chris is using are in fact the ones that Greath had been using now that you mention it!!


    Now that she mentions it, I never really explained the process in detail to them did I?


    It completely escaped my mind but, I only told them about the existence of Ongneer not how it worked.


    ¡°There¡¯s a really dangerous poisonous plant, that could grant skills. I think I told at least that much right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the one that could kill if you even approached close to it, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. That plant grows by parasitically attaching itself to other living beings and uses them to absorb nutrients¡ª¨Cand also their skills. And by eating the fruit that has absorbed said skill, that skill would then get absorbed by me.¡±


    ¡°Basically¡­¡­.by eating the fruit that grew out of Greath, you gained his skills?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. And by using this Red Kong to grow the next fruit, I¡¯ll gain its skills as well.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious!? That¡¯s incredible but¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m amazed you are able to actually eat such a gross and disgusting thing.¡±


    ¡°Oh the fruit is far, far worse than anything you can imagine right now Ralf, trust me. But for more power, I have been slowly eating them in parts, though if I could make do without doing so, I would gladly never eat another one of those again in my entire life.¡±


    Esta seemed amazed from hearing the explanation of the Ongneer fruit, while Ralf was just disgusted.


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    ¡°Which means¡­¡­.if you were to massacre a lot of strong people and use them to grow more fruits, Chris you could pretty quickly become the strongest person alive no?¡±


    ¡°In theory, yes. But I have no plans of doing such a thing.¡ª¡ªEven using monsters like this, has me constantly worried of catching attention you know.¡±


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    ¡°Well, a person who keeps carrying monster corpses into the forest is bound to look suspicious after all. Anyone who doesn¡¯t know the circumstances, is more likely to believe that you are some kind of crazy cultist.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. If I catch to much attention and someone were to start investigating, it will lead to a lot of people dying to the Ongneer poison and it¡¯ll turn into a huge incident.¡±


    Because of the deadly poison involved that I¡¯m using, I need to be extra careful.


    Barring people like my family or Greath, I¡¯d rather not cause trouble to normal people around me.


    While having such conversations, we headed back from the north east mountain forest area and headed towards Oxter.


    Leaving this area, I separated from the rest and headed towards the Carlisle forest on my own.


    It was already evening, so it was dangerous to be carrying the Red Kong¡¯s body alone in the dark through the forest, so maybe I should have taken the two with me but¡­¡­.


    If I recall, back when I carried the Orc general¡¯s corpse, scrub monsters didn¡¯t dare attack me, so if I¡¯m carrying the Red Kong, the effect should be the same.


    Hence, there was no need to bring them with me and it was more efficient to have those two go back before me and report the request completion instead.


    By giving this reason, I refused the offer from them and walked through the Carlisle forest on my own.


    As I thought, I didn¡¯t get attacked as long as I had the Red Kong¡¯s corpse with me, and I continued walking deeper inside the forest.


    Since the corpse was pretty big and would get stuck here and there, on top of being generally hard to carry around, it was a great relief that I wasn¡¯t getting attacked on top as well.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    As the sun set, and it started to turn dark, I reached my base and from there I headed straight to the Ongneer¡¯s place.


    Walking through the oppressive atmosphere where the Ongneer grew, I finally dropped the Red Kong corpse near the two fully grown plants, and then made my way back to the base.


    I was hoping to pluck another fruit if it had grown but¡­¡­¡­.unfortunately none of them had ripened yet, and there were only a couple of small, still unripe fruits.


    Giving up on that, I left the forest and headed back to Oxter.


    Since I was also tired from the battle, and I was bound to get attacked by monsters on the way back, part of me wanted to just spend the night in the base but if I didn¡¯t return, I¡¯ll just make those two worry so I made my way to Oxter in the end.


    .


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    By the time I made it back to Oxter it was so late that there were barely any people around.


    It was the same as when I took the Orc General but, when I take a monster all the way inside the forest the day we subjugate them, it is always past midnight by the time I¡¯m back.


    Next time onwards, I¡¯ll tell them in advance that I¡¯ll spend the night in the base and will return the next day. Making that decision in my head, I made it to our home with heavy steps.


    The light inside the house was still lit, but they must have gone to sleep by now.


    As I continued walking, suddenly I felt this bad and uncomfortable feeling  hit my body.


    When I looked towards the ground, I saw a trail of blood heading towards the door of our home, where someone was lying there, collapsed on the ground.


    Since it was late into the night and there not much light around, and the fact that the person was wearing all black, I didn¡¯t instantly notice them there¡­¡­..Who could it be?


    Judging by their physique, it was definitely not Ralf or Esta, I was sure.


    Judging by the pool of blood, they were fatally wounded and I could barely feel any life out of them.


    I racked my brains, and thought of the man looking for me in Norfast.


    But, they had both arms intact so it was definitely not him.


    I tried thinking but I couldn¡¯t think of anyone so I slowly, cautiously made my way closer to the collapsed person.


    After reaching a bit more closer, and seeing their full body properly¡ª¡ªI instantly recognized who that person was.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Alyazi¡ª¡ªsan?¡±

 CH 146

    Last Request


    I called the name of the person who was collapsed there¡ª-Alyazi-san, but I got no response and he seemed to not even move.


    I quickly rushed to his side, and quickly turned his body face up towards me.


    There was whole in his stomach area, probably where he got stabbed, and the wound was bad enough to make one avert their eyes.


    ¡ª¡ª-but, he was not yet dead, as I could still sense him breath, if only faintly.


    To try and treat him, I was about to carry him into the house when Alyazi-san¡¯s hand stopped me as I was about to pick him up.


    ¡°nn¡­¡­.Chris-kun, is that you?¡ª¡ª¨Cthank god, I was able to talk to you before I die.¡±


    ¡°Alyazi-san, just, what the hell happened!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother carrying me inside. I¡¯m using my skills to just barely keep me alive but the moment my stamina runs out and the skills stop working¡­¡­..I¡¯ll die.¡±


    ¡°No! I know a talented alchemist! Her potions could¡ª-¡°


    ¡°I know my body well. This wound cannot be healed no matter what you do, I know that better than anyone¡­¡­¡­so please, just listen to what I have to say. Otherwise, me coming here all this way would be meaningless.¡±


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    Even at the verge of death, Alyazi-san strongly pleaded to me with his words.


    I don¡¯t want to give up on him. I don¡¯t but¡ª¡ª


    Even I knew that the flame of his life was disappearing, painfully so.


    Once again I was made aware of my pathetic weakness that needed to come this close and confirm with my own eyes before realizing who this was, even after heightening my focus to the max.


    Then the least I could do¡­¡­¡­was to respect his wishes. I need to hear why he made it all the way here just to tell me something. Else I would have wasted all of his effort for nothing.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.I understand. Please speak.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. First, let me tell you what happened¡­¡­¡­.this evening, we got entangled with a certain man. ¡ª¡ªa man with a single arm, and a scar across his forehead. He called himself, Carlo.¡±


    ¡°one armed, scarred face¡­¡­¡­..my pursuer.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. That man had found out that you are in Oxter. Apparently he heard that from some adventurer called Henry.¡±


    Henry? Henry¡­¡­¡­I remember. He was one of Greath¡¯s lackeys.


    When they all ran from Oxter, after their party disbanded¡ª¡ª- one of them went to Norfast, and ended up leaking my location to this one armed man it seems.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I really should have killed them all right there and then. No, I needed them alive to avoid getting suspected for killing Greath.


    Not to mention, at that time I had no idea, my pursuer had made all the way to Norfast already¡ª¡ªah whatever.


    This is¡­¡­not the time to be analyzing the past.


    ¡°Henry was once an adventurer in Oxter. He must have talked I imagine.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that was true after all. Just like Chris said, we were careful to not say your name out loud¡­¡­..But he reacted to the word ¡®Oxter¡¯ and we ended up getting dragged into this mess at a bar. We all realized that the man was the one pursuing Chris as soon as we noticed the missing arm and the scar but¡ª¡ªwe were far too na?ve.¡±


    ¡°Did you fight that Carlo and then Alyazi-san was¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. We all thought that if we all fought this single man, we¡¯ll win. He was the one who picked the fight anyway so we simply reacted but then left. But as soon as we were in an empty place, out of nowhere Joyce-san¡¯s head got chopped¡ª¡ª-and I ended up like this.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.. even you guys couldn¡¯t hurt him?¡±


    ¡°Joyce-san was unable to do much, and I even activated my skills but was still unable to react in time. Realizing that we couldn¡¯t win like this, Leon-san and Janet-san acted together as a wall for me, to let me run away as I was the fastest, even if I was wounded.¡±


    ¡­¡­..which means, most likely not just Joyce, even Leon and Janet are probably dead.


    The inside of my head was a mess with regret and rage.


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    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. If only you had never interacted with me¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°No, this has nothing to do with you. We were always going to go to Oxter and we are the ones that picked a fight without properly judging the strength of our enemy. If anything, I should apologize. Even though you so seriously warned us, we let our Mithril rank get to our heads and didn¡¯t heed your warnings properly.¡±


    Even while breathing painfully, Alyazi-san made sure to console me.


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    ¡­¡­¡­.no matter what he say, it¡¯s a fact that I got the [Silver Winged Lion] involved in this.


    As I looked at the deep wound on Alyazi-san¡¯s body, my head hurt like it was about to burst.


    ¡°It looks like I¡¯m at my limit¡­¡­¡­.my stamina is about to run out. I¡¯m glad I was able to make it here and properly tell you everything.¡±


    ¡°Alyazi-san, I¡¯m sor-¡­¡­..no, thank you¡ª¡ªfor coming all this way just for me. Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­fufufu, Chris-kun, you are my one and only disciple after all.¡±


    Filled with pride, Alyazi-san looked at me and spoke so.


    ¡°it was only for a little while but I¡¯m glad I was able to be your teacher¡­¡­.When you one day become strong and famous, be sure to tell everyone in the world that I was your teacher okay?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªyes. I promise.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.good. As for my body, please use it for yourself¡­¡­.if what you told me during our training is true, then you can absorb my skills¡­¡­.you can right?¡±


    ¡°I-I can but, I can¡¯t turn you into food for some plant..¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..this is my last request. I¡¯m asking you to do so¡­¡­¡­.this way, together with Chris-kun, I too can aim to be strongest.¡ª¡ªFor in the end, I was never able to do so on my own.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..If you say so¡­¡­¡­.I cannot refuse your last request.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me. I know this will hurt you. ¡ª¡ª¨Cnow, I, soon¡­¡­..I must go to sleep¡­¡­¡­..It was fun¡­¡­..yeah, it was really fun. My dreams, carry it¡ª¡ªI entrust them all¡­..to you, Chris-kun.¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    While gripping my hand and looking straight into my eyes, he strongly said so. And as his stamina depleted, I felt his skills stopped working.


    He really was at the edge already, as the moment the skills deactivated¡ª¡ª¨CAlyazi-san quietly breathed his last.


    My chest hurt so much I could go crazy.


    I have known Alyazi-san for only a short time.


    But, he truly accepted me as his disciple. And taught me everything he could and asked for nothing in return.


    During our training sessions, we would talk about the world, about each other, so I knew Alyazi-san¡¯s background, his past. And so I told him mine as well.


    One day, one day I would return this debt in full. I swore that to myself , but it looks like till the very end, he only kept giving and helping me, and then he left this world.


    ¡­¡­¡­.It hurts. Its frustrating. I hate this weak me so much. I hate myself for not being able to do anything.


    And above all, I hate Klaus for getting innocents involved and that one-armed pursuer, Carlo for doing this.


    ¡ª¡ª-If you want to kill me, then aim just for me.


    My urge to kill Klaus as well as my raging hatred towards that one armed man, gushed forth.


    If I could, I would head to Norfast right now and rip him to shreds.


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    My heart was telling me to do so¡­¡­¡­but I knew that this man could easily take on both Leon and Alyazi-san, two people I didn¡¯t manage to beat in a one-on-one, even once.


    Even if I challenged him now, I would be swiftly killed¡ª¡ªand I knew I would be dealt a pathetic death in front of Klaus.


    Rage and hatred boiled inside me.


    But I calmed myself and sealed it all inside a cold prison, and after taking off all of Alyazi-san¡¯s personal items¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    I picked up the dead Alyazi-san who looked like he was peacefully sleeping, and then headed back to the Carlisle forest once more.

 CH 147

    Informing the Two


    By the time I made it back to Oxter again, it was already early morning of the next day.


    If I started thinking of anything, I felt like I¡¯d lose my mind so I just brainlessly walked to the forest and then came back.


    ¡­¡­the first thing I need to do now is to start preparing to escape Oxter.


    If what Alyazi-san said is correct, mu pursuer, the man named Carlo, already knows I¡¯m in Oxter and should be coming after me very soon.


    If I run into him, that¡¯ll be the end of the line, so I¡¯ll have to seclude myself in Carlsile forest and devour as many poisonous plants as I can and build up strength.


    Also,¡ª¡ªincluding Alyazi-san¡¯s now, I have to raise many different types of Ongneer, gain more skills and then I will kill Carlo.


    Having made my plans, I recovered Alyazi-san¡¯s personal items that I left in front of the house, went inside the house, took a shower, and then quietly waited until both of them woke up.


    .


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    Sitting on the chair in our living room, I spent an hour just waiting, and petting Snow who had also sensed my presence and come to me.


    While yawing, the first one to come down the stairs was Esta.


    ¡°¡­¡­..huh? Chris-san, you¡¯re awake already?¡±


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    ¡°No, things have happened. Let Ralf also come down, then I¡¯ll talk in detail.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..I see. Well he should be up soon so I¡¯ll make breakfast in the meantime if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Esta went to the wash basin, brushed her teeth, and then began making breakfast, and after a few minutes.


    Ralf also came down the stairs while stretching his body.


    ¡°Ooh, you came back safe after all huh! You were late so we were worried you know¡­¡­¡­hm? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have something to talk about so sit down and wait.¡±


    Sensing that I wasn¡¯t the same as always, Ralf asked worriedly and I asked him to sit down with me before I started talking.


    Esta also came with our breakfast soon enough and seemed ready to listen to whatever I had to say.


    ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the chase¡ª¡ªlate last night, Alyazi-san came to the house.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Alyazi-san? You mean, the same one as the one from [Silver Winged Lion] right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that one indeed.¡±


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    ¡°But why? And so late at night?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, their party were attacked. By the guy hunting me¡­¡­¡­he came to tell me that.¡±


    They both seemed relaxed on hearing that.


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    I suppose they couldn¡¯t even imagine the possibility of the [Silver Winged Lion] losing.


    If I hadn¡¯t seen Alyazi-san¡¯s state myself, perhaps I wouldn¡¯t have believed it either.


    ¡°Why did he come all the way for just that!? Ah well, I would have liked to meet him again at least! Could have come in the morning!¡±


    ¡°He must have been in a hurry to warn us I imagine. He¡¯s a kind man after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯m sorry to inform you but things did not go as you are imagining it. The [Silver Winged Lion] lost to that man. The remaining party members sacrificed themselves to let Alyazi-san run away just so he could report that to me. And¡ª¡ªafter passing that info to me, he too, breathed his last.¡±


    When I told the everything, Ralf just looked stunned as his mouth flapped open and shut but no words came out.


    Esta covered her mouth with her hands, also shocked beyond belief.


    ¡°Y-you¡¯re lying, right? I mean, we just trained with them a couple days ago!?! They were so strong yet they died¡­¡­.? Chris!! If this is a joke, it ain¡¯t funny!!¡±


    ¡°This is not a lie. This is reality.¡±


    ¡°Are we certain that they all perished? Is there any chance that at least some of them survived¡­¡­.there is right!?¡±


    ¡°From what Alyazi-san told me, Joyce was confirmed to be dead. Leon and Janet bought time for Alyazi-san to escape so their status isn¡¯t confirmed but¡­¡­¡­.from what I have heard of the killer¡¯s strength, it¡¯s more than likely that they didn¡¯t live.¡±


    ¡°Wha-what the hell¡­¡­¡­that¡¯s insane! How could a Mithril rank party, so easily lose¡­¡­..there¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible!!¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    Ralf slammed the table, and the dishes on table all shivered from the impact.


    As the cutlery shook noisily, I waited until it settled down before I began talking again.


    ¡°I was being na?ve as well. It¡¯s just one guy, one pursuer, it¡¯ll be fine¡­¡­..but I forgot that the pursuer is someone skilled enough that the next hero candidate chose him for this job. At the very least, it¡¯d be someone at the same level as a diamond class adventurer.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..th-there¡¯s no way we¡¯d be able to face so-someone like that.¡±


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s why we will run. That¡¯s the reason why I have called you both here in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Chris!!¡ª¡ªare you not mad!!? Getting attacked one-sidedly like this! Constantly being made to move from place to place!! Just running, running, constantly¡­¡­¡­and now we¡¯ve even lost people we cared for¡­..!!!¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨COF COURSE I¡¯M MAD!! ¡­¡­.I was driven out of my own home, I never stopped being mad ever since I almost died to Klaus!! If I could, I would go to that man and brutally murder him right now but, the reality is that we can¡¯t! So I¡¯ll hold on to this rage¡ª¡ª-I¡¯ll let it simmer until the day I can get my revenge. And I¡¯ll do it no matter the cost.¡±


    Emotionally overwhelmed, Ralf could simply grit his teeth and stare at the ground.


    If you let your anger control your actions, it¡¯s unlikely you¡¯ll ever make the right decisions.


    It is in times like this that we must be calm, and silently build up strength.


    To avenge the members of the [Silver Winged Lion] as well.

 CH 148

    Preparations for Escape


    ¡°I agree with Chris-san. Even if we fight this pursuer now, we can¡¯t win anyway¡­¡­..as for fleeing, should we do the same as when we moved here from Realzard and run to a different town?¡±


    ¡°That might work but, if we want to be certain, we have to escape the country itself this time. But if we were to leave the country we¡¯ll need to provide identity papers, and if we do that there is always a chance that the news reaches to Klaus¡¯ underling or something, which will ruin everything.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Then what the hell do we do? Where do we run to then?!¡±


    ¡°There is one place¡ª¡ªthe Carlisle forest. We¡¯ll hide inside the forest for the next couple of months, and work solely on getting as strong as possible in a short time.¡±


    Yes, we¡¯ll live in the base I used and I¡¯ll do nothing but devour poisonous plants and gain as much strength as I can.


    I¡¯ll move all the plants I was growing here at home to the base as well, and we need to be completely out of here before our pursuer comes to Oxter.


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    ¡°Certainly, it¡¯ll be hard to find someone who is hidden inside a giant forest like that.¡±


    ¡°So are we all gonna stay in the forest together?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan. There is a chance that they know about you two already as well.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­¡­Living in a forest eh. Feels like we¡¯re going back to square one again.¡±


    ¡°No, we are not. Because we ourselves are still growing stronger still.¡ª¨CBut, we can¡¯t do that slowly, step by step like we had until now. I for one am going to devote myself completely to only getting stronger. I will most certainly be causing both of you a whole lot of trouble as well, and if you feel  like you can¡¯t stay with me anymore¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°You fucking idiot!! That option simply does not exist for both me and Esta!!¡±


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    He slammed the table even harder than before, and shouted in a coarse voice.


    ¡°Ralf, thank you¡­¡­..then, as I explained, this is what we¡¯re going to do from now on. Any questions?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..a simple one. What are we going to do about food and clothes in the time we¡¯re in the forest?¡±


    ¡°As for clothes, I¡¯m planning on asking Shantell and Vice chief for help. I need Shnatell¡¯s help to continue making potions anyway, so I¡¯ll head to her place first thing in the morning today to explain it to her.¡±


    ¡°Then, allow me to go to the Vice chief and talk to him about this. As for food¡­¡­..are we going to hunt our own food in the forest I presume?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan, yes. There¡¯s a lot of animals in Carlisle forest, and there¡¯s fishes in a nearby pond as well so we¡¯ll manage. Also¡­¡­.I¡¯m going to have you two both hunt monster for me to absorb their skills as well.¡±


    ¡°Monsters for skills?¡±


    I¡¯ll have to ask them to hunt monsters in the same area as the Red Kong, and use those monsters for more Ongneer plants.


    This will all be for my own sake alone, but for the sake of getting stronger, I have no choice but to make them do this.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I explained before right? I need monsters to become new hosts for the plant, and you¡¯ll have to carry it to the forest for me.¡±


    ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll get stronger normally by defeating monsters anyway, so we just have to carry those monsters back right?¡±


    ¡°I see. We¡¯ll hunt monsters to get stronger as always and by bringing you those monsters, we¡¯ll make you stronger as well! 2 birds with one stone indeed!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡­.Anyway, that¡¯s it for our plans. Our opponent is a man that easily killed members of the [Silver Winged Lion]. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll come to Oxter instantly but still be very careful¡ª¨Cand let¡¯s get out of this place asap.¡±


    After talking about what happened last night and what we¡¯re going to do from here onwards, we quickly ate our breakfast and started preparing for the future in our own ways.


    I¡¯ll head to the [Travelling cat Store], Esta will go to the guild, Ralf was going to handle shopping. To leave Oxter as soon as possible, we all took up different things to take care of.


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    .


    I quickly made my way to the Commercial street, and entered [Travelling Cat Store].


    Since beating the red kong, then carrying it to the forest, then the incident with Alyazi-san; I have yet to get a single wink of sleep, and my fatigue was at its peak. But somehow because my head was working furiously, my eyes were still awake.


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    Entering the store, Shantell after her usual energetic greeting, acted a bit strangely.


    ¡°Welcome! Chris-san¡ª-is it? Eh? A-are you okay??! Y-you look extremely exhausted!!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. That aside, I have something important to tell you.¡±


    ¡°I-I see¡­¡­No, wait a minute!! Let me bring a potion for you!!¡±


    Saying that Shantell ran to the back room of her store, and quickly came back with something in her hands.


    What she held was¡­¡­a strange yellowish potion.


    ¡°here, take this Chris-san! As thanks for always helping me! For free of course, so please drink!¡±


    ¡°Oh, Okay. Thanks. Anyway, what I wanted to say was¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Drink the potion first! Drink it!!¡±


    Beckoning me to drink it, Shantell continued telling me to drink the potion.


    If I don¡¯t this conversation will not continue, will it?


    She was a pain as always, so I decided to just not waste anymore time and drank the potion so I can continue talking.


    ¡ª¡ª¨CI drank the potion not expecting anything and purely so I could get on with things, but the moment I gulped it down, the heaviness on my body suddenly disappeared, and my fatigue blew away as if I had just taken a long nice nap.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°What the fuck is this potion?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a stamina recovery potion, but instead a fatigue restorative made out of strong nourishing ingredients! It¡¯s usually a super pricey one you know!¡±


    ¡°Amazing. It¡¯s as if all my fatigue has blown away. Shantell, really, thank you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Eh? E, eh? I-if you thank with such a serious look, it¡¯ll make me feel embarrassed as well!! ¡­..A-ahem, so the main topic!! You had something important to tell me right!?¡±


    Since I don¡¯t ever play along with her, when I actually thanked her seriously, Shantell blushed red to her ears and seemed flustered.


    Even though this is the right time to act proud like you always do, seriously, what a pain this girl¡¯s personality is.


    Well, maybe that¡¯s also why I end up always feeling relaxed when I talk to her.

 CH 149

    A Request to Shantell


    Shantell was still blushing from being complimented.


    I should probably wait till she calms down but¡­¡­..I didn¡¯t have the time for that and decided to start talking about why I came here in the first place.


    ¡°The reason I came here was to tell you that¡­¡­¡­we, have decided to leave Oxter.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Wha?¡±


    Her blushing face instantly returned to her usual colour, and after a moment of pause she simply muttered that in confusion.


    Unlike the usual peppy and energetic Shantell, her voice sounded flat, almost a bit angry even.


    I think she might e misunderstanding something so I decided to continue explaining.


    ¡°When I say leave, I don¡¯t mean we¡¯re moving somewhere far away permanently. We¡¯ll be simply living inside the Carlisle forest that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Oh. Well, that¡¯s alright then! I almost thought that you were leaving us for good so that¡¯s a relief¡ª¡ªIs that what you thought I¡¯d say!?! Why do you suddenly have to go live in a forest!? Did you hit your head or something Chris-san!??¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t explain the details, but I have people hunting me. So I need to hide. And so I came here to ask you a favour, I need you to come to the entrance of the forest once every week.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, my head can¡¯t keep up with any of this!!¡­¡­.Wait, you want me to come to the forest entrance??¡±


    ¡°To keep making the potions you have until now, and to hell us buy some daily necessities. My pursuer might come to Oxter at any time so, I came to you today to ask you if you¡¯ll be willing to help¡­¡­¡­Of course, we¡¯ll pay you as well. So, are you willing?¡±


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    It was pretty clear that she hadn¡¯t made sense of everything I had just said but still, I asked so.


    Even after she looked up to the roof for some time thinking, it didn¡¯t seem like she made sense of it all inside her head but¡­¡­..


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    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest I¡¯m not sure I followed everything you told me, but sure I¡¯ll help!! I owe Chris-san at least this much for everything you¡¯ve done for me!¡±


    ¡°Shantell, seriously, thank you. Then, once very week, bring the Jinpi potions and some daily necessities to the forest¡¯s entrance. There, I¡¯ll also hand you more Jinpi Leaves as well as the money for next time so¡ª¡ªwe¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    ¡°Sure! Leave it to me!!¡±


    Then, I warned her to not tell anyone about me or even talk of me, and after giving her my thanks, I left the store.


    Sure she can be a pain sometimes, and at first I doubted if we¡¯ll ever get along but¡­¡­.I am genuinely glad I became friends with Shantell.


    Maybe it¡¯s because of her personality being like this that I was able to unhesitatingly ask her this favour, and she accepted it without showing a hint of annoyance.


    A pain, but a genuinely good person at heart, I will have to one day return this favour as thanks in full at all costs.


    .


    Early morning, the next day.


    Having finished everything that we had to do in Oxter yesterday, we packed all of our stuff and were planning to head to Carlisle forest today.


    We¡¯ll leave our house as is, and we¡¯ve already paid a couple months rent in advance.


    In case something happens to us, I have already made arrangements to have Shantell null the house contract but¡ª¡ªI promise, I will be back.


    With such strong resolve, with our luggage packed, I left the house.


    .


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    Ralf and Esta, with Snow in tow, soon followed me to the base in the forest as well.


    It was once a Goblin nest so there was more than enough space for three people to live, and since I regularly came here and kept it maintained, while far from perfect, it was still pretty comfortable, certainly not as bad as sleeping outside.


    ¡°Ohh, so this is the place you¡¯ve been using as base all this time eh?¡±


    ¡°This is a whole lot better than what I was expecting, I must say. ¡­¡­..Honestly, isn¡¯t this still more comfortable than our [Shangri-la hotel] room.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, now you¡¯re exaggerating¡ª¡ª-is what I¡¯d like to say but the fact it¡¯s kinda true is pretty sad honestly. That room was genuinely suffocating at times.¡±


    Seeing my base, both Ralf and Esta gave their impressions.


    Looks like it wasn¡¯t as bad as they were expecting so they should be fine for living here for the next couple months I think.


    ¡°Now then, from here onwards, we are not going to waste a single day¡ª¡ªonly think of making yourself as strong as possible.¡±


    ¡°I know. To avenge Leon-san, I¡¯ll go through hell and back just to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°Same here. So that we don¡¯t lost to anyone or have to run from anyone ever again as well¡­¡­.we¡¯ll grow stronger.¡±


    ¡°Awoo!!¡±


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    Ralf, Esta and even Snow proclaimed so, and thus our intense training inside the Carlisle forest began.


    I too will focus only on making myself stronger, and will train till I¡¯m on the verge of death.


    All I¡¯ll eat is poisonous plants. While I gather them, I¡¯ll simultaneously practice activating and deactivating skills, and do anything that will help me win against that man, Carlo.


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    Slapping my cheeks, and firing myself up I¡­¡­first, began with replanting the seeds I brought from my homegrown plants near the base.


    I could have simply abandoned them in my house as well but, then they¡¯ll end up dying so wondering and hoping if I could grow them near my base as well, I brought them all back here in my bag, similar to how I first carried them home in the first place.


    I could even create like a small farm near this place but I only had a couple months for this.


    Not to mention, I don¡¯t exactly have the free time to be indulging in farming so I¡¯ll simply replant the ones I had already grown and take care of them.


    Planting Reizen, Lizaf and Jinpi leaves, I put the logs with genpei and Eggmash leaning on the walls of the cave entrance.


    Now, I just need to properly water them from time to time.


    Since the environment has suddenly changed, the ability increasing effect might also change, but I had no way of assessing myself here.


    I¡¯ll simply assume that they¡¯ll raise each stats by 1 just like the naturally found plants did.


    After replanting the homegrown plants, I headed out to gather and collect more poisonous plants.


    Since I had mostly gathered most of what was available near the base, I¡¯ll now focus on other areas where I hadn¡¯t yet gone through.


    To not waste my time on goblins and kobolds, I took Snow with me as well¡­¡­.and thus me and Snow, went off on our gathering trip.


    (T/N: Mini time-skip next chapter)

 CH 150

    Time Passes¡­..


    Approximately three months have passed since we hid inside the Carlisle forest.


    I continued consuming as many poisonous plants as I could and barring breakfast, all I ate was poisonous plants all the time every single day.


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    Also, I guess growing plants inside a house was definitely not as suitable as the plants I sowed grew incomparably better here in the wild, and my gardening helped me harvest most of the plants that I consumed.


    I didn¡¯t know how much increase they had on my abilities though, so I made sure to eat wild and my self-grown plants half each very day.


    Which also meant that half of what I ate everyday, was grown by myself.


    Since I can¡¯t have an assessment done here, I am not sure as to how much I had grown unfortunately but¡­¡­.


    My stamina, that would run out only after a couple hours of skill usage practice would now not run out even after I kept training the whole day. That¡¯s how much it had increased. And I could also feel my strength increasing drastically since then.


    Of course, there was also the possibility that it was not my stamina and endurance that had increased but, I had simply gotten better at skill usage but¡ª¨Cmy strength was not a lie.


    As for my ability overall, I was confident that I had gotten a whole lot stronger than how I was three months ago.


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    And lastly,¡­..as for Ongneer.


    Everyday, Ralf and Esta would hunt one monster from somewhere and bring it to the base.


    Since these were not requested from the guild, the strength of these monsters was unknown to me but, from the ones they did bring, about a third of them, which was around 26 monsters, successfully became hosts for the Ongneer.


    And of course I ate all of their Ongneer fruits, as well as the Red Kong¡¯s,¡ª¡ª¨Cand also Alyazi-san¡¯s.


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    Again, since I have no way to perform assessment, I don¡¯t even know what skills I had gained but¡­¡­.


    The skills I got from Alyazi-san, I know them all for sure.


    Of the 18 he possessed, I was able to inherit 8 of those.


    [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior].


    Since I had already heard about all of his skills from him directly, I tried activating all of them, but was only able to activate these 8.


    Just like Ralf¡¯s [Divine Strike] or [Divine Protection], maybe I simply don¡¯t know the conditions to activate the others but¡­¡­..I do think that these 8 are the only skills I inherited.


    Ever since I was unable to get Greath¡¯s [Body Expansion], I had a feeling that would be the case but now I was certain.


    You could only gain Common Skills from Ongneer, not the Unique Skills.


    Now I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because Unique skill are simply that effective or some other reason, but regardless, the only ones I was able to learn were common skills.


    Considering I know that I only got Alyazi-san¡¯s common skills, my theory seems more likely to be correct.


    From what I¡¯ve heard, there were also skills Alyazi-san himself couldn¡¯t use because of his lacking stamina so I was hoping I¡¯d get to try them out but¡­¡­..I suppose it can¡¯t be helped.


    Regardless, every skill I received from him were very useful, so I¡¯ll make full use of them and live up to Alyazi-san¡¯s hopes¡ª¡ªand kill the one armed man, Carlo.


    ¡°Chris, are you really returning to Oxter?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go back, and¡ª¨Ckill Carlo.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­..This time, I¡¯ll come with you. I need to avenge Leon-san as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Looks like your beliefs have ended up twisted as well. Very well, I¡¯ll be counting on you for support.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you as well. I owe the members of [Silver Winged Lion] this much for all they did for me.¡±


    Even after three months, both of them had yet to lose their rage.


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    Ralf, just to beat Carlo, cast away his attacking training and focused solely on polishing his defensive skills to the maximum for the entire three months time.


    I tried to stop him but, to get stronger in such a short amount of time¡ª¨Che was determined, that this was the right way.


    ¡­¡­..And it seems he was correct as Ralf had gotten more stronger than I could have ever imagined.


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    He was now capable of even defending against my attacks and had even learnt to defend against Esta¡¯s intermediate magic as well.


    Of course, Esta as well, for the past three months, had to take down monsters herself since Ralf would only focus on defending, which had made her usage of magic incredibly better when it came to actual battles.


    With helping me grow more Ongneers as the main focus, these two had somehow grown beyond belief themselves in the process.


    To be honest, I wanted to train like this for another three months but we had begun to run out of money so it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    Our money was almost gone, but the growth we had made in the meantime was definitely worth it.


    ¡°So, is this Carlo in Oxter now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, when I meet Shantell every week at the entrance of the forest, she told me about him some time ago.¡±


    According to Shantell, Carlo had shown up in Oxter a month ago.


    Which means, it was about two months after we hid inside the forest.


    Considering he knew I was in Oxter, it seemed unusually slow but I guess, that¡¯s just the kind of personality this Carlo has.


    Even during this one month he¡¯s been in Oxter, it doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s been focused on searching for me and has been mostly going from bar to bar and occasionally asking about me, that¡¯s all.


    I guess he¡¯s not exactly loyal to his employer, Klaus, and took this job unwillingly.


    But he was still as cruel and brutal as they come, as whoever picked a fight with him just happened to disappear after some time.


    No proof could ever be found, and considering his strength, not many can challenge him directly for this.


    A heinous man, with strength equivalent to a diamond class adventurer.


    A villain far worse than Greath in every way possible.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°Are we going to pick a fight as soon as we enter Oxter?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll do that at night. We¡¯ll prepare during the day, and then show ourselves at the bars Carlo tends to hang around. Considering he always made sure to kill whoever picked a fight with him afterwards when they are alone, he seems to avoid drawing attention to himself. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s bound to call us to some dark and empty place.¡±


    ¡°Alright, that seems like a plan. Then, let¡¯s leave shall we?¡±


    ¡°Agreed. It¡¯s been a while, I¡¯m feeling a bit nervous going back to Oxter again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t wanna run into Carlo while the sun¡¯s up after all. I¡¯ll use all my skills at full force to keep an eye out anyway so both of you just make sure to not leave my side.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    After deciding our plans for the what¡¯s to come, we finally headed back to Oxter after three months, and left the Carlisle Forest.


    By the way, most of the Ongneer that I had grown had been cleanly taken care off.


    As for Alyazi-san¡¯s Ongneer, I took only one fruit before I got rid of the plant, and built a grave for him near the base, even if it was only a simple one.


    Swearing to myself to come back to report to him after killing Carlo, we continued walking towards Oxter.

 CH 151

    Number of Skills


    Reaching the entrance of the forest, an energetic woman greeted us while waving her hand.


    ¡­¡­¡­Of course, it was none other than Shantell who brought us potions and daily necessities every week.


    She even brought info that I hadn¡¯t even requested after collaborating with the Vice Chief, and had been in general, a great help these last three months.


    ¡°Waah! Ralf-san, Esta-san, it¡¯s been a while!!¡­¡­.And Snow as well!! I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re doing well!¡±


    ¡°Shantell-san, it¡¯s been a while indeed. Thank you for your help, every week, I mean it.¡±


    ¡°And sorry for not being able to thank you directly until now! Thanks to Shantell, we were able to comfortable live even inside a forest!¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m glad I was of such use to you all! When I heard that you all will be hiding in the forest for three months, I though all of you had gone crazy but¡­¡­..I suppose adventurers are really amazing after all!! To be able to live in a monster infested forest.¡±


    ¡°Shantell. All that aside, do you have any info on Carlo?¡±


    These three got all fired up after reuniting after 3 months, and sensing that the conversation was going to drag, I quickly brought us back to the topic at hand.


    Considering how much of a help she has been, I did consider going along with her chatter but I want to settle things by tonight so we can¡¯t waste any time unfortunately.


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    ¡°¡­¡­..Ahh, the way you completely disregard our chat to cut in, how nostalgic!! Umm let¡¯s see, according to the Guild chief, he had been bar-hopping till dawn yesterday as well! The Inn he¡¯s staying in is the one in the centre of the Commercial street, called [Kurenai]! It¡¯s the most expensive high class inn in all of Oxter!!¡±


    ¡°Staying in commercial district, and bar hopping till dawn; we should be clear in the afternoon I think.¡±


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    ¡°I think so too! Well, there¡¯s always a chance that something might happen and he wakes up early but¡­¡­..I think it should be okay.¡±


    Looks like he¡¯s been doing the same old stuff as always.


    That means, there¡¯s no fear of being caught during the day, so we can go around Oxter and gather any equipment or items we might need.


    Also,¡­¡­.I can go to the church and get an assessment done.


    I am confident I can beat him but still, I want to get a good grasp on my current ability.


    Also, if I can find any other skill that could be useful other than the ones I know about, that¡¯d be great so I need to check my skills as well.


    You never know what might come in handy when facing a strong enemy.


    I know almost nothing about how this Carlo fights so all I can do is instead focus on my own abilities and make sure I understand them well.


    ¡°Shantell, thank you for everything these last 3 months. As well as the information, today.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what happened, so suddenly?! I¡¯m not gonna give anything just because you complimented me okay?!?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t thank you because I wanted something back. Just showing my gratitude.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, was showing his gratitude!?!?¡­¡­.I wonder if we¡¯ll get heavy rain today as well??¡±


    ¡°fufu¡­¡­.it might, you never know.¡±


    .


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    After thanking Shantell, we left Carlisle forest and returned back to Oxter after 3 months absence.


    Since we were surrounded by only nature for these 3 months, seeing a crowd again made me feel a bit nostalgic.


    We left Snow with Shantell, and returned home, took a shower and then went out to finish our tasks.


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    Ralf wanted to buy a new shield with his remaining money, and I also need to go and get my assessment done before heading out shopping as well.


    Since our money is limited, I¡¯m gonna skip buying a new weapon but I do need new armor.


    I¡¯ve been using this leather set forever, and facing the guy that killed even the [Silver Winged Lion], I¡¯ll definitely feel safer in something a bit better.


    While pondering of such things, I headed to the church after long absence.


    Even though I was going to murder someone tonight, going to this quiet church made me question my own mental state but, I recalled Alyazi-san¡¯s face as he died and renewed my vigour.


    ¡°Oh! It has been a while! I thought you had left this town or something! But I¡¯m glad to see you come back.¡±


    ¡°Same here, I¡¯m glad to see the church is still standing.¡±


    ¡°Hey now, ¡­¡­¡­.thanks to you Chris-san, I think we can keep going for another 10 years at least!¡±


    With a wide smile, the priest spoke.


    Well I have been splashing money at them, but 10 years sounds a bit much though.


    ¡°Sorry to rush you but can I have an assessment done, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°Of course! How many times are we looking at today?¡±


    ¡°No, just once for today don¡¯t worry¡­¡­..so I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    Saying that, we headed to the usual inner room.


    Sitting down in front of the crystal, I handed him a gold coin and my card and waited for him to finish.


    ¡°Fuh, fuuh. It¡¯s done. Here¡¯s your card back.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, as always.¡±


    Giving my thanks, I took the card.


    Three months worth of effort should be printed on the back of this card.


    I took a deep breath , and then slowly turned the card over.


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    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 22(+305)


    Strength: 20(+372)


    Stamina: 19(+242)


    Magic: 4(+131)


    Agility: 12(+198)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Encouragement] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    (T/N: If you¡¯re interested, check chapter 124 for the last look we had on his stats and see how much he¡¯s grown)


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    ¡°¡­¡­..Kuh, HAHAHA!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh? What happened?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªAh, sorry, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Seeing the stats, I ended up laughing out loud.


    Recalling what they were when I first had my assessment, this grown was unimaginable to say the least.


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    If anything, I was a bit surprised that the number of skills was less than I thought but¡­¡­.these are still more than enough for now.


    Also, probably because I ate a lot of Ongneer of different monsters, the increase in my stats was a lot more than I had originally expected.


    It¡¯s not yet Diamond rank who are supposedly meant to be around 640s, but this was still more than enough.


    Compared to the six skills I had back then, now I had 24 of them.


    It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll be able to use all them perfectly yet but, the 6 I had and the 8 more I got from Alyazi-san, ¡ª¨CI was confident in being able to use those 14 perfectly.


    With my stamina and endurance increased to this level, I could activate multiple skills simultaneously and I could get strong enough to kill Carlo on my own.


    But Carlo could be even above Diamond Rank¡ª¡ªthe famed rank that the receptionist once told me about, Orichalcum, the highest rank. There is always a chance of that being the case.


    So I must not get overconfident or conceited of my own strength, and should use everything anything possible to make sure I kill Carlo for sure. I reminded myself that.

 CH 152

    Preparations Complete


    After finishing the assessment, I went back to the Commercial street and entered the armour shop.


    My main goal was to buy a new set of armour for myself.


    I had been using leather armour until now because it was the easiest to move around in but for the fight we¡¯re heading into, simple leather armor just won¡¯t cut I anymore.


    I need to prepare equipment that can reduce as much damage as possible from Carlo.


    Looking around the store, I tried finding something that was durable but still easy to move around in but¡­¡­.


    But the only set that matched my requirements was Wyvern Scale armor set.


    It looked pretty strong but was still light in weight, and on top it possessed both heat and cold resistant properties, and was even strong against magic but alas, it cost a whopping 10 platinum coins.


    And that was for just the chest piece. The helm and leggings together raised that cost to 20 platinum coins.


    If money was no issue I would have loved to get that but I have nowhere near close to that amount right now.


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    Even without our 3 months spent hiding in the forest, that price would have still been out of reach for me.


    This couldn¡¯t be helped unfortunately, so I decided to look at whatever had the best effect among the sets I could purchase right now.


    It took me a whole hour to make my pick¡ª¨CIt was the Phoros Cobra Full Set.


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    It was an armor set made from the scales of a snake like monster of the same name, it was quite similar to a Venom Python from what I¡¯ve heard. And while it was obviously inferior to the wyvern set, it was still pretty durable all things considered.


    The price of the full set was 6 gold coins.


    With this I¡¯m completely out of money, but this was no time to be stingy and I didn¡¯t regret my purchase.


    I¡¯m sure Ralf and Esta have also probably completely used their share of money as well, and now we really are penniless in the literal sense.


    Seriously, all my plans went sideways thanks to a single pursuer sent by Klaus.


    Even the members of the [Silver Winged Lion] who I hoped to maintain good relations with and hoped to learn from, got killed. I became unable to simply work normally as an adventurer as well, and even had to liv away from the house I rented.


    Perhaps as a stroke of good fortune, it did give me an opportunity to focus completely on making myself more powerful but, the things I lost in return were far too many.


    I know I live in a world where survival of the fittest is the law, and you could simply blame us for being too weak to be in this situation in the first place but¡­¡­..


    Now that I am strong, I will return my pain back in full.


    And I will begin with that man, the one armed man who killed Alyazi-san and the rest, Carlo.


    I bottled my rage within, and only vengeance was in my mind¡ª¨Cin a few more hours, our battle with Carlo will begin, so I headed back home to regroup with the other two.


    .


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    After returning home, I tried out the new skills I found out during my ability assessment.


    I don¡¯t intend to try them during my fight with Carlo but, just in case I need to at least know how these skills work.


    Making sure that I don¡¯t exhaust myself while testing these out, I continued trying them out and around when I was done¡­¡­¡­.it was now time to go as well.


    Putting on my new armour set, I attached the sword to my waist.


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    Lastly, I wore the Alyazi-san¡¯s necklace that I kept as a memento, and was now fully ready.


    Coming down the stairs into the living room, I saw Ralf and Esta already there waiting for me.


    The seemed more focused that ever before¡ª¡ªor rather, I could feel the flames of anger burning inside both of them.


    Even Ralf, who usually is the light-hearted one of the group barely made any jokes this entire 3 months, and was fully focused on improving himself as much as he could, even at the cost of his own beliefs and ideals.


    Even Esta, who was usually the calm and collected one, was burning inside, I could tell from a glance.


    ¡°You two ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, three long months I have been preparing for today! Today, we return the favour.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡­I certainly hated Greath enough to want him dead but this time, I truly and definitely have felt like I want to kill someone for the first time. Carlo dies tonight.¡±


    ¡°Good. Your rage is a good thing, but don¡¯t let it cloud your judgement. He¡¯ll try and instigate you, provoke you but ignore it and focus on simply one thing. Killing Carlo.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Honestly, I¡¯m so angry my body starts shaking sometimes but¡­¡­..I¡¯m not gone lose sight of myself and our goal!¡±


    ¡°Same for me. We will keep our cool and corner Carlo with my magic.¡±


    ¡°If you understand that, good.¡ª¡ªThen, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two silently nodded, we left our house¡­¡­.and headed to a bar that Carlo regularly visits.


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    The sun had already, and it was already night.


    But, there were still people walking around the town, and the commercial district was actually more busier than during the day.


    We moved through that crowd and stopped in front of one of the bars.


    [Dinerpop], a moderate sized bar in the back alley.


    From inside, I could hear the jolly sounds of people enjoying themselves, and I¡¯m sure Carlo is one of these¡­¡­I wanted to burst through the gate with anger but I held myself back and calmly opened the door.


    The inside looked busy from all the merrymaking and the bartender was moving around restlessly and it didn¡¯t seem like anyone noticed us entering.


    I instantly activated [Life perception] [hearing enhancement] skills¡ª¨Cand checked every single person in the bar.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Found you. He was suppressing his presence but, I could still detect a single person who had a much bigger presence than everyone else in the bar.


    A heavy guy, almost 2 meters tall, sitting on the counter drinking out of a big beer mug.


    Since I was seeing him from behind and he was covered in black robes, I couldn¡¯t check if he had one arm or not, and neither could I see the scar on his face but¡­¡­..


    Judging by the strength of his presence, it has to be him. The guy that murdered the [Silver Winged Lion], Carlo.

 CH 153

    One Armed Carlo


    I suppressed my fast beating heart, don¡¯t know because of rage or nervousness, and made my way closer to the man dressed in black.


    He didn¡¯t seem like he noticed my presence, and continued drinking from his beer mug but the moment I stood right behind him¡ª¡ª-he turned his neck to look straight at me.


    A big scar on his forehead, and he was missing an arm. No doubt, he was Carlo.


    ¡°[Observing Eye].¡±


    Carlo muttered, and narrowed his right eye, while widely opened his left eye and looked at me from bottom to top.


    Looks like he used a skill and I could see a yellow-ish aura around his left eye.


    ¡°Oi oi! Well damn, aren¡¯t you tough one! You might be the strongest one in this entire town even!!¡ª¡ªSo, why the fuck are standing right behind me then, eh? I¡¯m in a good mood so if you apologize, I might let you off nicely, ya know!?¡±


    ¡°I am Chris.¡±


    No explanations, nothing. I simply said that to Carlo.


    When I did, he suddenly exploded in laughter and started slapping his thigh.


    ¡°AHAHHAHA!! What the hell, you came directly to me yourself!? Kukuku KAKAHAKA!! Ah, I¡¯m really lucky today, seriously!! It was such a pain and I had no intention of seriously searching for you ever really but to think, my little prey would come walking straight to me!!?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Why are you looking for me?¡±


    ¡°AAh? Because I was asked to that¡¯s all! Klaus¡ªYour shitty younger brother asked me to capture you! There¡¯s a lot of money put on your head in the underworld of the capital you know!?¡±


    He really must be in a good mood as he openly told me everything I asked.


    ¡­¡­¡­I figured that¡¯d be the case but it¡¯s good to have confirmation. It was all Klaus¡¯ handiwork after all.


    ¡°I got the reason. Come outside, I need to avenge the members of [Silver Winged Lion].¡±


    ¡°Nice, NIiice!! I hate standing out as well! If you¡¯re gonna take us to a quiet empty place yourself, that works for me!¡­¡­.Also, who the fuck are the [Silver Winged Lion] again? Sorry mate, I kill a lot of scrubs here and there, can¡¯t remember every fucker, can I ?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t need to remember who they were. You can apologize to them when I send you to the other side.¡±


    ¡°Ooh How cool!! I always wanted to say something like that one day as well you know!!¡±


    Laughing loudly, he seemed to be mocking me as he stood up and began walking in front of us.


    He was confident in showing his back to us but unlike greath, I knew he¡¯d react instantly if I tried something¡ª¡ªif anything, it feels like he was baiting us into it.


    Carlo hummed a tone that lacked rhythm, and we followed him while on full guard until we reached the plains outside Oxter.


    I never thought he¡¯d bring us this far, but this was good for me.


    ¡­¡­¡­It cuts the time to carry him to Carlisle forest once I kill him after all.


    After moving through the plains for a while, Carlo stopped humming and turned back to look at us.


    He threw away the robes he wore, finally revealing his entire body for the first time.


    He was already 2 meters tall, but now I could see how well built he was as well. His muscles were bulging across his body.


    He must have lost his right arm in a fight as it seemed like it was bit off by something, but even with such a disability, his physique still made him look intimidating.


    Furthermore, he had several other smaller scars across his body, a proof of the numerous battle that he had fought in and survived.


    Unlike Greath, it was clear this man had forged himself in the heart of battle.


    I was still doubtful over how the [Silver Winged Lion] had lost so easily to one guy but, now that I get a clear look at him, it all made sense. That¡¯s how overwhelming of a presence he possessed.


    ¡°Oh! It¡¯s been a while that someone hasn¡¯t reeled in fear from seeing my full body! No wonder you¡¯ve got a large bounty on your head, you¡¯ve definitely got the grit¡­¡­.But, how about now? [Presence Suppression][Stealth] deactivate.¡±


    The moment he deactivated his two skills, his still suppressed presence exploded out in a flash.

 CH 154

    Ominous Smile


    Shouting, Carlo attacked us directly from the front.


    He drew his arm like bow, and rushed straight at me with rapid speed but¡ª¡ªstopped right in front of me and turned.


    And rushed towards Esta who was preparing to fire magic.


    If we don¡¯t stop him, Carlo would kill Esta with his single hit but¡­¡­


    ¡°[Roar of the Guardian]!¡±


    Ralf, who was originally right beside me,  cut the distance instantly to get in front fo Carlo and activated his skill.


    I¡¯m sure he wanted to destroy the ranged attacker first but, Carlo¡¯s attention drew straight towards Ralf due to the skill.


    Carlo didn¡¯t try and force change his target again and continued his momentum to slam his fist directly at Ralf, only to get perfectly deflected by his steel shield.


    ¡­¡­¡­.it was a perfect defence.


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    Since he knew he couldn¡¯t completely block it head on, he moved the shield to divert the force of the attack away from him to null Carlo¡¯s attack.


    Since it was deflected so smoothly and Carlo barely felt any resistance at the end of his fists, even though we were in the middle of a battle, he looked at his fist to check it.


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    Judging by how his smile disappeared, he must not have like how easily his attack got parried.


    Next¡ª-it¡¯s my turn.


    [Flesh Enhancement]


    Activating it, I rushed at Carlo to slash him down while he was still looking at his own fist.


    Judging by his movements, his raw physical abilities were definitely stronger than mine so simply [Flesh Enhancement] wasn¡¯t enough so¡­¡­..


    [Gale]


    The moment I entered his range, I activated [Gale], and increased my attack speed another level.


    As if I had grown wings, I utilized my light body to the maximum, and dodged under the fist Carlo threw to stop me and reached straight to his abdomen area and slashed my sword.


    His thick muscles were basically armour for his body but thanks to my skills, my sword dug in pretty deep.


    Since I didn¡¯t do a downward slash, I doubt it did any real damage but this was still enough.


    I continued with the momentum, to go back towards Esta, and Ralf rushed past us both to once again stand in the way to block him.


    Esta, with her longstaff in head, took a step back even further, and we entered our original formation.


    As for Carlo¡­¡­..he pressed down on his side where I had cut him and seeing the blood stain his hand¡ª¡ª-eerily raised the corners of his mouth.


    ¡°What the hell, who are you guys!!¡­¡­..Nice, this is great!! For a scrub, you did well deflecting my hit and you, even made a cut on me! Not bad, c¡¯mon show me more!!¡±


    The moment he spoke, with no technique or skill he rushed in at Ralf again.


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    If he still had his right arm, he might have even gotten past Ralf¡¯s strong defence but, being one-armed meant his attacks were limited to half.


    No matter how fast his attack was, if you know that an attack will come only from one side,¡ª¡ªthere was no attack Ralf couldn¡¯t deflect.


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    I clung behind Ralf¡¯s back, and waited for openings to deal damage to Ralf.


    Every time an attack was deflected, I would enter to attack, and whenever he tried to take a step back, Esta¡¯s magic came firing from the side.


    From Carlo¡¯s point of view, this should feel like a battle wher he was getting cornered with no chance of winning but¡­¡­¡­


    Everytime he took damage, his smile only grew wider, and he was genuinely enjoying getting hit by me and Esta.


    His front was riddled with wounds that I dealt, and his skin was horribly charred from Esta¡¯s continuous magic barrage.


    His movements seemed to be getting duller as well, so I thought of finishing the battle quickly but¡ª¡ª


    Carlo suddenly stopped, and completely ignored Esta¡¯s arrow and continued take steps backwards to create a distance from us.


    His body was in tatters, and he was bleeding all over but, he gave a smile, bigger than ever, and activated a ¡®skill¡¯.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I had been curious, all this time.


    The only skills Carlo had used until now were the [Observation Eye] back in the bar, and the two skills he deactivated, [Presence Suppression] and [Stealth], that¡¯s all.


    Which meant, that we had been fighting Carlo all this time while he used not a single skill.


    Since he was so strong even without them, I thought maybe he didn¡¯t have any combat specific skill but¡­¡­..


    Judging by his expression, he was simply holding back until now.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°[Self Regeneration]¡ª¡ª-No, seriously, you lot are damn strong! Due to my work I have fought a shit ton of people, and you¡¯d still be in the upper ranks among those!¡­¡­.say, you guys wanna work under me? I¡¯ll let you live if you say yes, what do you say? My organization, is the biggest in the entire capital, it¡¯s not a bad offer?¡±


    The moment he activated his skill, every damage me and Esta had dealt him slowly healed up.


    I wanted to try and kill him before he fully healed but if I panic and make a move recklessly, he¡¯ll catch me off guard and I¡¯ll be the one to die.


    And so all we could do was stand still, in this truly unpleasant atmosphere.

 CH 155

    True Strength


    Since a truly unpleasant feeling was leaking out of Carlo, I couldn¡¯t carelessly close in on him.


    While still vigilant, I slowly approached closer and talked back to him.


    ¡°Why the hell would I ever work under someone like you?¡­¡­¡­Is this how you beg for mercy when you¡¯re about to lose?¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m begging for my life? AHAHHAHAA! I have been fighting without a single skill until now you know!! Because it¡¯d be damn boring if I killed you instantly! Well, no matter if you don¡¯t accept my offer. It¡¯s a bit of waste, but then again, I only like guys that are obedient anyways.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª-I had a really bad feeling about all of this.


    I had enhanced my abilities a lot by eating poisonous plants, and I was certain with all Ongneers I had eaten, I had gotten strong enough to beat Carlo but¡­¡­.


    If his strength increases a lot beyond what it already is, we¡¯re going to be in trouble.


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    ¡°Ralf, Esta! We¡¯re going to kill him asap!!¡±


    ¡°Got it! ¡ª¨CI too have a bad feeling about this!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll assist you with my magic!¡±


    After getting approval from these two as well, we rushed in to kill Carlo before he does whatever it is that he¡¯s planning to do.


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    My instincts were screaming at me to not charge in and attack recklessly but, it might be worse to just let him to do whatever he wants.


    With Ralf alongside me, we both ran towards Carlo.


    The moment we enter the range, Ralf will activate his [Roar of the Guardian] again to attract Carlo¡¯s attention.


    In that very instant, I will unleash a full powered blow directly at him¡ª¡ª-our sure kill strategy to take down opponents that we¡¯ve planned out beforehand.


    As soon as we came closer, Carlo began laughing boldly.


    And when he came straight towards me, Ralf activated his skill as planned.


    ¡°[Roar of the Guardian]!¡±


    Ralf released a strong presence, and as soon as I confirmed that Carlo¡¯s eyes locked directly at Ralf, I activated my own skills as well.


    [Strong Arm][War Dance][Gale]


    [Strong Arm] would increase the strength of a single attack, [War Dance] doubled it even further after I focused it purely on my arm.


    I reactivated [Gale] once again, and with all of my strongest attack focused skills were sued simultaneously.


    While Carlo was still focused on Ralf, I unleashed my strongest attack.


    ¡°Too bad! [Body Armour]!¡±


    Even while looking at Ralf, he activated a skill knowing I was about to attack him from the side.


    ¡­¡­..But, if it¡¯s just one skill, it won¡¯t matter, my attack will still slice through him.


    I filled myself with vigour, and roared from my stomach as I brought down my sword on him with all my might.


    The sword struck his shoulder, and as the swing goes through, I¡¯ll slice through his entire body diagonally¡ª¡ªor so i though it would happen¡­¡­¡­


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    My steel sword only went in a few centimetres into his body, and then broke from the base of the sword with a snap.


    The broken blade flew in the air, and I only held the bladeless handle in my hand.


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    My strike was perfect, the hit was clean, so my skill imbued attack should have torn through his body¡­¡­¡­.unless, his body was harder than my steel forged, albeit thin, sword.¡ª¡ª-Was that even possible?


    ¡°That was not a bad attack!! Unlucky lad! [Ability Unleashed][Mind Unleashed][Physical Ability Boost]¡±


    Carlo activated 3 more skills, and released a tremendous aura and killing intent towards me, who was just stood there stunned with a broken sword.


    ¡°[Heavy Smash]!¡±


    What came at me, was an attack that similar to Klaus¡¯ [Sacred Slash].


    His left arm was enveloped with a dark-purple aura, and his fist approached my face.


    As if time was moving slowly, I could see every detail on Carlo¡¯s face as well as the surrounding scenery, but my body didn¡¯t react at all.


    ¡ª¡ª-in such a situation, all I could recall was Alyazi-san¡¯s face.


    [Skin Strengthen] [Valour] [War Dance] [Intimidating presence] [Mana Sense] [Pain Inhibitor] [Life Presence Detect] [Perception Enhancement] [Iron Wall] [Fortification]


    (T/N, changed encouragement to valour cuz it sounds better.)


    I activated every single skill I had that seemed like it would beuseful, and somehow managed to put my two hands in front of my face to block Carlo¡¯s attack.


    It was hard to believe that it was also a human that had unleashed such an attack, as a tremendous force struck my both hands.


    I got blown all the back in the air from just the force of the attack but¡ª¡ª-thanks to the several skills, I was able to limit the damage caused to a minimum.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    Rolling and skidding across the ground as I landed, I used ukemi to quickly fixed my stance.


    Thanks to both [Perception Enhancement] and [Perception Range Enhancement], while I was in the air I was able to see both Carlo¡¯s smirk who confidently thought that he had killed me, as well as the nervous and worried faces of Ralf and Esta.


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    ¡­¡­¡­but its fine. I took [Heavy Smash] head on but I¡¯m not fatally wounded.


    Muttering to myself, as soon as I stopped my momentum, I quickly took out 2 vials of Venom Python potions from my holder.


    One I drank in its entirety, the other I splashed on myself and drenched my body in it.


    Now alongside the effect of the skills, I also have the enhancement from the poison potion.


    I have a feeling, that not even Ralf could stop that skill either.


    Esta¡¯s intermediate magic could at most keep him on his toes but nothing more, which meant¡­¡­..


    With the skills and potions already used¡ª¨CI need to use my final trump card, if I want to win.


    When Alyazi-san¡¯s face flashed in my head, I already decided to go through with this.


    Once, Alyazi-san told me that he didn¡¯t understand what this skill was or how it worked, while shuddering in terror¡ª¡ª-because Alyazi-san who was so lacking in physical abilities, had once beat Leon to the brink of death after using it.


    ¡ª¡ª[Mad Warrior]

 CH 156

    A Raw Fist Fight


    The moment I activated [Mad Warrior], it felt like my whole head became misty.


    Soon all sorts of negative emotions began welling up inside me, and raging instincts pushed my sense of reason to the side and burst forth.


    Pure Rage.


    A rage against everything in front of me took over but¡ª¨Ceven that got overwhelmed by a deeper, stronger wrath.


    My Father and Klaus. And the man in front of me¡­¡­Carlo.


    The other two here didn¡¯t matter.


    I ignored the anger I felt towards Ralf and Esta, and charged towards Carlo who was right ahead of me.


    Carlo also looked at me with a smile, a clenched his fist again.


    From here, it was only power against power, fist against fist.


    Two men who had surpassed the boundary of normal humans began launching fists filled to brim with killing intent. A fist fight to the death.


    As my left fist smashed his face, he returned it with his own fist slamming into my face.


    When my right fist was thrust into his guts, Carlo also struck my abdomen back.


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    There were no tactics involved any longer, we just stood in place throwing fists at each other.


    Whoever faltered first was the weak one. So Carlo just took every blow, even against me in this state, unmoving and kept launching his fist back at me.


    ¡°A full frontal fist fight!! To come straight to my face even though you know you¡¯ll lose is manly as fuck I¡¯ll give you that!!!¡±


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    Even though I had [Skin Strengthen] [Iron Wall] and [Fortification] activated on top of [Mad Warrior], every hit I took from Carlo dealt damage to me.


    I hated this man to my very core. I loathe him, but all that aside¡ª¡ª-I admit, his strength was worthy of respect.


    I truly thought so, but I had no intention of stopping my fists.


    As my body heated up more and more, the strength, speed, and the killing intent behind every punch increased with every hit.


    At first I was getting in one hit for every hit I took from Carlo but, after a while, I got in 3 for every 2 hits, and soon I was getting in two hits for every hit I took, meanwhile it seemed like he was starting to get duller.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Why¡­Why the fuck are you still able to keep punching!?! M-My physical abilities are so much better than yours!! And you aren¡¯t even using any skills!!!¡±


    Panicking, Carlo began raising the speed of his punches as well as he screamed and shouted at me.


    Yeah, I have technically not ¡®spoken out loud¡¯ any skill yet.


    Now that I think about it¡­¡­¡­I also thought that Alyazi-san wasn¡¯t using any skills as he fought at once.


    Feeling nostalgic, my fists continued moving again and again as I punched him more and more.


    My body had taken damage but thanks to [Pain Inhibitor], I felt no pain.


    On the other hand, Carlo was using [Self regeneration] simultaneously but he was still feeling every bit of pain from every hit.


    Not to mention, [Self regeneration] still took a couple dozen seconds to heal wound I dealt to him before.


    My punch barrage that was enhanced by at least 10+ skills was not going to be manageable by that skill alone. It won¡¯t heal fast enough.


    If Carlo still had both arms, or if Carlo had taken me seriously from the start, or if Carlo hadn¡¯t let Alyazi-san run away, well, in the first place if Carlo had not gone after the [Silver Winged Lion] in the first place¡ª¨CI would have lost to him in all of those situations.


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    Yes, if I hadn¡¯t inherited Alyazi-san¡¯s skills, I would have been killed by Carlo without a doubt¡­¡­¡­but of course, those are all just ¡®what ifs¡¯ now.


    I raised the speed of my punches even further, and every fist was aimed to kill.


    Carlo¡¯s face which was smiling and having fun was now cramping from panic, and his punches began feeling weaker and weaker as well, and soon his expression changed to one of fear.


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    I suppose even a famed killer of the underworld that murders for fun gets scared of death when it comes rushing at him head-on huh.


    Watching him act like this, I aimed specifically for his left arm and punched it twice and disabled it completely.


    He tried to continue fighting by kicking and headbutting but, I used my kicks as well to stop his own, and his headbutts were stopped by simply another punch to the face.


    After getting punched in the face a couple more times, Carlo finally seemed to lose strength and fell to his knees.


    After he stopped attacking, maybe he had completely lost his overflowing will to fight¡­¡­..


    And while still on the ground, began dragging his body back on the ground in a attempt to retreat.


    ¡°H-How did I of all people lose?¡­¡­Wa-wait. G-gold, I¡¯ll give you as much as you want. So let¡¯s make a deal, okay?¡­¡­¡­if you let me go, I will make it a lifetime debt. I-if you¡¯re in trouble, my organization [The Maginicks] will help you in every way possible¡ª-S-so? It¡¯s a good deal right?¡±


    I guess, even Carlo was finally reduced to this level huh.


    ¡­¡­¡­A battle loving murder happy assassin.


    I really thought that a battle lover would accept defeat and death gracefully but he also, like most, began pathetically begging for his life.


    What a disappointment¡­¡­¡­but I should have figured this from the countless scars on his back. You only get those when you try to run away from your enemies and show them your back.

 CH 157

    Ralf¡¯s Determination


    After confirming Carlo¡¯s death as he lay on the ground, I deactivated [Mad Warrior] first and foremost.


    And then, I began deactivating all the other skills one by one as well.


    As the all skills deactivated, I fell to my knees¡ª¡ªand Ralf and Esta came running towards me.


    Rendered unable to do anything after Carlo activated his three skills, both could only watch over me from a distance.


    Since I had [Perception Enhancement] activated, I knew that Ralf was ready to rush in any moment if he saw that I was in a pinch¡ª-


    And Esta was also ready to activate her [Mana Rampage], a skill as dangerous as [Mad Warrior].


    Due to [Mad Warrior]¡¯s effects, these two also seemed like enemies to me but somewhere deep inside, I was calm knowing that these two would come rushing in if I was in genuine danger. That¡¯s why I was able to go all in on the fist fight.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Both of you, thanks. Thanks to you two being here, I was able to go all in and fight Carlo¡ª¡ªkill Carlo with all of my might.¡±


    ¡°It should be me and Esta who should be thanking you! First Greath, and now this time as well, we ended up making you do everything again.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Neither me nor Ralf did anything. Once again, thank you for everything Chris-san.¡±


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    ¡°It¡¯s not something either of you have to apologize about. I was the one who underestimated Carlo¡¯s strength, and we fought together as three before he activated his skills.¡±


    I¡¯m not making this up.


    The strength level of Carlo I assumed to fight was the one which hadn¡¯t activated his skills.


    And honestly, before he did use his skills, the three of us were fighting against him very well.


    If I knew he was this strong, normally I would have recommended running away with just three months of training which was limited by our lack of money.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Also, when we were punching it out, both of you were ready to support me right? Thanks to that, I was able to give it my all unhesitatingly.¡±


    ¡°Just because we were ready for it, it doesn¡¯t mean much if we didn¡¯t actually do anything.¡±


    ¡°I agree. After he activated his skills, my magic was basically useless.¡±


    Carlo¡¯s [Body Armour]


    It was able to break my sword and pretty much nullified Esta¡¯s magic.


    I think it was even defending against my punching barrage. It was probably a higher level version of my [Skin Strengthen.]


    ¡°Well, he also broke my sword, that¡¯s just how strong he was.¡±


    All three of stood over Carlo¡¯s body and looked at him.


    He really caused us a lot of problems, and took a lot from us.


    We were able to make him pay for it all but, if I had gotten stronger much faster, perhaps this all could have been avoided. And so I just felt miserable still.


    ¡°With this we should be able to report to the members of [Silver Winged Lion] again¡­¡­..Chris, if you don¡¯t mind I¡¯d like to head to Norfast after this, is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I need to know where the rest of the [Silver Winged Lion] have been laid to rest, so let¡¯s go there together.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Let¡¯s all go together.¡±


    Once we¡¯ve made a little bit of money again, we decided to head to Norfast together.


    I hoped to get shown around the city by Alyazi-san as promised but, now that was never going to happen.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go back¡ª¡ªis what I¡¯d like to say but I need to carry this corpse to Carlisle forest first. Do you two mind helping me?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡­¡­I don¡¯t think I need to even ask but are you going to use Carlo¡¯s body to grow a plant as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s just another Klaus¡¯ underling and he still caused so much problems for us. We need to get much, much stronger still. I can¡¯t avoid it just because I dislike it.¡±


    ¡°I guess I really can¡¯t be slacking about if I want to keep up with you huh¡­¡­¡­.I feel like now¡¯s not the time to say this, but I think I¡¯m gonna focus on being a tank after all.¡±


    With Carlo¡¯s body on his shoulders, Ralf declared so.


    I thought this was only a momentary thing until we fought Carlo but¡­¡­..I had mixed feelings about this.


    ¡°What happened to becoming the greatest adventurer? Did you give up on that?¡±


    ¡°Fuh, of course not!! But the hardest metal is often also called the strongest right?¡­¡­¡­Esta learned intermediate magic, and even Leon-san said that I had a talent for defence so I had been thinking about it. The image of the ¡°strongest adventurer¡¯ in my head that is!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll be the Toughest adventurer then?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Whether it be Carlo, or Klaus, or even Chris¡ª¡ªI¡¯ll become capable of blocking everyone¡¯s attacks, and never get hit by anyone¡­¡­..As for damage, I¡¯ll just bet it all on [Divine Strike] that I got from the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] for everything.¡±


    ¡°But haven¡¯t you still not learned how to use it still?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll learn it, given time. I can always practice attacking again later right? No matter what, training my defence isn¡¯t going to hurt me in any way is it?¡±


    Surprisingly logical, for Ralf. Guess he really has been thinking about it.


    I guess it wasn¡¯t because of Carlo killing the [Silver Winged Lion] or him coming here in our pursuit¡ª¡ªhe must have been thinking about it even before that.


    ¡­¡­..well if he hasn¡¯t given up being ¡®the strongest adventurer¡¯ and has actually thought about this, I can only cheer him on.


    ¡°Very well. Ralf will be the tank once again¡­¡­..but still, first he says he doesn¡¯t want to be tank, now he wants to be tank again, man, you sure are restless child.¡±


    ¡°Well sorry I guess! But, I did learn a lot from not acting as the tank as well. [Failure comes with every challenge. They who fear failure will never grow], was that right?¡±


    ¡°True. I too learned a lot from playing as the Tank as well so, wasn¡¯t exactly a bad experience in any way. I guess it was a good challenge after all.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! I¡¯ll keep growing more and more!! And I will inherit Leon-san¡¯s dream!¡±


    Well, I don¡¯t even know what Leon¡¯s dream was, maybe it really was what Alyazi-san was teasing Leon about.


    Become the strongest in the world, and the best adventurer ever.


    ¡­¡­¡­I feel like those two are basically the same thing but maybe he¡¯s talking about something else I don¡¯t know about.


    While pondering such things, I followed these two as they carried Carlo¡¯s body, and while my body felt tired and heavy, I kept it moving as we headed into the Carlisle forest.

 CH 158

    Back to Work


    Two weeks have passed since the fight to the death with Carlo.


    Due to the use of multiple skills, I had gone far beyond the limits of my body and so I alone spent these last few days doing nothing but rest in my room.


    The recoil from using [Mad Warrior] was too strong, as it gnaws into your mind as well so it took a lot more time than I expected to recover completely.


    In the meantime, Ralf and Esta alongside Snow completed our share of requests that we had missed out on over the 3 month period, and once I recovered went back to completing requests together.


    Thanks to our 3 months of training, as well as the death match with Carlo, Gold rank requests were now child¡¯s play to us and by the end we were all rapidly completing requests solo rather than as a party.


    Due to spending time away from the town for some time, it felt like we¡¯re behind things in many ways but¡ª¡ª-after about two weeks of hard work, we safely recovered back from being penniless back to having money saved up.


    ¡°I¡¯ve kinda realized over these last two weeks but,¡­¡­..haven¡¯t we gotten a bit too strong!?¡±


    ¡°Well, we did nothing but train for three straight months inside the Carlisle forest after all. It¡¯s only normal to show a increased rate of growth.¡±


    ¡°I was surprised as well! After being basically usless against Carlo, I almost lost confidence in my magic but¡­¡­¡­these gold rank monster are now dying in a single shot¡ª¡ªwith beginner magic, no less!¡±


    Just like these 2 said, Esta could take down monsters in a single hit with basic magic and Ralf could block and deflect attacks from them even with his eyes closed.


    As for me¡­¡­I had become strong enough to fight Gold rank monsters with bare fists, and without using a single skill.


    But, since these requests felt like easy work, compared to the time in Carlisle forest, our overall intensity felt low in comparison which made me a bit impatient.


    If only there were more stronger monsters around, completing requests would also make for good training but at this point, the requests in the area around Oxter lacked any kind of challenge to us.


    According to the vice chief, we haven¡¯t gotten anything similar to the Platinum rank Red Kong subjugation since then, and thanks to our own rapid completion of gold rank requests, there were very few of those left as well.


    We had quite the money saved up, so we could go and seclude ourselves in Carlisle forest one again but¡­¡­..


    Regardless of whether we¡¯re being pursued or not, for the sake of our growth, it might be time to leave this town for good after all.


    ¡°Anyway, now that we¡¯ve saved up a decent amount of money, let¡¯s quickly head to Norfast. We need to report about what happened to Alyazi-san and the rest, as well as about Carlo.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­..I hope we can do a proper mourning service for them or something.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a good chance that Carlo hid their bodies. The [Silver Winged Lion] were Mithril rank adventurers, if we ask around we should quickly find info about what happened afterwards I think.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, I guess we¡¯ll figure it out when we actually go there. What do we do with Snow?¡±


    Hearing its name, Snow tilted his head looking at Esta curiously.


    Snow eh. Hmm¡­¡­.What should we do?


    We did register it as my familiar so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to take it with us but, it¡¯d be a problem if it caused some trouble in a big city.


    It¡¯s body has gotten a lot bigger as well, and though it can still be carried in a bag, it¡¯s head would pop out all the time now.


    But if we don¡¯t take it out of worry that something might happen, then there¡¯d be no point in getting it registered as a familiar in the first place¡­¡­..


    ¡°Let¡¯s take it along. Being a registered familiar should make things a lot easier I hope.¡±


    ¡°Ooh! Good for you eh Snow? Looks like you won¡¯t have to stay home alone this time!¡±


    ¡°Awoo!¡±


    Wagging its tail, Snow howled happily.


    I always wonder this but damn, it really feels like it perfectly understand our conversation.


    ¡°Alright then, shall we leave? Since we have been there before, You can count on us both to lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll follow you so guide me around, Ralf, Esta.¡±


    ¡°Got it! This time even I remember stuff so leave it to us!¡±


    With our prep done, we decided to head to Norfast.


    This will be my first visit there.


    Since Carlo was in Norfast, I was a bit worried that there might be other pursuers as well but¡­¡­.now that we have beaten Carlo, I don¡¯t need to unnecessarily feel afraid of every little thing anymore.


    Doesn¡¯t mean that I won¡¯t be cautious, as we¡¯ll be going about collecting info on the [Silver Winged Lion] over there.

 CH 159

    Norfast


    After leaving Oxter, we walked about 4 hours to the south of the town.


    When finally, a huge city rivalling the capital itself, came into our view.


    ¡°We can finally see it! That¡¯s Norfast!¡±


    ¡°As expected of one of the three great cities, it looks almost as big as the capital. The line in front of the city looks long as well so the inspection is probably strict as well.¡±


    ¡°If anything it was Oxter that was the odd one. Most big cities have a pretty strict inspection before letting you inside! Wait Chris, you¡¯re not carrying poisonous plants on you right now, are you!?!¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, of course not¡­¡­..Ah but, I do have poison potions on me though. Surely potions would be fine? Right?¡±


    ¡°I think so? I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine. As long as they just see it as a normal potion, and not check it¡¯s actual ingredients that is!¡±


    I always carry the Venom Python poison around so I ended up carrying it with unintentionally, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine.


    It¡¯s completely transparent as well, so I doubt they¡¯d get suspicious of it.


    From there, we joined the long line in front of the gate and quietly waited for about 30minutes.


    It was finally our turn now.


    Just like the inspection at the capital, there were 3 soldiers who checked each of us respectively, and carefully checked the contents of our bag.


    My only worry was about the poison potions, and for Snow to get past without much issue.


    Ralf and Esta who were ahead of me, finished their inspections safely, and finally it was my turn.


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    ¡°I¡¯ll be doing a full body check as well as a bag check, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, go ahead.¡±


    I gave my bag to one of the soldier and raised my arms in a T-shape and let the other two soldiers check my body.


    I was slightly nervous deep inside but I made sure to look as calm as possible on the outside¡ª¨Cand soon the inspection ended and my bag was also handed back to me safely.


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    ¡°No problems here. Next I¡¯d like to see your ID and¡­¡­¡­is your pet a monster?¡±


    ¡°yeah. We have it registered as a familiar so I¡¯ll give that ID card as well.¡±


    I took out my own adventurer card as well as Snow¡¯s Familiar card and gave it to the soldier.


    He only gave a quick glance on my card, but the familiar card was checked by him thoroughly¡­¡­¡­but soon returned it without noticing anything wrong with it.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Everything looks fine. Just make sure not let it cause any problems in the city.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Then, go on inside.¡±


    Having both me and Snow passed the inspection, I put Snow inside my bag once again after instructing it once again to stay quiet, and rejoined Ralf and Esta and entered the City of Norfast.


    I was expecting a clean and pristine city but¡­¡­¡­the view in front of me was a lot different than expected.


    The buildings seemed all haphazard and all over the place, and instead of street lights there were paper lanterns hanging over the streets.


    There were huge amount of street stalls lined about and there were billboards and signboards wherever the eyes could see.


    It was like walking into a really crowded and bustling back alley¡­¡­¡­far from pretty, but it was still a unique and exciting city I could tell.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to describe it in words but, it looks like quite a fun city huh.¡±


    ¡°I know right! Somehow, I feel really calm whenever I¡¯m in this city.¡±


    ¡°It does feel like a bigger version of Realzard after all! I quite like Norfast as well.¡±


    Looks like these two agreed with my impression as well, as they spoke up quickly affirming my words.


    Since we had made Norfast our no.1 candidate to move to when we leave Oxter, I was intending to look around and investigate all sorts of things about the city but¡ª¡ªI suppose it definitely passes the first impression test.


    Now then, we need to gather info on the [Silver Winged Lion] so where should we start¡­¡­¡­.well, the guild seems like the obvious choice.


    They were all Mithril rank, so most adventurers in this city should know about them.


    ¡°You two, where can we find the adventurer guild here, do you know?¡±


    ¡°We can lead you there of course. We went there when we came last time as well after all.¡±


    ¡°Yep, right when we were asking around about Carlo¡­¡­..was when Leon-san talked to us for the first time after we caught his eye.¡±


    The memories of meeting Leon were still fresh, as Ralf looked a bit despondent as he finished his sentence.


    A couple months have passed since his passing but that¡¯s not enough time to heal the wounds in your heart it seems.


    ¡­¡­¡­.though I¡¯m hardly one to talk. Sometimes I end up recalling Alyazi-san¡¯s dying face at the most random times out of nowhere.


    ¡°Is that so. Then, lead me there. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be easy to gather info on the [Silver Winged Lion] at the guild.¡±


    ¡°Understood. The guild is deep in the inner part the of the city so let¡¯s avoid the crowded main streets and go through the side alleys to save time.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    We left the bustling streets and walked through the less crowded side alleys as we made our way deeper into the city.


    It might seem like an unnecessary detour but it was smoother to walk through the empty streets and definitely a lot more stress free as well.


    ¡°Still, the construction of this city is so complicated. Did you two pass through here last time as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. By the way if we took a right halfway from where we came, we would have reached this city¡¯s back streets, quite similar to Realzard¡¯s. Since we went there more than a couple times, I pretty much memorized this entire pathway.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, no wonder you seem so used to this place even though you stayed here for not that long.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything the way she does. I just followed wherever Esta leads me really!


    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to say that out loud, I would have figured that was the case regardless.¡±


    While being amazed by Esta¡¯s memory as always, we continued walking towards the guild.


    As we entered and walked through the Guild street with all sorts of guild lined side by side each other, I finally saw the adventurer guild as well.


    ¡°Quite a big place huh. Is that the adventurer guild of Norfast?¡±


    It was definitely a old, long standing building but it was about three times bigger than Oxter¡¯s guild.


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    As for the adventurers going in and out of the building¡­¡­¡­.well, they felt more or less similar to the ones in Oxter though.


    ¡°I was surprised when I saw it the first time as well. Then, shall we go inside?¡±


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s.¡±


    Led by Esta, we entered the guild.


    Just in case, I activated [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Life Presence Detect] skills, and confirmed if there were any exceptionally strong people here.


    Making sure so as to not stand out, I searched around the entire guild.


    As expected of the guild of one of the three great cities, the number of adventurers inside was much bigger but¡­¡­¡­not many really stood out in terms of strength.


    There were 2 who had a similar presence to Carlo, and 6 others that were slightly below their level.


    The rest, were more or less similar to the ones in Oxter.


    ¡°So how are we going to ask around? Last time, we basically asked depending on how they reacted to us or your name by the way!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Let¡¯s start with talking to the strong ones here. Follow me.¡±


    ¡°Eh, strong people? Okay.¡±


    Saying that to them, I decided to go call out one of the 2 string presences in the guild and ask them about it.


    Sitting at the innermost table, it was an adventurer in his 50s whose eyes were following only the females in the building.


    His mouth was also partly open, and was so focused on the women that he didn¡¯t even notice us getting close to him but¡­¡­¡­


    He was strong. I could tell from just a glance that this man was genuinely strong.


    ¡°I need to talk to you, can you spare a minute?¡±


    ¡°Wha? Tch¡­¡­..sorry, I¡¯m a bit busy right now, so no, can¡¯t.¡±


    Seeing me who talked to him, realizing I was a guy, clicked his tongue and then began following the other ladies with his eyes again.


    Judging by this, it doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s a guy who¡¯d be willing to talk much but, I decided to forcibly ask a question anyway.


    ¡°I want to know about the adventurer party called the [Silver Winged Lion], do you know anything?¡±


    ¡°[Silver Winged Lion]?¡­¡­¡­..never heard of ¡¯em.¡±


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    He definitely reacted to the name and began glaring at me but¡­¡­.


    Looks like he¡¯s really not interested in responding properly as he simply feigned ignorance.


    If he¡¯s like this, there¡¯s no point in asking anything anymore. I guess I¡¯ll just give up on asking any info from this old man.


    We left his table, and then walked towards the other strong presence in the guild.


    If only he was slightly willing I would have asked more, but sometimes, these things can¡¯t be helped and its better to just move on.

 CH 160

    Chapter 160


    Receptionist


    We lined up in the line towards the Trading counter, and waited for our turn.


    It was definitely a big guild as even the number of counters was bigger than the ones I¡¯ve seen yet, each still had long lines on them.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.umm? Why are we lining for the trading counter again? Weren¡¯t we trying to ask info?¡±


    ¡°Yeah we will¡­¡­.from the receptionist here.¡±


    ¡°The receptionist? But why specifically them?¡±


    ¡°Because they look like they¡¯d have info we want.¡±


    Unable to understand what I was implying, both Ralf and Esta tilted their heads in confusion.


    Sure, my actions may seem a bit incomprehensible but of the 2 strongest presences that I sensed in this guild, one of those was the receptionist on this counter.


    They looked not that different from the other receptionists on the outside but their life presence was at the same level as the old man from before.


    Well, maybe not as high as Carlo or the old man but still¡­¡­¡­.


    [Mana Sense]


    Activating my other skill, I checked their mana and¡ª¡ªas expected it was monstrous.


    They seemed to be hiding with the help of either a skill or a an item but thanks to my own skill, I was able to see through it.


    ¡°Welcome. This is the counter for Trading, how may I help you?¡±


    ¡°I am not interested in buying or selling anything actually, I just want to ask a question. Do you know about the [Silver Winged Lion]?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Eh? u,ummm, if it¡¯s an unrelated question then please go to the other counters¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°No, not the others, I want to ask you specifically. That old man back there refused to talk so I came to you. I¡¯ll ask again, do you know about the [Silver Winged Lion]?¡±


    ¡°that old man?¡ª¡ªOh, I see. Very well, this isn¡¯t the place to talk so if you don¡¯t mind can you go through that door over there and wait inside the room for a while?¡±


    ¡°Of course, and thank you.¡±


    As the receptionist had asked, we went through the guild personnel only room and waited inside this room where only the employees could come.


    I asked Ralf and Esta to wait outside alongside Snow, and I came here alone.


    ¡°Sorry to have kept you waiting. Please, can you come here into this room.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    After waiting a while, the receptionist finally left the counter and came and led to me to a private room to talk.


    ¡­¡­¡­..thanks to [Perception Enhancement] I could tell, but this receptionist was slightly leaking a little bit of killing intent as well.


    My actions must seem very suspicious to her and so they seem ready to use their skills at any given moment.


    While cautious myself, I entered the room I was led to¡ª¡ª-It was a surprisingly luxurious room.


    And on the even more extravagant table kept I the centre of the room, there was label that said [Guild Master] on it.


    ¡°So? Why did you go out of your way to specifically talk to me?¡±


    Hearing a male voice suddenly, I turned around to realize that it was actually a guy crossdressing.


    No, it wasn¡¯t even crossdressing,¡­¡­..he was simply disguised as a normal receptionist then?


    ¡°Wait, you were a guy?¡±


    ¡°Ha? Is that not why you talked to me!?¡­¡­¡­What the hell, did I just let some weirdo inside? I guess the line between a genius and moron really is thin.¡±


    The guy in receptionist clothes muttered with his head in his hands.


    He looked pretty young, but was almost certainly far, far older than he looked.


    And the fact that he brought me here means¡­¡­¡­that this crossdresser was the guild master of this place.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re a guy or not, I spoke to you only because I could sense your strength. Your strong life presence was hard to miss after all.¡±


    ¡°I wonder about that. Maybe you just got lucky by mistake?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡­¡­Oh right, if you want to me to further prove it, more so than your life force, it was your mana that was stronger. Which means you¡¯re probably a magic-based job holder.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªcorrect. I¡¯m the guild master of this place, Arkan. Arkan Magus¡­¡­..you must have heard of me I assume?¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re joking right¡­¡­..? There are still people who don¡¯t know of the name ¡®Magus¡¯¡­¡­..?¡±


    He looked genuinely surprised, but I wasn¡¯t lying. I have never heard of him.


    Well, he¡¯s this strong so I assume he¡¯s probably famous here in Norfast but I am an Oxter inhabitant.


    ¡°Anyway, just tell me what I want to know. I¡¯ll pay if you want.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Information¡­¡­¡­about the [Silver Winged Lion] was it? Before I do, I want to ask something first. Why are you searching info about them?¡±


    ¡°Because they were my acquaintances. I¡¯m from Oxter. Those guys came to Oxter for work and we got to know each other. It happened about four months ago.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s true. They did take a request near Oxter around 4 months ago. I see, I understand now¡­¡­¡­.the [Silver Winged Lion] are all dead. Murdered by someone. Only one them maybe survived, emphasis on maybe. But we have yet to find or get contacted by them.¡±


    So they really did all die.


    I was hoping that maybe Leon had some kind of trump card, something that would have helped him survive but¡­¡­¡­.


    As for the ¡®person who survive¡¯, he¡¯s probably talking about Alyazi-san.


    ¡°I see. And where have they been put to rest? Surely, they got graves somewhere right?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem very surprised.¡±


    ¡°Well, if an adventurer disappears for a long time, there¡¯s usually only one answer after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..makes sense. As for their graves, go ask at the church. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll let you know.¡±


    ¡°I see, thanks. Here¡¯s payment for the info.¡±


    I put a silver coin out and began leaving the room, when the guild master stopped me by calling me again.


    ¡°Wait a minute. I have another question. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°if I answer, will you answer another question of mine as well?¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an adventurer, the name¡¯s Chris. Like I said, I¡¯m an adventurer from Oxter.¡±


    ¡°Chris?¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I see, Chris huh.¡±


    When I said my name, the guild master put his hand on his chin and began thinking hard.


    I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s heard of me because of some connection to Klaus, so I wanted to leave quickly.


    ¡°Then, I want to ask my other question as well. What¡¯s the best weapon store here? Surely, the guild master would know best right?¡±


    ¡°Wha?¡­¡­..A weapon store? Oh, well, if you¡¯re looking for one in Norfast, there¡¯s no place better than [Ichiryuu].¡± (T/N: Ichiryuu literally means first class or top grade, so I¡¯m leaving it as it is)


    ¡°I see, thanks for the info. Then, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    Leaving the desperately thinking guild master to himself, I left the room and made my way back to the main floor.


    Right as I rejoined Ralf, Esta and Snow, I heard the guild master shout ¡°I remember!¡± from inside.


    Since I don¡¯t know whether he¡¯s an enemy or not, and judging from the info I got from Realzard¡¯s church, it¡¯s better to avoid these kinds of people.


    Since he gave me good info, I ended up stupidly naming myself in return but, I really should have used an alias¡ª¡ª¡ªregretting it now, we left the guild and headed towards the church as per the guild master¡¯s info.

 CH 161

    Report


    I have gone to churches many a times but, this is the first time I¡¯ve come to one for something other than an ability assessment.


    While thinking of such things, we entered the church.


    Norfast¡¯s church was a splendorous one similar to the one in Realzard.


    The inside was spacious and you could see lots of people coming here to attend the Mass.


    ¡­¡­.I guess the one in Oxter really was an anomaly.


    The priest there wasn¡¯t a bad person by any means but, he¡¯s hardly the type that would instil religious devotion in you either unfortunately.


    ¡°Should we go talk to the priest here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, looks like he¡¯s not busy right now either.¡±


    We decided to go talk to the priest, who was standing to the side, rather than on the main platform.


    He looked the same age as the priest in Oxter, but his appearance was whole lot more neat and tidy and gave off a much better impression than the other.


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    I approached said priest and began asking.


    ¡°I needed to as you something, do you have the time?¡±


    ¡°Hello, and why of course, what do you need to know?¡±


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    ¡°We¡¯re searching for the graves of an adventurer party called [Silver Winged Lion]. Would you happen to know where we could find that?¡±


    ¡°[Silver Winged Lion]¡­¡­¡­yes, I do know. Allow me to lead you there.¡±


    Well then, we somehow happened to in the person in the know on our first try.


    I guess that crossdresser guild master really gave accurate info huh.


    We left the church by the back door, and reached a cemetery with numerous graves erected across the field.


    For a cemetery though, it was very well maintained and clean, and you could feel a sort of holy atmosphere in the place.


    ¡°This grave here, belongs to the [Silver Winged Lion]. All three of them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for guiding us here.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks. Then, allow me to give you some privacy.¡±


    He gave a bow and the priest returned back into the church while we just silently observed the grave for a while.


    The names of the fallen memebers¡ªLeon, Janet, Joyce, were engraved on the grave.


    ¡°They really are all gone huh¡­¡­..I still can¡¯t bring myself to accept it as fact.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it either but, with the grave right in front of me, at least we know that their bodies were recovered safely.¡±


    ¡°A saving grace among all the tragedy. Just thinking about how if Carlo had made their bodies to ¡®disappear¡¯¡­¡­.it makes me filled with even more hate, even though we have already killed the man.¡±


    I could feel the anger in Esta¡¯s eyes as she spoke.


    I lightly patted her shoulders to calm her and then prompted them both to pay their respects to the graves of the [Silver Winged LIon].


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Leon-san, Janet-san, Joyce-san, Alyazi-san. It was only for a short time but we still owe a huge debt to you all. You were so kind to us complete strangers, and we¡¯ll never forget about that.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t forget either! Janet-san, Joyce-san, Alyazi-san and¡ª¨CLeon-san!! I¡¯ll use everything you taught me and definitely rise to the top as the greatest adventurer!! I¡¯ll carry your dream Leon-san, and continue living on so¡­¡­¡­..so please rest easy.¡±


    Esta, and then Ralf after her, unloaded their feelings in front of the grave.


    They were both trying their best to not burst out crying but I could see tears already welling up in the corners of their eyes, and their sadness flowed into me as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault all of you got dragged into this mess¡­¡­¡­.No matter how much I apologize, I could never truly earn your forgiveness. You only get one chance at life, and there¡¯s no way to change that. Alyazi-san did his best to console me even at his deathbed but, I will live with these feelings for the rest of my life.¡ª¡ª¨CI have avenged you all by killing Carlo. And don¡¯t worry, I will soon kill my own younger brother, Klaus, who sent that man as well¡­¡­¡­..All you were gentle and kind people so I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t wish this upon me, I imagine.¡±


    If even one of them were alive, I¡¯m sure they would have tried to convince me otherwise at all costs I think.


    That¡¯s why I know, this is just for my own self-satisfaction.


    And so¡ª¨Cone more thing, I proclaimed an oath in their name.


    ¡°Once I have taken my revenge on Klaus¡­¡­¡­I will fight to protect and help the weak, I swear. I don¡¯t know if the [SIlver Winged Lion] even did something like that but, whether it be taking care of orphans or releasing slaves, I will crush every dark underworld organization, and forever hunt those who prey on the innocent and weak. So please, watch over me from the heavens above.¡±


    Making that proclamation, I took off the necklace I wore as Alyazi-san¡¯s memento and left it beside the grave in a beautiful box.


    If possible, I wanted to bury him together with the rest of his party as well but, in the end, this is the least I can do.


    Finally, all three of us gave a deep bow in front of the grave and then left the place.


    I felt my body filled with a whole new drive as I made the proclamation.


    But Klaus comes first. After that, just as with Ralf and Esta, and the members of the [Silver Winged Lion] who were also orphans, I will devote my entire life in the aid of those born unfortunate. I swore to myself.

 CH 162

    After leaving the cemetery at the church, we went to a Inn.


    Since I wasn¡¯t in the mood to spend money unnecessarily, we just randomly picked a cheap inn and stayed in a single room together.


    ¡°Hey, I know we just rented a room but¡­¡­.was there even a need to do so? We have completed what we came for so shouldn¡¯t we be thinking of going back anyway?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s still stuff to do here in Norfast.¡±


    ¡°There is? Like what?¡±


    ¡°I decided this before we even left Oxter but, I think it¡¯s time we permanently moved away from Oxter in the near future.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? Really??¡­¡­¡­is it because more pursuers may arrive?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not much of a concern to me anymore. I am confident in beating the shit out of anybody who comes at us now.¡±


    ¡°Then why!?¡±


    ¡°to put it simply, because it¡¯s too easy and peaceful there now. We won¡¯t get anything above gold rank requests over there, and at this point they are not even a challenge for us anymore.¡±


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    When I said that, both of them had a complex expression which showed that deep inside they too had been considering the same thing.


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    ¡°After getting cornered due to my pursuer and spending that time in the Carlisle forest, I realized something. We grow much faster when put into desperate situations.¡±


    ¡°B-but, then we could just seclude ourselves in the forest again¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not efficient enough though. Well, maybe it¡¯s very efficient for me personally but, even then, I¡¯m running out skills to gain there as well. The merits of staying there are decreasing fast.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­To be honest, I think so too. We really should move to a city like Norfast where a high number of difficult requests will constantly be available. I only took a glance at the board at the guild and I saw a bunch of diamond rank requests put up, like they were a regular occurrence here. The key to consistent growth is to keep on challenging stronger enemies after all.¡±


    Esta seemed to agree with my suggestion and even Ralf became unable to reply anything back to that.


    I get that it isn¡¯t an easy decision to take. After all, we have been blessed with the company of great and helpful people like Shantell and Vice chief over there.


    So I get wanting to spend more time there but, if it¡¯s strength we seek then the best route is to move I think.


    It was similar to when we had to move from Realzard to Oxter but, thanks to coming to Oxter, we became much, much more stronger than before.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Fine. If both of you are that adamant about it, I won¡¯t oppose it either. I mean this place is close to Oxter, so we could always return if something happens.¡±


    ¡°Are there any other candidates for our next destination?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of any place else right now to be honest but, I¡¯m also curious about Edestor, another one of the three great cities¡­¡­¡­..I mean, they have a dungeon there after all.¡±


    To be honest, Edestor was personally my top priority.


    Of course the dungeon I mention just now was a major factor but also the fact that nearby Edestor, there is a huge forest that was equal to Carlisle forest. And in that forest¡­¡­¡­lies the Fruit of Skill, hidden somewhere or so I have heard, making the city a prime candidate for us to move to.


    Now you might ask what use do I even have of the Fruit of Skill at this point but, if that fruit allows me to learn Unique skills instead, then it should be obvious why I would desperately look for it.


    Ongneer could only give Common skills, but there is a high chance the Fruit of Skill can grant unique skills as well.


    ¡°Yeah, the dungeon does sound exciting. It¡¯s probably filled with strong monsters, making it a perfect place to train!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..But, if I recall, wasn¡¯t Edestor¡¯s dungeon the place where Chris-san¡¯s younger brother, Klaus,  last seen?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¨CYes.


    And that¡¯s why I had no choice but to put Norfast as the main candidate.


    I mean, as I am now maybe I could go toe to toe with Klaus but, if someone like Carlo was a mere subordinate to Klaus¡­¡­¡­meant that he¡¯s definitely much stronger than Carlo.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why, we can¡¯t yet go to Edestor. If Klaus leaves that place, then it would be my main priority as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Ah, I got it! The reason you want to stay in Norfast was to gather info about Edestor right?¡±


    ¡°Half correct. I do want to gather info. And if Klaus is still there, then we¡¯ll naturally turn Norfast as our new base.¡±


    ¡°Then, from tomorrow onwards, should we split up and gather info from around the city then!¡±


    ¡°Yes. Me and Ralf will ask around about Edestor, meanwhile, Esta you go and gather all the info you can on Norfast itself. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll go on a thorough investigation trip alongside Snow!¡±


    ¡°Dependable as always.¡±


    To be honest, I wanted me and Esta both to gather info on Edestor ¡­¡­..but that would make us splitting up meaningless.


    ¡°So then, from tomorrow we¡¯re info hunting all day. Good luck, both of you.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me! I¡¯ll find everything there is to know!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best as well!¡±


    And so, to find more info on our next destination, we decided to split up go about talking to people around Norfast.


    We were looking for info on Edestor that was a long ways away from here.


    We should probably look for a information broker in Norfast, and start from there.

 CH 163

    Info Gathering


    The next day.


    After spending the night at the cheap inn, we decided to split up and gather info from around the city.


    Ralf was going to ask around where ever he seemed like he could hear something good, meanwhile I decided to head to a broker to get the help of a professional.


    Also,¡­¡­.I also had a personal errand, which was to go visit this [Ichryuu] store that was recommended by the guild master himself.


    Since the battle with Carlo, I had been fighting with my bare fists because I had no money.


    Thanks to my skill I made it work fine anyway but, really, I want a sword back in my hands.


    Now that we¡¯ve stored up on money again, I want to buy something better than even the slender steel sword that I had been using until now.


    While thinking that, I reached a bar.


    Purely because the info broker in the capital was also doing business within a bar after all.


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    A lot of people gather inside a bar so it was a good place to gather info.


    Entering inside, the place was pretty lively considering it was still early morning. Probably the people who started last night were still around, still with mugs and glasses in hand.


    Giving those people a side glance, I headed to the bar master-like person to start with.


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    ¡°Hey, got a minute? Need to ask some things.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s up lad. If you¡¯re looking for a drink, sorry, we¡¯re done for now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. What I want is info. Do you know where I could find an info broker in this town?¡±


    ¡°Info broker? Well actually¡­¡­¡­.Oi! Barry! This lad has business with you. You might finally earn enough to pay you damn tab you know? ¡ª¡ªGo talk to that drunk over there. If you give him enough for a drink, he¡¯ll tell you whatever you want to know probably.¡±


    The bar master said that, and then walked into the backroom with a huge amount of tableware and mugs and tankards.


    In his stead, who came up to me was man who was merrily drunk even though it was the morning.


    He looked pretty smashed already, as he just about walked up to me with shaky steps.


    ¡°Ohh? What business ya got with me lad?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a info broker. When I asked the bar master, he called you. If you tell me what I wanna know, I¡¯ll pay you a drink¡¯s worth.¡±


    ¡°You will!? Alright. I¡¯ll tell you whatever you want if I¡¯m getting paid¡­¡­¡­.Go to a store called [Rashburg]. That¡¯s the best info broker in this whole goddamn town.¡±


    ¡°[Rashburg] eh. And where can I find this place?¡±


    ¡°Just walk through the main street and keep an eye out for their signboard. It¡¯s hard to miss¡ª¡ª¨CAlright, pay me for them drinks bud!¡±


    Getting info about the info broker from the drunkard, I tossed a silver coin to him, and then left the bar.


    As I thought I got what I wanted to know pretty easily.


    Now I don¡¯t know how accurate this info I got is but, its definitely worth investigating at least.


    I steadily headed towards the main street I saw when we entered through the main gate.


    .


    Reaching the main street, I pushed my way through the crowd while looking for a sign that said [Rashburg].


    There were a lot of normal stores and stalls here and their signs all jumbled together , so by the time I found the [Rashburg] sign, an entire hour had passed but¡­¡­¡­.well at least I found it finally.


    It was on the 2nd floor of dirty and old looking building. The first floor was apparently some fishmonger selling all sorts of different fish and above that was this [Rashburg] place.


    Climbing on the stairs, that looked like they could collapse at any moment, I headed to this place.


    There wasn¡¯t much details put up outside the place, so I thought this will be a similar bar-like place like in the capital but¡­¡­¡­


    When I pushed open the door to enter, the room only had a desk and a sofa in front of it. And on both sides of it were piles and stacks of papers and documents messily scattered across the place.


    ¡ª¡ª¨Cis this really the place where the best info broker in Norfast can be found?


    There was always a chance I got scammed by that drunk but, I wasn¡¯t sure yet.


    Seeing that there was no one here, I shouted from the entrance of the room to try and call someone.


    ¡°Anybody here? I came here to ask some questions!!¡±


    The room then became quiet once again, and my voice simply echoed inside.


    Since there was neither a reaction or even the presence of a living person, I was about to leave when¡­¡­..


    The door that I originally came from opened again.


    Turning around, the person that came in was a dirty looking old man.


    He was dressed in what looked like work clothes, and his waistcloth had the name of the fishmonger on the first floor¡¯s name on it.


    He smelled of fish as well, so I assume he came from below for some business as well?


    ¡°Normally this place is open only at night you see. In the morning we sell fish below to make money, and at night we sell info to do the same¡­¡­..makes sense to ya?¡±


    He suddenly said that right after entering, and then went and sat down on the desk inside the room with a thud.


    The old man drank a few gulps of water from the leather bag in his hands, and then faced towards me once again.


    I didn¡¯t notice from the first glance but, I guess he really is the owner of this place.


    His looks were from trustworthy but, I¡¯m not the type to make judgements based on appearance alone anyway.


    I mean, he was supposedly the best info broker in the entire city of Norfast, so I should at least try and see if he lives up to his name.

 CH 164

    Information on Edestor


    ¡°So, what do you wanna know about? It just happens to me my break so I¡¯ll tell you what you wanna know in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I wanted info on Edestor. Do you have any?¡±


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    ¡°Edestor? Why the hell are you looking for info on Edestor when you¡¯re in Nofast¡ª¨CQuite the weirdo, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s irrelevant. So do you have the info I want or not?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. It¡¯s one of the three great cities after all. What exactly do you want to know about?¡±


    ¡°Is the current hero candidate, Klaus, still in Edestor or not? I need to know that.¡±


    I decided to be direct and straight up asked if Klaus was there or not.


    His existence was the biggest problem between us moving there or not.


    If I had confirmation that Klaus was still there, it would make our moving there basically impossible.


    ¡°Klaus eh. The hero candidate from the capital¡­¡­¡­..if I recall correctly, he¡¯s the guy that beat the Edestor dungeon¡¯s 50th floor recently right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one. I need to know whether that very Klaus is still in Edestor or not.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think he is. About a week ago, the news that Klaus had made an official party came out of the capital so I¡¯d say he¡¯s certainly back in the capital now.¡±


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    Klaus is back in the capital then¡­¡­.?


    So his objective in Edestor was the dungeon alone, and having cleared it¡ª¡ªhe went back straight to the capital eh.


    ¡°How accurate is that info?¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s correct. Because there was also the info that our King, after hearing the names of the party members, was quite enraged as well.¡±


    With a smirk, the old man told me that.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I don¡¯t really need to know about the info regarding Klaus¡¯ current status, but I was curious regardless.


    This is will cost me further but, if it¡¯s to know more on Klaus, I guess its worth it.


    ¡°What do you mean? Can you tell me more about that.¡±


    ¡°Wha? You don¡¯t know? Well you¡¯d learn sooner or later, so I¡¯ll just charge a measly one silver if you really want to know right now.¡±


    I, instead, took out a gold coin and tossed it at him. It¡¯s annoying to have to pay for every single thing I ask one at a time.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pain so here, I¡¯ll pay it in advance. First, continue the previous story.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your patronage¡­¡­¡­¡­So again, the [Sword God] Klaus announced his party members. It¡¯s a party of four, and two of them are a [Necromancer] and a [Holy Dragon Knight], students from the same academy as his. It¡¯s the last one that¡¯s causing all the commotion. Someone called Milworc, a commoner not from their academy.¡±


    ¡°A commoner? But why go out of his way to do that?¡±


    ¡°Well, to be clear, he¡¯s not technically a commoner per se. The public aren¡¯t very aware of him but he¡¯s the leader of the hooligans called [Under Eye] that work in the capital¡¯s underworld. That Milworc, that is. Now in terms of actual criminal activity, they are far behind the likes of [The Maginicks] as an organisation but, Milworc¡¯s own strength must be what he ended up buying I think.¡±


    I did hear that Klaus was deep in bed with the underworld back in at the capital¡¯s info broker as well.


    One of those was also Carlo¡¯s [The Maginicks].


    And another one is this Milworc¡¯s [Under Eye] I suppose.


    And that Klaus, used the Carlo as his subordinate even though they had the bigger organization, and instead valued this Milworc enough to bring him into his party.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Well, I actually don¡¯t know if Carlo was the ¡®leader¡¯ of the Maginicks or not though.


    ¡°But, is it even okay to so openly have a member of the underworld in your party?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not and that¡¯s why the king is furious. After all, the king¡¯s daughter herself was a [War Princess] but didn¡¯t get selected and he went out of his way to bring some guy from outside instead.¡±


    I had no idea what Klaus was thinking doing this kind of stuff.


    Did Milworc really have that much value to him? Or was he thinking about something else?


    My objective was Klaus alone but, the reverse is not true. Klaus probably has more things in mind than just me.


    He certainly seems to be spending quite a lot of effort into hunting me though¡­¡­¡­.But his main objective was certainly to fulfil his duties as a hero I suppose.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªthat is, subjugating the Demon lord.


    Whether he can actually achieve that is still a doubt but, considering he¡¯s properly challenging and clearing dungeons, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s abandoning his main duty.


    ¡°I see. I have understood the situation around Klaus¡¯ party now. The fact that this problem is public now, is your proof as to why Klaus is back in the capital right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite certain of that, yes. It¡¯s not like he¡¯d have much else to do there after clearing the Edestor dungeon anyway.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks for the info¡­¡­¡­.Also, for the rest of the money, just tell me more about whatever news you have on Edestor, or things I should know.¡±


    I had the broker of [Rashburg] tell me the remaining gold coin¡¯s worth of info about Edestor.


    The more I hard, the more I was attracted to that city. And thanks to the dungeon, we¡¯d have no lack of strong opponents, and not to mention there¡¯d all sorts of strong adventurers gathered there for the same reason as well.


    Which means, that just like with the [Silver Winged Lion], we could become friends with other strong adventurer parties.


    ¡­¡­¡­Although, there is a part of me that is still afraid of making any more connections like that after what happened with the [Silver Winged Lion].


    ¡°Thanks for all the info on Edestor. If I wanted to know something, I¡¯ll be sure to come here again.¡±


    ¡°Of course, and thank you sir for buying an entire gold coin¡¯s worth of info! Always a pleasure.¡±


    Giving my thanks, I left [Rashburg].


    The store itself had a very odd appearance, but the info I got was absolutely worth every penny.


    Originally I planned to go visit any other info brokers I could find in this city as well but, I don¡¯t think there was any need for that any more.


    Once I pay a visit to [Ichiryuu], I¡¯ll just go back to the Inn after that.

 CH 165

    Ichiryuu


    After leaving [Rashburg], I headed to this Ichiryuu store I had heard about from the guild master.


    Hopefully I can find a good replacement for the sword I had been using, within a reasonable amount of course¡­¡­¡­.


    While thinking of such things, I pushed open the doors to this slightly old fashioned looking store.


    All sorts of weapon were displayed around the store, and inside there was even a smithy.


    It was basically a weapons store, and a blacksmith, 2 in one.


    ¡°Oh! Come on in! Welcome to my store!¡±


    The person who talked to me after I entered was a man, half my height, but had a thick beard.


    Judging by the looks I was sure that he was¡ª¨CA dwarf. I had heard of them.


    This was my first time seeing one in real life but, I know they are race who excelled in smithing.


    A shop ran by a dwarf eh¡­¡­.


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    No wonder the guild master instantly recommended this place. This is bound to be a good store.


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m looking to buy a sword. Do you have one that¡¯s light and easy to use?¡±


    ¡°A easy to use sword? Then how about one my many iron swords that I have forged!? They¡¯re cheap but still much better than the iron swords you¡¯d find here and there!¡±


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    After entering the store, I was instantly led to the display where all the cheap iron swords were kept.


    ¡­¡­¡­.he¡¯s right that these ones definitely looked a lot better than the ones I saw in Realzard and Oxter in terms of quality.


    But, they were still a level below a steel sword.


    Well, they are different materials so I suppose that¡¯s obvious, but again, I really want to find something similar to the slender steel sword that I had been using, or at least something on the same level as that.


    Can¡¯t have one breaking on me mid fight after all.


    ¡°Do you have any steel swords? I prefer those over iron ones.¡±


    ¡°Of course I do! Those are all kept over there!¡±


    I left the place with the iron swords and headed to the display rack with all the steel swords.


    Just like the iron swords, I could tell from a glance that these were all much higher quality than usual but¡­¡­¡­..these were all normal steel straight swords.


    What I was using was a sharper, slender steel sword.


    It made thrusts and stabs much better, and made me much more agile so I really liked that one but I guess, I can¡¯t be too picky here.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that steel sword then. How much is it?¡±


    ¡°5 gold! I can make a sheathe for it as well, if you want?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy it.¡±


    It was costlier than the one I bought in Realzard but the overall quality was much higher, although it wasn¡¯t as slender as that one.


    If anything, considering the amount of steel used in this, it¡¯s actually cheaper comparatively.


    ¡°Alright, thanks for your patronage! All of my goods are top class! I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll last very long!¡±


    I took the sword from the dwarf, and attached it to my waist.


    ¡ª¡ª-as expected, having a sword on my waist again, really made me feel a whole lot reassured.


    Handing over the 5 gold, I looked around the store to see if something else caught my eye.


    I mean, I came in a bought a steel swords straight away after all. Might as well look around now.


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    ¡°There really are a lot of great weapons here¡­¡­¡­especially this one, is it a magic sword?¡±


    ¡°Ooh you¡¯ve got good eyes lad! But that¡¯s not a normal Magic sword, it¡¯s a Demonic Blade! It possesses its own mana. It¡¯s the best weapon I have on display here!¡± (T/N; The word for demonic blade is Maken. You¡¯ve probably heard of it. Can be translated as Evil sword, or Mana sword, Spellblade etc. But since he specifically mentions that its not a ¡®sword of magic¡¯, I decided to go with demonic instead)


    It was kept inside a showcase, so as to not let people touch it but¡­¡­.even from afar I could tell just how high quality it was and how much mana it held within it.


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    If an amateur used it, they¡¯ll end up killing themselves with it¡ª¡ªit¡¯s that kind of a weapon.


    ¡°How much is that, by the way?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s there just for display, as part of my collection and I don¡¯t really plan of selling it but¡­¡­¡­.let me think! If I had to put a price, I¡¯d say around 20 platinum coins or so?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an insane price alright¡­¡­¡­but you¡¯re right, I haven¡¯t seen a better quality sword than that yet.¡±


    ¡°But of course! If there was a sword better than this¡ª¡ª-it would have to be something in the same class as ¡®Vendettatein¡¯, the sword of the first hero!¡±


    The first hero.


    I¡¯ve read so many legends about him, and even now his name will pop up here and there during our travels.


    Someone with the same job as Klaus, a hero among heroes.


    The sword that he used eh¡­¡­¡­I am a bit interested, I must say.


    ¡°So what was it like? This Vendettatein.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s the first hero¡¯s sword! It¡¯s said to be sleeping where the hero died! Although no one has ever seen it and so it¡¯s more of rumour at this point!¡±


    ¡°No one has seen it¡­¡­¡­So we don¡¯t even know if its real or not?¡±


    ¡°Yes, no one has seen it but, people have figured out exactly where it sleeps! It¡¯s in the caves in the mountains to the north of Edestor! Those mountains are crawling with monsters, and these caves are said to be impossible to enter by any human¡ª¡ªso no one has really tried to actually go and investigate because of that!¡±


    So the weapon the first hero used is also close to Edestor eh.


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    I mean, the dungeon itself was attached to so many first hero¡¯s stories that it does make sense.


    In fact, from what I remember, the first hero¡¯s roots began in the Edestor dungeon itself, so it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he was born in Edestor in the first place.


    If that is the case, this rumour might not be completely baseless.


    ¡°I see. So it¡¯s not just a complete myth then.¡±


    ¡°No no, of course not! It¡¯s real! Hey, brother, if you could bring me Vendettatein, I¡¯ll trade this demonic sword to you for it!¡±


    ¡°You idiot. If I found it, wouldn¡¯t vendettatein be the better sword anyway, I¡¯d just use that no? why would I trade it away?¡±


    ¡°Hey, no need to call me an idiot! I¡¯m saying I¡¯ll pay as many platinum coins you want for it basically!¡±


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    [Vendettatein]¡ª¡ª-was it?


    If I get the chance, maybe I should go and look for it.


    The steel sword I bought just now was good but if I planned on fighting Klaus, I need something much better.


    It might be necessary to get the Demonic Sword here, for example.


    With the info I heard from the dwarf as well as the general info on Edestor I already got in my head, I looked around the store for a little longer before leaving [Ichiryuu] and heading back to the inn.

 CH 166

    Our Next Destination


    Early morning, the next day.


    We were planning to leave Norfast early, and head back to Oxter.


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    Esta also gathered a lot of info as well, and Ralf¡­¡­¡­well, he did try his best I suppose.


    So we can thoroughly discuss it all on our way back, and also make our final decision on our next destination.


    ¡°You both done packing? Make sure not to forget anything, Ralf.¡±


    ¡°Why just me?!¡±


    ¡°Because only you would make such a mistake. If you¡¯re all packed, let¡¯s go already.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m all ready! Let us return back to Oxter.¡±


    ¡°Awoo!¡±


    After overseeing them both finishing their packing as well, we left the Inn and headed to the city gate.


    Snow didn¡¯t even seem interested in attacking anyone, and we never ran into some other pursuer sent by Klaus either.


    We also finished our main objective, which was to pay our respects to the [Silver Winged Lion], so it was quite a worthwhile trip.


    Now, we just need to return to Oxter safe and sound.


    Until we¡¯re back, I¡¯m not going to drop my guard even one bit, and make sure that I don¡¯t lose my focus on my surroundings.


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    .


    About 2 hours had passed, since we left Norfast early this morning.


    While walking towards Oxter, we were now discussing our information that we gathered.


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    Me and Ralf had finished our reports, and now it was Esta¡¯s turn to talk about what she discovered about Norfast.


    ¡­¡­¡­by the way, as expected, Ralf had nothing worthwhile to add.


    ¡°So I had been investigating things about Norfast as asked, and it seems like quite the nice place to live. Firstly, thanks to the extremely powerful guild master, the city is quite peaceful. And something like what was happening in Oxter would never happen.¡±


    Guild Master. That guy that was disguised as a receptionist for whatever reason.


    Well, he was probably disguised to keep an eye on the day to day happenings in the guild I imagine. And wasn¡¯t just a weirdo with a crossdressing quirk.


    Thinking that way¡­¡­¡­it was definitely a useful skill, and would help avoid a situation like Oxter¡¯s.


    ¡°Also, commodities in general are pretty cheap. Since there are so many stores and shops, the competition has made the prices cheaper it seems. Also¡­¡­..because of the amount of shops, the types of things you can find is also great. So you¡¯d never worry about finding something there at least.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a great merit.¡±


    ¡°As for requests, a great variety of requests are always up for grabs. So we¡¯ll never have to be worried about the quality of requests either. As you¡¯d expect of one of the three great cities, a huge variety of people come and go so it¡¯s pretty easy to gather info as well, as you can tell.¡±


    Esta continued telling all sorts of things she had found out.


    How did she manage all this in a single day I will never understand.


    I was mostly inclined towards Edestor but Norfast had so many merits on its own that I was now confused again.


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    ¡°¡ª¡ª-But, there is one clear demerit to this place.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°There are no forests nearby at all. For Chris-san to keep growing, the existence of a big forest nearby should be our top priority. Even if you switched completely to home gardening , well, this is Norfast, a huge densely packed city. If you were to buy a house big enough to handle home gardening,¡­¡­¡­.the average rent would be around 10 platinum coins a month.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Well that is most certainly a huge demerit.


    I did realize it when we came here but, there really is no forest near this city.


    From a normal person¡¯s perspective, that¡¯s probably a good thing but, not so for me.


    And just like Esta said, renting a house the kind of which we have in Oxter is more or less impossible in Norfast.


    ¡°And thus, if Klaus is not in Edestor¡ª¨CI would like to recommend Edestor as our next destination!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaning towards Edestor as well! I mean, the dungeon has me super curious, I won¡¯t lie!¡±


    Esta made her decision, and Ralf agreed with her.


    ¡­¡­¡­Well, I was always in the Edestor faction so that¡¯s that I suppose.


    ¡°Then, the decision is made. We move to Edestor next.¡±


    ¡°No objections here!¡±


    ¡°Same here!¡­¡­..Though I will feel sad about leaving Oxter.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    With responses from all 3, the decision was officially made.


    ¡­¡­¡­as for Snow, we were going to raise it till was an adult anyway, and with how strong it is, it could probably live on the northern mountains on its own now.


    As for whether Snow will come with us or not, I¡¯ll leave it to Snow to decide. If it wants to stay, we have to warmly send it off that¡¯s all.


    With our future plans decided, we increased our pace as we headed towards Oxter.

 CH 167

    The Place that never Changes


    Since we returned back to Oxter, a week had passed.


    Since we quickly moved to preparing for our big move as soon as we returned, we had now fully finished our prep and were ready to leave whenever.


    We already cancelled the contract of the house, and had already talked about our plans to Shantell and the Vice Chief after coming back.


    They were both quite sad about it of course, and Shantell even tried to convince us to stay while crying but¡­¡­..once I properly explained her everything that had happened in detail, I was finally able to convince her as well.


    ¡°The house looks clean again huh. We can leave the rest to the contractors I suppose.¡±


    ¡°I really thought we¡¯d live here for a long while you know, but somehow we¡¯re homeless again.¡±


    ¡°I mean it was a big step for us! And we had become quite comfortable here. I was worried at first knowing about the suicide case and all but, nothing really happened and it was really a great home for us!¡±


    You¡¯re right¡­¡­..But, we ended up having to leave so soon anyway, so more weird rumours might get attached to the house anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true! I feel like we¡¯ve really put the Realtor in an even worse spot huh.¡±


    ¡°Well it can¡¯t be helped. I do plan on paying the person in charge who recommended this a good sum as an apology and thanks though.¡±


    On top of the cancellation fee, I¡¯ll leave a decent tip on top.


    The overall expenses weren¡¯t really that high so we can afford to do so.


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go, shall we.¡±


    ¡°I think Shantell-san and the vice chief are waiting for us at the town entrance, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what they said! That they¡¯ll see us off!¡±


    ¡°I hope she  doesn¡¯t try and stop us again though. I wasted half day consoling her the last time that happened.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine now, right? If we got held up that much today as well, that¡¯d really put a dent in our planned schedule after all.¡±


    Already fearing a bit as to how to deal with Shantell, we left the house.


    I let them two handle returning the key, as well as thanking the realtors, and instead, I made my way to the church.


    Just like in Realzard, as my thanks, I¡¯ll get one last assessment done before I leave.


    ¡­¡­¡­.by the way, I did go to the Carlisle forest yesterday, to eat Carlo¡¯s Ongneer as well.


    So I did want to check my ability anyway, and I was curious as to what skills I got from him¡ª-from Carlo.


    [Self Regeneration] [Body Armor] were both extremely useful skills after all.


    If they were common skills, I¡¯ll get them, but let¡¯s see what happens.


    With expectations filled in my heart, I headed to the church.


    Even though it was the day we left this place for good, the church was peaceful and quiet as always.


    The priest was taking a nap as always, and I felt a bit bad to disturb him but,¡­¡­..I need him to work for me one last time.


    ¡°Sorry to ruin your sleep, but do you have a minute?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Aeh? I-I wasn¡¯t sleeping!? Chris-san, h-hello.¡±


    I gave a smile seeing his usual reaction, and quickly stated my main reason of coming.


    ¡°Actually, I wanted to tell you that today, I¡¯ll be departing Oxter for good. I¡¯ve been in your care a lot so I felt I should come say my goodbyes at least.¡±


    ¡°Ah I see¡­¡­¡­.That would certainly make things a bit lonely here. Chris-san is basically the only one who shows up here these days.¡±


    The priest spoke looking truly sad.


    It¡¯s true though, I have come here so many times but I have never seen anyone else besides this priest in this church.


    It made me worry for the church itself but, I think he¡¯s just personally a bit lonely as well.


    ¡°Well, yeah, there really aren¡¯t many people here, like ever.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Probably because I¡¯m the priest I think¡­¡­¡­fufu, after all, I don¡¯t look much more than a normal old man after all.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, you¡¯re not exactly releasing holy energy are ya? But, you were definitely nice to me, and easy to talk to. I didn¡¯t hate it here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for consoling me¡­¡­¡­Chris-san, would you like one last assessment done?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that was the plan from the start. Consider it my one last offering to the church.¡±


    I took out a gold coin and tried handing it to the priest but¡­¡­.


    The priest stopped me with his hand.


    ¡°No need for it this time. I earned quite a lot during this time after all! Today¡¯s on me, free of charge.¡±


    ¡°You sure? Won¡¯t the church get mad at you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I doubt anyone up top would even ever notice. Now now, c¡¯mon, please enter the room!¡±


    I followed the priest, and decided to accept his kindness and get the assessment done for free.


    This will be the first time since the one I did before I fought Carlo.


    Not too much time has passed, and I haven¡¯t really been eating a lot of plants either so¡­¡­..


    The only thing that stood out was Carlo¡¯s Ongneer, and how much of an increase it would give me.


    ¡°Well then, allow me to do one last ability assessment for you. Nhaaaaa! Fuuuuh¡­¡­¡­it¡¯s done. Here¡¯s your card back.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for everything up till now.¡±


    ¡°No no, I should be the one thanking you. If you happen to come to Oxter again on your travels, be sure to drop by for a visit. Though I won¡¯t do it again for free!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be sure to do that. Then, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    While being seen off by the priest, I left the church.


    I wanted to check my card and abilities but¡­¡­..since I was already keeping everyone waiting, I left that for later and quickly made my way to the town entrance.

 CH 168

    Departure


    Passing through the commercial street, as I reached closer to the town entrance¡ª¡ªI saw the figure of five people talking and also Snow.


    It was Esta, Ralf, Shantell, the Vice Chief, and the receptionist called Suzanna.


    As for the receptionist, I mean we did greet each other whenever we met in the guild, but to think she¡¯d come all the way to see us off.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡±


    ¡°As promised, I¡¯m here to see you all off! Suzanna also really wanted to come, so I brought her with me!¡±


    The vice chief spoke, as Suzanna gave a deep bow towards me.


    When she stopped showing up in the guild after the incident with Greath, I did get worried but, looks like she¡¯s back to working fine as always.


    ¡°Chris-san! Thank you one again, for saving me from Greath. I will never forget your help.¡±


    ¡°I was the who was helped there. If miss receptionist hadn¡¯t come to stop our quarrel, the ex guild chief and greath would have probably driven me out of the town.¡±


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    If anything, I probably would have tried to kill Greath right there and then.


    I¡¯m already on the run from Klaus, on top of that, I¡¯d have ended up as a murderer as well so Suzanna saved me from that.


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    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to do anything¡­¡­..but, if that¡¯s how you think of that then really, it was all worth it to use all of my courage to come out and speak back then.¡±


    Suzanna spoke with a wide smile.


    Guild receptionists tended to all be beautiful ladies but, usually they all have this fake manufactured smiles on their faces.


    But I could tell that her current smile was a genuine one, and coupled with her pretty face, it definitely made for a captivating sight.


    ¡°Oho!? Chris-san, is it just me or is that a tinge of red I see on your face!? How could you, even though you have a lady like me by you side, you¡¯re still eyeing other women!!?¡±


    Right as we were having a thoughtful conversation, Shantell butted in with her hands spread wide.


    She seemed to be trying to intimidate Suzanna like an animal, so I gave her head a light chop to stop her.


    ¡°The hell are you doing. We¡¯re simply saying our goodbyes.¡±


    ¡°uug¡­¡­..it hurts! Why are you never so kind and gentle to me!!? ¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m also really sad to see you all leave you know?¡±


    The tone of her voice dropped and Shantell looked like she could burst out crying at any moment.


    To think she was that attached to us¡­¡­..well, it made me happy if anything.


    ¡°it¡¯s not like I¡¯m not sad either. You were a huge help to us after all Shantell¡­¡­¡­.that¡¯s why, here, I have a present for you. Consider it my thanks.¡±


    Saying that, I pulled out an item from my bag.


    And handed it over to Shantell who was still blinking in surprise.


    ¡°C-chris-san is giving me a present!?!?!?¡±


    ¡°We have a debt to you, especially for everything you did for us while we were secluded in the Carlisle forest. If you weren¡¯t there for us, we really could have died so it makes sense to be grateful no? That said, it¡¯s not something too grand or expensive, I¡¯ll warn you beforehand.¡±


    What I gave her as a present was beautiful ornate bracelet.


    That said, it wasn¡¯t just a normal bracelet, it made using mana slightly easier apparently.


    Like Esta said some time ago, most alchemists were [Magicians].


    The reason was clear. Because the job required the use and manipulation of mana.


    Now I don¡¯t know how and where in Alchemy was it used but, this bracelet should help make things more efficient.


    I had secretly bought this while in Norfast and when I gave it to the shocked Shnatell, she quickly put it on her hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy, I¡¯m really, really glad! Chris-san, I¡¯ll treasure this forever!!¡±


    ¡°Sure. It¡¯s a bracelet that makes using mana easier, so use it well.¡±


    As she grinned while observing the bracelet, I moved away now that she was calm and quiet, and finally said my goodbyes to the vice chief as well.


    Our meeting was hardly normal or nice but, the vice chief took our side from the start and gave us proper respect.


    And he continued supporting us always so he was also someone we owed a lot to like Shantell.


    ¡°Vice chief, thank you for everything until now. I really thought that the guild here was complete shit but, you were the one who helped me change my mind.¡±


    ¡°Again, I should be the one thanking you. You saved this guild, and I couldn¡¯t thank you enough for that. My head will forever bow for you for taking care of the problem with Greath.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, you¡¯ve paid us back in full for that debt I think¡­¡­.I¡¯m really sorry for leaving so suddenly. I know it¡¯ll be tough having to fill the gap we will leave for this guild.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that! Now that Greath is gone, other adventurers are now acting lively again! We should find a gold rank soon enough, I¡¯m sure!¡±


    ¡°I sure hope that¡¯s the case but¡ª¨Cif, something happens and you need our help, please call for us. We¡¯ll come all the way back to help you. We owe you that much.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really thankful for that but¡­¡­¡­.like I said, we¡¯ll be fine! Chris-san should focus on your own objective and continue running towards it! And when it¡¯s all over, just be sure to come back and pay us a visit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I will. I promise.¡±


    We shook hands firmly, and then finally the three of us began walking away from Oxter.


    ¡­¡­¡­.it was a nice town. A lot happened here, but the town itself was really nice.


    As I went through all my memories of Oxter inside my head, even I felt a bit emotional.


    ¡°Chris-san!! You have to come back one day alright!? You have to!! I¡¯ll get even better at alchemy by then as well!!¡±


    ¡°Same here! We¡¯ll make this a great guild so please come back one day!!¡±


    From behind, I heard both Shantell and the Vice chief yell out, and I simply raised one of my arms to give a wave as an answer.


    But, I won¡¯t turn back to look.


    My aim was ahead. At Klaus. And so we continued walking towards Edestor.


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    Stats as of Volume 3 (as per last assessment)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 25(+344)


    Strength: 22(+427)


    Stamina: 21(+271)


    Magic: 5(+139)


    Agility: 14(+217)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed]

 CH 169

    Edestor


    A week has passed since we left Oxter.


    Just like when we came to Oxter to Realzard, we had to pass through various towns¡ª¡ªand finally, had read our destination, the city of Edestor.


    By the way¡­¡­.Snow just followed us like it was normal. We did try taking it to the northern mountains to see if wanted to return to its natural habitat but it showed absolutely no interest in it, and refused to even move.


    From that I inferred that Snow¡¯s intention is to stay with us for good so we happily took it with us to Edestor.


    Judging from how generally smart Snow is, I¡¯m sure Snow knows and understands that we are the ones that killed its parent yet¡­¡­¡­.


    Well if it plans to kills us once its grown up fully and that¡¯s why its sticking with us, it¡¯d make sense but the way it was always wanting to get pampered by us didn¡¯t exactly make sense then.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s Edestor right! It looks a bit smaller than the capital or Norfast but as you¡¯d expect from one of the three great cities, it¡¯s still pretty massive huh!¡±


    ¡°And that thing in the further beyond the city, is that the dungeon? Looks pretty hectic over there!¡±


    The city of Edestor finally entered our view, and further beyond it we could also see another district-like area surrounded and separated by a wall.


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    Like Esta said, that must be the dungeon.


    ¡°It¡¯s incredible to have a dungeon that close to a city. Not just that, the dungeon was what made this city grow into one of the three great cities as well.¡±


    ¡°Apparently, it all started with just a inn that was built for adventurers to stay nearby. From there, it grew all the way into one of the three great cities. It¡¯s really amazing when you think of it that way!¡±


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    ¡°Man, I¡¯m really looking forward to it! There¡¯s rumors that all sorts of requests are put up at the guild, and you can earn a lot of money even if you¡¯re not going dungeon diving! And of course, then there¡¯s the dungeon based requests as well¡ª¡ª¨Cit¡¯s awesome to have a lot of choice!¡±


    Just like Ralf said, when you think of Edestor, the dungeon is the first thing that comes up but in their adventurer guild, the amount of requests that are put up is frankly incomparable to a place like Oxter¡¯s.


    To the north of Edestor are mountains that are teeming with monsters. In the east lies the infamous Edestor dungeon. And to the south is the great forest of Roza.


    Edestor that lies in the middle of all these places was basically always in a danger so it made sense why high rank requests were basically available all the time.


    First, we need to find out more about Edestor itself, as well as the areas around the city, and then figure out what¡¯s the fastest and most optimal way to get stronger for us.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Well, as for me, that will almost certainly be the great forest of Roza.


    While I¡¯m not as easily excitable as Ralf, I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t looking forward to it as we waited in line for the inspection at the gate; and finally our turn came.


    I didn¡¯t bring any poisonous plants with me, and as for venom python potions, I have them stored with the rest of normal potions so I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll get caught.


    Still, while feeling slightly nervous, we went through the inspection¡ª¡ª¨Cand safely got to enter the city.


    The atmosphere of the city was closer to that of the capital if I had to pick.


    It seemed quite clean and not cluttered or messy.


    It was as lively as Norfast, and with a crowd this big, I doubt any more pursuers would find me any time soon as long as I stay here.


    And I could always hide in the forest, worst case.


    ¡­¡­¡­.of course, if we continue completing requests as adventurers and raise our ranks, our names are bound to get known and give my location away sooner or later.


    ¡°So, where do we head to first? The adventurer guild?¡±


    ¡°No, let¡¯s explore the city first, and find a good Inn. Once we have found a place to stay, let¡¯s set up base¡­¡­¡­and then it¡¯s info gathering in Edestor.¡±


    ¡°We did it in Norfast as well but, I guess there is always a chance that maybe Klaus has come back in the meantime huh! I agree with gathering info as well!¡±


    ¡°Same here. Chris-san can stay inside the inn while me and Ralf go and investigate. In the off chance Klaus was back here¡­¡­¡­..and accidentally ran into Chris-san, there¡¯s a good chance a battle will break out inside the city right there and then after all.¡±


    ¡°Well if you put it that way, sure, I¡¯ll be counting on you both to gather info. Do you mind?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Leave it to us!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Just leave this kind of stuff to us.¡±


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    Having made our initial plans in Edestor, we began looking for a Inn.


    It was like this in Norfast as well but, there were very few Inns that would allow Snow inside, and surprisingly it was always the cheap inns that had more lax rules about this stuff.


    We mainly looked for a cheap place that had one big spacious room where we all could stay, and soon we found one that fit our needs.


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    [Gorush] was the name, the room was spacious and came with an attached toilet and bath as well.


    The rent was 2 silver a night, so it wasn¡¯t exactly cheap but for now, we decided to live here.


    Afterwards, as planned, Ralf and Esta went out into the city to investigate, and me and Snow stayed inside.


    I was planning to spend time playing with Snow, after taking a bath together that is, but¡­¡­¡­


    It must be tired from the long journey as soon after the bath, it went straight to sleep.


    Being bored with nothing to do, I decided to test out all the new skills I had gained.


    I did it once during our journey to Edestor as well but, I wanted to practice them more still.


    First, I drew my steel sword and made a small cut on my hand.


    The steel sword I bought from [Ichiryuu] was definitely a top quality item as I ended up cutting a bit deeper than I intended.


    ¡ª¡ª-But I activated [Self Regeneration] skill.


    The moment the skill activated, I could visibly see the wound close up and heal.


    As for a weakness to the skill, when the healing process is going on, you feel a strong itch around the wound but its still very much in the tolerable range.


    Honestly, I thought that that [Self Regeneration] was a unique skill, so a mere itch a small cost for getting hands on such an incredible skill.


    Once the wound was healed completely, I activated the next skill.


    [Colour change]


    I don¡¯t even know which monster I got this from but, even though I got this inside Carlisle forest, I never used it against Carlo or ever since.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    The skill name alone didn¡¯t exactly tell me properly what effect it would have either but, suddenly my entire body changed into the colour that I was thinking of.


    If I thought of red, my body  was red, and black, if I thought of black. (T/N: Chris, NO!)


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    I couldn¡¯t control the small details so it¡¯s not like I could camouflage into the surroundings either but¡ª¡ª¨Cthis skill might have its own uses.


    Like during the battle with Carlo which happened in the dead of the night where only the moon was a source of light, being able to turn your entire body completely black would make me very hard to see.


    Well, I couldn¡¯t control the colour of clothes or sword, but still, it would be quite a challenge to keep me in your sights.


    Next up, I activated another skill.


    [Sticky String Operation]


    A spider¡¯s thread like thing could come out of whatever part of my body I focused on.


    It¡¯s adhesive property was pretty strong, and when I stuck it on Ralf and tried to pull it with full strength, it still didn¡¯t split or break.


    Since I had already tested its basic endurance, let me test it in a different way this time around.


    Let¡¯s see if it can handle fire or not.


    With [Heat Control] I had become able to control light amount of fire now, so I used one hand to release the string and with my other hand, I put out a fire and brought it closer to the string.


    ¡ª¡ª-Hmm, With this level of fire, nothing was happening.


    I kept the fire at it for a couple more minutes but the string still didn¡¯t show any signs of breaking or burning.


    Next, I tested my steel sword.


    My steel sword cut deep into my skin from just touching so¡­¡­.I swung my sword with a little more strength than that at the string.


    In my head, I though the sword would cut through smoothly with no resistance¡ª¡ª¨CBut, just touching the blade¡¯s edge alone didn¡¯t break the string.


    And it became further entangled around the sword making it a mess, And remember, this was a string that didn¡¯t break even when me and Ralf were pulling at it¡­¡­..


    The two were back by the time I could get all the string off the sword.


    .


    ¡°Chris-san, we¡¯re back¡­¡­.were you doing maintenance on your sword?¡±


    ¡°No, well, yeah, something like that. Anyway, got any good info?¡±


    ¡°Oh we found out some good stuff alright! Oh, and we bought dinner as well so let¡¯s talk as we eat!¡±


    There was more things with the string I wanted to try out, as well as some other skills as well but¡­¡­¡­looks like this time¡¯s skill testing will have to come to an end.


    While chewing on the food that Ralf had brought for us, I began asking about what all these two had found out.

 CH 170

    Info Sharing


    ¡°First, let me give the conclusion, Klaus is most certainly not in Edestor. He was here for about 2 months, but as soon as he cleared the dungeon¡¯s 50th floor, he left the city.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Looks like the info from Norfast was on the money after all.¡±


    ¡°It seems so. So, it should be alright for Chris-san to go around the city.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but, there are other students from the academy of the capital that have come here, separately from Klaus though! And they are currently going through the dungeon as well or so I heard.¡±


    Students from the same academy as Klaus eh¡­¡­..


    I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re also actively searching for me or not but, there¡¯s no harm in being cautious.


    ¡°To add to what Ralf said, this student is apparently the princess of the country. Chris-san, do you remember what we learnt in the capital?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah, the [War Princess] was it? She was going to the same academy as well if I recall.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. And she¡¯s the one currently in Edestor.¡±


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    Well, there¡¯s always a chance that she¡¯s chummy with Klaus but if she¡¯s working separately from him, it¡¯s unlikely she¡¯s working with Klaus¡¯ party.


    So it should be fine to not be overly cautious about her.


    ¡°As far as ¡®dangerous¡¯ people in Edestor go, that princess and her party are basically it. Let¡¯s just make sure we don¡¯t run into them unnecessarily.¡±


    ¡°Agreed! I¡¯m sure they¡¯re damn strong as well¡­¡­¡­but there¡¯s always  a chance that they¡¯re above our level still!¡±


    ¡°I highly doubt there are that many people of the same age as us that were as strong as that Carlo other than Chris-san ¡ª¡ªor rather, I¡¯d rather not believe that but¡­¡­.. the info broker in the capital did say that this year¡¯s ¡®crop¡¯ of students was generational talent, so let¡¯s be vigilant about it.¡±


    To avoid the princess, let¡¯s not go to the dungeon for the time being¡ª¨Cthe decision was made.


    I did want to at least go and see the entrance and stuff to it but, it can¡¯t be helped.


    ¡°I guess we really will have to wait before going dungeon diving huh¡­¡­¡­..this may have been a waste of time, even though we did so much investigating beforehand.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s mostly because you asked about nothing but the dungeon though.¡±


    ¡°But I mean c¡¯mon!!¡­¡­..Don¡¯t tell me you both weren¡¯t excited about it! It¡¯s a real blood dungeon!!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really get you but regardless, go on, tell us what all you found out about the dungeon.¡±


    There¡¯s still a lot we don¡¯t know about the dungeon.


    There¡¯s a whole bunch of different kind of monsters in there, and there¡¯s a strong boss monster at every couple floors or so; that¡¯s about all I know of the dungeon.


    So why do so many people come to the dungeon then¡­¡­..I still had no idea.


    ¡°Leave it to me to explain! First and foremost, a dungeon was a place where monsters are born basically infinitely! At the depths of the dungeon is some sort of accumulation of mana, and that mana is what gives birth to all these monsters. That¡¯s why the further you do inside, the stronger the monsters get.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, so someone were to destroy this big lump of mana, the dungeon would cease to be eh.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Said clump of mana is apparently a type of monster in and of itself however, and also absorbs the mana of every adventurer that dies inside the dungeon as well.¡±


    Seems something similar to Ongneer huh.


    It births monsters and drains power from the adventurers kills by said monsters.


    ¡°So you don¡¯t even get a corpse back if you die in a dungeon huh. That¡¯s a bit unpleasant to know¡­¡­¡­So Ralf, what exactly do you gain from going inside this dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Let me explain! The dungeon doesn¡¯t just give birth to monsters but also treasure boxes. From those boxes you can find all sorts of items, and weapons etc, and even money!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? These items and weapons and money are¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I think we thought of the same thing Chris-san. Those weapons, items etc are probably taken from the people that died in the dungeon right?¡±


    ¡°No, well¡­¡­¡­I don¡¯t know that much.¡±


    Unconfirmed, but I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the case.


    It absorbs the body for itself and then places the items and money to attract more adventurers, repeating the cycle.


    It really does feel like the dungeon is living breathing monster huh.


    ¡°Alright, I understand how the dungeon works now. Basically, it¡¯s a fast way to get successful and rich, provided you are strong enough to clear floors. And the fame of clearing the dungeon is an extra¡­¡­¡­.No wonder people come here in droves.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. It¡¯s using the natural human greed for its own needs almost. Including how it put up weak enemies up front, and then stronger enemies the deeper you go in.¡±


    Ralf¡¯s explanations made me a bit curious I won¡¯t lie, but in the end, my decision remains the same, we will avoid the dungeon for now.


    Completing requests come first. We raise our ranks, and save up some money¡ª¡ªand I¡¯ll go the great forest of Roza to search and gather more poisonous plants.


    And once we¡¯ve gotten even more stronger, we¡¯ll challenge the dungeon to test our strength. That seems like the best way to do it.


    Klaus and his party had already cleared the 50th floor.


    If we can¡¯t do the same at the very least, it¡¯ll be proof that there¡¯s no chance of me winning against Klaus for now.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got the basic gist about things regarding Edestor. You two, thanks for your work¡­¡­¡­from tomorrow, we¡¯re gonna complete platinum rank requests one after another¡ª¡ªand raise our ability, as well our save some money.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m excited to finally start again!¡±


    ¡°Same here! Things had gotten too easy in Oxter! Let¡¯s go hunt some strong ass monsters!!¡±


    With our discussion over, all three of us reinvigorated ourselves.


    Going with the flow, Snow gave a howl as well.


    A new start, new life in a new place.


    Let¡¯s make sure to not fuck up our first step and go all out from the start as we complete these requests.

 CH 171

    Scarletite


    (T/N: I previously left Hihirokane as is but will now be translated as this)


    The next day.


    We left the inn and came to the guild.


    Now then, I wonder what kind of atmosphere does the guild here has.


    As long as its not like what Oxter¡¯s what at first, I¡¯ll be fine with whatever but¡­¡­..if possible I hope there are people like the [Silver Winged Lion].


    With such hope in heart, we entered the Edestor adventurer¡¯s guild.


    Its size was somewhere in between Oxter¡¯s and Norfast¡¯s.


    It wasn¡¯t too big but was still pretty spacious.


    It was clean and tidy, perhaps the cleanest guild I have seen up till now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look at the notice board. Tell me if you two find something worth doing.¡±


    ¡°Alright! I hope there¡¯s one for a strong monster!¡±


    Saying that to them, I too went towards the giant notice board to observe the requests put up.


    ¡­¡­..Yeah, it¡¯s as amazing as I had hoped.


    There¡¯s like at least a hundred platinum rank requests, and even a couple dozen mithril rank requests as well. There¡¯s even a couple diamond rank requests as well.


    On top of that, there was even one single Scarletite request as well.


    I know I should be focusing on platinum rank requests but, as id we were attracted by some unnatural power, all three of us were focused on this scarletite request.


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    ¡°Scarletite¡­¡­¡­it really does exist huh!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s irrelevant to us for now, but it sure makes you curious doesn¡¯t it.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Umm, as for the details¡­¡­¡­..Discover the Cave of Bahamut. Look for the Cave of Bahamut that is said to exist somewhere on the Barbadd mountains¡ª¨Cor so it says.¡±


    ¡°Cave of Bahamut? Isn¡¯t that the evil dragon that shows up in the legends!? Is Bahamut supposedly sleeping in these Barbadd mountains??¡±


    ¡­¡­..no, I doubt that¡¯s the case.


    I recalled the story I heard at [ichiryuu] in Norfast.


    Within this mountains where monsters run rampant, somewhere deep within these mountains is a cave where no humans can even reach.


    There the sword of the first hero, [Vendettatein] sleeps.


    The mountain range in the story was almost certainly the Barbadd mountains.


    And the cave where no man can reach was probably the Cave of Bahamut.


    ¡°I think, the weapon of the first hero sleeps in that cave, not Bahamut itself.¡±


    ¡°What Chris! You know something!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the place where I bought my sword, I heard this rumour. Don¡¯t know much details though¡­¡­..but the fact this request has been put up, means the story is probably true.¡±


    ¡°The reward for this 50 platinum coins. Incredible! And that¡¯s just to discover the cave! But if a legendary weapon sleeps within, I guess it makes sense!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­.Once we become even stronger here in Edestor, maybe we should give searching for this cave a try.


    I did think that I could get my hands on Vendettatein when I heard the story but, if even a request like this has been put up, its existence is almost certain.


    To kill Klaus, I need to have an assortment of weapons of the highest quality as well.


    I felt my body get hotter just hearing more info on [Vendettatein] so I took a deep breath to calm myself.


    ¡°Well, the reward is that high because its supposedly impossible to find. Let¡¯s leave it aside, and look at the platinum rank requests.¡±


    But, now was not the time for that. We need to take this step by step so we returned our focus back to platinum rank requests.


    .


    After much discussion, the one we finally decided on was a monster called Blue Ogre that appears at the foot of Barbadd mountain.


    This would be our first ever Ogre type hunt, although it was similar to goblins and Orcs in that there were a variety of Ogre species.


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    This one was one of the major one, Blue Ogre. The target was 3 blue ogres and the reward was 3 gold.


    For every extra you kill, you get a gold coin each.


    Furthermore, it was a humanoid class monster, and as far as platinum rank monsters go, it was definitely on the lower end in terms of strength within the class.


    Perfect for our first request in a new city in my opinion.


    ¡°All said and done, I have never even seen an Ogre, right?!¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t either. There should be a lot of them though, but they don¡¯t show up much around Oxter and Realzard.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. Fighting humanoid monsters makes for some good practice after all.¡±


    While chatting, we lined up for the request processing counter.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Still, there¡¯s a lot of strong adventurers here even when compared to Norfast.


    The overall level was much higher and I could see a couple of adventurers with presence equal to Carlo.


    If I were to assume Carlo to be a diamond rank adventurer, then there were at the very least, 8 diamond class adventurers in this guild.


    As expected of one of the three great cities, especially one with a dungeon in it.


    The people who gather here might be stronger than even the ones in the capital.


    ¡°Welcome. This is the counter for accepting requests, how can I help you?¡±


    While I was looking around, judging other adventurers in the guild, our turn came up faster than I expected.


    These guild receptionists really all act the same across the entire country huh.


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    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll take this request.¡±


    ¡°A Blue Ogre subjugation, I see. Very well. Please hand over you adventurer card.¡±


    After handing over the paper poster of the Blue Ogre, we handed over our cards next.


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    The receptionist looked at the three cards, and then made a troubled expression.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry but all three of you are gold rank. I¡¯m afraid I cannot let you accept a platinum rank request.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Now that she mentions it, we are gold rank adventurers still.


    But because we allowed to take the RedKong request, I was sure it¡¯d be fine but¡­¡­..I guess the Vie chief was really bending a whole lot of rules for us, and that¡¯s why we were allowed to.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­How have we not increased in rank yet!? We¡¯ve done so many gold rank requests that I was sure we had been promoted by now!!¡±


    ¡°Me too. Does that mean we¡¯ll have to still take a gold rank request then?¡±


    We were thinking of starting off well in this new city with a platinum rank request but the wind had been knocked out of our sails before we even started.


    I wonder if there was some way to let us take a platinum rank request.


    ¡°At the city we were in, we were allowed to take platinum rank requests though. You can check the records to see that as well but, we really can easily complete platinum rank requests.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry, but rules are rules.¡±


    ¡°Hey our completion rate is 100% you know? We haven¡¯t failed once since we were rookies, and even took on and completed a platinum rank emergency request¡­¡­..And even that¡¯s not enough?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. But rules are rules.¡±


    The receptionist didn¡¯t seem like she was going to budge.


    I mean I get it. From her point of view, if we mess up, she¡¯s the one that¡¯ll have to take responsibility for bending the rules after all.


    There¡¯s a lot of competent people here, and if it is not an emergency request, then there¡¯s no need to let us take it.


    I guess we¡¯ll just have to give up and do it the straightforward way.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Fine, a gold rank¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°I heard everything you lot said. If you really wanna take a platinum rank request, why not take one with me?¡±


    Right as when I was about to give up and was about to ask for a gold rank request, someone called out to us from the back.


    Turning back to see who it was, we saw a middle aged man with shaggy hair, as if he had been in an explosion, standing there with his arms folded and looking at us.

 CH 172

    Mr. Shaggy hair


    Seeing that shaggy haired man, I asked a simple question.


    ¡°Who even are you?¡±


    ¡°I am Bors, a platinum rank adventurer! It just so happened that my party members took a sick leave, so I was going to take a solo request but seeing you lot making a ruckus at the reception¡ª-I decided to call out to you.¡±


    Arms still folded, he explained himself to us.


    Huh¡­¡­¡­¡­.a Platinum rank adventurer eh.


    Judging by his looks, he doesn¡¯t exactly look that strong so I don¡¯t really see any reason to get along with him.


    ¡­¡­¡­but, if it allows us to take a platinum rank request, I guess we could always work together temporarily.


    ¡°Receptionist. If we take and complete a platinum rank request with him, will that still count towards our own records as well?¡±


    ¡°Well depending on the rank of the adventurer you take it and the number, it will fluctuate but¡­..generally speaking, yes it will absolutely count towards your own record as well.¡±


    ¡°I see. If that¡¯s the case, Bors, let¡¯s take this request together.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re a cheeky brat aren¡¯t ya!¡­¡­..My oh my, maybe I have made a mistake calling out you lot?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no mistake. It¡¯s neither pride nor conceit, we just know we are strong that¡¯s all.¡±


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    I proudly spoke to him while he was re-evaluating his decision as he scratched his head.


    At the very least, all the three of us are far stronger than this Bors dude.


    ¡°Dayum, that¡¯s some confidence!¡­¡­¡­A¡¯ight, let¡¯s do this together then. Hey receptionist lady, I¡¯ll take the request these lot were going to take.¡±


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    ¡°Understood. Then allow me to complete the paperwork.¡±


    And thus, out of nowhere, we ended up taking a request with this weird old man called Bors.


    First time in a new city, first request and first time, cooperating with someone.


    There were a lot of ¡®firsts¡¯ happening suddenly so I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t nervous at all but, we don¡¯t have a choice if we want to quickly raise our ranks.


    Soon after, alongside the shaggy haired man, we left the building.


    Before we headed to the location, the Barbadd mountains, I decided to ask the man a couple of things.


    ¡°So, why did you call out to us specifically?¡±


    As soon as we left the guild, I questioned Bors.


    We weren¡¯t even acquainted, and neither were we famous or anything, yet he randomly called to out to us? Why?


    There¡¯s always a chance that there¡¯s a catch to this.


    ¡°Why you ask¡­¡­..I told you already! Since you lot were arguing with the receptionist, I figured I¡¯ll help you out.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m asking why did you feel like helping us out. If you¡¯re expecting some extra reward, I¡¯ll say it beforehand, there won¡¯t be any.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need anything more than what I earn mate! I mean, to help a couple of youngsters in a pinch¡­¡­..ain¡¯t that cool? Well, by the looks of it, I may have ended up with a couple of shitty brats though!¡±


    Bors complained back.


    ¡­¡­¡­What a lame reason but, it did satisfy me.


    He¡¯s too weak to be a pursuer sent by Klaus and I don¡¯t really sense any other kind of greed from his either.


    He really might have called out to us out of pure kindness.


    ¡°Is that so. The lame reason aside, you have my thanks.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re really grateful then choose better words damnit! I¡¯m like twice as old as you lot you know!?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. But just living more alone isn¡¯t enough to earn my respect.¡ª¨CIf someone was really worth my respect, I¡¯ll give it to them even if they were much younger than myself.¡±


    ¡°Uguh!¡­¡­¡­.Oi, you two in the back, don¡¯t just watch and help me out here will ya!? Your friend is gonna destroy my morale before we even begin fighting these damn Ogres!!¡±


    For whatever reason, he tried asking Ralf and Esta for help but Ralf just continued laughing bemused meanwhile, Esta simply ignored him completely.


    Only Snow, jumped out of the bag and came running to Bors.


    ¡°ooh what¡¯s this, what¡¯s this! Are you to cheer me up buddy! Damn it¡¯s hella cute! This¡­¡­.cat? dog? What exactly is your pet?¡±


    ¡°That ¡®pet¡¯ is a Snow Panther, it¡¯s called Snow. By the way, my name¡¯s Chris. The two behind me are Ralf and Esta.¡±


    ¡°Snow, Chris, Ralf and Esta eh. I already introduced myself but once again, I¡¯m Bors. I¡¯ve been an adventurer in Edestor for almost 20 years now! If ya got anything to ask, go ahead, I¡¯ll answer!¡±


    Bors spoke proudly, puffing his chest.


    Even though I literally just told him that how long you¡¯ve lived won¡¯t earn any respect here, he still ended up boldly proclaiming about how long he¡¯s been doing this.


    ¡°By the way, your Adventurer Career history is not something to be proudly proclaiming to everyone.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Uguh!¡±


    ¡°We had been working as Adventurers in the town of Oxter by the way. We¡¯re all gold rank, and should be close to promoting soon as well.¡±


    ¡°Gold, at that age!?! I kinda felt it from your presence and all that but you lot really aren¡¯t a bunch of normal kids are ya?¡­¡­¡­Well, you wouldn¡¯t have been talking that much smack without the ability to back it I guess!¡±


    But Ralf simply tilted his head in confusion.


    ¡°Really?¡­¡­¡­.I swear Chris was like this even when he was weak right?¡±


    ¡°He definitely was. Even when he was rookie, he was pretty much like this.¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, when I met you two, I certainly had become like this. But I was more of a nice and obedient good boy back when I was still at home you know?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine Chris being like that!¡±


    Back then, everything I did was to make sure that my father didn¡¯t lose his temper on me.


    But it¡¯s because of that, I realized that living for the sake of others was a stupid fucking thing to do.


    ¡°Alright, I got a pretty good grasp on you three. And it doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯d be dead weight either! I can be relieved and focus fully on the request now!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be worried about our strength. If anything, you can let us handle the hunting of the Blue Ogres and you can wait and watch from afar.¡±


    ¡°Dayum, that¡¯s some confidence alright!¡­¡­..but, I¡¯ll be fighting as well I¡¯m afraid. I need to make you respect me properly, don¡¯t I Chris!¡±


    For whatever reason, Bors seemed to be more fired up now.


    I guess he has his own pride as well as 20yr veteran.


    And thus, while doing our intros and chatting about other stuff, we left Edestor and headed to the Barbadd mountains.

 CH 173

    Barbadd Mountains


    ¡°he he he, we¡¯re finally here! This is probably the first time for you three and Snow but, these are the Barbadd mountains !¡­¡­..Got quite a eerie atmosphere to it, don¡¯t ya think?¡±


    As we reached the mountains, Bors gave this odd introduction but¡­¡­..he¡¯s right. It¡¯s definitely got a ominous atmosphere surrounding it.


    This was in a completely different level from the mountains where we fought the Snow Panther and the Venom Pythons, and the pressure this place was giving off was high enough that it could make anyone think twice before stepping into the place.


    If I had to compare, it was similar to the aura the Ongneer plant released.


    The air felt freezing, and it felt like every living thing here wanted to kill you. That kinda atmosphere.


    ¡°True, it¡¯s definitely got an aura about it, these mountains that is.¡±


    ¡°Damn, my goosebumps haven¡¯t settled since we¡¯ve come here! And this is just the foot of the mountains so its fine but the further up top you go, the more your instincts scream at you to stay away from there!¡±


    ¡°I too¡­¡­.feel like me feet have gotten heavier.¡±


    ¡°I know, right! These Barbadd mountains are said to be the most dangerous place around Edestor!¡±


    Maybe he thought we were overawed, as he Bors spoke proudly of the place.


    ¡­¡­¡­It kind of pisses me off that he think that I¡¯m actually afraid.


    ¡°The most dangerous around Edestor? More than even the Dungeon or the great forest of Roza?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure on the details either! None of those places haven¡¯t been explored as much after all!¡­¡­..But, the dangers of Barbadd mountains are the most clear, distinct and easy to tell That¡¯s why I think everyone considers it the most dangerous, I think?¡±


    I see. Certainly, it was ¡®easy to tell¡¯ that these mountains were dangerous.


    A normal person wouldn¡¯t even want to approach even the foot of the mountains.


    Even on the way to here, there were monsters constantly popping up from the direction of the mountains.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll have to fight a lot more even on the way to the Blue Ogres eh?¡±


    ¡°Only if you take the normal path! There really are monsters crawling all over the place¡­¡­..But, be not afraid! My enemy detection skills are elite so we should be able to avoid most monsters in the way!¡±


    He beat his puffed chest proudly as he proclaimed so.


    Part of me wanted to just leave to Snow as always but perhaps, it¡¯s better to let the guy with experience with the area take the lead first time around.


    ¡°Alright. If that¡¯s the case, Bors, you lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Bors-san, we¡¯re counting on you!¡­¡­that said, don¡¯t fret it even if we run into stuff cuz we¡¯ll take care of it alright?¡±


    ¡°Even though you¡¯re  half my age and lower in rank than me, sure, take care of me lad! Alright then, let¡¯s go look for these Blue Ogres!¡±


    With the eager Bors as the vanguard, we entered the Barbadd mountains.


    .


    From there, we moved at quite possibly the slowest pace possible for another hour.


    And finally, we reached the area where Blue Ogres appear.


    Half way through, I also activated my skills to detect enemies but, the number of monster was so huge that there really was no point even bothering to detect them.


    Snow¡¯s detection ability range was even better than mine so it looked even more confused and panicked than me.


    But yet, like he had proclaimed, Bors managed to lead us all the way to this area without getting noticed by a single monster.


    Our pace was slow but, he guided us with care while making absolutely sure of the location of the enemies.


    His life presence was weak and mana presence was basically zero.


    Yet, I must admit, I may have underestimated Bors a bit¡­¡­..I guess he hasn¡¯t been a 20yr veteran adventurer for nothing.


    ¡°Found it. There¡¯s a Blue Ogre right behind that tree over there!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.He¡¯s right. Unlike other monsters, this one¡¯s got a much bigger life presence.¡±


    ¡°The fuck are you both talking about!? Stop talking between you two who have detection abilities and tell me where in a more simple way, can you??¡±


    We ignored Ralf who was nagging, and I focused on the blue ogre to check its abilities.


    On top of [Life Presence Sense] [Mana Sense] and [Perception Enhancement], I also activated [Perception Range Enhancement], and tried to get a read on this Blue Ogre¡¯s strength.


    It¡¯s presence was a lot stronger than Bors or Greath, but lower than Leon.


    As for mana, I sensed absolutely nothing so I don¡¯t think we have to be worried of any magic usage from it.


    That¡¯s pretty much all I could gather from here, but I got a rough approximate on its strength which is enough.


    ¡­¡­¡­If only I had also absorbed [Observing Eye] from Carlo, I could have learnt a lot more in detail perhaps.


    Once again I ended up recalling how I didn¡¯t get the one skill I wanted more than anything.


    ¡°Just follow us and you¡¯ll see it soon enough Ralf¡­¡­¡­.Speaking of, how are we going to fight this thing? If you don¡¯t mind, we could go straight up and kill it by ourselves but what do you say?¡±


    ¡°All right then, show me what ya¡¯ll got! I could go an beat it as well but I¡¯d like to see Chris and your party¡¯s strength here!¡±


    ¡°Alright. Bors, you wait here with Esta. We¡¯ll go and quickly deal with this one.¡±


    Saying that to him, me, Ralf and Snow headed towards the Blue Ogre.


    I had Esta rady to fire magic in case things bad but, for a mere Blue Ogre, us three should be more than enough.


    ¡°It¡¯s behind the tree right in front of us. Surely you can also tell from this close up right?¡±


    ¡°oh, I see it! So that¡¯s a blue Ogre eh!¡±


    A strong muscular build with bluish-black skin, and you could see two horns growing from its forehead.


    In its hand, it held a big Iron axe that could easily cleave through a person.


    The amount Blue Ogres in our sights were two total.


    I¡¯ll kill one and as for the other, how about we have Snow deal with it.

 CH 174

    Blue Ogre


    With our roles for this battle decided quickly, we began our subjugation of the Blue Ogres.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll attract their attention so defeat them in the meantime alright! [Roar of the Guardian]!¡±


    Ralf rushed ahead and stood right in the middle of the two before activating his skill.


    As if hooked on bait, both Blue Ogres roared and began walking towards Ralf to attack.


    ¡°Snow, can you beat the one on the right by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


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    When I pointed o the right Ogre and gave the instruction, Snow gave a howl and rushed in to attack it.


    Normally, making a Silver rank monster take on a Platinum rank monster would be a a stupid thing to do but¡­¡­..


    Perhaps it was because its fur was all white, but Snow rushed in towards it target with such a high speed that it was difficult to even keep track of it with your bare eyes.


    Of course, the BlueOgres that were completely focused on Ralf would have no way to react to such speed, and soon enough a close ranged Ice element slash attacked the Blueogre.


    And while it¡¯d didn¡¯t kill the Blueogre in a single strike, the slash still tore deep into its chest to its belly in a line, and the BlueOgre looked astonished from the sudden damage.


    Only now did it finally look away from Ralf to try and find whatever it was that had attacked it but¡ª¡ª-it was already too late.


    Right after launching the ice slash, Snow ran around the Blueogre and had already positioned itself behind the enemy.


    Unable to deal with the rapid and deft movements from Snow, the Blueogre¡¯s defenceless back got lunged at by Snow with its sharp ice covered fangs, and instantly, ripped its neck apart .


    ¡­¡­¡­..Snow¡¯s strength was so great that even I just stood there watching it amazed.


    I really couldn¡¯t fathom how rapidly and how much Snow was growing as time passed by.


    A while back, I tried to mock Ralf that Snow might be stronger than him but honestly, right now, even I might have trouble keeping up with Snow.


    Reenergizing myself, I began my charge at the other BlueOgre that was currently being held at bay by Ralf.


    [Flesh Enhancement][War Dane][Stealth][Silent Steps]


    I activated 4 skills and approached my target without getting noticed.


    The best way to take it down was with a single clean strike while it was completely focused on Ralf still.


    Without making any noise, I swiftly moved to the BlueOgre¡¯s back.


    And to not get shown up by Snow, I launched an attack to similarly sever its head with a single attack.


    [Gale][Strong Arm][Hard Hit]


    I activated three more skills after taking the enemy¡¯s back¡ª¨Cand then swung my steel sword with full strength.


    My movements were perfect and so was the sensation of blade cutting through its neck.


    Unable to sense me even to the very last moment, its head flew in the air as my sword slashed cleanly through it.


    While the head was still falling , the severed head finally looked me in the eyes.


    Its expression revealed that it still had no idea what had happened¡ª¡ª-and once it finally noticed its body still standing further away from its head, it finally realized that it had died¡­¡­¡­and its expression became extremely distorted as the head finally crashed into the ground.


    This was my first time using this steel sword that I bought at [Ichiryuu] against an actually strong opponent and I¡¯m happy to say, that this sword felt incredibly easy to use.


    It gelled well with my skills, and I was able to execute an attack that wasn¡¯t inferior in anyway to Snow.


    I cleaned off the blood and sheathed the sword back and walked towards Snow and Ralf to praise and thank them both.


    ¡°Ralf, good job drawing the aggro from both. Snow as well, that was a great attack. Had me completely stunned as well.¡±


    ¡°Awoo!¡±


    Snow howled happily and began wagging its tail as it came to nuzzle against my body.


    ¡°No no! what do you mean ¡®drawing aggro¡¯¡­¡­¡­both you killed them instantly, I barely got to do anything! Snow and Chris, both of you are way too strong!¡±


    ¡°That was only possible because neither of them noticed me or Snow till the very end. Not to mention, Ralf did you find blocking their attacks hard?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Well no, it barely felt like I was in danger even! Each and every attack of their was below half in strength to Carlo¡¯s. Damn, did we really get that strong?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve grown rapidly but we¡¯re still far from calling ourselves ¡®too strong¡¯. Remember, we came to Edestor to get even stronger after all.¡±


    That¡¯s right. If you get complacent from your current strength, you¡¯ll only end up stagnating and stop growing further.


    It¡¯s because we have always been looking ahead and keep on training hard that we¡¯ve finally made it this far and with such speed.


    But we need to still keep aiming for the top, and keep growing even more.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Oi oi oi oi ! Are you kids really gold rank!¡­¡­..Instantly killing two Blue Ogres, that¡¯s something not even Platinum Rank adventurers can do you know!?¡±


    ¡°Well this was a humanoid monster which definitely worked in our favour. But, at the same time, this was not a fluke either I can tell you that much.¡±


    ¡°Well yeah I watched the battle with my own eyes so I can tell that this wasn¡¯t by chance! I had intended to help you kids out but I might really be the one who¡¯s gonna get helped here.¡±


    Bors spoke seemingly genuinely surprised.


    He must have gotten fired up from seeing our battle as while he spoke self-depreciatingly, his eyes were lit up with vigour.


    ¡°Anyway, we need one more to finish the request. But since we can hunt more and earn more, let¡¯s hunt as many as we can but¡­¡­¡­Bors, what do you wanna do?¡±


    ¡°Of course we hunt Blue Ogres for another 2 hours! After that, the monsters that appear here change so we need to leave the mountain quickly afterwards though!¡±


    ¡°Got it¡­¡­¡­¡­as for the ¡®monsters that appear here changes¡¯, is it a really dangerous monster?¡±


    ¡°Not a lot of dangerous monsters show up here in the foot of the mountains but, the miasma that gets released is very dangerous! And that miasma gets thick about 4 hours from now. Also the monsters that show up changes after 2 hours is also because of the miasma as the ones with strong perception skills climb down the mountain during that time.¡±


    Changing monsters, Miasma¡­¡­¡­.this really isn¡¯t something that happens in a normal mountain, is it?


    Also, this may sound obvious but man Bors was really knowledgeable about these things.


    As expected of a 20yr veteran adventurer living in Edestor I suppose.


    Now I haven¡¯t seen him fight yet however but¡­¡­¡­I wonder if we¡¯ll get to see that now that we¡¯ve shown him our ability.


    ¡°Next, I¡¯d like to see Bors fight as well. Would that be okay? Of course, we¡¯ll support you properly.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be anything exciting like what you guys showed me, but sure!¡­¡­..Allow me to show you what my experience has taught me even if you made fun of it!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t make fun of it though. But sure, I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±


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    So next up, we¡¯ll see Bors fight up front.


    At first I wasn¡¯t really interested and us defeating everything would be much faster obviously but¡­¡­.


    His detection skills were the real thing, and he was even able to completely follow our battle with the Blue Ogres from afar as well.


    From what my skills have shown me, Bors shouldn¡¯t be very strong but then again, I recalled Alyazi-san never had a strong presence either, so I want to see him fight for real before coming to conclusions.


    If there is even a little I could learn from him, I absolutely will do that.


    Rather than watching the most boringly strong people fight with brute strength, it¡¯s often the weak ones that are aware of their own limitations and learn to work around it that give the best ideas and inspirations to grow even further.

 CH 175

    Bors¡¯ Battle


    After cutting off the ears of the Blue Ogres we defeated, we went around exploring the foot of the Barbadd mountains for another 20 minutes.


    This time we ran into a herd of Imps and another Blue Ogre.


    This was our first time facing an Imp.


    With a body of only 20cm tall, they were much smaller than even goblins, but could use magic making them quite annoying to deal with.


    ¡­¡­¡­it really might be better for us to deal with them.


    We can always have Bors take on a different Blue Ogre so we tried to step ahead to take care of this but, Bors stopped us with the wave of his hand and took a step forward.


    ¡°Let me handle this! I need to show the pride of a Platinum rank adventurer after all!¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡­¡­¡­.Don¡¯t hate us even if you die okay?¡±


    ¡°Like hell, I¡¯d die against a single Ogre! I¡¯ve gone through mud and dirt to keep this lifestyle for twenty years you know?¡±


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    Bors spoke that proudly while patting his chest, but I was still a bit anxious.


    Since he said he didn¡¯t want any support either, all we could do was watch from afar.


    Just in case, I was ready to unleash all my skills to help him if things got really dangerous but, whether I¡¯ll make it in time in a situation like that is a whole different matter.


    The Blue Ogre had a much stronger presence than Bors, and he was completely outnumbered due to the Imps as well.


    Of course, if he died it was his own responsibility, but because of the incident with the [Silver Winged Lion], it just didn¡¯t feel right to me.


    ¡°Esta, be ready to fire magic whenever needed.¡±


    ¡°Understood. If it became dangerous, I¡¯ll help asap!¡±


    I told even Esta to help in the off chance things go wrong and then watched how Bors fought.


    Now then, what kind of fighting style does he have?


    Perhaps he possessed a really strong skill to start off the battle? But Bors simply continued slowly walking  towards them and then drew his sword and faced the Blue Ogre head on.


    Since he never drew it until now I didn¡¯t notice but his word had a really odd and unique shape.


    Just like the halberd, a fusion of a spear and axe,  of the Orc general I once fought, Bors sword was a fusion of a sword with the blade portion of the axe attached to it.


    It was also completely black from the handle to the blade which made it look even more uncanny.


    While I was distracted by the odd looking sword, The blue ogre noticed Bors approaching and began walking towards him as well.


    And the Imps behind the Ogre also began slowly circling around Bors to surround him.


    Blue Ogre upfront, Imps around him, Bors was completely surrounded but, he showed no signs of panic.


    I still couldn¡¯t notice any skill being used, and his life presence was still the same as well; Not small but not great either.


    It doesn¡¯t look like he has a trump card either, so wouldn¡¯t he just lose if it stays like this¡­..?


    I wondered so but, as soon as the battle actually began, my worries got blown away.


    The Blue Ogre had been swinging its axe around furiously but, it never seemed like it was ever even close to hitting Bors.


    ¡­¡­.But, even though Bors¡¯ movements became faster, it didn¡¯t seem like he was using any skills still.


    Yet he continued to casually dodge all of the Blue Ogres attacks, and had now begun to even attack whenever he saw an opening as well.


    As someone watching from the side, I had no idea what was happening but¡­¡­..somehow, Bors was completely overwhelming the Blue Ogre.


    That said, he was definitely lacking in raw strength as even though he was landing a lot of hits, the wounds he dealt were shallow and amount of damage he was dealing was small.


    That said if he keeps this up, he¡¯ll beat the Blue Ogre sooner or later but, he didn¡¯t have the time to do that because of the Imps who had circled back behind him.


    They were readying magic attacks from behind and it¡¯s gonna turn into a pincer attack if it stays like this.


    This really might be a bit much so to help him, I was about tell Esta to fire magic at the Imps but¡­¡­


    Bors once again waved his hand towards us to tell us that he didn¡¯t need our support.


    ¡°Hey, how is Bors-san completely overwhelming that Blue Ogre?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I can¡¯t sense any skill being used either but perhaps he has a passive skill like my {null Poison] as well.¡±


    ¡°He even noticed me all the way from there as well didn¡¯t he? The moment I was about to use magic, he signalled me not to do that.¡±


    ¡°Did he have a expanded field of vision?¡­¡­.well, looks like he really might be fine without help I guess?¡±


    Even after being told not to help, I was still wondering what to do, as the Imps launched magic at Bors from behind while he was busy fighting the Blue Ogre.


    The magic was [Fire Arrow], the same one which was also Esta¡¯s speciality.


    It was a fast magic, and it approached towards Bors¡¯ back with rapid speed, and hit him¡ª¡ªor so I thought but right before it hit, Bors moved his body to just barely avoid it, and the [Fire Arrow] flew past and hit the Blue Ogre instead.


    Another Imp fired a [Wind Arrow] soon after as well but this was avoided as well.


    The [Wind Arrow] didn¡¯t hit the Ogre again of course, but Bors continued to perfectly dodge magic that was coming from right behind him.


    It was as if he had eyes behind his back and knew when to dodge while continuing to fight the Blue Ogre.


    I really had no idea how he was doing this as I still couldn¡¯t sense a skill being used but¡­¡­¡­I could sense that Bors had a level of depth and proficiency to the art of battle, one that couldn¡¯t be measured the same as raw strength or skills.

 CH 176

    Proficiency


    Following that, Bors continued dodging every single magic attack that was thrown at him.


    I don¡¯t know whether it was intentional, but almost half of the magic he dodged would hit the Blue Ogre, and finally after getting pelted by the Imp¡¯s magic over and over, the Blue ogre finally fell dead to the ground.


    The remaining Imps, as if it wasn¡¯t obvious from how Bors had been avoiding their magic assault from behind, weren¡¯t able to do anything to Bors and were cut down swiftly.


    Since he didn¡¯t possess any kind of strong attack, the battle lasted long, not to mention Bors¡¯  fighting style was dangerous beyond belief.


    Honestly, I really didn¡¯t think of him more than just another old shaggy haired adventurer with lots of years under his belt with not much to show for it but¡­¡­..this man had his feet solidly stuck to the ground, as in, his experience as an adventurer was nothing to make fun of.


    I should know better that to not judge people and their ability by their appearance.


    I should have learnt that from Alyazi-san but unconsciously, I ended up underestimating him anyway.


    ¡°Maan! These Blue Ogres sure are tough eh! But¡­¡­..Ehehe, I managed to beat them!¡±


    ¡°Bors-san, that was awesome! I really couldn¡¯t take my eyes off you!!¡±


    ¡°I see, I see! If Ralf says that much, I guess it was worth all the effort then!¡±


    Ralf didn¡¯t hold back in his praise for Bors as he came back, making him scratch his head while looking all happy.


    ¡°But still, how did you beat them? From what I could tell, you didn¡¯t even use any skills.¡±


    ¡°How, you ask, well¡­¡­¡­just, normally? I guess? I really don¡¯t know how else to answer that!¡±


    Both me and Esta tilted our heads to the side due to the vague answer.


    Perhaps I¡¯ll figure it out if I fight him directly but, this isn¡¯t the place for that.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to give a proper answer. Regardless, I know now that Bors, you are capable fighter that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad as long as you think that!¡ª¡ª-On that note, I was thinking but until you lot get promoted to Platinum, how about making a temporary party with me? I¡¯ll take 1/4th of the rewards¡­¡­¡­.No, I should also count Snow in it, so I¡¯ll take just 1/5th of the reward. And you guys will be able to take Platinum rank requests like today! And I¡¯ll have a hell of a lot easier time finishing these requests as well! Not a bad deal for both of us eh?¡±


    Perhaps after showcasing his own prowess, he suggested this to us.


    Certainly, he doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯d hold us back in anyway, and it¡¯s really useful to be able to accept Platnum rank requests for us as well.


    If he¡¯s alright with just a fifth share of the rewards, it¡¯s not like we¡¯d be losing out a lot.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Above all, I¡¯m still curious as to how Bors was able to fight the way he did so it might be alright to accept his offer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind personally. Ralf, Esta, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°I do not mid it either. He seems knowledgeable regarding the area as well, and as we saw, his platinum rank is not just for show either.¡±


    ¡°Works for me too! It looks like I could learn a lot from Bors-san anyway!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Then that¡¯s that. We¡¯ll take you up on that offer.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Then, we¡¯re a temp party for now! You three, and of course Snow as well, I¡¯ll be in your care!¡±


    And thus, we decided to form a temp party with Bors.


    It¡¯s not a bad idea joining hands with a platinum rank adventurer who was also well versed in things about Edestor.


    Soon afterwards, we refocused ourselves, and restarted our Blue Ogre hunting.


    .


    2 hours later


    After efficiently hunting Blue Ogres in that time, our final kill count had reached up to 8 in the end.


    Bors continued finding more while avoiding other monsters, and me, Ralf and Snow would quickly take them down.


    Whenever there were other monsters in the area, Esta would eradicate them with her magic. This was more or less how we went on our business Quite efficient for a temp party, I must say.


    ¡°Damn, you lot are hella strong! Seriously, how are you guys still just Gold rank!?¡±


    ¡°We just promoted to gold actually. Can only blame the guild¡¯s ranking system really¡­¡­.Well, if they started making exceptions things would get out of control pretty quickly so I don¡¯t blame them for being strict with it.¡±


    ¡°If only there was something like a promotion test or something! We¡¯d be able to raise our rank asap!¡±


    I thought of the same thing actually.


    Conversely ,that would also help in not creating Platinum rank adventurers like Greath who never actually cleared a platinum rank request and only did gold ones.


    ¡°But well, with this pace it won¡¯t be long before you lot are at Mithril rank even!¡­¡­.By the way, we really just hunted 8 Blue Ogres huh? Since it¡¯s a gold coin per kill, that¡¯s 8 gold coin total for our reward. So about 1 gold and 6 silver per person right? That¡¯s insane man!!¡±


    True, this might be the first time we¡¯ve made this much in a single request since the emergency request of course.


    Well there was also that one time I earned 5 gold for just one Stary Cow bird but the encounter rate with those things was way too low to be comparable.


    ¡°If they are showing up in this many numbers, we could earn this much every day honestly.¡±


    ¡°I know right! And it only took, what 3 hours total, and we could keep going but¡­¡­¡­.is it really that bad to do so?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, with how strong you three and Snow are, even I think we could keep it up for longer but¡­¡­¡­.for today, it¡¯s better to get off the mountain! Underestimating Barbadd mountains is a quick way to lose your life.¡±


    Bors spoke that with a very serious expression.


    I¡¯m sure he¡¯s seen countless adventurers lose their lives like this over the 20 years he has worked as an adventurer here in Edestor.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then sure, let¡¯s stop here for today. We know you have both knowledge and the ability to back it. I think it¡¯s better to trust what Bors says for now.¡±


    ¡°I agree! Not to mention, by the time we go back to Edestor, it¡¯ll still be afternoon right? Bors-san, why not show us around the city!¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure why not! If that¡¯s the case, I might as well introduce you to my party members as well!¡±


    ¡°Ah right you did say they were injured or something right? Your actual party that is.¡±


    ¡°Not injured, just ill. It¡¯s not easy for us old folk you know!¡±


    With a genuinely troubled expression, Bors spoke with a sigh.


    No living thing could win against the flow of time. Age catches up to us all.


    ¡°So is Bors-san¡¯s party just two-man team? Or did multiple people get sick at the same time?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a three person party. One of them is seriously ill, the other one is only just slightly sick.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, and that¡¯s why you came to the guild alone eh?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much! Well, we can talk in detail after we return, so let¡¯s start heading back to Edestor first!¡±


    While chatting about various things, we left the foot of the Barbadd mountain and headed back to Edestor.


    I didn¡¯t have much expectations, but Bors turned out to be a nice man and was quite knowledgeable on top.


    As far as first days go, this had been quite the successful one.

 CH 177

    A Tour around Edestor


    After returning to Edestor, first of all we submitted our completion report for the request, and then headed out to the city with Bors as our guide to show us around.


    ¡°Maan, that was fun! Made quite the cash today thanks to you lot so let me treat you today!¡±


    ¡°Actually, we do need to know all the good eating joints here as well but, first I¡¯d like you to show us around the city as a whole. The best weapon and armour stores, item shops, and if there¡¯s an alchemist store here; I want to know about all of them.¡±


    ¡°Ah, can you also show us what are the best inns here as well? The place we are staying at right now costs 2 silver for a night, fairly expensive in my personal opinion.¡±


    Esta further added that after my personal demands.


    It¡¯s true, if we can find a better one that was cheaper, I would also like to know about it.


    Well, with the amount of money we can make now, it¡¯s not exactly hurting to simply stay where we already are though.


    ¡°Understood! Very well then, allow me to show you lot around Edestor!¡±


    We followed Bors who was in high spirits and began our Edestor tour.


    The first place we went to was a back street, slightly away from the bustling main street of the city.


    The atmosphere here was similar to the street [Shichifukuya] was located in.


    ¡°Are there even any good shops in such an unpopular place?


    ¡°hehehe, You¡¯ll know soon enough.¡±


    Talking proudly, Bors kept walking before stopping in front of a store made out of stone.


    Various parts of the wall had turned black, and just from the looks alone, it felt like a suspicious shop.


    There was no billboard or sign outside either, and you couldn¡¯t see anything inside the store, so I couldn¡¯t even tell what kind of place it was but¡­¡­.


    The stone house had a chimney up top and I could see black smoke rising from it.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.is this, an armour and weapons shop?¡±


    ¡°Ooh, correct! This place, you see, is a top quality store that only select few know about!¡±


    ¡°A secret store¡­¡­..! Sounds cool!¡±


    Ralf muttered that, his eyes were glittering with excitement from Bors¡¯ explanation.


    Judging by the chimney and the smoke, it¡¯s also probably a blacksmith¡¯s store, just like [Ichiryuu] in Norfast.


    ¡°It does doesn¡¯t it!? The store owner is bit of a stubborn one, but it¡¯ll be fine with me here!¡±


    ¡°I really want to by a good weapon if there is one! Seeing Chris¡¯ steel sword, I¡¯ve been wanting a new one as well for a while now.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t swords not that important for a completely defence focused tank? And you bought a brand new shield in Oxter if I recall, right?¡±


    ¡°Hey, just cause I¡¯m a ¡®tank¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t be ready for abnormal situations right? This worn out iron sword ain¡¯t gonna help me in such a situation!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s your own money so it¡¯s none of my business I suppose.¡±


    While making such small talk in front of the store, we soon followed Bors into this shady looking store.


    The moment we entered the place, the heat hit our skins, and the smell of iron and oil assaulted our noses.


    [Ichiryuu] was also like this but, since at least there the smithy and the store had been separated by a wall, it wasn¡¯t this intense.


    There were weapons on display, but they were mostly lying around in a cluttered mess, and didn¡¯t even have price tags on them.


    Honestly, it was hard to call it a store even, that¡¯s how tasteless and dreary this place was.


    ¡°Oi! Kevin, you here??¡±


    With loud voice that resounded inside the small building, Bors called out to a man named Kevin.


    Of course, there were no other customers besides us, and since there was no one hammering a sword either, the place was silent and Bors¡¯ voice echoed across the place.


    ¡°Tch, noisy as always. I can at least tell when someone enters my place without you needing to shout dammit.¡±


    From the smithy side, another dwarf, like the one in [Ichiryuu], showed up.


    With a scraggly beard, he had a short and stout physique.


    His hair looked a bit reddish but with a very similar fierce looking face and expression that seemed to come with  their lineage, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to tell him from the owner of Ichiryuu if someone made them stand side by side.


    ¡°And you¡¯re the same as always, Kevin!¡±


    ¡°Right back at you Bors. So, who the hell are the ones behind you?¡­¡­.Never seen them here before.¡±


    ¡°They are adventurers who only just moved to Edestor! They¡¯ve made a temp party with me so I¡¯ve been giving them a tour around Edestor.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you did tell me that your party members had gone down with sickness if I recall?¡­¡­¡­the name¡¯s Kevin. I¡¯m the owner of this place.¡±


    The dwarf Kevin, introduced himself.


    He looked the same as the one at [ichiryuu] but Kevin seemed a lot more calmer than that one.


    ¡°My name is Chris, that¡¯s Ralf and she¡¯s Esta.¡±


    ¡°And that pup?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Snow, our monster.¡±


    He must really like animals as he didn¡¯t even look much towards us an walked straight towards Snow.


    And Snow of course, also happily jumped at Kevin.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look much like a monster. More of a dog, this one.¡±


    ¡°Nah that¡¯s one hell of monster, there¡¯s no doubts about that one. I saw that one fight, and it¡¯s honestly a couple times stronger than even myself!¡±


    ¡°Ohh, stronger than even Bors eh¡­¡­¡­.must be quite the beast.¡±


    Happy from being petted, Snow was happily licking his face.


    I have always wondered, but Snow really does seem to get friendly with people.


    It¡¯s been like that since the day we picked it up, and it lacked the monster-esque hostility towards people that we all know and see regularly.


    ¡°Anyway, we just came here today for a quick introduction, so Kevin, be good to them if they come to you alright!¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡­..Right, should I make some equipment for Snow as a meeting gift? Of coure, I will charge you for the cost of materials at least though.¡±


    While petting Snow, he suddenly suggested that out of nowhere.


    I never even thought that armour for monsters even existed so I had never considered it but¡­¡­¡­.can he really make stuff for Snow?


    ¡°Wait, can you actually make equipment for Snow?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can. It¡¯s still growing so I¡¯ll make a elastic leather set. It¡¯ll cost about 5 silver¡­¡­..what do you say?¡±


    ¡°For just 5 silver, by all means, please go ahead. Kevin, we¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    When I gave a bow to request it, Kevin gave a thumbs up as affirmation.


    Having armor made for Snow will be of great help to us.


    ¡°Um, I would like you to choose a weapon for me as well if possible?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Hm? What are you using right now? Show me.¡±


    ¡°Umm, it¡¯s just this unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Now that¡¯s a poor one. But I can tell you have taken good care of it regardless. Wait here.¡±


    After taking a look at Ralf¡¯s iron sword and handing it back, Kevin walked back to his smithy.


    When he came back, he had a brand new sword in his hand.


    ¡°The size and the weight is almost the same as the one you have. It¡¯s made of Iron Sand Steel (tamahagane). It¡¯ll cost 2 platinum coins¡­¡­¡­what do you think?¡±


    A sword made out of iron sand steel.


    I could tell from a glance but¡­¡­.that was a top quality sword.


    The 2 platinum coins may seem expensive but, it honestly was a cheap cost for a sword of that quality.


    But, I think its cost is beyond Ralf¡¯s current savings.


    ¡°Uooh! What a sword¡­¡­¡­I really want it but¡­¡­..I can¡¯t buy it with the money I have on me now.¡±


    ¡°Ah lacking funds I see¡­¡­¡­Then, how about this one? This one¡¯s a bit heavier sword made of steel but the quality shouldn¡¯t be anything to criticize about. This one¡¯s 5 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°mumumumu¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    With the iron Sand Steel sword in his right hand and the steel sword in his left, Ralf was comparing them both inside his head while observing them.


    I mean if you are just going by the eye test, it was obvious that the iron sand steel sword was the better one. Even an amateur could tell you that.


    But what he could realistically buy right now was only the normal steel sword, even if he wanted the other one.


    This conflict in his head must be going on.


    ¡± Why not just wait and save up for now? Ralf, the one you really want is the iron sand steel sword right?¡±


    ¡°I do but¡­¡­¡­look at the state of my current sword?¡±


    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re still a tank at the end of the day, you¡¯ll make do even without a brand new sword for a some more time. Just save up and then buy the one you want later.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡­..u,um! Can you perhaps not sell the Iron Sand Sword, at least for a while?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really follow but I doubt it¡¯ll get sold that quickly anyway. As you can see, I¡¯m just running a smithy in quiet place.¡±


    ¡°Then, I will save up and then definitely come back to buy that sword! I will, so please just wait at least for a while!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Sure. That said, if someone really came to buy it, it¡¯s unlikely I¡¯ll refuse them though.¡±


    Ralf made an indescribable expression on hearing Kevin¡¯s words.


    Well, that¡¯s how most weapon shops work though.


    Anyway, Ralf decided to save up more money to buy the sword he wants, and meanwhile he¡¯ll make some armour for Snow.


    I really didn¡¯t think he would make personalized equipment for Snow, for that cheap no less.


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    As expected from the place Bors introduced thanks to his years of experience in the city of Edestor, this place turned out to be better than I had imagined.


    From the outside, I was doubtful of it but once again, I seem to have made the mistake of judging something by its outward appearance.


    ¡°Now then,¡­¡­..with the introductions done, let¡¯s go to the next place! Also Kevin, please try and be a bit more flexible for the lad eh!¡±


    ¡°I will. A little. Well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough! Then, see ya later!¡±


    ¡°Once again, I¡¯m looking forward to Snow¡¯s new equipment. We¡¯ll come back here later after some time has passed for it.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I already got the size measurements for it , so just leave it to me.¡±


    With our farewells done, we left Kevin¡¯s shop.


    ¡­¡­¡­.The first shop was a great success.


    Now then, I wonder what place will he take us to next.

 CH 178

    The Best in the Business


    After leaving Kevin¡¯s weapons store, we returned back to the main street.


    I was expecting another secret secluded shop but the next place Bors stopped at was¡­¡­¡­..the biggest, most busiest item shop on the main street.


    ¡°Is this item store you want to recommend?¡±


    ¡°Ah, after the cool secret weapons store, are you a bit disappointed?¡­¡­..but you see, when it comes to general items, the variety and price both matter a lot! The place I¡¯d recommend in whole of Edestor is the best and the biggest one here, [Relabo Market]. There¡¯s a huge crowd here always but as you could probably tell from the sheer size of the place, the variety of items they have here is beyond plenty. On top of that, it¡¯s comparatively still pretty cheap making it unquestionably the best item shop there is in all of Edestor!¡±


    I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t a bit disappointed at first but if Bors is speaking that highly of the place, then it must be true.


    Thanks to my impression of Kevin¡¯s store, I had a lot of trust in any place Bors was going to recommend to us.


    I doubt using the shops he recommends would turn out to be a mistake.


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    ¡°Bors, if you are speaking that highly of it, I won¡¯t doubt you either.¡±


    ¡°Why thank you for trusting me!¡­¡­¡­Well, I¡¯m just another customer here as well so I can¡¯t put in like an actual ¡®introduction¡¯ or anything like that here. If you don¡¯t have anything you want to buy urgently, we should move on to the next spot, shall we?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything I want right now.¡±


    ¡°I am a bit curious to check the inside but I can always do that at a later date so I¡¯m fine as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing either! All I want now is just that Sword!


    Leaving Ralf who still hadn¡¯t moved on, we didn¡¯t go inside the Relabo market and moved on to the next store.


    All that remains is a good eatery and an alchemist¡¯s store but, I wonder where we¡¯ll head to next.


    Since we were at the  main street, I thought we were heading to some restaurant but¡­¡­.


    We continued heading straight until we were out of the main street and then passed even the adventurer guild before entering a normal looking house.


    The city walls were right beside us so I knew that we were at the very edge of the city.


    From a glance, it looked like a normal home but, recalling Kevin¡¯s shop, perhaps this was an alchemists store instead then?


    Bors did say that he wanted to introduce his party members as well so perhaps we are heading to their house instead.


    ¡°Is this place also a shop?¡±


    ¡°It is! I don¡¯t use it much but, it¡¯s the alchemist¡¯s store that Chris, you wanted to see! They sell all sorts of potions and such.¡±


    So it was an alchemist¡¯s store after all.


    It was at far edge of the city and it looked like any other normal home but if Bors is recommending the place, it¡¯s probably good.


    While making sure to not have unreasonable expectations, we followed after Bors inside the store.


    With a cling-clang, a gentle bell rang, and sweet smell of nature tickled our noses.


    It looked like normal home, but on the inside it was a proper store alright.


    All sorts of potions and plants were displayed around the place, and unlike Kevin¡¯s shop, the inside was quite elaborately decorated.


    ¡°Oh hello, and welcome. First time visitors I presume?¡±


    At the reception counter sat an old lady, around the same age as the owner of [Shichifukuya].


    She wore a black robe and a black pointy hat.


    This is the most stereotypical magician looking person I have seen in my life.


    ¡°no, I¡¯ve come a couple times before¡­¡­¡­maybe Rupert¡¯s party member rings a bell?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Hm? Aah, well I was wondering who¡¯d have such an explosive hairstyle, but it¡¯s just Bors eh. It has been quite some time no?¡±


    The old lady seemed to recall the name Rupert as she clapped as she remembered Bors¡¯ name.


    Like he had said before, Bors himself doesn¡¯t seem to show up here very often.


    ¡°Oh you actually remembered! I cam e to introduce some acquaintances you see!¡±


    ¡°Ah the people behind you? How rare, for Bors to be introducing someone.¡±


    ¡°Well they seemed to be looking for a good alchemist after all. This one¡¯s Chris. That¡¯s Ralf, and the girl¡¯s Esta.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Chris, nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Ho Ho. How rare for a young one to hold interest in an alchemist¡¯s store. Nice to meet you as well. I¡¯m Trisha, the person that runs [Gaddfoura], this store that is.¡±


    I shook hands with the lady who introduced herself as Trisha.


    Both her looks and her aura was much more reminiscent of a legit alchemist, unlike Shantell.


    ¡­¡­..well, even Shatell, while cursed with that personality and looks, was still a very skilled alchemist.


    ¡°Actually, I was hoping to get certain potions made from you but before I talk about that, do you even make custom made potions for people?¡±


    ¡°Custom made potions? What an odd request. Well, of course I can do it but¡­¡­it will cost extra money for that alright?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll pay for both materials and your labour.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem. Then, would you like to make an order right now?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have the items on me right now, but I¡¯ll be sure to come back to you later.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. Well, I¡¯ll be waiting then.¡±


    For one, I¡¯m glad she takes special orders.


    Just like with Shantell, it¡¯ll cost extra money to make them but I have already decided to not be stingy when it comes to these things.


    A proper order will only be made once I have paid a visit to the Great Forest of Roza but, if I can find Jinpi Leaves there, then I¡¯ll need her to make more jinpi potions.


    Also, I have been thinking of tying out more poison potions made out poisonous monsters like the ones made from venom Pythons.


    The stronger the poison I find, perhaps the strengthening effect would increase with it, or at least that¡¯s my theory.


    There¡¯s a lot of strong monsters that live around Edestor. It won¡¯t be a surprise to find at least some that possess strong poisons in them as well.


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡­¡­that¡¯s about it! Be nice to Chris alright!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I have received a new customer. I¡¯d do so even if Bors didn¡¯t ask me to you know¡­¡­¡­.that aside, is Rupert alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks to your medicines he¡¯s been getting better! Once he gets better, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll show up to pay you a visit again!¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s good to hear! Oh, be sure to hand this to him as well. It¡¯s not medicine but, it¡¯s a potion that will act as nourishment for his body and reduce fatigue.¡±


    The old lady handed Bors a bright yellow coloured potion.


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    It looked very similar to the one Shantell gave me, and judging by the effects she just told, it might literally be the same one.


    ¡°Got it! I plan on meeting him today anyway so I¡¯ll hand it over to him. Thanks as always!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not for your sake you know¡­¡­..anyway, Chris, I look forward to working with you as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, same here.¡±


    After finishing our greetings, alongside Ralf and Esta who had been looking around the store, as well as Snow, who was hiding in his bag with only its tail visible, possibly because of the smells in the shop, we left the store.


    Even though it liked the smell inside Carlisle forest, I guess it didn¡¯t like the smell here.


    ¡­¡­¡­now that I think of it, Snow even avoided Shantell the one time she came to our house right after finishing making some potions.


    That made me remember how after that, Shantell would always take a full bath and change all her clothes and only then would she come to our house.

 CH 179

    PekoPeko


    (T/N; Lit. means Starving. I¡¯m leaving it as is because it¡¯s used as a proper noun here)


    ¡°Alright then, with this we¡¯ve visited the weapons store, the items shop, and now the alchemists store! They were all great right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they most certainly were. I suppose it¡¯s to be expected considering how long you¡¯ve lived here but you really do know all about the stores here huh.¡±


    ¡°It was really only three stores that I introduced you to this time, if we had more time I can show you around a whole lot more cool places in this city!¡­¡­¡­Now then, how we get something to eat before it gets too dark! My treat today, as thanks for the huge profit I earned!¡±


    While we went around looking at all these stores, it had already started to become dark outside.


    Honestly, we were all a bit hungry right after finishing the request so now, I was really looking forward to a feast.


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    ¡°You¡¯ll treat us? Sure, we¡¯ll gladly accept.¡±


    ¡°Bors-san, we are all big eaters, I¡¯m telling you right now. You sure you¡¯ll be okay? You might lose all your earnings from today in a single night you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve been trying to look all cool and respectable since the time I helped you at the guild, but never really got the chance! At least let me act like the dependable senior here for once.¡±


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    ¡°Bors-san, thank you very much. We¡¯ll take you up on that offer then.¡±


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll take you all to a great restaurant, so look forward to it.¡±


    Since meeting us, perhaps this was the first time he could actually act like the cool and dependable senior so Bors looked more energetic than usual.


    I¡¯ve been thinking of why he¡¯d been so nice to us all this time but, perhaps this was simply his personality¡ª¡ª-always trying help anyone who may need it.


    Since all the places he led us o until now were all great spots so I was looking forward to what kind of eatery will he introduce us to next when¡­¡­.


    The place we stopped at , was a small joint just a slight distance away from the adventurer guild.


    Although, this place did have a proper sign outside, unlike Kevin¡¯s store or [Gaddfoura].


    Umm, ¡®Steak Specialist [PekoPeko]¡¯? Apparently, steaks are their speciality the sign says.


    ¡°So I imagine the Steaks here are really good?¡±


    ¡°Steak specialist sounds like my kinda place!!¡±


    ¡°Yes, as the signs says, the steaks here are their speciality¡­¡­¡­..but you see, they¡¯re not just normal steaks that they serve here. ¡°


    ¡°You¡¯re intentionally being vague aren¡¯t you. Also, the board says [CLOSED] right now, you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s run by an old friend so it¡¯ll be fine! If anything, when it says [OPEN] it¡¯d be pretty hard to even enter.¡±


    Won¡¯t even let us in when it says [OPEN]??


    His previous statement of it being a ¡®not normal steak¡¯ on top of this, seriously, just what kind of store was this? I had so many questions.


    ¡­¡­¡­..well, we¡¯re going to find out soon enough when we enter.


    Ignoring the [CLOSED] sign, we followed Bors into the building.


    The insides of the store were dimly lit and quite narrow.


    There was only one long counter with seats for customers I imagine and you could see the kitchen beyond it. That was the general layout of the place.


    ¡°I was wondering who¡¯d just come in, and well, if it isn¡¯t Bors. Don¡¯t just enter someone¡¯s place whenever you feel like it man.¡±


    ¡°Please let us feast on your steaks today! I have some friends with me as well!¡±


    The person to appear from the inner side of the store was a long haired man.


    He was wearing the classic fancy looking chef¡¯s white attire but, he certainly lacked a sense of cleanliness that you¡¯d expect.


    Bors did say it was fine since he was a friend, but he didn¡¯t seem very welcome of us though.


    ¡­¡­¡­is he really going to let us eat here?


    ¡°There¡¯s only so much extra stock I have you know? After all, my store is completely run on advance bookings. I don¡¯t have enough extra meat to serve 4 people out of nowhere mate.¡±


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, don¡¯t say that and let us eat! We¡¯re okay even if it¡¯s using the cold stored ones!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll allow it if you pay double the price.¡±


    ¡°Double!? How about around 30% more?¡±


    ¡°Double or nothing. Anything less and I ain¡¯t cooking.¡±


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    The cook seemed unwilling to budge from his stance, so Bors gave a quick glance towards us.


    I guessed paying double was bit too much even for him but¡­¡­..


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll pay double then!¡±


    ¡°Wait really? If you just book in advance like normal and you could enjoy it without overpaying, but you remain an idiot as always I see.¡±


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    ¡°It¡¯s fine! I really want them to enjoy the greatest food in all of Edestor alright!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­just pay me a third more than usual, that¡¯ll do. Anyway, come and sit down, I¡¯ll go bring the meat.¡±


    ¡°You sure!? Thanks as always, man!! Aah, also bring some good beef meat as well!¡±


    As the cook returned back to the inside of the store, Bors gave a thumbs up towards us and led us to get seated by the counter.


    But still, an Edestor speciality that could only be eaten when booked in advance? Now, I¡¯m really getting excited for it.


    ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s gonna cost me a tad bit more than I had hoped but, now we can enjoy a great meal finally!¡±


    ¡°Bors-san, we can always pay as well you know? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re hurting for money or anything anyway.¡±


    ¡°no no, besides, Ralf, aren¡¯t you saving up money for that sword? This is where you simply let your senior adventurer spoil you and treat you!¡±


    Ralf offered to split the bill, but Bors simply refuted it with such talk.


    As I thought¡­¡­¡­this man is a bit too much of nice guy.


    This is literally the first day we¡¯ve met but, he¡¯s going so far for us.


    In Realzard, I met Ralf, Esta, the old man from the store, and the Priest.


    In Oxter, we met Shantell, the vice-chief, the priest there, and of course the [Silver Winged Lion].


    And now, we¡¯ve already met Bors in Edestor¡­¡­¡­..Seriously, I am truly blessed with the amount of good people I have met in life.


    ¡°Hey Bors, so what kind of steak is this? Is it Stray Cowbird steak?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s much, much better than that! Just wait till you actually eat it!¡±


    Looking around, there wasn¡¯t even a menu anywhere, so I really had no idea what kind of meat was going to be served to us.


    As we fidgeted in place waiting for the cook to return, he finally came back with a giant slab of meat.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. There¡¯s not much time till I have to actually Open, so let¡¯s start right away.¡±


    ¡°Ou! I cannot wait!¡±


    With skilled, experienced motions, he sliced through the bulky piece of meat, poured some oil on the iron pan, fried some garlic and then dropped the Steak onto the iron pan.


    A nice sizzling sound came as the incredible smell of the steak spread across the store.


    I unconsciously ended up swallowing my spit as my mouth continued to water, and my eyes remained fixated on the steak.


    ¡­¡­¡­.this looks delicious.


    Perhaps the fact that I was already starving added to it but, this meat¡ª¨Cno, among all the things I have eaten in my life, this looked like the best of all.


    Salt and pepper covered the meat as the steak got fried, and then he put the other half of the cut steak and fried it as well.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    From the looks of it, it looked like a well-done steak but, then he cut it up one more time and you could see that it hadn¡¯t cooked all the way yet.


    I wondered if he¡¯d fry them again but, he brought the steak out of the pan, garnished it with the fried garlic from earlier and served it to us.


    I haven¡¯t eaten meat that was still this red on the inside since maybe when I first hid inside Peixa forest but, I wonder if it was okay.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the first three serving. Who¡¯s starting first?¡±


    ¡°Let the kids have it first! I¡¯ll take the last one!¡±


    ¡°Alright. Here you go, don¡¯t let it cool and dig in.¡±


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    Me, Ralf and Esta were all served a plate with a big piece of steak on it.


    All three of us looked at each other once and nodded, and then dug into the meat and brought it to our mouths.


    All it had been prepared with was salt and pepper.


    And then with the garlic on top later, I put the steak inside my mouth.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.What the hell?¡ª¡ª¨Cdelicious. This is way too good!!


    The moment my teeth bit into it, the taste exploded inside my mouth.


    Even though it was steak, it seemed like it was melting inside my mouth, and it soon disappeared inside my stomach.


    My brain was shook from the taste, and honestly I was afraid of how a single piece of meat could make me feel this way¡ª¡ª¡ª-but my hands would not stop as I took in the next bite.


    The same thing happened and it was down my stomach before I knew it, so I took another bite obviously.


    I¡¯m sure the size of the steak served on my plate was pretty big but¡­¡­¡­.I consumed it all with breakneck speed.


    Gazing at the empty and clean plate, I finally returned to my senses and looked around.


    Since the moment I ate the first bite, all I thought of was the steak and nothing else and had no idea what was going on around me¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    It seems like Ralf and Esta had a similar experience as myself as they had quickly emptied their plates as well.


    ¡°That was really delicious¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..no seriously, what kind of meat is this?¡±


    ¡°This, my friend, is wyvern meat. My store is the only place in the entirety of Edestor that serves Wyvern meat.¡±


    ¡°Wyvern meat¡­¡­¡­? Wait by wyvern, you really mean the same wyvern we¡¯re all thinking about right?¡±


    ¡°Ehehehe! Shocked, are ya Chris! Like you said, this is in fact the meat from the very same dragon-like Wyvern that you¡¯re thinking of! Wasn¡¯t it just mesmerizingly delicious?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think my brain went numb from how good the taste was.¡±


    ¡°Same here! I think I felt a bit dizzy from just tasting it!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even realize how quickly I went through it all¡­¡­¡­¡­I think that was the greatest thing I have ever eaten in my entire life.¡±


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    After my own, Ralf and Esta also gave their own impressions of the wyvern steak respectively.


    Seeing our reactions, Borns grinned happily.


    ¡°Well seeing you all¡¯s reactions makes it all worth it then! And looks like even Snow¡¯s having a great time, though that isn¡¯t wyvern meat as you¡¯d expect.¡±


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    Looking down, at some point it seems Snow had been brought some fresh raw meat to feast on as well. It was licking the plate on which the beef meat was brought on clean by now.


    ¡°I never could have imagined it¡¯d be this tasty. Bors, thank you for bringing us to the best place.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it! I¡¯ll be in your care for some time after all!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just leave it to us! We¡¯ll make sure you end up hella rich by the end!¡±


    ¡°Agreed. We¡¯ll be sure to pay back this favour two-fold!¡±


    All three of us had been completely reenergized and after waiting for Bors-san to finish his meal as well, we left [PekoPeko].


    We ate a lot but, the taste was so good, I could honestly go for another round.


    ¡­¡­¡­..or rather, I need to make a booking so that we can come again as soon as possible.


    ¡°Man that was delicious!¡­¡­¡­the aftertaste hasn¡¯t even disappeared yet!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still in shock honestly. I never imagined we¡¯d get treated to such a delicacy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you all seem so happy! How was it, Chris? Have I finally earned enough respect to be referred to by a formal suffix?!¡±


    ¡°Honestly, that wyvern meat alone could have earned it but¡­¡­¡­I won¡¯t just yet.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re one stubborn little bastard aren¡¯t ya! A¡¯ight then, then let me show you a nice Inn as promised and then end our little tour shall we?¡±


    Soon, the almost half day long tour of Edestor led by Bors, was finally coming to an end.


    Finally, the inn he wanted to show was close to the guild and [PekoPeko] and so we finally made our way there.

 CH 180

    Greeting


    From the looks, it looked like a pretty normal Inn.


    Compared to the [Tree Top Tower] we stayed in for a while in Oxter, it was slightly bigger and a bit more cleaner though I must say.


    ¡°So this is the Inn you wanted to recommend?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s also where I live as well! I¡¯ll show you around so c¡¯mon in!¡±


    The interior was all made of wood so it had an antique feel to it but, it was far from the dirty looking feel of [Shangri-la Hotel], and had this elegance to its look.


    We ignored the reception and were led in by Bors to a certain room.


    ¡°Wait here for a sec. ¡ª¡ª-Oi, it¡¯s me, Bors. Open up!¡±


    He gave the door a couple knocks, and spoke towards the door.


    ¡­¡­¡­.so Bors is living together with someone?


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    As we waited for the person inside, the door was finally opened after a while¡ª¡ªand from inside a slightly worn out man showed his face.


    His hair was all a mess but he had a striking, good-looking face.


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    ¡°Out of nowhere, what happened all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I ended up making a temp party with some people, so I¡¯m here to introduce you to them  as well!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to be introduced to anyone honestly. I¡¯m still sick, so let me sleep.¡±


    ¡± But I heard that you got much better! You¡¯re just saying that cuz you just find it a bother aren¡¯t you? C¡¯mon, at least greet them properly!¡±


    He pulled the young man out of the room and made him face us.


    The young man with unkempt hair looked pretty annoyed but he gave a slight bow as a greeting regardless.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I see, so he planned on introducing his party members alongside showing us his recommended Inn eh.


    ¡°This guy is one of my party members, Rufus! He may not look it, but he¡¯s actually the same age as me!¡±


    ¡°Hello¡­¡­..thank you for helping Bors out.¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s been a great help for us as well. I¡¯m Chris, and these two are Ralf and Esta.¡±


    He looked like he had a listless attitude, but his actual demeanour was quite low key.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.if he¡¯s the same age as Bors, then even with these looks, he was actually a middle aged man?


    Honestly he looked so much younger than that that my brain couldn¡¯t really recognize him as a middle aged man.


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    ¡°Until I¡¯m fully recovered, please take care of Bors for me¡­¡­¡­.is that enough?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! You can go back inside now!¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡­¡­..Then, I¡¯ll see you all once I¡¯m healthy again.¡±


    He gave another short bow and then returned back into his room.


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    I had heard that he was ill but he really looked quite down.


    ¡°You really didn¡¯t have to make him come out just to greet us honestly. He looked like he was in a rough state you know?¡±


    ¡°Nah, Rufus is more or less like that even when he¡¯s healthy! Besides, he just caught a bit of a cold, it¡¯s nothing serious in his case.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. Then is it this Rupert guy, that is the one with the more severe illness?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But, Rupert has been recovering as well so I¡¯ll introduce him to you once he¡¯s better¡­¡­¡­so anyway, how do you like the Inn? Pretty nice, no?¡±


    ¡°yeah, it¡¯s definitely nice but¡­¡­¡­what¡¯s the rent like?¡±


    ¡°1 silver and 5 copper for a night! If you want meals to go with it, add another 1 silver!¡±


    So a bit cheaper than [Gorush], the Inn we were staying in for now.


    This inn was definitely better in quality and was cheaper still so there was only one other point of contention.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice and all so I wouldn¡¯t mind switching here but¡­¡­¡­would this Inn allow Snow inside?¡±


    When I asked, Bors¡¯ smile froze up.


    I guess he really didn¡¯t think of that did he?


    ¡°I-I think it¡¯ll be fine right? The owner of this place is a nice person after all!¡±


    ¡°Being a nice person has nothing to do with it. We ignored the reception so we didn¡¯t even ask¡­¡­¡­Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Let¡¯s go back and ask right now!¡±


    We quickly returned back to the entrance and asked if pets were allowed, and as expected the answer was a clear no.


    Most places that focus so much on keeping things clean and tidy tend to refuse this. Well, I had a feeling that¡¯d be the case though.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry! I made you all come here for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s fine. Just think of it as if we came here just to meet Rufus. It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! You showed us a lot of great places already, Bors-san, no need to feel bad about this!¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡­¡­¡­.[PekoPeko] especially was incredible.¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    Recalling the steak again, both Ralf and Esta seemed lost in their thoughts again.


    And me too¡­¡­..recalled the taste again, and started to feel my mouth begin to water again.


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    ¡°It¡¯s true, the wyvern steak was impactful. I honestly want to eat it again already.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you guys enjoyed it that much, it really was worth all the trouble!¡±


    Anyway, once again, thank you for helping with the request as well as guiding us around Edestor¡­¡­¡­..Are you going to take on a request tomorrow again Bors?¡±


    ¡°I plan on doing so but are you guys planning not to?¡±


    ¡°No, we too plan on taking requests basically every day for the foreseeable future. If you will come as well, then we¡¯ll head out tomorrow together the same as today.¡±


    ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll be in your care again!¡±


    After giving one last proper thanks to Bors, since this was Bors¡¯ inn already, we separated from him and made our way back to [Gorush].


    From tomorrow, we¡¯re gonna bang out requests one after another and once we¡¯ve gathered enough money, I¡¯ll then head finally to the great forest of Roza to explore it.


    Until that time, let¡¯s keep on completing requests alongside Bors, shall we?


    In that time, I hope I can figure out the secrets behind Bors¡¯ fighting style, because it seems like I have no choice but to observe his battles closely and steal it for myself.

 CH 181

    Panicking


    ¡°Maan! I¡¯m glad Bors-san just happened to call out to us eh!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was quite the blessing to get friendly with someone so knowledgeable about Edestor.¡±


    ¡°He might seem a bit nosy but the steak from [Pekopeko] made it all worth it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that really caught me off guard! That taste you feel the moment it enters your mouth can only be described as shocking!¡±


    ¡°That really might be the most delicious thing I have ever eaten honestly.¡±


    On that note I wondered if it was specifically wyvern¡¯s that had such tasty mean or all Dragon-kin species had such a delicious quality meat.


    I had no idea, but if it was the later¡­¡­..I wanted to go out and hunt as many dragons I could; that¡¯s how tasty that meat was.


    Among all the dragon type monsters, Wyverns were at pretty much the lowest end of the spectrum when it came to strength.


    So would a higher class dragon have even tastier meat? My imagination was running wild.


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re gonna go all in on completing requests from tomorrow. There were a lot of interesting requests that we can take on.¡±


    ¡°I know right! Let¡¯s go back and go to sleep quickly! Maybe it¡¯s because it was our first job in quite some time, or just nervousness of the first request here in this city, I¡¯m feeling a lot more fatigued than always.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Umm, actually there was a place I wanted to visit so, can you two go back to the Inn ahead of me? Since it¡¯s already so late, I won¡¯t mind even if you go to sleep before I come back too.¡±


    While on the way back to [Gorush], Esta suddenly said that.


    Unable to think of where would she even want to go at this time, I ended up tilting my head in confusion.


    ¡°A place you want to visit? At this time no less?¡±


    ¡°I did consider going tomorrow as well but, if possible I¡¯d really like to at least pay a visit as soon as I can so¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°Where in the world are you planning on going?? We already visited all sorts of stores, didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to Phillip-san¡¯s place. He has a place here in Edestor actually.¡±


    Phillip¡­¡­¡­?


    ¡­¡­¡­..Ah, the old man that gave the Golem request.


    I didn¡¯t recall who that was instantly but now that I think of it, I do vaguely recall that the man did say he came all the way from Edestor.


    Esta then became an apprentice under him, and then learned intermediate magic.


    ¡°Oh yeah, he did come from Edestor didn¡¯t he? So you wanna go pay him a visit, is that it?¡±


    ¡°Yes! We only had limited time to train back then, so I could only learn intermediate magic but¡­¡­..there¡¯s a chance I can still learn more practical and effective magic, as well as even further higher level of magic as well from him so I really want to go and meet him as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Ohh now I recall who you both are talking about! That¡¯s the guy that taught intermediate magic to Esta right!? Then it should be fine to let her go visit him right? Though I don¡¯t know if his shop would be still open at this time!¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s true. But if its for Esta¡¯s further growth, perhaps it is better to at least pay a visit asap.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much! Then, I¡¯ll go and check out Phillip-san¡¯s store.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll go pay him a visit some other day as well so give him our regards as well when you meet him.¡±


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll be sure to do that.¡±


    And so, Esta left us to go and pay Phillip a visit.


    I didn¡¯t actually have this in mind but having Esta¡¯s teacher right here in Edestor might be a great benefit on top of everything else.


    Esta¡¯s overall strength went up by quite a bit after she learnt intermediate magic, and if she can learn even advanced level magic from him, then¡­¡­¡­


    Esta might really grow explosively from there.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Ralf, are you panicking a little again?¡±


    ¡± It¡¯s not even ¡®a little¡¯ at this point!! I had completely forgotten about the golem guy. Now Esta has a teacher and you, Chris, obviously have the great forest to go and explore new poisonous plants, and Snow just sorta gets stronger out of nowhere anyway¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯m panicking a lot, I¡¯ll be honest.¡±


    After seeing Esta off, Ralf seemed to stop talking so I asked but it seems he really is in full panic mode now.


    As for Ralf¡¯s own teacher, Leon¡­¡­..had passed away, and unlike me and Snow he can¡¯t get stronger on his own so he has no choice but to find a new master to grow.


    ¡°Well if you want advice I¡¯m always here to help. That said, since you¡¯re fully specialising as a tank now, there¡¯s only so much I can do when it comes to fighting related advice.¡±


    ¡°Chris, thanks anyway! I¡¯ll keep working hard so as to not fall behind you and Snow too much, so don¡¯t give up on me just yet!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have always had high expectations of you.¡ª¡ª¨CYou are still going to be the greatest adventurer in the world, right?¡±


    ¡°Damn right!!¡±


    While walking through the still pretty busy main street, us two guys fist bumped.


    If he¡¯s like this, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll figure something out on his own even without my help.


    I am a bit worried that he might get a bit too impatient and do something stupid but, well, that¡¯s where I¡¯ll have to come in a stop that from happening beforehand.


    With Snow in tow, who was looking at us curiously, we made our way back to our inn.

 CH 182

    Temp Party Dissolution


    Since the Ogre subjugation request, approximately two weeks had passed.


    In that time, we continued finishing platinum rank requests alongside Bors, and finally after today¡¯s request, we all promoted to platinum rank.


    Since his party member Rufus who had been out with a cold had also recovered and returned, we finally decided to dissolve our temp party with Bors as well.


    ¡°Bors-san! Thank you for everything till now! Not just the requests, but you also helped us with many other things!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! If not for Bors-san, we really wouldn¡¯t have been able to complete all these requests so well until now.¡±


    ¡°Like these two said, thanks a lot, Bors. You were a huge help.¡±


    After reporting the completion of our last request with Bors, a RhinoDuck subjugation, we all gave a our words of gratitude towards Bors.


    At first I thought he was a shoddy and suspicious adventurer but, his ability was real and he went out of his way to introduce us to all sorts of great places in Edestor.


    Thanks to Bors, we were able to settle in Edestor very quickly and were able to avoid all sorts of problems.


    ¡°Oh stop it you guys! It¡¯s only natural to help friends in a pinch right! Besides, thanks to you guys, I also made a hefty profit so if anything, thank you for partying up with me!¡±


    With a refreshing smile, Bors thanked us back and we firmly shook hands with each other.


    ¡°But still¡­¡­¡­in the end, I wasn¡¯t able to get Chris to use formal suffixes for me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much. My standards are just unrealistically high that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s exactly why I wanted it!!¡±


    Bors really was fussing over getting me to use formal speech for him till the very end.


    Honestly, it¡¯s because he was so desperate that I refused to do so in the end but¡­¡­..I¡¯d rather not tell him that at this point.


    ¡°But to be honest, I never really grasped how your fighting style works. I realize how incredible what you do is but, I couldn¡¯t really figure out what thisincredible thing is till the end.¡±


    Yes, in the end, I never really fully comprehended how Bors was able to fight Monsters like that.


    I watched him fight many, many times since then but, all I could tell was that he was fighting normally and everything else just didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡­¡­..but, if it really was a normal fighting style, then the monsters he faced and beat should have won considering they all had far more raw strength than Bors.


    This oddity was something I just couldn¡¯t clear out till the end.


    ¡°Well even if you say that¡­¡­¡­.I really can¡¯t think of anything special that I do in battles, so I really can¡¯t help you there! Well, maybe when we both have some free time, I can show you how I fight directly against you so maybe that¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s something to look forward to. If we fight each other, perhaps I will figure out the secret behind your fighting style.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll contact you when I have the time to fight!¡­¡­¡­.Anyway, it was a lot of fun! It was only a mere two weeks but, it was nice to complete some requests with bunch of young ones! If you lot see me at the guild, be sure to stop and chat every once in a while!¡±


    Saying that, Bors walked away while waving us goodbye.


    We all gave a bow towards his back as he left and then we returned as well.


    .


    After returning back to [Gorush], while eating the parcelled food that we picked on our way, we began discussing our next plans.


    In these two weeks, thanks to completing only platinum rank quests one after another, we have saved up a lot of money.


    From tomorrow, I¡¯m thinking we each spend some time dedicated to our training.


    ¡°As for our plans from tomorrow, I¡¯m thinking of heading to the great forest of Roza by myself.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good no? I was thinking it was about time too!¡±


    ¡°I think so as well!¡­¡­.as for us two who remain, should we continue doing requests?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to talk about actually but, do you guys want to keep doing requests for now?¡±


    When I asked, both put their hands on their chins and began pondering over it.


    Even if I say to train during this time, for these two, completing requests itself is a great form of getting stronger as well.


    The surroundings of Edestor were filled with strong monsters and in these two weeks, Ralf and Esta, and even Snow had been consistently getting stronger.


    As for me, unfortunately no matter how many monsters I fight and no matter how much battle experience I gain, my body itself would show no real sign of growth so, I need to head to the great forest of Roza but¡­¡­..


    For these two, they¡¯ll keep getting stronger even if they continue doing requests.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine if we keep doing requests! We get to keep making money, and there¡¯s always things you¡¯ll learn when fighting all sorts of monsters after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I will have to unfortunately object against Ralf¡¯s opinion as I would like to not do requests during this time. Of course I understand wanting to make money and get stronger that way but, I really want to go and learn under Phillip-san properly again.¡±


    As expected, Esta obviously prioritized learning new magic over doing more requests.


    I had been expecting this since she went and met the golem guy but, whenever I¡¯m off to the forest, Esta can go learn more magic under him.


    But that would leave Ralf on his own unfortunately.


    ¡°That¡¯s what Esta thinks so what do you have to say about that Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Well if that¡¯s what she plans on doing, I ain¡¯t gonna stop her you know? I mean I have a lot money saved up over the last two weeks as well so I guess I can do some personal training as well!¡±


    ¡°if Ralf¡¯s okay with it, let¡¯s all focus on our independent activities for the next couple weeks then. You two okay with that right?¡±


    ¡°Ou! I¡¯m good!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that as well¡­¡­¡­What about Snow then?¡±


    Hearing its name called by Esta, Snow stopped eating its dinner and looked towards us.


    Honestly speaking, considering how strong it already is, we can let it do whatever as well but¡­¡­..


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it alongside me to the great forest of Roza. If I let it free wherever I create my base there, it¡¯ll even find it¡¯s own food and stuff and manage.¡±


    ¡°in that case, I¡¯ll leave it to Chris!¡±


    ¡°Agreed. Please take care of Snow!¡±


    And thus, with our plans for tomorrow onwards settled, we finished our dinner and began cleaning up.


    Afterwards, Esta went to bathe, so I decided to ask Ralf what he plans to do from tomorrow in detail.


    I know he said that he had ideas but¡­¡­¡­


    I was a bit suspicious whether he actually did or not.


    ¡°Ralf, you sure you¡¯ll be fine by yourself from tomorrow? You didn¡¯t just say that for the sake of it without having any real plan¡­¡­¡­right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine! Actually, I¡¯m thinking of heading to the dungeon!¡±


    ¡°The dungeon? Alone?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Well Chris, you said that we¡¯re going to avoid dungeon for a while didn¡¯t you? From what I heard from Bors, although rare, there are some people who challenge the dungeon solo so I was thinking of doing the same thing!¡±


    I¡¯m glad he wasn¡¯t without ideas but¡­¡­..solo dungeon diving eh?


    Dungeons were obviously dangerous, and Klaus¡¯ academy classmates were there as well.


    To be honest, I wanted Ralf to reconsider doing that but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll listen at this point.


    Ralf had been looking forward to visiting the dungeon since we started gathering info in Norfast all that time ago.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..just make  sure to be very, very careful. Not just from monsters, but there¡¯s also the academy people there alright?¡±


    ¡°I know man! I¡¯ll be extra cautious as I go through the dungeon!¡­¡­¡­Also, one more thing, is it okay if I blow all the money I saved up over these past two weeks?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my money but yours so I don¡¯t really care but, be sure to not skip out on paying the Inn rent alright?¡±


    ¡°Oh I think it¡¯ll be fine! I mean I will make more money from the dungeon as well, or at least that¡¯s what Bors-san told me!¡±


    I feel like he¡¯s not planned it all out as far as I hoped he had but, no need to rain on his parade either.


    If he, for whatever reason, is unable to make money from the dungeon, he can always shift back to completing requests and earn money that way.


    ¡°As long as you can make money, it¡¯s fine. That said, I¡¯m pretty sure we all made quite a lot so¡­¡­..to blow it all means, you¡¯re finally gonna buy that sword?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! The tamahagane (Iron Sand steel) sword as well some items to help me with my dungeon diving.¡±


    ¡°I thought so¡­¡­¡­so our tank will have a sword better than myself eh.¡±


    ¡°Then you can buy one too no? You also have a lot of money after all!¡±


    Thanks to Ralf, my own materialistic desires were trying to overcome me but, I only just bought a new sword In Norfast, I can¡¯t splurge on another one so soon.


    I barely used it even over these past two weeks.


    ¡°I literally just bought mine so no. I can¡¯t be wasting money that much.¡±


    ¡°Damn, both you and Esta have a lot of self control! If I see something I like, I end up buying it instantly!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really true. When I start raising my abilities, I tend to splash a whole lot of money on assessments without any restraint after all.¡±


    Since I hadn¡¯t gone to the great forest of Roza yet, there had been no need to do any assessments but as always, when the time comes, I¡¯ll have start throwing money like its nothing again.


    In my head, ability assessments were more important than a better sword so this wasn¡¯t really self control as he thought it was.


    ¡°Now that you say, Chris does throw a lot of money at the church huh!¡­¡­..Well, anyway, that¡¯s pretty much my plans for tomorrow onwards! I have thought it all out so don¡¯t you worry.¡±


    ¡± Yeah I see that, and I am in fact relieved to know that as well. Good luck with dungeon.¡±


    ¡°You too, good luck with the forest exploration! It seems like this forest is filled with all sorts of dangerous monsters after all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be extra careful as well.¡±


    With that, our conversation came to a stop so we ended our chat there.


    Once again, from tomorrow, both me and Snow will be heading to the great forest of Roza to explore.


    Ralf would go dungeon diving solo, meanwhile Esta will train her magic under the old golem guy.


    We¡¯ll all be working on our own things separately but, these are all the best ways to get stronger for all of us respectively.


    I¡¯m excited to see how much each of us will have grown when we reunite a couple weeks from now.

 CH 183

    The Great Forest of Roza


    The next day.


    After a doing an early shopping run, I left Edestor alongside Snow.


    My destination was of course, the great forest of Roza to the South.


    I had explored every nook and cranny of both the Peixa forest and the Carlisle forest, but this was the ¡°great¡± forest of roza, much bigger and vast than the previous two.


    According to the info I have gathered, it was many times bigger than the Carlisle forest and there were still things that hadn¡¯t been explored or left unknown within this forest.


    And so of course, a lot of rumours had been created when it came to a mysterious forest like this¡­¡­.one of those was the one regarding the Fruit of Skill.


    In Botanist Otto¡¯s records as well, it was written that if the Fruit of skill could be anywhere, the great forest of Roza was the likeliest contender.


    If this frit really could be found somewhere in the unexplored regions of this forest, then finding it would provide me the shortest route to becoming the ¡®strongest¡¯, no matter how much time it takes to find it.


    Thanks to Ongneer, I have come to truly realize just how important skills are to a person¡¯s strength.


    Even common skills alone had enhanced my strength to a previous unimaginable level.


    If I could learn how to get more unique skills, just imagine how strong I could get¡ª¡ª¨Chonestly, I couldn¡¯t even imagine it.


    Of course, I¡¯m not going to put all my chips betting on a fruit that might not even exist so my first objective will be to find out the five main ability raising plants and if possible, another Ongneer as well¡­¡­¡­


    As for new and undiscovered poisonous plants, of course I¡¯ll be gathering those as well.


    With all sorts of thoughts flowing through my head, I assigned Snow with handling the enemies on the way, as we travelled towards the forest.


    .


    .


    Three hours since I left Edestor.


    Thanks to us aggressively avoiding any monsters on the way as well as walking fast in general, we reached the forest a lot faster than I originally expected.


    A sea of trees worthy of being called a great forest was spread out in front of me.


    Unlike Carlisle forest, there was no presence of people here, and there were multiple a signboard on the way that said that this place was ¡®danger¡¯ or ¡®off limits¡¯.


    Not just the size of the forest, but the dangers within it were also in a whole different level than the ones before.


    I¡¯d be lying if said I wasn¡¯t nervous at all but, more than that I was excited.


    ¡°Snow, don¡¯t let your guard down even for a second.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    Saying that to Snow at the entrance of the forest¡­¡­..I stepped inside the great forest of Roza for the first time.


    Sunlight still passed through the trees just enough, and the eerie feeling that I felt when watching it from outside also reduced when I actually stepped inside.


    The sound of branches swaying in the wind, the cries of animals, and the footsteps of monsters; all could be heard coming from all four directions, showing it was a lively forest just like the Carlisle forest.


    The noise did make sensing approaching monsters harder but if I had to pick between a quiet forest or a lively forest, I¡¯ll take a lively one all day.


    Once you got used to the Peixa forest, it was fine but at first I was scared to bone of staying there.


    Too much silence makes your thoughts wander to various places, and it¡¯s easy to let your mind run into a negative direction.


    On that regard, a lively forest made me feel much calmer. Thinking that, I first began searching for a place to make into my new base.


    Ignoring all the new plants I saw and monsters I sensed, I continued walking deeper into the forest to find a suitable location.


    My current plan is to make  base and then start exploring with the base as the centrepoint. And depending on when the exploration of that area is done, I¡¯ll then move to make a new base someplace else.


    It would be like slowly expanding your territory inside the forest, and I am thinking I¡¯ll have to make at least 10 bases to cover the whole forest.


    And so my first base will be someplace not too far from the entrance of =the forest either.


    As far as candidates for good bases go, the number one on my list was always going to be a monster nest.


    That wasn¡¯t my aim in Carlisle forest originally but, that¡¯s how impressed I was with the goblin base that my thinking had changed.


    Of course, to use a monster base meant having to exterminate an entire herd of monsters which wasn¡¯t exactly safe but, the merits of doing that far too great compared to the demerits.


    First I¡¯ll look for a monster nest, if I don¡¯t find one, then I¡¯ll try to find a place close to water body to turn into a base.


    While using [Life presence sense] [Perception enhancement] [Perception range enhancement] and [Hearing enhancement], I searched for a base for about an hour.


    My detection skills didn¡¯t catch anything but suddenly Snow howled while looking towards the southwest direction.


    I still wasn¡¯t sure if it understood my words or not but I had still told it look for a big group of monsters so¡­¡­¡­..it must have found one I imagine.


    Giving the signal to not rush ahead and stick with me, I slowly began walking towards the southwest direction.


    The cost on stamina was great but while using 4 skills simultaneously, I walked through the forest at maximum vigilance.


    The moment I detect anything with my skills, I will activate [Silent Steps]¡ª¡ª-while planning my actions, I too suddenly sensed a big group of monsters ahead of me.


    ¡°Even with all the skills, I¡¯m still no match for Snow eh¡­¡­¡­.Snow, you really are amazing.¡±


    I hid behind a tree for the moment, and praised Snow by patting its head.


    The issue was the strength of the presences that I had detected but, perhaps it was because I wasn¡¯t too close yet as the from what I could tell from here, this group wasn¡¯t exactly too strong.


    Anywhere between a goblin and a Venom Python, I¡¯d say.


    In the end I couldn¡¯t make a final decision until I see with my own eyes what kind of monsters were they but, if the presence is only this strong, it should be fine to approach closer.


    ¡°Snow, be sure to not make any noise. Even if you see monsters, don¡¯t rush ahead until I give the signal.¡±


    ¡°Au.¡±


    After seeing it make a small soft bark in confirmation, I slowly made my way towards these presences.


    Their numbers were around 18 total. Now their individual presence was strong, but not so strong as to make me worry.


    After reaching a place from where I could see these monsters, I cautiously peeked to see the place where all these monsters were gathered.


    In the middle of the forest, there was like a small village built here.


    Well, I call it a ¡®village¡¯ but really it was just a bunch of house made of branches and straws that¡¯s all.


    And the residents of this village were¡­¡­¡­.a herd of Orcs.


    It was the first monster I ever hunted all the way back in Peixa forest, and also the monster of the first emergency request I took in Oxter.


    And now the first monster I face here in Roza forest was also Orc; seriously, I seem to have some mysterious connection to these things.


    ¡­¡­..but with this, I had made the decision to take their base from them.


    Compared to the goblin nest, this wasn¡¯t exactly in a better condition by any means but it¡¯ll suffice.


    I could also see a water body nearby, and there was a cliff nearby making a wall on the south side of the base.


    With a little work, it¡¯ll turn into a nice enough base for us.


    Having made the decision to attack, first of all I confirmed the overall strength they had here.


    Ummm¡­¡­.so 8 normal Orcs, 5 Orc Soldiers, and 3 Orc Knights.


    And then there was one more Orc general and¡ª¡ª¡ªone more Orc with a strong presence that I could sense.


    Something stronger than a general¡­¡­¡­An Orc King I imagine.


    I had never seen one and had only heard rumours but, it is the monster that leads and keeps an Orc army together, and was by far the strongest type of Orc in both raw strength and ingenuity.


    Orc King also a possessed a special skill that could raise the strength of all allied Orcs as well, so the bigger the number of Orcs it had under its rule, the more problematic it was to deal with them.


    On its own, the subjugation rank was said to be Mithril but, if its leading an army, it would be a diamond rank request, or so I¡¯ve heard.


    If it had like a hundred Orcs under it ro something, I¡¯d be already running away but, if it¡¯s just 18 total, I can make this work.


    I ordered Snow to slowly circle to the right to corner them from both sides, meanwhile I, cut in straight from the front and headed towards the Orc herd.

 CH 184

    Orc nest


    The worst thing would be to get surrounded.


    I leave the Orc general and the Orc king for the last as they probably won¡¯t go down easily, and chose to quickly deal with all the normal Orcs first and foremost.


    I activated the skills [Flesh Enhancement] [Physical Ability boost] [War Dance]


    ¡­¡­¡­and also, [Ability Unleashed]


    The skill I plundered from Carlo.


    This was my first time using it in a real battle, but I had practiced with it quite a lot of times.


    The three skills mentioned earlier are the type that use stamina to enhance your physical ability, however [Ability Unleashed] was a skill that instead used stamina to unlock the max limits of your body.


    Humans are said to unconsciously limit themselves to using only about 20% of their total ability to keep their body safe, but this skill allowed one to remove that limit and use the maximum of your abilities.


    T put it simply, this skill could potentially increase your strength by almost 5 times more.


    But, the backlash from using it would be extremely intense and so when I started practice the most I could manage was a couple minutes and that too at only twice my strength.


    On top of that, you have to re-adjust each and every output of your body which was very tough, so I had been hesitant in using it in a real battle but¡­¡­.


    In the last two weeks, after intense sessions of practice, I had finally managed to adjust myself into using 30% of my overall strength consistently. A full 10% increase than normal.


    I never thought I¡¯d end up using it for the first time against an entire herd of monsters but with proper use of [Flesh Enhancement] [Physical Ability boost] [War Dance]and [Ability Unleashed],¡ª¡ª-I could handle any number of monsters right now.


    An Orc that finally noticed me approaching towards them, quickly picked up a spear that had been leaning against one of their shoddy houses, and roared to call and alert its fellow Orcs.


    I did originally consider starting with a surprise attack, but I think it¡¯s better to give that role to Snow this time instead.


    I will approach them boldly and openly, gathering all the attention to myself and then while they are distracted, Snow will ambush them from behind.


    To make sure that Snow doesn¡¯t get put in too much danger, as well to test my newfound strength, this was the best plan.


    Before the Orc King comes out from the inner most hut¡ª¡ªlet¡¯s quickly get rid of all the remaining Orcs.


    I unsheathed my steel sword, and raised a war cry myself as I lunged straight at the group of normal Orcs.


    [Silent Steps] [Gale]


    From all my skills, my physical ability had already been enhanced enough but with [Ability Unleashed], I was able to produce an even faster speed that I didn¡¯t know I had in me.


    I rushed in towards the Orc from the front, but due to [Silent Steps], the sound of my movement disappeared, and the Orc completely lost sight of me due to my speed.


    While the Orc was still looking in the spot I was originally standing in, I rushed in straight near it and then swung down my sword.


    I barely felt any resistance in my hand as my sword sliced through its entire body instantly.


    I side stepped to avoid getting the spurting blood on myself, as the Orc who been torn open from the chest to its belly, fell to the ground in a pool of gushing blood.


    ¡­¡­¡­that¡¯s the first one down, but really, I was now so much stronger that it didn¡¯t even feel like I was in a battle.


    It felt more like I was just swinging a sword at an unmoving object instead.


    As someone who doesn¡¯t really get strong from simply killing monsters and need to fight against truly strong enemies to gain anything at all, enemies like these were honestly worthless.


    As I thought of such things while I looked over on to the corpse of the Orc¡ª¡ª-I moved my sights towards my next target.


    Since the now dead Orc had made a cry for help before it died, a bunch of Orc from within their settlement were now rushing towards me.


    After all, their enemy was just one small guy.


    Maybe because of that, they didn¡¯t seem very cautious and all that had come here were normal type Orcs.


    If the Orc King had come out and had taken command of the troops, perhaps it would have turned into a more interesting situation but, as it is now, no matter how many normal orcs come, they are not even worthy of being my opponent.


    Just like the first Orc, I intended to cut through all these Orcs as well¡ª¡ªso I rushed straight at the group coming at me.


    I cancelled [Ability unleashed] [Physical ability boost] and [Gale] for now as they had a heavy stamina cost, and approached them with just [Flesh Enhancement] [War Dance] and [Silent Steps].


    Honestly speaking, I could beat them even without these 3 skills as well but, it¡¯s not a good thing to be that careless.


    I jumped straight into the middle of a group of 3 Orcs, chopped the head off of the one on the right, stabbed into the heart of the one of the left, and then sliced the one the middle from the shoulder, diagonally across.


    In a matter of seconds, another three Orcs were down.


    I didn¡¯t miss the fact that the Orcs that saw this happen, all faltered in their place and I rushed straight towards the Orcs that were now thinking retreating, and the horizontally slashed through one¡¯s belly.


    Then, I moved to the next Orc that was thinking of screaming for help, and before any voice could come out of its mouth, I chopped its head off.


    6 of the normal ones were dead now, and only 2 more remained.


    With their numbers this low, I¡¯ll be fine even if reinforcements come but¡ª¡ªmaybe they lost their mind seeing 6 of their comrades get slaughtered so quickly, the remaining 2 orcs picked up their spears and decided to charge at me instead.


    I call them spears, but they were handmade ones made out of wood. And their ¡®armour¡¯ was nothing more than some shabby cloth.


    It¡¯s not like they were skilled either so they had no choice but to overpower me physically to have  a chance at winning but, of course, my raw physical strength was also higher.


    While they technically had numerical advantage, I had already insta-killed a group of three so¡­¡­¡­.without even getting touched, I sliced them both down in an instant.


    All that remained were the higher species Orcs that were currently inside their huts still.


    I circled back from the left and gave the ¡®wait¡¯ hand sign to Snow who was still lurking in the shadow of the trees, and then pushed open the door to one of the nearby huts.


    Inside I found three Orc Soldiers and one Orc knight, oh and also an immense bestial stench that assaulted my nose.


    I was thinking of slaughtering them inside as is but, I don¡¯t think I want to fight in a room filled with this horrible stench.


    I closed the door while acting like I was frightened from seeing the Orcs, and then stood some distance away and soon¡ª¡ª¨Cbaited my acting, an Orc Soldier jumped out of the hut.


    While snorting with excitement the Orc Soldier came out probably intending to hunt me down, but the moment it left the hut and the view of the 8 dead Orc corpses came into its view, it¡¯s body froze up.


    It must be bewildered and confused, but disregarding that from behind, the Orc Knight also came out and pushed the Orc Soldier towards the front.


    Getting pushed from behind, the Orc soldier trying to regain its balance and stop itself from falling over only to end up right in front of me, where I was stood waiting for them.


    And against this defenseless Orc Soldier, I simply brought down my sword with full strength and sliced in two.


    Seeing that, the two other Orc soldiers who came out also froze up but the Orc Knight remained calm, and quickly roared to call its comrades.


    In comparison to the previous normal Orc¡¯s cry that was high pitched, this one was lot more deeper and low pitched.


    It¡¯s not like I can understand Orc tongue but, I¡¯m pretty sure that this roar probably implied an emergency of the highest order.


    Before the remaining orcs show up, I should probably get rid of these ones in front of me.


    Ignoring the Orc soldiers and their rusty swords, I charged straight at the Orc Knight who was armed with a greatshield and a spear in its left and right hands respectively.


    Since Ralf and Esta fought the Orc knights during the emergency request in Oxter, this was technically my first time fighting one.


    It felt similar to fighting Ralf, if I had to say.


    After all the duels with Ralf I had realized that I wasn¡¯t very good against enemies that were good at guarding, but this is no place to be making excuses.


    The great shield was made out of rock.


    I could unleash all of my skills but I don¡¯t want to spend too much stamina before facing the Orc King either.


    I held back on skill usage and chose to outdo it with skill and raw strength.


    I cancelled [Silent Steps] as well, and intentionally made noise as I approached from the right and swung my sword.


    Since it was meant to be a feint, I didn¡¯t put that much strength behind my swing, but it ended up staggering the Orc Knight pretty heavily regardless.


    It looks like I could just overpower it with brute strength if its like this but¡­¡­¡­.now¡¯s not the time to overthink it and be change strategy.


    I activated [Silent Steps] again, and quickly circled towards the left side and slashed at the Orc knight.


    The great shield resulted in poor vision for the orc knight so it was probably dependant on sound to keep track of me but unfortunately for it, I happened to have the perfect counter for that¡ª¡ª


    It was left unable to react to my silent movement and I was able to cut open the defenceless Orc knight apart.


    Since it was a guard specialist opponent, I unconsciously used Ralf as the basis for my tactics, but compared to him, this Orc knight was basically a cute animal.


    I turned away from the fallen orc knight and looked towards the remaining Orc soldiers.


    Seeing the Orc knight fall, they finally began to move again after being frozen in fear but, the fear was still there clearly, as the tips of their iron swords were shaking even while pointed towards me.


    It¡¯s not like I enjoy a one-sided massacre but, unfortunately I couldn¡¯t go easy on them in this situation either.


    I need to get rid of them quickly as the remaining Orcs and the Orc King will come here, so I quickly rushed in to kill them.


    After striking the sword away from the hands of the Orc Soldier, I simply thrust my sword into its heart to finish it off.


    The last remaining Orc was distracted from seeing its brethren fall so quickly, so I used that opportunity to circle round behind it and chop its head off.


    Because of Ongneer I had started fighting with a habit of keeping the heads and hearts of my enemies intact so it was quite relaxing to not have that limitation on me anymore.


    Well, as for the Orc King, I still have been thinking of not destroying its heart as I could always find another Ongneer in this forest as well.


    As I took a breather after killing the 3 Orc soldiers and the orc knight¡­¡­..all the Orcs that had heard the call from the knight had come out from their huts.


    And this time, it wasn¡¯t just a small group, it was all the remaining Orcs that had come out.

 CH 185

    The Golden Orc


    The remaining Orcs were 2 Orc Soldiers and 2 Orc Knights.


    And of course, the Orc general and the Orc king, one each.


    If they had heard the noises of the battle going outside and had come out together from the start, even I would have had been in trouble but, they were too late.


    Seeing the corpses of their brethren laying around the settlement, the Orc King¡¯s body was quivering with rage.


    It was a size bigger than even the Orc general, and had shiny golden fur.


    It held an imposing looking sword in its hands, and you could tell even from a glance that it was a level above the Orc general.


    But again, if compared individually, it was still not much of a threat to me now.


    The Orc King gave some orders quick and made the Orc soldiers and the Orc knights charge at me.


    The skill that I had heard about, the one that raises its ally¡¯s strength, had also been activated it seems as the Orc rushing towards me were glowing red.


    ¡­¡­¡­I remember seeing this red glow though.


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    If I recall, the Orc General used this red glow as well during the emergency request.


    When covered in that red glow, its physical abilities were increased, so I should assume the Orcs coming towards me have the same buff.


    Before this fight begins, I quickly gave the signal to Snow who was to my left.


    Until now it hadn¡¯t taken part but now that all the Orcs were out in the open, it was the right time to launch its surprise attack.


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    Since they were all focused directly at me, I signalled it to attack the Orc general from the side.


    Snow, who had been patiently waiting, instantly rushed out and lunged at the Orc general.


    To make sure that Snow doesn¡¯t get caught between the general and the king, I need to also quickly get rid of the Orc in front me.


    [Ability Unleashed] [Physical Ability Boost]


    I reactivated these two skills that I had stopped using to save stamina, and rushed in to kill the remaining Orc soldiers and knights with full strength.


    The knights were in front and the soldiers were behind them, in terms of formation.


    The knights would try and suppress me and the soldiers would attack during openings¡ª¡ªor well that¡¯s probably their plan but, they¡¯ll need to bring at least someone of Ralf¡¯s capabilities if they want to try and suppress me.


    On top of the previous two skills, I also activated [Gale].


    I instantly rushed in straight in front of the knights, further activated [Strong Arm][Hard Hit], and slashed at the rock greatshields.


    When I attacked the knight earlier, it only made a scratch but deflected off of it, but this time with all the skills activated, my sword smashed through the shield and sliced straight across one of the Orc Knight.


    The other Orc knight that was acting all calm until now, lost all composure and froze in its place after seeing this.


    It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand getting petrified from shock when something you never imagined happens but¡ª¡ª-I would also never let go of that opening either, would I?


    I stabbed my sword straight at the neck of the orc knight that had dropped its shield from shock, and slit its throat.


    As it fell to its knees, I brought down my sword from above to finish it off.


    The 2 Orc knights were already dead.


    The 2 Orc soldiers who really believed that they were well protected behind these two, began running backwards from fear after losing said protection.


    They ran back towards their King who had buffed them for help but¡­¡­¡­


    The King seeing them show their backs to me, slashed the retreating Orc and then smashed the other one¡¯s head with the side of the sword.


    I thought that it was enraged from seeing its brethren killed earlier but¡­¡­.


    Seeing it so ruthlessly kill its own kin for running away, even I flinched for a moment.


    But well, it saved me from more work I suppose.


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    Also, when I took a quick glance to the left from the king¡ª¡ª-Snow was happily wagging its tail with the Orc General¡¯s head in its mouth.


    While I was insta-killing the orc knights, Snow also instantly killed the Orc General it seems.


    I suppose, to Snow who could kill platinum rank monsters pretty easily, a mere Orc general was not much of an enemy anymore.


    Since I had kept it mostly waiting to the side, I kinda wanted to just let it attack the Orc King as well but¡ª¡ª¨Cthe king was my prey.


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    I signalled Snow to stand back again, and then began approaching the Orc King.


    It¡¯s gold fur seemed like it was shining under the light of the sun.


    Its sword was also not some cheap looking one like the rest of the Orcs, and I could see it had been maintained properly.


    It¡¯s pressure made it clear why it was at Mithril rank, a whole 2 ranks above the gold rank Orc general.


    Under this blood pumping, exhilarating sensation, I almost gave in to my instincts and activated [Mad Warrior] but I held on to my reason and held back from doing so.


    ¡­¡­..Sometimes when I¡¯m duelling with Ralf, I get overcome with a similar sensation as well.


    It feels like ever since my battle with Carlo¡ª¡ªMy body wants to relieve that adrenaline pumping sensation and craves that same sensation.


    I now understand why Alyazi-san was so fearful of this skill.


    ¡°UGUGAAUUUUUU! UGAGAGAGURAAAAA!!¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re saying but, you can come at me whenever you want. It¡¯s a classic 1v1, battle to the death.¡±


    As the Orc spoke things I didn¡¯t understand, I instigated it and told it attack me.


    It must have made this nest to raise an army of its own here but thanks to me, that dream had been shattered instantly, hence its rage.


    It¡¯s body shook from my provocation, and seemed to use a skill on itself as a gold aura covered the Orc King¡¯s body.


    Then , it took a stance with its sword, and charged at me.


    It speed was, well, just average I guess.


    It¡¯s strength seemed to higher than I originally thought so the best action would be to simply dodge it all but¡­¡­¡­.I decided to hold up my sword and clash swords directly with it.


    I didn¡¯t even think of dodging and I matched its swing with my own along with the activation of my own skills.


    [Ability Unleashed] to 30%.


    On top, I used [Strong Arm] [Hard Hit] and aimed directly at its sword as I swung my sword at it.


    Our swords clashed, and a explosive sound resounded in the great forest of Roza.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    A body numbing shockwave spread through me but unlike the Carlo fight, my sword didn¡¯t break this time.


    Seeing how the Orc King¡¯s sword was also fine, we both readied our swords and clashed again.


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    If I used even a bit more technique, I could parry it or dodge it and instantly end this battle but, it¡¯d be waste to not test my strength out against a rare strong enemy no?


    How much burden can my body take from all the skills, how durable really is this sword from [Ichiryuu] and how far could I go with [Ability Unleashed].


    Finally finding an enemy against whom I could test these things out without holding back, I didn¡¯t feel like ending the fight so soon.


    Everytime our swords clashed, I increased the limit from [Ability Unleashed] by 1%.


    After I had raised it to 35%, I was clearly the stronger one, and once I raised it further to 37% and swung my sword again, the Orc King was unable to hold on any longer and fell to its knees.


    But it showed no signs of giving up as it stood up again and charged at me again but¡ª¡ªbefore it could even swing its longsword, I swung mine faster and slashed through the Orc Kings body.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Honestly I wanted to keep on going a bit longer but even if it hadn¡¯t taken any damage, it must have gotten exhausted from this exchange of sword clashes, as the swing was simply too slow and my sword just rushed past it and sliced through its body.


    Having been cut deeply through, the Orc King was unable to hold on to its longsword raised overhead any longer, lost its balance and collapsed backwards.


    In terms of raw strength, this Orc King really was equal to Carlo, before he used all of his skills of course.


    I gave a sincere apology in my mind for selfishly attacking and destroying its nest for my own gain, and then dealt the killing blow to not make it suffer any longer.

 CH 186

    Disposal


    I was able to defeat even a mithril rank Orc King with quite ease and strength to spare.


    I think I have gotten a lot better at utilizing my skills, and this was probably the most fruitful battle I have had since coming to Edestor.


    Due to the recoil from the [Ability Unleashed] skill, I felt quite fatigued¡­¡­..but if its only this much, I could probably use [Fortification] or [Iron Wall], maybe even [Self Regeneration] and other such defensive skills to sharply reduce the pain on my body.


    The main issue was as always, my stamina. I used the skills quite delicately, constantly activating and deactivating them to keep things efficient, but still I ended up consuming a lot of stamina.


    My stamina stat was around 350 approx already but that still nowhere near enough¡­¡­..man, I am glad I had Alyazi-san teach me how to quickly activate and deactivate skills.


    I decided that my main focus from now should be towards raising my stamina stat, but before all that, I should be happy to have subjugated this Orc herd safely.


    I ran up to Snow who had followed my instructions perfectly and was currently waiting by the side, and gave it a bunch of headrubs to praise it for its hard work.


    I didn¡¯t really allow it to do much because I really wanted Snow to specifically deal with Orc General, but regardless, it did what I asked perfectly.


    ¡°Good job, Snow. Next time, I¡¯ll let you battle a stronger opponent by yourself okay?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    After playing for some time with Snow who also happily nuzzled its body with me, I finally began dealing with the corpses of Orcs.


    Since it would be a lot of trouble to bury the bodies of 18 ORcs that were all bigger in size than myself, I wanted to burn them all but¡­¡­¡­.


    Even with [heat Control], I could only generate a small fire, nothing more.


    If I increase the output, I could potentially create something lose to Esta¡¯s basic [Fire Ball] in terms of power but, before that I¡¯ll end up burning my own body instead as well.


    If I also had [Heat Resistance] like I had [Cold resistance] then things would be different but alas, you can¡¯t have everything go your way.


    I guess I have no choice but to use my skills to dig up a big hole and get rid of these bodies.


    I¡¯m thinking it might be time to ask Esta¡¯s teacher, the old golem guy, to seriously teach me magic as well.


    If it¡¯s just magic and mana, I have increased that a lot thanks to Eggmash.


    Even with my magic stat above 100, I still didn¡¯t understand even the M of Magic even after reading the Grimoire, so I do think a lot of it depends on natural born talent but still¡­¡­¡­


    I hope I can at least learn enough magic to burn the corpses of the monsters I hunt, or earth magic to bury them.


    While seriously pondering over such stuff, I continued digging a huge hole while being watched over by Snow.


    .


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­phew, it¡¯s finally done.¡±


    Honestly, digging this hole was tougher than actually fighting the entire herd.


    After burying all the corpses properly, I need to begin cleaning and turning this nest into a usable base for myself but¡­¡­


    Before that, I need Snow to do something for me.


    ¡°Snow, can you freeze the corpse of the Orc King for me?¡±


    Orc King¡¯s body was the only one I didn¡¯t freeze.


    Like I said, I wanted to save it in case I find an Ongneer inside this forest as well but, if I just let it lie here in the open it¡¯ll decay pretty quickly, not to mention the bugs, insects and monsters that¡¯ll get attracted to feed on it as well.


    I don¡¯t know if Snow could manipulate Ice magic enough to freeze a body, but if possible, I want to at least try it.


    I tried to explain what I wanted with hand gestures and motions as well, and I think Snow got what I was asking of it as it covered its fangs in Ice, and then bit on to the body of the Orc King and then just sat there waiting as slowly, the body of the Orc King freezing all over.


    ¡°Snow, I honestly didn¡¯t expect that you actually could do that.¡±


    And so, after a short while, the Orc King¡¯s body became encase in a block of ice.


    Surely with this, it should stop decaying completely for at least a couple of days.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..you really are amazing. When did you even learn to do this kinda stuff?¡±


    ¡°Awuu!¡±


    While praising Snow for a job well done as it ran around me in circles and howling, I placed the Orc King¡¯s frozen corpse in a corner.


    Snow did the job perfectly, so I should get to work and quickly complete our base now.


    Since the hole digging took a lot of time, the sun was already setting, so I hurried to fully complete the base.


    I¡¯ll leave the fence for later, and for now focused on cleaning and ventilating the orc huts, and to create a fire for food and light.


    I¡¯ll have to wait before using those huts though as I need the smell to completely disappear, so for the time being a I made a small temp house out of straw for myself.


    After completing that,¡­¡­.well, I should get something to eat and then go to sleep for the night.


    It¡¯s not perfect yet but with the temp house made, I can begin gathering poisonous plants from tomorrow as well.


    Earlier since I was mainly searching for a base,  I was not focusing on finding more plants but I still noticed a lot new and suspicious plants that I had never seen before.


    Perhaps I¡¯ll find a brand new way of strengthening myself¡ª¡ª¡ªwhile thinking of such things, my blood began to boil with excitement, wanting to explore, but I calmed myself for tonight and went to sleep.

 CH 187

    Searching for Poisonous Plants


    After safely spending the night at the base, I quickly left alongside Snow to begin my exploration of the great forest of Roza.


    The first item on the agenda was to find the 5 base stat raising poisonous plants with the help of my self-made guide, and only then would I begin looking for new plants.


    With the info I had written in my notes as my guide, I began exploring the areas I believed these plants would grow at.


    I tasked Snow with detecting enemies around us and hunting them, and I focused purely on finding the poisonous plants.


    My first target was Reizen grass, the endurance raising plant.


    Reizen grass grew mostly in the shade, but also where there was a good flow of air.


    Furthermore, it tends to grow near trees that specifically have rough feeling bark, so I looked for trees that I could tell even from afar that they¡¯d have a rough to touch bark.


    Since the great forest of Roza was massive, I had divided the entire forest area into four divisions, and right now, I was exploring the South area of the Roza forest.


    Honestly, even after dividing into four, each area was still pretty huge but¡­¡­¡­but it is better to not divide them further and complicate things.


    Our base was located to the south of the South Area, and right now I was about 30 minutes to the east of the base.


    I found a place with a large group of trees that all had very rough looking bark.


    Since there was a lot of space between every tree as well, this seemed like the right place where Reizen grass might grow¡ª¡ª-thinking that, I began my search and sure enough, I quickly found some.


    ¡°There it is. Looks like it¡¯s growing in the Roza forest as well, no problem.¡±


    With cute purplish flowers as its iconic characteristic, I found a dense group of Reizen grass growing here.


    Since it was a poisonous plant, there was no worry of it ever being eaten by herbivorous animals or monsters, and it was thankfully growing just like it always did in every other forest as well.


    ¡°Snow, I¡¯m going to start gathering some so be cautious of our surroundings. If you sense a strong monster nearby, quickly give me the signal.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    Leaving the guarding duty entirely to Snow, I began hauling Reizen grass into my bag.


    Since this place was close to my base, I made sure to leave enough that it can continue propagating in this area, and moved from tree to tree, finally ending up with a whole bunch of Reizen grass.


    Just like in Carlisle forest, I did consider fully uprooting some and planting them in the base itself but, it¡¯s a bit too early to start home gardening here.


    My base isn¡¯t even finished yet, and I don¡¯t have the time to start cultivating the land for that just yet.


    Right now I am focused on exploring every inch of the Roza forest first and foremost, home gardening and stuff will come only after that¡¯s done.


    While thinking of these things as I continued gathering, I finally finished harvesting as much as I could from this area.


    Let¡¯s continue looking for the areas that I have written down just like this, and hopefully collect all 5 types of plants before the end of the day.


    .


    I explored the entirety of the South area over the course of the day, and finally finished collecting all 5 types of poisonous plants that I wanted.


    The size of this forest was really no joke. I found all 5 types of plants within just the South region of the whole South area alone. It was truly incredible how big this forest was.


    Reizen grass was in east of the South region of the South Area, Genpei mushroom was in the centre of the south region of the South area, Lizaf fruits were thinly spread across the south of the South Area, Jinpi leaves were slightly to the north of the south region of the South Area, and Eggmash was to the west of the south region of the South area. (T/N; Ah yes. This is not confusing at all Chris)


    Turns out even the division into 4 main Areas was not enough so I had to further divide it into regions of the areas itself but¡­¡­¡­.regardless, I ended up finding all 5 types here itself and these were the general locations for them.


    The two I wanted the most right now, Reizen grass and Jinpi leaves were both in almost opposite directions which was a bit unfortunate, but I should just be glad I found them already.


    Since I had already filled 1/4th of my bag with just today¡¯s worth of gathering, I decided to sun-dry them all to extend their longevity.


    Tomorrow I¡¯ll focus mostly on more Reizen grass and Lizaf fruits. The day after, on Jinpi Leaves and more Lizaf fruits. And so and so forth. I¡¯ll continue gathering all the plants I need to strengthen myself like this.


    Also, in these next two days, I¡¯ll need to also finish the base somehow, and on the third day, I¡¯ll begin my search for Ongneer, I¡¯m thinking.


    I had still not found even a single one since that first one that had sprouted out of a goblin after all.


    I had made it work by continuing to propagate that same one over and over with different corpses while I was in Oxter but,¡­¡­¡­¡­honestly, I still lack info on that plant.


    I found it purely by a coincidence, so I had no idea if it had like a suitable environment it grew in or anything like that, so I¡¯ll just have to walk and walk, until I find another one.


    I¡¯ll have to look for that eerie, ominous atmosphere that it releases, and use that as guide to find one.


    I¡¯ll keep Snow continue re-freezing the Orc King¡¯s corpse every once in a while so it should last a bit more longer.


    I really, really wanted to absorb this Orc King¡¯s abilities but, I couldn¡¯t let myself get too impatient either


    As always, boots on the ground, and take it step by step. First, the gathering of the plants is my priority.


    ¡­¡­¡­..now then, with my plans for the near future set, I should start working on the base again eh.


    The first thing was to make a nice home to sleep in.


    I had thought with fully ventilating the Orc huts, I¡¯d be able to reuse them but the stench stuck to that place refused to disappear so that plan seems to have gone out of the window.


    It was so unhygienic that it genuinely might be better to make myself a new hut from scratch.


    I¡¯ll leave these huts still standing as sort of a camouflage, and build my own home in between them.


    Yesterday I built a temp home, which was basically just a roof of straws and leaves for a bed, but now I¡¯ll use that as the base and build an actual decent home around it.


    Man, the goblin cave in Carlisle forest really was perfect huh; while reminiscing of my old base, I continue working late into the night.

 CH 188

    The Vast Forest


    Around 4 days had passed since I entered the Roza forest.


    In these 4 days, during the day and afternoons, I¡¯ll go around the places I have marked to gather the poisonous plants, and from evening till late night, I¡¯ll focus on building my base.


    Thanks to all my work, I had finished a decent enough house, good enough to at least protect me from rain, wind and the cold. And I also built a similar house for Snow as well.


    The protective fencing around this base was still inadequate but, at least I was able to put one full circle of a small wooden fence around the area. Overall, a lot of progress had been made.


    As for the poisonous plants, I had gathered quite a big quantity of Reizen grass, lizaf fruit and Jinpi leaves; enough to last me at least a month.


    As for the Jinpi leaves, I plant to head to [Gaddfoura] and have it turned into potions of course.


    The base was coming along well and I had gathered quite a bit of poisonous plants as well.


    For the first trip to the forest, this was pretty successful already¡ª¡ª-now one last thing, I want to find an Ongneer plant here.


    According to Botanist Otto¡¯s Records, he had written that Ongneer definitely grew here in this forest.


    If anything, he had never found one in Carlisle forest actually¡­¡­.


    Since I found one where it was supposedly never meant to be, surely it has to exist here in the great forest of Roza.


    Since I had only been exploring the south region of the South Area until now, from here on, I plan to increase the range to entirety of the South area for my exploring and continue investigating every nook and cranny of this place.


    If possible perhaps I¡¯ll find some clues towards the Fruit of Skill as well, and I¡¯ll start gathering any new odd poisonous looking plants that I may find on the way too.


    Having finished my prep at the base, me and Snow left to look for the Ongneer.


    In the last four days I also came to a conclusion. As long as Snow¡¯s with me, I don¡¯t have to be worried of getting attacked by any monster here for the most part.


    The variety of monsters residing in this forest was huge but, they weren¡¯t as rampant as they were in Carlisle forest so if I stick with Snow, I¡¯m less likely to accidentally un into monsters.


    Outside of the Orc herd battle that I instigated myself, I only ran into a couple of monsters throughout the last four days, and even those were hunted down by Snow itself.


    And while I¡¯m busy building the base, Snow would even go into the forest alone and hunt animals for us for dinner. Seriously, Snow was a huge help to me now.


    Those days of Snow spending most of the day playing with a squirrel seemed so far away now. While reminiscing, I let Snow continue scout as we continued exploring the forest for Ongneer.


    .


    .


    From then, we continued searching every corner, nook and cranny of the entire area for the Ongneer but¡­¡­..


    After many days of not sensing anything, we continued going in a circle from south region of the South area, then west region of the south area and finally when we were exploring the east region of the South area¡ª¡ª¨CI sensed a presence similar to Ongneer here.


    This was the sixth day, since we began our search for the Ongneer.


    It took a whole lot of time but, we did gather other things in these six days so if this presence really was Ongneer, it would all have been worth it.


    ¡°Snow, you will stand by here. No matter what happens, you cannot come close alright?¡±


    Since it would be very dangerous for Snow to come anywhere close to Snow, I specifically warned Snow to stay in place, and then started walking towards the presence alone.


    You could always sense monsters nearby in this forest but the further I walked towards this supposed Ongneer, the lesser these monster presences became.


    Judging by this, there¡¯s a good chance that this was in fact actually an Ongneer.


    I suppressed both my rising expectations and impatience and carefully continued walking towards it when¡ª¡ª¨Cin slightly open area, where the sunlight was reaching in, I saw an Ongneer plant fully grown in all its glory.


    It was just one plant but, the pressure it was releasing was intense.


    The monster it used as its host was¡­¡­..one I had never seen before.


    It looked like a strong rabbit-esque monster and had scars all over its body.


    It was almost as big as myself in size, and it had spiked brass knuckles equipped to its hands.


    I had no idea what this monster was but I gave it my thanks for being strong enough to become a host for Ongneer, and then I approached closer.


    ¡­¡­¡­from just the look of it, it was similar to the Ongneer in Carlisle forest.


    Perhaps because the host monster was a strong one, the tree that had grown out of its heart looked splendorous and had a bright green fruit ripened on its branch.


    I plucked the fruit and collected it, and then wrote down the exact details of the location in my handwritten notes.


    I wrote down all sorts of details previously as well but on comparing, the only real similar characteristic to the Carlisle Ongneer was that it grew in a slightly open place, nothing more.


    They were hard to find, and reproducing the plant required fulfilling all sorts of tough conditions.


    I think perhaps Ongneer doesn¡¯t even have a natural habitat or environment where it grows.


    ¡­¡­¡­..Regardless, having found one was a great achievement.


    It was located in the west of the East region of the South area; making it quite far from the base but it was still in permissible range.


    Tomorrow, I¡¯ll bring the Orc King¡¯s corpse to this place, first thing in the morning and with that, my first exploration trip to the great forest of Roza will be marked as finished.


    Looks like I¡¯ll be able to continue doing here what I was in Carlisle before, and I even gathered more new interesting looking plants as well to test.


    Since the forest was so vast, I hadn¡¯t even fully explored half of one of the 4 areas that I had divided the whole forest into but, the fact that I had been able to find Ongneer alone was a huge success in and of itself.


    But, I didn¡¯t really fight much monsters in the great forest of Roza and I¡¯m sure there are still a lot more new plants to gather and check that I had missed this time around.


    I even sensed a stronger presence than the Orc King while I was searching for the Ongneer, and I haven¡¯t even properly begun my search for the Fruit of Skill yet.


    There was so much to do here that my head would start to spin just thinking about where to even begin but, my first goal was to make sure if I could continue my activities from Carlisle forest, here as well, and I have succeeded in that.


    Once I return to Edestor, I need to thoroughly go through all the info I have gathered here, check the effects of this new Ongneer, and then also discern whether any of the new plants I gathered had any effects.


    Also, I think I need to start gathering more info on the great forest of Roza itself as well.


    Furthermore,¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m going to need to draw a map for this place.


    Best case, the general store has a pre drawn map of the forest but, I doubt even the most curious type would have bothered to do so, so I¡¯ll probably have to do so myself.


    Honestly, there was so much stuff to do that my head was already starting to hurt but, just like during battles ¡ª¡ª¨Cno even more so than that, a sense of exhilaration rose within me. Moments like these did I truly feel alive.

 CH 189

    Back to Civilization after a Long While


    Another four days had passed since I found Ongneer.


    Since it took a far longer time to carry the Orc King¡¯s body to the Ongneer plant than I originally expected, by the time the rest of my work was finished, I had ended up staying here longer than I had originally planned.


    But I was able to safely place the ORc King beside the Ongneer, and now I just had to wait until it planted itself in it.


    Since I had to preserve the body for several days by freezing it, there were still doubts whether it¡¯ll work properly or not but¡­¡­¡­.the result will depend on the Ongneer itself.


    Shaking off my desire to keep on exploring the great forest of Roza, I packed up my stuff and prepared to return home.


    I had a mountain load of things that I needed to do so I can¡¯t waste even a little bit of time.


    It¡¯s been two weeks since I left Edestor and parted from those two.


    Since I¡¯m technically returning earlier than I originally planned, I can hardly expect too big of a growth from either of them but, I hope they have at least found the path that¡¯ll help them in their growth during this time.


    ¡°Snow, you ready? We¡¯re going back to Edestor now.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    After headpatting Snow who gave an energetic response, we left the base and made our way back to Edestor.


    .


    Thanks to Snow detecting any nearby enemies, we didn¡¯t run into any monsters on our way out of the Roza forest, and we safely made it back to Edestor.


    Although I did wash myself in a pond before coming back, walking in the crowd after spending a long time in the wild, still makes me a bit conscious, even though I¡¯ve done it so many times already.


    Hoping to quickly take a shower as soon as possible, I headed straight to [Gorush] without making any detours.


    By the time I made it back to Edestor, the sun had already begun to set, and it was already night by the time I made it back to the Inn, I wondered if either or both of them had come back to the room but¡­¡­.when I opened the door, it was still empty.


    Seeing the dreary empty room with no signs of Esta or Ralf, Snow made a lonely howl of disappointment.


    Ever since Edestor came into our view, it had been wagging its tail happily. Probably excited to meet Ralf and Esta again I assume.


    ¡°Well, might as well go and get cleaned up then. Snow, how about you come and get cleaned with me?¡±


    ¡°Awu¡±


    Putting my stuff inside the room, we decided to take a shower before the two returned.


    Since Snow usually took baths with either Esta or Ralf, it had been quite a while since I took a bath with Snow.


    Since it¡¯s gotten a lot bigger in the meantime, washing it properly might be a lot harder but Snow seemed to enjoy getting bathed so it wasn¡¯t a chore by any means.


    After standing under the shower myself, I then washed Snow next and we both washed off two week¡¯s worth of dirt and grime from the forest off of our bodies.


    After drying ourselves with a big towel, we both left the bath and¡ª¡ªperhaps he came back while we were bathing, as we saw Ralf relaxing in the room as usual.


    Snow, while still slightly wet, jumped straight onto Ralf with force resulting in him making a funny sound as they reunited.


    ¡°Owoww!! Ohh, Snow, you were taking a bath eh? Good to see still energetic as always! Any injuries¡­¡­.seems like there are none!¡±


    As he gently caressed it¡¯s fur, Snow nuzzled its face against Ralf happily.


    And of course, Ralf was also more than happy to give it lots of headrubs.


    ¡°Ralf, were you in the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I just came back, in fact I have been going to the dungeon basically everyday while you were in the forest! There¡¯s lots to talk about as well!¡±


    ¡°Same here. Let¡¯s have a meeting once Esta returns¡­¡­¡­¡­She will return, right?¡±


    ¡°I think so yeah. Unlike when she was training in Oxter, where she was recklessly working from early morning till night¡ª¡ª-well, she¡¯s being a bit more sensible, and usually is back around dinner.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s a relief.¡±


    And just as we were having such a chat, Esta came back at the perfect timing.


    Snow, who had been stuck to Ralf, the moment the noise of the door came, Snow ran in a straight line towards her.


    While laughing at Ralf who suddenly got all lonely, I too headed to greet Esta coming back home.


    ¡°Uwaah, oh¡­¡­Snow, you¡¯re back! Chris-san, welcome home! How was the great forest of Roza?¡±


    ¡°More amazing than I could have ever hoped. Let¡¯s talk in detail during dinner¡­¡­¡­..Did your training bear any fruit as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Phillip-san really is an incredible magician. It really was a stroke of good luck that I got to know him thanks to that request in Oxter.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, good for you. Tell me all about it during dinner as well.¡±


    Having a light chat at the door, with Snow in her arms, we came back inside the room.


    Since it¡¯s been a while since both me and Snow have had a proper meal, Esta put in extra effort to make a grand meal, and while feasting on it, we quickly also began our usual report meeting.

 CH 190

    The Magus Family


    ¡°Alright, who¡¯s going first?¡±


    ¡°Does it better but why don¡¯t you start first Chris!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡ª¨CAs the rumours say, the great forest of Roza turned out to be many, many times bigger than the Carlisle forest. Honestly, it¡¯s so massive that I was genuinely perplexed where to even begin with that place but¡­¡­..for the time being, I¡¯ve made a base, and I¡¯ve got all the things I need to grow, just like I had in Carlisle forest.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, so it really is that huge?! Faced any dangerous monsters?¡±


    ¡°Dangerous monsters? There was the Orc herd that I decimated because I wanted to use their nest as a base but that¡¯s about it. And even there, only the Orc King was worth being considered ¡®dangerous¡¯¡­¡­¡­.Although, I did sense another presence in the forest that was much stronger than even the Orc King but I didn¡¯t actually fight it so I can¡¯t be certain as to how strong it really is.¡±


    I do need to be careful to not accidentally run into that monster.


    I¡¯m sure I could match it evenly if I use all my skills and fight at full strength but¡­¡­¡­.but that was a monster that treated the great forest of Roza as its home territory.


    It¡¯s stupid to fight a monster in their own territory when you¡¯re not completely confident of victory.


    ¡°Orc King!? Isn¡¯t that the one even above the Orc general that we fought during the emergency request?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and it certainly was stronger. I terms of raw physical strength, it was equal to Carlo without his skills, that is.¡±


    ¡°A monster equal to Carlo you say¡­¡­¡­that sounds quite scary to me, was it not?¡±


    ¡°I mean, yeah it¡¯s attack had strength no doubt, but conversely speaking, that¡¯s pretty much all it really had going for it. It lacked the brains to match it, and so in the end, it wasn¡¯t that strong of an opponent.¡±


    Part of it is also the fact that I have grown massively since then as well but, I genuinely think that both Ralf and Esta would also probably beat the Orc King in a one-on-one.


    The scariest part of the Orc King is its capability of leading an army.


    And in truth, the soldiers and knights that were directly fighting under it got buffed to be even stronger as well.


    ¡°Damn, to imply that even an Orc King wasn¡¯t strong enough is incredible!¡­¡­¡­Somehow, it makes you sound like a real big shot Chris.¡±


    ¡°Well, I also had Snow with me. It¡¯s only because Snow literally one-shot the Orc General that I am able to make it sound so easy after all.¡±


    ¡°Snow, you did a good job as well! I¡¯m so proud to see you continue getting so much stronger!¡±


    Snow purred happily from being praised and petted by Esta.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s about it for my report. Due to the huge size of the forest, I¡¯ve basically just built a  foundation for future explorations this time around and that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°I mean that¡¯s good enough already! Then next, Esta, why don¡¯t you go give your report!¡±


    Ralf made sure he was going last it seems.


    Judging from his expressions, I could tell that he¡¯s definitely got some good results.


    I also started feeling a bit excited to hear about Ralf¡¯s dungeon exploits, but first we focused on Esta to hear her story.


    ¡°As for me¡­¡­..it¡¯s basically the same as in Oxter. I¡¯m both training and studying hard under him. Phillip-san deals in Grimoires and Magic Balls. Also, he has another speciality shop where he directly coaches people in magic as well so I¡¯m basically using that place to learn as much more about magic as I can.¡±


    ¡°Ohh! So that golem guy had such a great place as well! I really thought he was just some random weirdo back then!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you really need to show some respect! Phillip-san was once a royal court magician you know? Not to mention, he¡¯s the only disciple of the great Loa Magus!¡±


    Loa Magus? I swear that sounds familiar¡­¡­.or does it?


    I racked my brains to remember what I was thinking of when suddenly, a single person¡¯s face flashed in my head.


    Oh right. I swear the guild master in Norfast had the same surname.


    What was his name?¡­¡­..Arkan Magus, I think.


    He named himself quite proudly so it somehow stayed inside my brain.


    ¡°Hm? In the first place, who the hell even is this Loa Magus!? Never heard of him!¡±


    When Ralf said that, Esta looked astonished and then released a deep sigh of disappointment.


    ¡­¡­¡­honestly, I had no idea either so my heart started beating slightly faster after seeing Esta¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°How do you not know of THE Magus family? Loa Magus was the man that created the Magic Balls in the first place, and is a great magician that left a mark in our history as the widely known Dragon Slayer!!¡±


    ¡°Even if you put a ¡®THE¡¯ in front¡­¡­.. I had never heard of any ¡®Magus¡¯ before so my reaction was pretty valid! Well, but I get it. The golem guy is the disciple of some great magician.¡±


    ¡°Your conclusion is technically correct but I don¡¯t think you still understand that he¡¯s a much greater person than you can even imagine Ralf! The person who created the golems was Melkirouhi Jeral Magus. A party member of the first hero! And his descendants are the Magus family!¡±


    Ralf looked pretty disinterested, meanwhile Esta was getting all hyped up just talking about them.


    ¡­¡­¡­.now, even I remember hearing about Melkirouhi.


    The man who was the [Wise Emperor], said to the be the pinnacle of magic-based jobs¡ª¡ªor so, Esta had told me.


    I see. The name Magus was the sign of being a descendant of the [Wise Emperor] Melkirouhi. No wonder the guild master was so haughty about his name, and was surprised when I said I had no clue what it meant.


    ¡°I got, I got it. So, did you learn any new magic then?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­yes I did. It¡¯s still intermediate but, I¡¯m learning a lot of more practical magic as well. It¡¯s only been two weeks but I think I have progressed quite a lot in this time!¡±


    ¡°Well I was never worried in Esta¡¯s case but still, it¡¯s nice to hear that things are going well. I suppose having a good master so close really is a boon.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Just this alone has made me glad we came to Edestor. I¡¯ll continue working hard until I learn how to use advanced level magic as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, keep up the good work¡­¡­¡­.on that note, I actually had a favour to ask of Esta, do you mind?¡±


    As Esta made a guts pose with both her hands and proclaimed, I made a request to her.


    Since she had no idea what I would be requesting of her, she tilted her head in confusion while still doing the guts pose.


    Without wasting time, I explained the details of my request.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m thinking of also learning magic from the old golem man. ¡ª¡ªso Esta, could you put in a good word for me as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Eh? C-chris-san wants to learn magic¡­¡­¡­? ¡ª¡ª-A-am I perhaps not living up to your expectations!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s obviously not true. The more people that an use magic the better, and that¡¯s a fact, so I figured it was time I also learnt some. While I was exploring the Roza forest, it only became further clear to me how much trouble it is to simply dispose of monster corpses when I don¡¯t have you with me Esta. I want to at least learn enough magic to be able to burn corpses or bury them with earth magic.¡±


    ¡°Oh so it was just that¡­¡­! I really feared I was not strong enough for you or something like that. Well, anyway, he¡¯s already acquainted with you Chris-san, so I¡¯m sure Phillip-san wouldn¡¯t mind teaching you as well!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. I¡¯ve been thinking of showing up there sooner or later, so I¡¯ll leave it you to me our intermediary.¡±


    ¡°Understood! Leave it to me!¡±


    And with that, Esta¡¯s report also ended.


    All that¡¯s left is Ralf but¡­¡­¡­he really has the aura of a guy just waiting for someone to ask him about his results.


    Part of me wanted to end the meeting right here and ignore him but, I am curious about the dungeon after all so I guess I¡¯ll have to play along.

 CH 191

    The Edestor Dungeon


    ¡°Alright, lastly Ralf¡ª¡ª-what did you do in the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Hehehehe, Chris, so you¡¯re curious after all eh? eh?¡±


    Sitting upright on his chair, Ralf asked with a grin.


    This to and fro was a pain in the ass so I made him quickly start talking.


    ¡°Yeah, I do so, so start talking quickly.¡±


    ¡°First of all, in these two weeks, I was able to clear all the way to floor 10 of the dungeon!¡±


    ¡°Is that¡­¡­..good?¡±


    ¡°Well, to be honest I¡¯m not clear on the details either but, I think it¡¯s pretty damn good! They say any party that clear floor 10 is considered an intermediate level adventurer, and not to mention, I did it solo, not with a party!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.If what he says is true, then that does sound pretty incredible.


    Parties are usually made up of 4 to 6 members.


    This would mean that Ralf had basically matched 4-6 adventurers worth of effort on his own.


    Looks like he¡¯s gotten a lot more stronger than I originally realized.


    ¡°If you have finally gotten a better feel for your own strength than diving into the dungeon was the right decision. So? What was the dungeon like?¡±


    ¡°The easiest way to explain it would be to call it a collection of multiple underground caves filled with monsters I guess? Also, the number of monster was genuinely ridiculously high. Not to mention, they show up out of nowhere, like they literally grow out of the floor and walls so you always have to stay on your toes for sudden situations.¡±


    ¡°I guess it makes sense why people would only challenge the dungeon in a party due to things like these. So were there any other solo dungeon divers like you at all, Ralf?¡±


    ¡°The ones I saw or met were all in parties! I did hear that there were other Solo adventurers but I never met one in these two weeks.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t die at least.¡±


    If monsters can show up out of the floor or walls then you could very easily get surrounded so if your guarding abilities weren¡¯t top notch, you¡¯d basically be defenceless when attacked from all directions.


    In that sense, perhaps going solo like this really suited Ralf who was fully specialized in guarding.


    ¡­¡­¡­well, saying it ¡®suited¡¯ him might be the wrong term to use.


    Better to say that Ralf was one of the few people who could make solo dungeon diving work.


    ¡°Well I guess so! It really was hard but at the same time, I feel like I was really able to dedicate these two weeks to solely my own improvement so it was worth it! Also, because solo goers like me are so rare, I got to know and meet all sorts of incredible adventurers as well!¡±


    Looks like Ralf got acquainted with a lot more new people.


    If I recall, it was also Ralf who led the talks with the [Silver Winged Lion] as well, so it could be that Ralf just had a very high communication skill.


    ¡°So who do you men exactly by incredible adventurers? Are they someone famous in Edestor?¡±


    ¡°I think so, yeah! I mean, they were rank Orichalcum adventurers!¡±


    ¡°Scarletite*? Isn¡¯t that a rank even above Diamond?¡±


    *(T/N: This is a bit weird. Ralf calls them Orichalcum, but in the JP txt Chris goes ¡®Scarletite?¡¯ as if they are both the same rank and the words are interchangeable whereas earlier in the chapters the way the author wrote it implied they were different, Orichalcum being above Scarletite. It¡¯s unclear right now so I¡¯m TLing it literally. It could be a mistake by the author as well of course. So I¡¯ll see how it¡¯s explained in the future and fix accordingly. It¡¯s likely that Ralf¡¯s dialogue is a typo and it should be Scarletite there as well instead of Orichalcum.)


    ¡°It is! In fact they were the ones who held the floor 50 fastest clear time record until your brother¡­¡­.Klaus came and broke it!¡±


    Well there was a Scarletite rank request at the guild so I did wonder if there were some here but as it turns out, Ralf just went and made friends with them.


    The record holders before Klaus eh.


    Just their titles alone imply how incredible they must be so I want to meet them in person as well.


    ¡°Introduce us as well, next time. I want to meet them too.¡±


    ¡°Of course! They were all nice people so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be nice to you too Chirs! I even got some tips from the person who acts as the tank of their party as well!¡±


    ¡°Ralf really does find a way to get along with people very quickly.¡±


    ¡°I mean, they just had this easy to talk to aura around them, maybe that¡¯s why? Also, I think I myself have become a lot calmer in general.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true¡­¡­..ever since your injury healed, you¡¯ve gotten a lot less moody and edgy since. In the past, you were always angry at everyone and were just not a nice person in general.¡±


    ¡°Hey Esta, you are the last person I want to hear that from!!¡±


    I thought that our first meeting was unique, with the circumstances being what they were, but it sounds like Ralf was that antagonizing towards everyone it seems.


    Well considering his parents and his upbringing, it¡¯s pretty understandable to say the least but, it¡¯s still nice to hear that he¡¯s fixed his personality since then.


    ¡°We¡¯ve digressed from the topic so let me bring us back. So any other stories from the dungeon? Like about the treasure boxes you talked about before?¡±


    Returning to the topic at hand, I asked Ralf so.


    When I did, he wagged his index finger with a triumphant look.


    ¡­¡­..seeing his expression, honestly pissed me off sometimes.


    ¡°As for the treasure boxes¡­¡­..actually, I found a really amazing one!¡±


    ¡°A nice one? Did it have a nice item in it or something?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I sold it before opening it so I don¡¯t know if it had a good item or not!¡±


    Unable to understand what he meant, I ended up tilting my head in confusion.


    Are you telling me unopened treasure boxes themselves have value¡­¡­..?


    ¡°What do you mean? Explain properly.¡±


    ¡°So you see, there¡¯s 5 types of treasure boxes that you can find in the dungeon. Starting from normal wooden boxes, and then there¡¯s ones with copper, silver, gold and finally platinum embedded in them! The normal wooden ones with nothing embedded are the most common ones to find, and there contents aren¡¯t too special either. On the other hand, a box with Platinum embedded in it¡ª¡ª-are the rarest to find and can contain super rare items and equipment inside!¡±


    I see.


    So there¡¯s 5 categories to the boxes and the contents varied between the rarities.


    I do recall hearing from Ralf how the dungeon was basically designed to attract people to it but¡­¡­


    This rarity thing was also something humans really enjoyed.


    And I was so no stranger to it, as my own interest and curiosity towards these rare treasure boxes was very quickly rising.

 CH 192

    Gambling Nature


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. Ralf, did you find a rare one then?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! I found a silver treasure box. It¡¯s right at the middle when it comes to rarity but, apparently 60% of all the treasure boxes found are wooden so this was still very rare in comparison, or so I was told!¡±


    ¡°60% are wooden eh¡­¡­¡­.I guess, getting rich quick from the dungeon isnt as easy as it might sound.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much! By the way, 30% are copper, Silver is about 9%, and the remaining 1% is gold¡­¡­..a platinum one shows up only like once every year or so, that¡¯s how rare it is! In the first place, finding a treasure box in and of itself is pretty rare, and even if you do find a rare box, it¡¯s not necessary that it might have something truly valuable inside! As for me, even after 2 whole weeks of dungeon diving, I found only 2 boxes. And even then, people said I was insanely lucky to find two in such a short time.¡±


    So not only are the boxes themselves scarce, they even have a rarity to it making it really harsh.


    Even if you find a silver or gold box, there¡¯s still a chance, albeit low, to get some trash item from it as well¡­¡­..


    When you consider all that, while it¡¯s still attractive, it¡¯s pretty obvious that completing requests as usual is far more efficient and safe.


    ¡°So, was the other box you found a wooden one, Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Yep! Since it was  wooden one, I opened it right away, and found 3 intermediate mana potions inside!¡±


    ¡°So you sold the rare one, the silver box without opening then right?¡±


    ¡°The Scarletite adventurers, that I talked about, told me that it would sell for higher if I sold it unopened!¡­¡­.Well, of course if you open it and get a super rare item or equipment from it, it¡¯ll sell for even higher though! But just the chance that I could get a shit item instead as well, made me worried so I chose to sell it unopened!¡±


    ¡°From what I hear, these treasure boxes sure are interesting.¡ª¡ª-In fact, I¡¯m surprised you of all people were able to resist opening it, Ralf. Knowing your personality, I figured you¡¯d open them the moment you saw it.¡±


    ¡°I did want to open it but I endured it with all my willpower okay!! Since I blew all my money before diving into the dungeon after all! Shiit! Even though I was hoping to forget about it and move on, you¡¯ve made me recall it all. What if it had something really good inside aah¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    He started wondering what the contents of the silver box were and began to regret not opening it again it seems.


    Looking at him now, I need to be careful to never ever let Ralf gamble with money.


    ¡°From what I understand from Ralf¡¯s report, the dungeon sure sounds fun in many ways! It looks like there¡¯s a lot of monsters here as well so it might be a good place to train as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, seems like it. I¡¯d like to go and take a look as well if not for those academy students supposedly there but¡­¡­¡­¡­.hey Ralf, did you happen to meet the students from the capital by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Nah, apparently they are deep into the dungeon right now so I never saw them. Since it was the princess and all, I did hope to get a good look at her but no luck!¡±


    ¡°I see. So I assume you won¡¯t know much as to their fighting style either then.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I do know a little in that regard! One of them is a knight, who¡¯s the Tank of the party like me. And another is a magician like Esta, who¡¯s supposedly very skilled. And lastly, the princess is an extremely powerful attacker; and that¡¯s the entire 3 man party!¡±


    ¡°A 3 man party like us eh? Now if only they had a pet like Snow as well, it would be the exact same.¡±


    ¡°Well for a 3-man party, this is pretty much the best composition of members when it comes to balance after all! And as far as their abilities go, well, considering how deep into the dungeon they are, it¡¯s natural to assume they are pretty damn strong as well!¡±


    As expected of an academy where the students with the best jobs from all over the country are gathered, even ignoring Klaus, there¡¯s a lot of very talented people there.


    Even though they are all the same age as myself.


    Considering the battles and experiences we¡¯ve been through, there¡¯s a chance that we¡¯ll fare better in a real battle but¡­¡­..I shouldn¡¯t be underestimating anyone here.


    ¡°A Knight and a princess eh¡­¡­¡­.Chris-san, this Knight, wouldn¡¯t he be the one he heard of from the info broker in the capital? The [Holy Warrior] that was part of the Royal guard? The princess was obviously the [War Princess] which leaves¡ª¡ª-the magician. It must be either the [Sage] or the [Necromancer] right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessary that the entire party is made of people we heard of from the info broker you know, that said¡­¡­¡­.it is the Princess¡¯ party. Highly likely the ¡®knight¡¯ is part of the royal guard, and the chances of the magician being one of those two is definitely high.¡±


    Until Esta said it, it had completely left my mind but there is a good chance that the [Sage] or the [Necromancer] were here.


    And if it really was the [Sage]¡ª¡ª-it was Mielle, the only other person other than Klaus that I personally know of from the academy.


    I don¡¯t really understand what kind of job the [Necromancer] even is but, if they¡¯re classified as a magician, it¡¯s more likely that it is in fact the [Sage] that is here.


    Which means¡­¡­¡­¡­Mielle who almost certainly would have a vendetta against me is currently inside the Edestor dungeon.


    To buy more time for myself and to disrupt the relationship between Klaus and Mielle, the decisions and actions I took on that day were not something I regretted but¡­¡­¡­.


    Mielle being in the same city as me can be a bit of a problem.


    ¡°Chris, what happened? You¡¯re frowning!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a chance that the magician you mentioned is the one who knows me. Now, it¡¯s even further certain that I cannot go anywhere close to the dungeon for now.¡±


    ¡°Wait, are you serious!? I really wanted to go dungeon diving with you at least once! I wanted to introduce you to the Scarletite adventurers as well!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not certain but I can¡¯t take any risks unfortunately. Once the princess and her party return back to the capital, I can start going to the dungeon then.¡±


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll just have to wait for them to finish their dungeon clear eh! ¡­¡­¡­Well, that¡¯s about it for my report.¡±


    All said and done, I¡¯ve learnt a lot of interesting info from him.


    I really want to go to the dungeon, and I¡¯m curious about the Scarletite adventurer.


    I honestly wanted to try and talk to the princess as well without revealing my identity of course, but with Mielle in her party, that might be impossible.


    Since she¡¯s probably the best source of info on Klaus, I¡¯ll have to figure out a different way to make contact with her.

 CH 193

    Potion Synthesis Request


    The next day after I returned from the forest.


    Since I had so much stuff to do, I decided to take this day as a break, and went out into the city alone.


    By the way, Esta is back training with the Golem old guy, and Ralf was back in the dungeons.


    Since Snow couldn¡¯t be taken everywhere, Snow was house watching.


    To be honest, Snow must have been tired from the two week long trip to the forest as well because for the first time, Snow didn¡¯t try to follow me out and so in that sense as well, it was better to have Snow stay home and rest properly.


    ¡°Now I called it a break day, but I had a mountain-load worth of things that I needed to do.


    Quickly, I made my way to the alchemist¡¯s place [Gaddfoura].


    With both the raw Jinpi Leaves and one of the Jinpi potions that Shantell made in hand, I came to Gaddfoura which had been introduced to me by Bors.


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    Why you ask/ of course, to have her recreate the jinpi potions here as well.


    When I came last time, she confirmed that she¡¯d be more than willing to make custom potions so I¡¯m sure she could recreate Jinpi potions as well.


    My only worry was whether she¡¯d be suspicious of me for asking to make a poison potion or not but¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m sure, it won¡¯t be too much of an issue.


    ¡°Welcome¡­¡­¡­.Oh, well if it isn¡¯t the young lad that came with Bors. Didn¡¯t expect you to show up so quickly again.¡±


    As I entered the store, Trisha called out to me from behind the reception.


    ¡­¡­..also, there was another woman who was talking to Trisha before I came in that started looking at me.


    A fair skinned blonde that had a delicate look to her.


    But, contrary to her looks, I could instantly sense a strong presence from her.


    [Mana Sense]¡ª¨CAs expected, her magic power is on the same level as Esta, maybe even more.


    Her looks may deceive, but she was almost certainly an adventurer, and/or a magician.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here to put in the request for the potions I talked about before.¡±


    ¡°Ooh. Trisha-san, how rare to get a potion creation request eh?¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, Bors actually brought in some work for me¡­¡­¡­..So, what kind of potion would you like me to make?¡±


    While lightly chatting with the smiling woman, Trisha asked me so.


    I hesitated over how to explain this and then figured, the best way would be to just straight up show her the real thing.


    ¡°I want something similar to this one. I don¡¯t know all the specific details and ingredients used in making it but I do have the one main ingredient that is the base for this potion.¡±


    ¡°Let me see¡­¡­¡­Hm!?? Is this a poison potion?¡±


    ¡°You can tell from just a look? Yes, it is one indeed.¡±


    Trisha held up the potion against the light and observed and instantly recognized that it was a poisonous potion.


    I guess with the years of experience as an alchemist that she might have, these things can come to you from just a glance.


    ¡°A request for a custom potion is a rare one already, and on top it¡¯s for a poison potion¡­¡­..No, I suppose it¡¯s a request precisely because it¡¯s a poison potion eh?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. No matter where I looked, I couldn¡¯t find anything close to what I wanted after all.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. As for why you need them, well, it¡¯s none of my business, I won¡¯t ask so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I mean, I wouldn¡¯t mind telling if you want to know though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not know. Now then, wait here for a while. I need to examine the potion in detail inside.¡±


    Like Shantell, I guess she also assumes that I have nefarious uses planned for this potion.


    Seeing Trisha go inside her room with the potion, I sensed a strong gaze from the side.


    ¡­¡­¡­I was planning to ignore her but, her continuous gaze made me curious and I ended up turning to look at her anyway.


    The blonde haired woman gave a slight smile when our eyes met.


    ¡°hey, hey. You are Chirs-kun right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Why do you know my name?¡±


    ¡°Well, I wonder why indeed?¡±


    Raising her index finger, the blonde answered my question with a question.


    I don¡¯t sense any malice from her so she¡¯s probably not a pursuer, and considering her little conversation with Trisha just some moments ago¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°An acquaintance of Bors?¡±


    ¡°Oh, correct! Good job. I¡¯m from the same party as Bors, the name¡¯s Rupert. I¡¯ve heard a lot from Bors about you Chris-kun. Also, allow me to thank you once again for forming a party with Bors and helping him out.¡±


    I figured she was a an acquaintance of Bors but I never expected this blonde woman to be the same Rupert that was supposedly seriously ill and bedridden.


    I was sure that they would be a man, so it was unexpected.


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re Rupert. If you¡¯re walking around the city now, I assume you¡¯ve recovered from your grave illness?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well I haven¡¯t fully recovered yet to be honest but, I¡¯m definitely much better now. Today as well, I came here to get some more medicine for myself you see. Though, I didn¡¯t expect I¡¯d get to meet you as well Chris-kun. Guess I got lucky.¡±


    ¡°So you haven¡¯t fully recovered eh? You seemed pretty energetic so I wrongly assumed you had. My bad.¡±


    ¡°Well, you weren¡¯t wrong either though. In fact, I¡¯m planning on rejoining the party from tomorrow as well.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. So you¡¯ll see Bors tomorrow then right. Send him my regards in that case.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be sure to bring up the fact that I got to meet and talk to you.¡±


    Saying that, Rupert laughed seemingly amused.


    To continue the conversation, I figured I might as well ask more about Bors but¡­¡­¡­just then, Trisha returned back from the inside.


    ¡°Oh, you two seem to be having a fun chat. Getting along well I assume?¡±


    ¡°oh we¡¯ve only made some small talk but¡­¡­¡­like Bors said, he¡¯s an interesting kid so I got curious that¡¯s all!¡­¡­.Well then, since I got my medicines, I¡¯ll take my leave now. Chris-kun we¡¯ll talk more if we happen to meet somewhere else again okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Take care.¡±


    Seeing off Rupert as she left while waving her hand, I continued my talk with Trisha in regards to the potion.


    To give a concise conclusion, the recreation of the Jinpi potion was indeed possible, and thanks to me bringing in a sample as well, the overall costs of production will also be reduced by quite a bit.

 CH 194

    The Master of Plant Harvesting


    After leaving [Gaddfoura], I made my way back to the main street.


    To gather more info on the great forest of Roza, I headed to meet a person that I had been told of by Trisha.


    Apparently, they were a master at gathering and harvesting plants, and around 60% of the potions Trisha sold were made out of ingredients that this person brought for her.


    Normally, their main spot for gathering is the Grotta forest, which was a place further beyond the dungeon but, this person should also probably know a lot about the great forest of Roza as well, or so I was told.


    Roza forest was a truly unique location so not even the usual info brokers had much about that place, so I had no choice but to ask other curious and whimsical adventurers or specialists if I wanted to know more.


    Also, I could potentially find a book like Botanist Otto¡¯s Travelling Records, to gain more info as well so if the person I¡¯m going to turned out to be of no use, I¡¯ll switch plans to that and try and find a similar book.


    While running all these different plans to gather more info inside my head, I reached the house of this so called master.


    It was currently just before noon.


    If he was out gathering plants today then he might not be here but, there¡¯s always a chance that it was break day for them today so I came just in case.


    He lived in a independent single house, a rarity in Edestor, and while the size of the house was hardly big, considering how expensive land was here in Edestor, even buying this house must have cost a whole lot.


    While my thoughts instantly went towards the money involved, I rung the bell on the house.


    There was no reaction even after one press so I rung the bell again.


    Since there was no reaction again, I decided to press it a third and last time when¡­¡­


    The door opened, and a lone old man appeared.


    He must have woken up just now, as he looked quite listless.


    I felt bad for ruining his nap but, I really needed the info so I spoke up without hesitation.


    ¡°Are you Henjak? I came here after hearing about you from Trisha of [Gaddfoura].¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Sorry, you¡¯ve got the wrong person.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m sure I got the right house. If it¡¯s not you, then perhaps someone lives with you has that name surely?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of the name.¡±


    While scratching his neck, the old man continued denying it.


    Now I¡¯m sure I got the right house and Trisha is not the type of person to lie for no reason either.


    ¡­¡­¡­.So, this old man just can¡¯t be bothered and is pretending to not know.


    ¡°I see. I guess it can¡¯t be helped if I got it wrong.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so you can leave¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°So, I guess I¡¯ll just have to bring Trisha all the way here and have her personally check. Old man, thanks for the info.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Tch.¡±


    Realizing that I was gonna return again anyway, he clicked his tongue showing his displeasure openly.


    Seeing his reaction, there was no doubt that this man was Henjak.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m not letting you go until I hear all the info I want old man.


    ¡°huh, so you are Henjak after all.¡±


    ¡°That damn old lady Trisha, getting me involved in useless shit¡­¡­¡­.So brat, the hell you want from me?¡±


    ¡°I just want some info. If you want, I¡¯ll even pay you for it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care about the money kid. I just want you to leave me alone as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡°I have no intention of leaving until I get all the info I want. In fact, I¡¯ll come visit everyday until then, if that¡¯s what you want.¡±


    He probably sensed that I was not someone that would falter, so while still making a truly displeased face, he pointed his thumb to his door and invited me inside.


    He must be living alone, as the house was a cluttered mess, and it was impossible to call it clean even if as pure flattery.


    The strong and peculiar smell of plants was filled in the house, more so than even the alchemist¡¯s store.


    Properly looking around, he seemed to be sun-drying plants in the house just like I did in my base, and that¡¯s where the strong smell came from.


    ¡°Just take a seat where ever. And I don¡¯t have tea to serve.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. I was hoping the so called master of plant gathering would have some truly unique tea leaves to serve his guests.¡±


    ¡°Keh, as if I¡¯d have something like that¡­¡­¡­¡­So? What do you want from me? Just get to the point.¡±


    Showing clear discomfort towards my light banter, Henjak sat down on the floor in the middle of the room, and I followed and did the same.


    Seeing this room, I wanted to ask about more plants than just the ones in Roza forest but, let¡¯s start with the main reason I was here.


    ¡°I want you tell me everything you know of about the great forest of Roza. Like I said before, I will genuinely pay you for any good piece of info.¡±


    The moment I said the name of the great forest of Roza, Henjak¡¯s lazy attitude until now suddenly changed.


    He picked up a cigarette that was lying on the ground and took a deep puff¡ª¡ª-and then began to talk.


    ¡°The great forest of Roza¡­¡­¡­..now that¡¯s an odd place to be wanting info about. Brat, are you curious about the fruit of skill?¡±


    I guess, when people ask of the great forest of Roza, it¡¯s usually in regards to the fruit of skill.


    I guess a lot more people before me have also come to ask Henjak about it.


    ¡°Well, if you do know anything about the fruit of skill, of course I¡¯d like to hear it but, I want to know more than just that. I want to know about everything that exists in that forest, what dangerous monsters are there, what kinds of plants, every single thing.¡±


    ¡°Hoo, now you¡¯re a rare type of guy¡­¡­¡­well at least, you don¡¯t underestimate that place for one.¡±


    ¡°Obviously. Only a fool would underestimate a forest that big that was still shrouded in so many mysteries.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll say this in advance, I know nothing about the fruit of skill. If that¡¯s alright with you¡­¡­..¡±


    After pausing there, Henjak raised three fingers.


    I¡¯m assuming three gold coins for the price of the info.


    I don¡¯t know how good even is the info he had in regards to that place but, if it¡¯s even anything useful, it would be all worth it.


    ¡°If your info¡¯s actually worth that, I¡¯ll gladly pay it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal then. I won¡¯t disappoint, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Henjak picked up the three gold coins I placed on the floor, and preciously placed them inside his pocket.


    Then, he straightened his back to fix his posture and while smoking, began talking about everything he knew.

 CH 195

    Worth the 3 Gold Coins


    ¡°First of all, there are three highly dangerous places in the great forest of Roza. The first is basically the entire east side area of the forest, where the ground is entirely a swamp. There¡¯s knee level water pretty much everywhere, making it not only hard to move around but on top, that place is also filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures. Monsters that suck on your blood, or monsters that can discharge electricity, and then there¡¯s also various carnivorous underwater creatures as well, so as a rule of thumb it¡¯s in your best interests to just completely avoid the entirety of the East Area.¡±


    ¡°Really? I never knew that the East area was like that.¡±


    ¡°Also, at the end of the swamp is a cavern. That¡¯s probably the most dangerous place. Even I don¡¯t know much in detail but apparently, it¡¯s as dangerous as the cave of Bahamut. This is one of the two most dangerous places in the entire forest¡­¡­¡­.But well, you¡¯d have to cross the crazy swamp to get there in the first place so I wouldn¡¯t pay it too much heed.¡±


    At the east of the great forest of Roza was a place that was that I needed to watch out for it seems.


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    I¡¯m a bit curious about the swamp as well but, the cave itself had most of my curiosity.


    I don¡¯t plan on heading anywhere close to there until I get completely used to the rest of the Roza forest  but, at some point, I¡¯ll have to go and explore the East area as well.


    ¡°Alright, I got that the East Area is dangerous. So what¡¯s the other dangerous place you were talking about?¡±


    ¡°That would be the northernmost area of the Roza forest. This place is mostly unexplored still but, they say that a certain tribe lives in the region past the north of the Roza forest. That tribe is said to be extremely dangerous and it has been a saying since old times to not approach the northern area of the Roza forest.¡±


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    ¡°A certain tribe you say¡­¡­¡­..? Are they human?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t the details either but, they¡¯re rumoured to be a tribe of either demon-kin or maybe even Maneaters. Anyhow, just avoid going to the northmost area of the forest.¡±


    Demon-kin eh¡­¡­¡­.


    I don¡¯t know much about these maneaters, but I do know some about the demon-kin.


    The Demon Lord that the first hero defeated was also one these demon-kin after all. Their special characteristic is the magical stone embedded in their forehead.


    In terms of classification, it¡¯s put somewhere between races like Dwarves or Elves and monster races like Ogres and goblins.


    It¡¯s also because the beastmen races are said to be close to the demon-kin that they were subjected to heavy discrimination.


    ¡°So the Northern area is also a danger zone¡­¡­¡­I was right to look for information after all.


    ¡°Kakaka, told you I won¡¯t disappoint, didn¡¯t I? Well, I¡¯m not done yet though. I¡¯ll make it worth the 3 gold coins. Next, I¡¯ll talk about dangerous monsters. AS far as the South Area goes, there¡¯s 5 monsters that you should run away from the moment you see them.¡±


    After areas, came info on monsters.


    While hoping to hear about some interesting monsters that could be turned into food for Ongneer, I paid extra attention to his words.


    ¡°First of all, when you enter the forest from Edestor¡¯s side,¡ª¡ª-close to the southern most part is a nest of Orcs. This nest is led by an Orc King so it¡¯s a huge problem to deal with. It has the ability to make even normal Orcs as strong as Orc soldiers so you have to be very careful.¡±


    One of the 5 monster to be cautious of happened to be the Orc King.


    Though he does explain that the main danger comes from it being a herd led by the Orc King, rather than from the Orc King alone.


    Well, I¡¯ve already dealt with those but there¡¯s always a chance that there¡¯s another one in a forest this big so I should keep in mind regardless.


    ¡°The second one is¡­¡­.this is also a monster that treats the south area as its territory. Crow Ornith. It¡¯s jet black bird monster, and they say if it sees, you¡¯re basically as good as dead. No one knows exactly where it actually lives either. And neither does anyone know what kind of attacks or skills it has either.¡±


    ¡°Really lacking on info on that one huh. Isn¡¯t this one also close to the area near Edestor?¡±


    ¡°I mean, there¡¯s a reason they say you die if you see it. No one who saw it ever made it back alive. Anyway, just be wary of any black coloured flying monster that you might run into.¡±


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    Crow Ornith, another one that lives in the South Area.


    If it¡¯s like a bird, I wonder if it¡¯s similar to the Strange bird monster of Carlisle forest.


    A monster that no one has survived seeing eh? Must be a seriously dangerous one if rumours like that exist.


    ¡­¡­¡­or rather, I wonder if the strong presence I sensed during my exploration was this bird monster.


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    It was much stronger than even the Orc King and it was in the South area so the likelihood is high.


    Considering the skills I got from Carlisle¡¯s bird monster, I really wanted to use this Crow Ornith for Ongneer as well but¡­¡­..that¡¯ll have to wait for a while.


    ¡°Stay wary of black flying objects. Got it. I¡¯ll run if I see anything similar.¡±


    ¡°Putting aside whether you¡¯d be able to run away or not, yes, that¡¯s the wise thing to do. The third and fourth monster are somewhat similar, Rex Bill and Medicine Ant. Rex Bill is a monster that¡¯ll stick to your body and suck all your blood. It¡¯s only 10cm in length but, it has powerful fangs and can tear into your body and enter inside. Once it¡¯s gotten inside your body, it¡¯ll keep on sucking all your blood and swell up¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.and then explode your insides.¡±


    I never ran into this monster on my first trip but, this sounds crazy.


    The monster itself doesn¡¯t sound that strong so it¡¯d be hard to detect it as well, and it won¡¯t be of use to make Ongneers either.


    Truly the worst kind of enemy for me.


    ¡± Medicine Ant was similar in type to Rex Bill, only about 5cm in size. This one¡¯s biggest characteristic was the fatal amount of poison it holds in its body. If you crush it under your feet, even a normal person could still kill it but, if it bites you, that¡¯s a one way ticket to the other side. Medicine Ant¡¯s worst attribute however was its personality. Even though it was small and had no other strengths outside its poison, it was unusually aggressive and ferocious. It¡¯ll attack any monster no matter the size if it sees them.¡±


    Rex Bill was a scary one, but in comparison Medicine Ant was pretty easy to deal with. For me anyway.


    Thanks to [Null Poison], I basically don¡¯t have to worry about any kind of poison, ever.


    As for the Rex Bill as well, I think I¡¯ll be fine if I use [Skin Strengthen]¡­¡­¡­


    Since its uses stamina, I can¡¯t keep it activated all the time while I explore though.


    Thinking it that way, I once again realized how abnormal my unique skill [Null Poison] was that continued working all the time without any stamina cost.


    This might be the difference between common and unique skills.


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    ¡°It¡¯s amazing how these 2 small monsters are in the top 5 dangerous monsters of the area  eh. Once again makes you realize the scale of how big the great forest of Roza really is.¡±


    ¡°Well, most people will be automatically cautious of bigger monsters automatically after all. The really scary ones are the ones that can attack when your guard is down. They say the creature that has taken the most human lives in this world is the mosquito after all. Not some monster.¡±


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    ¡°The thing the that makes you itchy when it stings you, that thing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s the one.¡ª¨CWell, to be fair, the one that has killed most humans is, other humans actually but¡­¡­..it¡¯s boorish to point that out eh?¡±


    Henjak said something very dark without a care in the world.


    Pretending to not hear it, I asked about the last monster on the list.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..So what¡¯s the last one? Is it another small monster?¡±


    ¡°No, not this one. The last one is a monster called forest lizard. It looks like a dragon, and people say it has a gentle personality but make no mistake, it¡¯s a carnivore so you can¡¯t let your guard down. In terms of pure strength, it¡¯s above even the Crow Ornith.¡±


    ¡°Much gentler than Crow Ornith, but also stronger you say?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. It won¡¯t attack you unless it¡¯s very hungry but, in the off chance it was hungry¡ª¡ª-well, you¡¯ll end up as its meal before you know it.¡±


    Taking a breather after talking about the 5 monsters, Henjak then lit another cigarette to smoke.


    He¡¯d provided me a with a lot of useful info, except maybe about the Orc King I guess, but I still had one big thing I was still curious about.


    It¡¯s about that monster that had already become the host for the Ongneer when I found it.


    The rabbit like monster. From the size and quality of the Ongneer plant, I know it was not a weak monster at all but¡­¡­..


    ¡°I need to ask one more thing about monsters. Do you know of a humanoid monster that looks like a rabbit? It¡¯s got knuckles equipped in its hands as well.¡±


    ¡°What the hell¡¯s that? I¡¯ve never heard of anything like it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I see. It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t know. Alright, let¡¯s move on to the next topic then.¡±


    I already have the Ongneer of the rabbit like monster so even if I don¡¯t get more info on it, it¡¯s fine since I¡¯ll get its abilities anyway and I¡¯ll figure out how strong it was from the boost in stats I get from its Ongneer.


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    If it was a strong enemy I would have like more info but, it can¡¯t be helped if he hasn¡¯t even heard of it.


    From there, I asked Henjak about the plants that live in the Roza forest, the forest¡¯s topography, any rumours on the fruit of skill, basically I got my money¡¯s worth of info from him.


    There was still a lot I didn¡¯t know, and as expected of someone referred to as the master of plant gathering, he was well versed in the details regarding the Roza forest.


    Once againI was glad that I came to Henjak looking for more info.

 CH 196

    First Church Visit


    ¡°Thanks for all the info. It really was worth the three gold coins.¡±


    ¡°I should be the one thanking you, for coming to me to buy all this minute detailed info from me. I thought it was just another young brat dreaming of the fruit of skill so I wasn¡¯t really interested in even talking first but¡­¡­..colour me surprised, you turned out to be someone that really gets what¡¯s important so I had fun talking too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you thought of me that way. If you find something more, I¡¯d gladly buy that info off you as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve pretty much sold you all the info I have on the Roza great forest but¡­¡­..if you¡¯re ever looking for info on the Grotta forest, just come to me. It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that I know basically everything there is to know when it comes to that place.¡±


    ¡°Got it. If I¡¯m ever heading to Grotta forest, I¡¯ll come to you again. I¡¯ll be in your care again then.¡±


    Giving my thanks to Henjak, I left his home.


    I didn¡¯t even have the Grotta forest on my radar but, hearing Henjak talk about it has made me interested in that place as well.


    While pondering over such things, I returned back to [Gorush] for now.


    .


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    The talk with Henjak went on for far longer than I originally planned so it was already afternoon by the time I came back to [Gorush].


    After putting out Snow¡¯s food, I also ate the poisonous plants I gathered in Roza forest instead of a normal meal, and then once again returned back to the main street.


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    Soon the sun will begin to set so I began to hurry up to finish all the things I needed to do today.


    My first objective was to go to the church and get an assessment done.


    And if I have time left, I need to head to Kevin¡¯s weapon store and pick Snow¡¯s armour that hopefully he¡¯s finished making.


    I also want to make more stuff as a countermeasure against the RexBill and Medicine Ant that I learnt about, so I really want to go there today as well¡­¡­..


    But it might be a bit too tight on time for that one.


    After all that, I still have to compile all the info I have and begin making a map as well, and I still need to talk to the old golem guy to learn magic as well.


    There is so much I wanted to do but there just wasn¡¯t enough time for it all.


    I almost want to make tomorrow a free day as well but I also need to start making money again as well.


    Esta has been paying for her classes this time as well, and Ralf, outside of the some he made from selling the box, he should be barely scrapping by again as well.


    If anything, considering how much it costs to properly prepare for a dungeon dive, Ralf is probably already at his limits.


    Which means, we all have to start doing requests again as well¡­¡­


    I really want to devote some time to myself but, perhaps it¡¯s better to just focus on making as much money as we can for a while now.


    For the time being, hoping to at least get the visit to Kevin¡¯s place done today, I hurriedly made my way to the church.


    .


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    Standing slightly away from the main street, the church here was in no way inferior to the one in Norfast.


    It¡¯s been about a month since we came to Edestor but this would be my first visit to the church here.


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    Considering how much ability assessments I do normally, it might seem strange that I never happened to go to the church here until now but¡­¡­


    Until my recent trip to Roza forest, even I knew that I hadn¡¯t really gotten much stronger since my last assessment so it wasn¡¯t worth it.


    And since I have no other reason to enter the church, it felt a bit much to waste a gold coin just to show my face to them. Hence, this will be my first visit.


    As such thoughts ran through my head, I pushed open the ornate door of the church and headed inside.


    Just lie the outside, the interior was equally elaborate, and a truly divine view spread in front of me.


    With just the right amount of light seeping through the glass, it really felt like a place where a god would live.


    Realzard, Norfast, and now Edestor.


    After seeing these three big churches that were always so divine, I once again realized how much of an oddity the church of Oxter was.


    Recalling the old priest there who would do my assessments to point of being out of breath completely, I felt a bit nostalgic as I walked towards one of the Sisters here.


    I went up and talked to one of the sisters to the side, and not the main priest who was chanting something on the platform, and asked where they do ability assessment here.


    ¡°Sorry, do you have a minute?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, how may I help you?¡±


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    ¡°I want to have an ability assessment done, can you tell me where to go?¡±


    ¡°An ability assessment¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯ll lead you there, so follow me.¡±


    With a clean clear voice and a bright smile, the sister offered me to lead me there personally.


    In some ways it was similar to the smile the receptionists make but this smile didn¡¯t feel as fake, and I could tell she was truly smiling out of her own kindness.


    Making a point inside my head to not be rude to her from now, I headed inside the room.


    This room was definitely the cleanest out of all the ability assessment rooms I have been to.


    As expected of a Dungeon City, I¡¯m sure there are a lot more adventurers here that will get their ability assessed.


    I could instantly tell that this room was used quite frequently.


    ¡°The assessment is done here. Please sit down and wait for a while.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the help.¡±


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    Giving a slight bow to the sister as thanks as she left the room, I sat down and waited for someone else to come in to do the assessment.


    After a couple minutes had passed, from the other door, another sister came in, one different from the previous sister.


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    It was an old, elderly Sister.


    But perhaps due to her profession, it felt like she had this holy aura around her.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. I believe you want an assessment done?¡±


    ¡°Yes, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°One gold coin for one assessment in case you don¡¯t know, please hand it over alongside your adventurer card then.¡±


    I took out my card from my holder, and handed it over alongside a gold coin and waited for the assessment to be finished.


    I was slightly worried whether she would also struggle to do these assessments because of her age, but I continued to sit completely still without letting that worry show on my face.


    ¡°Then, allow me to begin.¡ª¡ª-And it¡¯s over. Here¡¯s your card back, please check.¡±


    ¡°Thanks a lot.¡±


    But just like the priest from Realzard, with absolutely zero effort seemingly, the old sister finished the assessment.


    Man, the Oxter priest really was exceptionally bad at it huh¡­¡­¡­


    But all that aside, I should check my stats first. So I turned over the card to check.

 CH 197

    New Skill


    Since not a lot of time had passed, I didn¡¯t have much expectations but, I hope they¡¯ve risen at least a little.


    ¡ª¨CWith such expectations in my heart, I checked my adventurer card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 25(+381)


    Strength: 23(+449)


    Stamina: 21(+284)


    Magic: 5(+146)


    Agility: 14(+217)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Mostly as expected, there¡¯s not a huge increase in my stats.


    Since I mostly focused on gathering the Endurance increasing Reizen grass in the great forest of Roza, that stat has gone up by 30 but everything else has only risen by about 10.


    As for agility, since I haven¡¯t consumed any more potions, and my growth is mostly dependant on external methods, it¡¯s remained the same and only my base stats has increased that too by only 1 no less.


    Even though I have gone through so many deadly battles since then, my personal base stats seemed to be already showing the limits to their growth.


    By the looks of it, my personal stats will have a hard cap at around all 40 in all stats.


    Since the increase in the bonus stats wasn¡¯t too huge, I ended up focusing more on the left side of the stats, and felt disappointed at my severe lack of potential but¡­¡­¡­I don¡¯t have the time to be feeling all depressed.


    I gave a quick slap to my face to reinvigorate myself, and got up from my chair.


    Now I need to quickly discern the effects of the new poisonous plants, as well as the humanoid rabbit Ongneer.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be coming again soon, so I¡¯ll be counting on you for further assessments as well.¡±


    ¡°Soon¡­¡­.do you mean today?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I meant that literally.¡±


    Once again saying that to the elderly sister, I left the church.


    Since unlike the Oxter priest, she seemed to have a lot more mana, so I think I¡¯ll bring the poisonous plants with me and get my assessments done one after another.


    Having decided that, I once again returned to [Gorush] to pick my stuff up.


    .


    Returning to [Gorush], I first ate the rabbit monster Ongneer, and packed 5 types of new poisonous plants and returned back to the church.


    Ongneer was as awful in taste as always, so I felt a bit sick in the stomach but¡­¡­..again, I really don¡¯t have time to waste so, while making sure I don¡¯t puke it out, I once again headed straight to the assessment room.


    Sitting down, I waited for a while before the same elderly sister came back again.


    She really was surprised to see me back again as her expression relayed her genuine shock to me.


    The Oxter priest showed basically no reaction so I felt a bit nostalgic seeing this kind reaction again.


    ¡°Y-you really came back again!¡­¡­..You do know that if you get another done so soon, it¡¯ll show almost no change but still, you sure you want to get another one done again?¡±


    ¡°yeah, it¡¯s fine. Even if there was no change, I won¡¯t complain at all I promise so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re okay with that, then I¡¯ll happily do it again. Then another gold coin and the card again please?¡±


    I once again handed over my card and one gold coin and quietly waited for the assessment to be done.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-it¡¯s done. I doubt there¡¯s any change but¡­¡­.please check.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    Since I just ate an Ongneer, there¡¯s no way there will be no change though.


    Now then, I wonder what kind of abilities did that humanoid rabbit like monster have I wonder.


    Since it wasn¡¯t me that killed it, and I basically got it for free for finding the Ongneer, I kept my expectations low as I checked my card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 25(+389)


    Strength: 23(+462)


    Stamina: 21(+288)


    Magic: 5(+152)


    Agility: 14(+241)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Ooh! The increase was more than I had hoped of.


    I was happy to see the huge increase in agility, and even my strength had gone by quite a bit.


    The rest didn¡¯t get that much of an increase but, overall, it was an absolutely satisfying boost.


    As for the skills, I got two new ones, [Leg Strength Enhancement] and also [Crimson Eyes].


    I could tell from the name what [Leg strength enhancement]  did more or less but I had no idea what [Crimson Eyes] would do.


    Even in the off chance that [Crimson Eyes] was a waste skill, the [Leg Strength Enhancement] skill seemed like it¡¯d have a lot of great uses for me and it¡¯ll be of great use to me so it was a win, even in the skills department.


    I could only feel gratitude towards this humanoid rabbit-like monster that had not only become a host for the Ongneer that I¡¯ll get to use for a long time from now but had also given me a agility boost and also a really useful skill.


    Now, even if the 5 new plants I had brought turned out to be worthless, I was still happy with the overall results so I felt at ease when doing more discernments.


    Telling the elderly sister once again that I¡¯ll come again one more time, I began my discernment of the 5 new plants.

 CH 198

    Snow¡¯s Equipment


    I finished the discernment of all the plants I had brought, so after giving my thanks to the elderly sister who had now started to feel a bit tired as well, I left the church.


    Thanks to the Sister swiftly doing all the multiple assessments, the sun hadn¡¯t set completely yet.


    I think I can just barely make it to Kevin¡¯s store as well then.


    I quickly walked off the main street and into the back alleys and headed to Kevin¡¯s weapon store.


    Oh by the way, of the 5 new poisonous plants that I tried today, only one of them increased my stats.


    Although I should be clear, the first plant that I tried raised my stamina by 10¡­¡­¡­.however when I went back to assess the next one, that +10 was gone so it was a temporary boost like the Venom Python poison.


    I really thought I had found an incredible plant for a moment but, my joy was short lived unfortunately.


    But that didn¡¯t make it unusable by any means, so I¡¯ll keep that one in mind to find a good way to utilize it.


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    The strange part was that not only did it only raise just my stamina, and the increase only lasted for a about 5 minutes.


    With conditions like that, I can already tell that its uses are going to very limited though.


    I mean, even the Venom Python¡¯s poison got used only against the battle with Carlo.


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    In this one¡¯s case, it feels more like a waste to use it at any situation though¡­¡­..


    While I continued pondering over how to use this new plants effects, I made it to Kevin¡¯s shop before I knew it.


    Since there was no sign or anything outside his store, I didn¡¯t know if it was still open or not but I could see the light from inside so I¡¯m gonna assume he¡¯s still in.


    Opening the door, I entered the store for the first time since Bors brought us here.


    ¡°Hey it¡¯s me, Bors¡¯ acquaintance, Chris. Are you still open?¡±


    Since I didn¡¯t notice anybody after entering, I spoke up loudly to call him out.


    When I did, I heard some sounds from the smithy inside, and then came the sound of footsteps approaching me.


    ¡°Been a while. As for if I¡¯m open, I guess I am.¡±


    Kevin showed up from inside.


    He must have been working on something as he was in his work clothes covered in black soot and looked a bit tired.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s a vague answer. But if you¡¯re open, then mind if I ask work related stuff?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, go ahead. Oh by the way, I did finish your pet,¡ª- Snow¡¯s equipment.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. That was precisely what I came to ask for anyway. Can you show me right now?¡±


    ¡°of course. wait here, I¡¯ll be back in a sec.¡±


    Saying that, Kevin returned back inside to the smithy to pick up the equipment.


    He did say it was worth 5 silver so I didn¡¯t have crazy expectations but I was still excited to see it.


    While I waited and looked at the weapons on display outside, Kevin came back with the equipment in his hands.


    It looked like leather made, blackish in colour, and looked much higher in quality that I originally expected.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..is that Snow¡¯s armour?¡±


    ¡°yeah. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve made some armour for something other than humans so I ended up having some fun with it. You can check and see if something¡¯s not to your liking.¡±


    He put the leather armour down on the counter and I slowly, carefully touched it to check its quality.


    From a quick observation, I could tell that it really was high quality like I originally thought.


    It was also quite light weight, contrary to its appearance, so I¡¯m sure Snow wouldn¡¯t find it irritating to put on either.


    I had no complaints regarding the coverage of the armour either, and although I originally was thinking of having the armour cover more parts, this was already pretty acceptable.


    With this armour on, it¡¯ll work as a good counter measure to RexBill and Medicine Ant as well.


    Especially against Medicine Ants, while I might not be in any danger from then, that¡¯s certainly won¡¯t be the case for Snow.


    To reduce the risk, I also considered letting Snow go with Ralf to the dungeons instead but, with this armour, I can take it with me no problems.


    ¡°I have no problems with it. Thank you for going out of your way and making such a great equipment for Snow.¡±


    ¡°Pay it no heed. I was the one who brought it up after all. So take good care of it alright.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. With this equipment, I can take Snow around with a lot more peace of mind.¡±


    With the time already being what it was, I was thinking of paying for Snow¡¯s equipment and then quickly leaving but¡­¡­..


    But I was honestly wondering if it was okay to get such  a high quality item for just 5 silver coins.


    It¡¯s quality was almost the same as my own, PhorosCobra armour.


    And with the size of it, just 5 silver felt like it was too cheap.


    Just the upper body armour of my Phoros Cobra armour was 6 gold coins after all.


    ¡°What¡¯s the final price? Surely 5 silver isn¡¯t enough for this right?¡±


    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s more than enough. I promised I¡¯ll make it in 5 silvers after all didn¡¯t I? If I asked more now, it¡¯d be the same as a scam.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon that¡¯s not really true. Even I can tell the quality of this thing, and the fact that 5 silvers is too cheap for it.¡±


    ¡°I told you it¡¯s fine. But if you really rate it that highly, then continue using my store in the future as well¡­¡­¡­you young ones shouldn¡¯t try and act so mature all the time and let the adults spoil you from time to time.¡±


    Patting my shoulder twice, Kevin spoke so.


    I still felt a bit bad about this but, if he¡¯s going as far as to say something like that then I should simply accept it.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..If you say so, I¡¯ll gratefully accept this kindness. As long as I¡¯m in Edestor, I promise you I¡¯ll be a regular customer.¡±


    ¡°Sure. You can come for maintenance for your equipments as well. Especially Ralf, tell him to come regularly for his new sword¡¯s maintenance.¡±


    ¡°Wait has Ralf not come to you once since he bought the Tamahagane sword?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s too busy or what but, I¡¯m a bit worried since he didn¡¯t come even once. It¡¯s not a cheap sword after all.¡±


    ¡°Well I did teach him how to do basic maintenance so it should be fine but¡­¡­..Yeah, I¡¯ll be sure to ask Ralf to visit you soon-ish.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, take care.¡±


    ¡°thanks for everything today. We¡¯ll be in your care from now on.¡±


    Handing over the 5 silver coins to Kevin, I gave a deep bow and then left the store.


    As soon as I return back to the Inn, I need to have Snow quickly try this out.


    There¡¯s still a lot of stuff I need to do but, I¡¯m still happy with all that I accomplished today.


    From tomorrow, we¡¯ll go back to completing requests so, let¡¯s keep our spirits up and work hard until I¡¯ve saved up enough money to dive into the Great Forest of Roza again.

 CH 199

    Edestor¡¯s Emergency Request


    About one week had passed since the eventful free day of mine.


    We continued successfully completing platinum rank requests, our rate of finishing requests had become faster than ever.


    Thanks to that, we decided to accept another emergency request, our first since the Oxter emergency request.


    Emergency requests in Edestor were not rare at all, and urgent rescue requests from the dungeon were especially frequent.


    Since it was a rescue mission, the rewards were generally high and you could look for treasure boxes in the dungeon as well so Edestor actually had a bunch of adventurer parties that specialized in dungeon rescues specifically.


    If possible, I would have liked to take these kinds of emergency requests as well but¡­¡­.


    But more than that, I wanted to avoid going anywhere close to the dungeon while Mielle was still there.


    Furthermore, the only ones allowed to accept dungeon rescues are parties that have cleared up to at least the 40th floor or, a party above mithril rank.


    No matter how low level the adventurer who put out the rescue request itself was, these were prerequisite conditions to be cleared otherwise you weren¡¯t allowed to accept it.


    So even without the Mielle issue, we couldn¡¯t accept rescue emergency requests anyway.


    And so, this time we had no choice but to take a normal emergency request, one similar to the Oxter one.


    The request was to subjugate a Dead Lich that had appeared on the plains south of Edestor.


    The south was also where we originally arrived from Oxter, and was normally considered a safe area around Edestor.


    And when we came here as well, there weren¡¯t many strong monsters in that area and neither did we get attacked by some huge amount of monsters either.


    Since this south area was often considered the safest region and was used by not just adventurers but also normal people, the sudden arrival of Dead Lich there obviously resulted in an issuing of an emergency request.


    It¡¯s rank was also not low by any means, and was said to be Mithril rank or above.


    Normally we wouldn¡¯t be able to accept the Dead Lich subjugation either but since it was specifically an emergency request, us platinum rank adventurers were also able to accept it.


    It seemed only rescue requests had much more strict requirements for who can accept.


    .


    ¡°A Dead Lich subjugation, I¡¯m kind of looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°True, aren¡¯t Dead Lichs supposed to be failed magician adventurers? As a fellow magician, Esta can¡¯t lose to one either eh?¡±


    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t thinking of it that way but¡­¡­¡­I am interested in finding out what kind of magic it will use.¡±


    ¡°Excitement¡¯s all good and all but, don¡¯t let it make you careless alright? It is still a high ranking monster, don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand. I will not make the mistake of underestimating it.¡±


    Well I doubt Esta would ever do something like that but, she does has a habit of losing her usual focus when it comes to magic.


    If the Dead Lich happened to use a magic that Esta had never seen or heard of, it¡¯s always possible that she gets captivated by it so I decided to warn her in advance.


    ¡°Still, a dead lich eh?¡­¡­¡­¡­Outside of the fact that it uses magic, we don¡¯t know much about it! Esta, do you have more info?¡±


    ¡°A little bit. On top of high power magic, it can also have Wights and Skeleton monsters as followers apparently.¡±


    ¡°To add further, if it has such followers, it uses a lot of buff type support magic to make them stronger as well. Which is what makes it a really troublesome monster, so if we see any followers with the Lich, Ralf and Snow start with those first asap.¡±


    According to the info I had gathered, Dead Lich was similar to Orc King in many ways.


    Of course, one was a living breathing creature while the other was an undead. One specialized in close quarters physical combat while the other was a magic caster.¡ª¡ª-these two were obvious differences but, the thing to be careful of was the same.


    The danger comes from the low rank undead it may have as followers so it was viatl that we finish the subjugation of the Dead Lich itself quickly.


    I¡¯ll let Esta face the Dead Lich in a direct contest of magic as she seems to be wanting it, and I¡¯ll act as her support.


    Ralf and Snow will focus on killing the scrub followers around us, or at the least that¡¯s the basic plan.


    While talking about all the info on the Dead Lich, as well as explaining the overall plan to them both and Snow, we finally made it to the South plains.


    Just like the DokuDoku Dog in Oxter, undeads mostly appeared at night but, Dead Lich would show up regardless of the time of day.


    That also led to a lot more damage to the surroundings as well, but for the people who¡¯ll be fighting it, being able to battle under daylight was a huge benefit.


    Now I could fight normally even in the darkness of the night thanks to my skills but even then, when it comes to close combat, your reactions are still dulled.


    ¡°This is the place where the Dead Lich is said to frequently show up¡­¡­¡­but I don¡¯t see a single monster around.¡±


    ¡°When we were coming to Edestor from Oxter, it was more or less like this as well! Are you sure this is the right place?¡±


    ¡°Let me and Snow try and detect it. Both of you, be quiet for a minute.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll shut up now!¡±


    Just like these two said, there was nothing but empty plains as far as the eye could see and I couldn¡¯t sense even a single monster.


    Since my normal enemy detection ability was giving me no reactions, I began to slowly activate more and more skills to increase the strength and range of my detection.


    ¡°Snow, you too, use all your focus to find our enemies alright?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    Instructing Snow as well, I activated [Perception Enhancement] [perception Range Enhancement] and then on top of that, also [Life Sense] [Mana Sense] and [Hearing enhancement].


    By the way, the [Crimson Eyes] skill that I thought was a similar detection skill, just turned my eyes blood red and I still had no idea what it actually did.


    Since it made even my vision tinted in red so I know that I simply haven¡¯t figured out the use of this skill yet.


    It¡¯s stamina consumption was also at the same level as [Fortification] so until I fully figure it out, I¡¯m going to seal off the skill for now.


    ¡­¡­¡­.oops, now¡¯s not the time to be wondering of such useless things, and I need to concentrate on finding the enemy.


    Even with 3 more skills active, I still was getting no reaction.


    Since I asked the other two to be quiet as well, all I could hear was some pebble rolling because of wind some place far away but¡­¡­¡­..I suddenly heard just a weird faint sound from the northwest direction.


    It was very far away, and only by using [Perception range enhancement] and [hearing enhancement] could I faintly catch that noise.


    I instantly looked towards Snow and it seemed like Snow had caught that faint sound as well and was already looking towards me.


    An odd sound mixed between the sounds of our breathing and the wind.


    Now I don¡¯t know if this odd sound belonged to the Dead lich or not but, it was worth investigating.


    ¡°I hear something strange in the north-west direction.¡±


    ¡°Wait really!? I don¡¯t hear anything though!¡±


    ¡°Do I have any reason to lie here? The sound might even be underground.¡±


    ¡°Under the ground¡­¡­¡­.really? Are they intentionally hiding themselves beneath the ground then?¡±


    ¡°Well, we won¡¯t know until we go and investigate properly. For now, let¡¯s head in that direction. Just be ready to get thrown into battle at any point from now.¡±


    After giving another warning to Ralf and Esta, we began walking towards the northwest direction where I heard the sound come from.

 CH 200

    The Dead Lich


    About 20 minutes passed as we walked under my and Snow¡¯s guidance.


    ¡ª¡ª-This is a half guess, but I think this area is where I heard the sound coming from.


    Even after coming this close however, my skills were still unable to detect anything.


    ¡­¡­¡­..no signs of mana or life.


    As I looked around, restlessly trying to find any signs of monsters, suddenly¡ª¨C


    From behind, I heard Esta scream out in shrill voice.


    Turning around quickly to see what had happened, I saw a white bone arm sticking out of the ground and grabbing on to Esta¡¯s leg.


    ¡°Esta, stop that! Ralf, quickly smash the arm that¡¯s grabbing on to Esta!¡±


    Esta was about to blast magic aimed at the hand but I stopped her, and order Ralf to cut off the arm instead.


    Hearing me, Ralf quickly drew his tamahagane sword and cleanly cut off the arm that was grabbing on to Esta¡¯s leg.


    Esta quickly shook her leg in disgust to get rid of the arm that was still clung to her leg even after getting cut off, and it finally released its grip as the white bone hand got flown into the air away from her.


    ¡­¡­¡­looks like all¡¯s fine for now.


    I panicked for a second from the surprise attack but if I¡¯m not detecting any life presence, it has to be only undeads here.


    And since I didn¡¯t detect any mana either, it was probably the lowest class of undead, at the same level as goblins or kobolds,¡ª¨Cthe Skeleton.


    ¡°Chris! What the hell was that!?¡±


    ¡°Probably a skeleton. It was too weak, and it being an undead allowed it pass through my detection skills and catch us off guard, but its not a monster you need to be afraid of.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­A skeleton, I see. I really lost my cool for a second there.¡±


    ¡°So do skeletons show up in this region normally? Or is this a side effect of the Dead Lich?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I have no idea. But, I still can¡¯t sense the Dead Lich¡ª¡ª¡ª¡°


    The moment I had said till there, suddenly I felt a burst of strong mana from the front.


    I don¡¯t know how to properly measure a monster¡¯s mana so let me put it this way, it was as strong as Esta¡¯s own mana.


    ¡°I take it all back. I¡¯m sensing a strong mana source from our front¡­¡­¡­.probably the Dead Lich itself. Watch your steps and let¡¯s get closer.¡±


    ¡°Man, I suddenly got the chills, how scary.¡±


    ¡°Ralf, don¡¯t let your mind wander to useless things. And let us get ready for the battle.¡±


    With the mana signal as our guide, we headed to where I assumed the Dead Lich was and soon enough, we caught sight of a monster wearing a gaudy red robe in front of us.


    From afar, one could easily mistake it for a human but there was no doubts about it, that thing was indeed a monster.


    It¡¯s skin had rotten and had dark, muddy texture.


    It was almost as if its skin was melting away, and it only had its left eye still intact.


    In its right eye socket, there was a beautiful stone embedded instead, I could sense a strong mana presence from that stone.


    In contrast to its worn out appearance, the robe that covered its body was probably as high quality as it looked, and the 2m long staff that it held was also clearly a very high quality one, even I could tell that.


    It¡¯s equipment coupled with this mana quantity, it made it clear that this monster was definitely a strong one.


    ¡°Heyy man¡­¡­¡­¡­this smells like danger alright.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly as you sensed, Ralf. It may be a monster, but also a powerful magician. The Mithril rank is not just for show.¡±


    ¡°Esta, you okay with being the main fighter? If it looks too dangerous, I don¡¯t mind taking it on myself.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, what are you saying!? I won¡¯t lose no matter what. Just relax, and focus on my support as we planned.¡±


    Esta gave a cool laugh and said that to me.


    I was still slightly worried, I won¡¯t lie but if she¡¯s this confident then it should be alright.


    Hearing Esta¡¯s words made me happy to see her growth after all this time, so I focused on doing my job as the support as she asked.


    Just like our info said, soon all sorts of monsters were beginning to appear around the Dead Lich, and it suddenly looked like we were going to get surrounded.


    ¡°Wights and Skeletons. There¡¯s a couple Skeleton Warriors as well but, it¡¯s the number of Skeleton mages that¡¯s a bit more surprising.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, it¡¯s me and Snow handling the scrubs right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­No, Ralf, you act as Esta¡¯s support instead. There¡¯s too many magic using monsters so we need to clean them out faster. So I¡¯ll handle the scrub hunting instead.¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve handled situations like these in the dungeon as well¡­¡­..I could¡¯ve handled it too! But, I¡¯ll follow your orders as always!¡±


    Certainly, after his recent experiences in the dungeons I¡¯m sure Ralf probably could¡¯ve handled it as well but, I prefer always choosing the safer route.


    Besides Ralf acting as Esta¡¯s wall will make things safer on that side as well. And it¡¯ll allow me to fight without worrying as well.


    ¡°Ralf, you¡¯ll protect Esta. I¡¯ll get rid of the surrounding scrubs asap and then switch to support as well.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me! I¡¯ll block everything they throw at us!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of the Lich pretty quickly as well so Chris-san, you can take your time fighting if you want to.¡±


    ¡°You two sure have gotten a whole lot more reliable than before eh.¡±


    If they are talking this confidently, I guess I should focus fully on my job as well then.


    I gave the usual handsigns and signals to Snow like I did in the Roza forest, and made Snow circle around to attack them from both sides.


    In that time, I cancelled all my detection skills and activated, [Flesh Enhancement] [War Dance] [Valour] [Physical Ability Boost], these 4 skills and then also used, [Intimidating presence] on top.


    I had been using [Intimidating Presence] in battle here and there now.


    It didn¡¯t have much effect on any of the stronger opponents but, against weaker ones it showed its true usefulness.


    Since I couldn¡¯t use it on myself, I had no idea what it actually did or how it affected the enemies but, according to Ralf, it was like getting hit with a wave of killing intent apparently.


    Those hit with this skill get paralyzed in place for a little while, and some turn tail and run away completely as well.


    I didn¡¯t think it¡¯ll be too effective against undead enemies but, when I used it against the Skeletons coming towards me, they suddenly froze in their place.


    Using that opening, I jumped into the middle of the huge number of monsters that were trying to surround us¡ª¡ª¨Cand as if opening a hole in the horde, I rushed straight to the middle of the group and began slicing them apart from within.

 CH 201

    Skeleton Horde


    The number of skeletons popping out of the ground was a lot more than I originally expected but, in the end they were just mere skeletons.


    Since I was using my skills as well, just a light swing of my sword would pulverize the brittle bones of these skeletons.


    Since I jumped straight into the middle of the horde, I was completely surrounded by enemies on all sides but I just continued to swing my sword around me without ever being in any real danger and moved ahead until I reunited with Snow.


    Then, we finally began targeting the Skeleton Warriors and mages that I had been avoiding until now.


    I took on the warriors and Snow handled the skeleton mages, and we both launched our attacks simultaneously.


    Skeleton warriors were basically normal skeletons but equipped in full armour, and a sword & shield.


    And the equipment wasn¡¯t some cheap leather either but proper iron armour, so even though it was still a skeleton, you couldn¡¯t fight them too carelessly.


    Making sure that my concentration levels don¡¯t drop, I launched my assault at the dozen or so Skeleton Warrior rushing towards me with their swords raised.


    Paying attention to what parts were covered by their shield or armour, I made a couple of feints to create openings and stabbed my sword at directly only at the places where their white bone was visible.


    Just because they were armoured up, doesn¡¯t mean that their insides became stronger as well after all. It¡¯s still the same old skeleton.


    In the middle of it all, I¡¯ll also throw in a couple of leg sweeps to destroy their balance as I continued my assault and in a matter of moments, the skeleton warriors that were trying to surround me had all been destroyed like this.


    Since there were a couple Skeleton mages still standing, I quickly moved to go and help Snow finish them off.


    Unlike the Dead Lich, that was wearing a high quality red robe, these mages were covered in a tattered black robe and were equipped with a simple wand.


    The magic they could use was also only elementary level magic but, since there were a lot of them, actually dealing with them all was bit more troublesome than you¡¯d think.


    Snow had been doing well, moving around, dodging and killing when it could but, that was way too much effort for me so I just rushed from up front and began my onslaught.


    As long as I can get close enough, I can rip through these mage in a single slash.


    Cutting down the fire ball that was launched at me by one of the skeleton mages, I instantly rushed near it and then cut it down with a horizontal slash.


    Since I can keep track of all of them whenever they use any magic, I can continue killing them all like this as long as it stays this way.


    Perhaps because they had been buffed by the Dead Lich, their magic did feel a bit stronger than normal but in the end , it was still elementary magic and I could cut it down with a slash of my sword.


    And so, with matching my pace with Snow, we hunted down the rest of the mages.


    .


    After cutting down the 20 or so Skeleton mages alongside the normal skeletons that kept on popping up from the ground here and there, we finished our scrub hunt and then took a breather.


    On the other side, Esta & Ralf, who were facing the Dead Lich, their magic duel was still continuing in full force.


    I had been throwing sidelong glances towards Esta to keep an eye on their battle just in case but, when it came to magic, Esta and the Dead Lich were basically evenly matched.


    And adding the Tank Ralf into the mix meant that Esta clearly had the upper hand and was pushing but¡­¡­¡­.the battle still showed no signs of concluding.


    But, now that Snow and I had hunted down all of the Dead Lich¡¯s Skeleton army, it¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that the final result of this battle was already decided.


    If me and Snow also attacked the Dead Lich now, this stalemate will be instantly overturned in a matter of minutes.


    I wanted to battle the Dead Lich as well, so I did consider throwing myself into the mix as well but¡­¡­¡­


    Well, Esta just looked she was having a lot of fun duelling this Dead Lich.


    So much fun that she was smiling ear to ear as she fired one intermediate magic after another.


    Since the opponent was an undead, it was impossible for me to get a read on its expression but, the Dead Lich continued to counter this barrage from Esta with some ever-changing dynamic magic of its own.


    It wasn¡¯t because I was underestimating the Lich or anything but, I instinctively felt that not helping her here and simply watching over their battle right now was the correct decision for the sake of Esta¡¯s own growth.


    Of course, it seemed like she might lose, I will instantly rush in to support but, until that happens, I¡¯m thinking of letting Esta handle this by herself.


    As for Snow, I asked it to take care of the basic Skeletons that still continued popping out here and there, and I simply waited by the side, ready to help whenever needed as I continued to observe the battle between Esta and the Dead Lich.


    ¡ª¡ªthis is my first time seeing a magic duel of this high level, and I must admit, it had its own beauty to it, different from a normal physical duel.


    In close combat, reading and reacting to the opponent was critical, so if a trained person watched that, they¡¯ll find enjoyment but for a normal person, all the little techniques will be lost to them and go above their heads and the fight itself will not look more than basic scruffle.


    However, in a magic battle, the flashiness of the spells was great enough to make it so that even a normal person watching would be highly entertained.


    Since Esta used all 4 basic elements evenly, colourful energies of red, green, blue and brown all flashed about in the area, and the Dead Lich was adept in a compound magic that used Water and earth magic, to create a Mud like magic that he could manipulate to its will and used it to defend against Esta¡¯s attacks.


    Esta¡¯s magic was, like I said, flashy as hell, and made even me, who didn¡¯t even understand the M of magic, feel all excited; and on the other hand the Dead Lich was handling these flashy attacks perfectly.


    Since Esta was on the attacking side, I felt a bit more relaxed in watching like this and I almost felt like cheering her from the side; that¡¯s how moved I was from the sight in front of me.


    Every once in a while, the Dead Lich would manipulate the Mud magic to launch an attack as well but all of those were perfectly parried away by Ralf.


    Honestly, a part me really felt like Ralf helping out by acting as her guard was quite frankly ruining the look of the battle but¡­¡­¡­..


    I had no place to interject here, so I quietly watched from the side and waited to see what kind of conclusion this battle will reach.

 CH 202

    A Flashy Duel


    The first one to switch things up was Esta.


    Until now, she had been using intermediate magic of the 4 basic elements like [Fire Ball] [Hydro Ball] etc, but as the Dead Lich could handle those, she began using compound magic now.


    While I was cooped up inside the Roza forest, she finally practiced and learnt how to use intermediate level compound magic in actual battle.


    The magic that Esta unleashed was, a compound magic that used Fire and Wind magic¡ª¨C[Flare Blast].


    It was a compound magic made of two intermediate level spells but thanks to the affinity between fire and wind elements, the firepower of this magic rivalled advanced level magic.


    The big flaring flame fired by Esta rapidly rushed towards the Dead Lich as if to swallow it whole.


    Seeing the magic fired by Esta, the Dead Lich must have realized that its guarding methods until now won¡¯t be able to make it in time, covered its body in its splendorous robe and moved to try and limit the impact to as little as possible.


    The [Flare blast] didn¡¯t just stop at the almost defenceless Dead Lich, as it completely enveloped the monster and then continued further behind, incinerating the land behind the Lich as well and flew into the distance.


    A solid 10 seconds passed.


    It didn¡¯t seem like the Dead Lich was going to come out of the burning flames, so I wondered if the battle was over and the Lich had just been completely incinerated to ashes but¡ª¡ª-


    As the flames of the [Flare blast] slowly died out, from within the embers and smoke, the Dead Lich walked out. Covered by its robe and also the burnt ground itself.


    The Robe also had traces of burns all over but, it seems that Dead Lich had somehow managed to survive for now.


    Seeing it still alive, Esta began setting up her next magic but before she could, this time it was the Dead Lich that moved.


    It waved its 2m long staff, and launched the basic magic [Earth Arrow] at Esta.


    Normally, Ralf would guard against it and the next magic that Esta would use would hit the Dead Lich directly, ending the battle but, to avoid getting burnt himself by the [Flare Blast], Ralf had no choice but to create some distance from Esta, so this time Esta had no choice but to cancel the magic she was going to use and quickfired [Fire Arrows] to counter.


    This stalled Esta just enough for the Dead Lich to stab the earth with its staff and prepare for its next big move.


    I had no idea what it was going to do, but I had a ill premonition, so I began wondering if I should finally move to help when¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    From the place where the Dead Lich had stabbed its staff, a big magic circle appeared.


    Since I basically had zero knowledge when it comes to magic, I had no idea what this magic circle was for but, the only magic circle I had seen before this was the one in Oxter¡¯s ruins with the Golem.


    If this was similar to that, the magic circle would unleash a magic as powerful as the time allowed to prepare it.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Looks like I¡¯ll need to intervene here after all.


    ¡°Esta! I¡¯ll help now!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Chris-san. Please let me fight it alone just for a little while longer! I promise I¡¯ll win so please!¡±


    I was preparing to rush in as I spoke but, Esta quickly replied back to stop me.


    I really thought that the [Flare Blast] would end it but if it survived that, then this Dead Lich was a stronger monster than I originally expected.


    Even if Esta said that, in my head I know that the correct decision here was to intervene alongside Snow and quickly put an end to this fight but¡­¡­.


    Even in this deadly duel of magic where one misstep could lead to danger, Esta was still standing there without a single scratch.


    With the circumstances being what they were, I could potentially let her fight solo for a bit longer.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Fine. If you say so, I won¡¯t interfere.¡ª¡ª¨CBut, the moment you get hit by even a single spell, I will join the battle. Those are my conditions. And don¡¯t you forget that!¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, thank you very much! I understand!¡±


    Esta turned back to the Dead Lich, and started to prepare her own magic after replying to me.


    Multiple magic circles had appeared on the ground by now.


    I thought that since what magic the Dead lich was trying to use was unknown so she¡¯d struggle with how to defend against it, but instead, Esta paid it no heed and simply began firing magic at the Dead Lich again.


    It was a simple intermediate level [Flame ball].


    The moment the [Flame ball] passed over one of the magic circles, the circle began to flash and activated.


    A black pillar of light released from the magic circle and what appeared from within it was another monster, one exactly similar to the Dead Lich itself.


    Furthermore, as if resonating with that magic circle, the other magic circles also began flashing, and five different Dead Lichs appeared from them to stand in front of Esta.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª[Mana Sense].


    I quickly activated my skill and checked the newly appeared Lichs.


    ¡­¡­¡­.outside of the original, all the rest had very little mana.


    This is my assumption but, I think these were all just Skeleton mages that were made to look like the Dead Lichs, and they weren¡¯t actually Lichs.


    Looking closely, the newly summoned Dead Lichs all had clean and unscathed robes unlike the original¡¯s now tattered red robe.


    Also the red jewel like thing in the right eye was not present in these copies.


    Esta must have noticed these things as well but without [Mana Sense] she probably won¡¯t get a clear idea of what these things were like I did.


    That said, I made a promise to not say a single word or interfere until she got hit once.


    While I was feeling complicated inside from this sudden change in situation, the Dead Lich began its next attack.


    All 6 Dead Lichs, the original and the fakes, began chanting something and prepping to fire magic at Esta.


    ¡­¡­¡­I know made that promise and all but clearly this was an abnormal situation with 5 new fake Lichs joining the fray.


    Deeming it an exceptional case, I began to move forward and got ready to start barking orders to Esta and Ralf but¡ª¡ª¨Cthis time, it was Ralf who stopped me with his hand raised.


    Looking back, Esta was standing with her eyes shut, focusing and preparing for something.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Fine, just a bit more. I¡¯ll continue watching just for a little bit longer.


    Trusting Ralf and Esta, I held myself back and continued watching over how these two will overcome this situation.


    The first one to make the next move was of course the Dead Lich¡¯s side.


    The fake Lichs launched a [Fire ball].


    Meanwhile, the main Dead Lich was raising the ground around it and was preparing to use some kind of earth magic I had never seen before.


    From its sheer scale, it seemed like an advanced magic so I was worried whether they could handle it or not.


    The fake Lichs continued launching fire balls, and the Dead Lich, having finally finished its chant, launched a massive earth type magic towards Esta.


    Esta, with her eyes still, showed no signs of moving still, meanwhile the fireballs began landing on Ralf¡¯s shield as he continued to block.


    Soon, the next barrage of five fire balls assaulted Ralf and finally, the massive earth magic was approaching where Ralf stood.


    The [fire balls] were a lot more stronger than usual as after 6 consecutive hits, the explosions made it difficult for me to see how Ralf was handling it.


    And as you¡¯d expect, at this point it was too late for me to interfere, so I could simply watch as the massive earth magic headed towards Ralf.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t anxious seeing this but, I also had belief that Esta will surely do something to handle it.


    As I continued watching trusting Esta to do something¡ª¡ª¨Cthe massive earth magic that the Dead Lich had fired and was roaring towards them, suddenly stopped in mid air.

 CH 203

    The Killing Blow


    ¡°[Aero Flood]¡±


    Esta¡¯s chant was heard, and a typhoon like magic that roared through and swallowed the Dead Lich¡¯s earth magic was fired.


    Probably a compound magic of wind and water elements, it completely overwhelmed the Dead Lich¡¯s earth magic and¡­¡­¡­¡­.further absorbed the earth into its own attack, and then rushed all together towards the dead lich.


    A magic that turned the opponent¡¯s own magic towards them on the way, Esta¡¯s magic was basically a big reversal magic.


    I¡¯m sure the Dead Lich was hoping to use the fake Dead Lich¡¯s to absorb some attacks and attention from itself, but Esta¡¯s magic simply enveloped all of them at the same time and blew them away.


    The fakes did try to create a wall with their bodies to try and defend the Dead Lich but¡­¡­.


    They were instantly annihilated by the [Aero Flood] that also had the Earth magic absorbed into it.


    The tattered Dead Lich remained alone as he watched the [Aero Flood] approach it. I wondered how it¡¯ll try to even block this but, perhaps it felt that making a futile struggle was beneath it as¡ª¡ª-The Dead Lich simply opened its arms wide and let the magic swallow it whole.


    It was all cloudy when the battle began, but as the battle ended, the sun shone through the now parting clouds over Ralf, who had deflected all the fireballs and Esta who had fired the final killing blow of magic, as if proclaiming them victors.


    [Flare Blast] and [Aero Flood].


    Due to consecutively firing two powerful compound magic, even Esta was feeling the fatigue as her body bent over with her hands on her knees.


    The land around the area that had been first ruined by the Dead Lich¡¯s earth magic and then further destroyed by Esta¡¯s magic was proof of the scale and extremity of this battle. And I walked through this devastated land back towards those two.


    ¡°You two, good job. That was one hell of a magic battle.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­yes, I will admit even I feared for my life during that.¡ª¡ª-and yet I made such a selfish request of you, I can only apologize.¡±


    Tired and exhausted from the battle, yet Esta bowed in apology towards me.


    Certainly, she was uncharacteristically selfish today with her demands but, as in the end she did finish the battle without taking a single hit as promised.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­of course, even a single hit in a battle like this could have resulted in death though.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize. I did promise to not interfere until you get hit once after all. It was just that the Dead Lich had done something strange, so  I was about to jump into the battle of my own accord, so you didn¡¯t do anything wrong Esta.¡±


    ¡°But, deep inside even I did feel that it was dangerous. Yet I made such a selfish request of you.¡±


    ¡°But you were confident that you¡¯d beat it though right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. There¡¯s no doubt about that.¡±


    ¡°Then its fine. Even from my eyes, who knows nothing about magic, that final attack was simply perfect¡­¡­¡­So, was it all worth it?¡±


    ¡°It was! It was an enemy, a monster no less but¡ª¡ª¨CI learnt a lot from seeing the Dead Lich¡¯s magic up front. I¡¯m glad I faced it head-on.¡±


    I don¡¯t think she realized it herself but she was actually laughing and smiling during the battle after all.


    There aren¡¯t a lot of monsters that are so adept at using magic so it must have made for some good experience for Esta.


    ¡°Ralf as well, you did well protecting her. I¡¯ll be honest, I thought you got done in when I saw those 6 fire ball barrage hit you.¡±


    ¡°I know I stopped you from interfering but honestly, I was panicking all the way! I mean the fire balls were manageable but I could see that big earth magic come right at me after all!¡±


    ¡°I know Esta¡¯s magic completely nullified it but¡­¡­¡­Ralf, hypothetically speaking, could you have actually blocked that earth magic?¡±


    ¡°Nahh¡­¡­¡­that¡¯d be a bit much, though I think I could have at least made sure that it didn¡¯t hit Esta at least, maybe?¡±


    Saying that, Ralf laughed coolly.


    You know, even his personality is a good fit for the tank role.


    Of course, his innate talent and his job as [Holy Knight] are still huge part of it but, I really think his personality that often puts others ahead of himself makes him a really good fit for the tank role.


    Well, I don¡¯t how he does it when he goes dungeon diving solo so perhaps there¡¯s more layers to him that I don¡¯t know yet.


    ¡°Look at you acting all cool. I¡¯d like to say a line like that once in my life as well.¡±


    ¡°Ehhhh, really? You¡¯re not just pulling my leg are you!?¡±


    Looking slightly embarrassed, he grinned happily. Though that was more of a minus.


    What a waste, especially after he made such a cool line.


    ¡°All that aside, how did it go for you Chris? It seemed like you guys were done pretty quickly.¡±


    ¡°I mean it¡¯s my fault for going all out from the start, but it really was boringly easy. Snow fought very well as well so I hardly even broke a sweat.¡±


    Snow also came up to nuzzle on to me while wagging its tail.


    At first it wasn¡¯t too comfortable with it but now Snow seemed to have gotten used to wearing its personalized armour, and was able to move normally today as well.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really able to watch Chris-san or Snow at all because I was preoccupied with the Dead Lich but¡­¡­..once again, thank you very much for taking care of all the rest of the enemies just so I could focus on the Lich!¡±


    ¡°Give your thanks to Snow if you want to. Halfway through, I was basically watching your battle from the side. And it was Snow that continued to take care of all the skeletons that continued to pop up.¡±


    ¡°Is that so! Snow, thank you so much!¡±


    Snow purred happily from having its head patted and rubbed by Esta.


    ¡ª¡ª-Alright, enough talking and let¡¯s return to Edestor.


    I wanted to collect a proof of subjugation from the Lich but did anything even survived after this battle¡­¡­¡­


    Afterwards, all three of us split up and searched for something but only the red jewel that was in its right eye remained, so we just took that as our proof.


    With that, we left the western plains, and returned back to Edestor.

 CH 204

    Choices


    A week had passed since we completed the emergency request.


    The reward from the completion turned out to be much larger than I expected, and on top of that, the red jewel from the Lich was also sold by Esta for an additional platinum coin.


    Thanks to all that, even though it had only been 2 weeks since I returned from the great forest of Roza, we had already saved up enough money to not require finishing requests every day again.


    Of course part of it was also the fact that the total amount earned from requests had increased since we rose to Platinum rank as well and it became even more efficient to quickly earn money so, from here onwards I think we¡¯ll be able to maintain the routine of two weeks of regular requests followed by two weeks of free time to focus on ourselves.


    And so, we entered the free time again now, and the three of us will be working separately again while focusing on further strengthening ourselves in various ways¡­¡­¡­.


    As for me, I had a lot choices to choose from in regards to that.


    I could head back to the Roza forest to gather more plants and check on Ongneer.


    I could use Henjak¡¯s info to explore some of the other regions of Roza forest.


    It was also about time I asked Bors to fight and train with me like he promised, and I could also head to the old golem guy, Esta¡¯s teacher, and learn to use magic as well.


    I haven¡¯t even fully compiled and processed all the info I gathered from my previous visit to the greta forest of Roza either, and neither have I started making that map I had been thinking of doing.


    ¡­¡­..to be honest, I greedily wanted to just go back to the Roza forest again but, this time I think it is the better choice to stay in Edestor and finish off all the things I can do here first.


    I spent a lot of time racking my brain over this and finally came to this decision.


    My main priority was to learn Magic. Then I want to go spar with Bors, and then hopefully also make that map.


    With my plans set, I decided to ask Esta to introduce me to the golem guy.


    .


    .


    The next day.


    Alongside Esta, I came to a big store located slightly away from the main street called [Magic Cave].


    ¡°This is Phillip-san¡¯s place! Chris-san, can you wait here for a second while I go in and explain the situation to him first?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    Seeing Esta off as she walked into the store, I waited alone outside.


    I would have preferred to have at least waited inside and looked around the store in the meantime but, I am already asking for a big favour asking her to get in a good word for me so I shouldn¡¯t be too selfish and quietly wait here.


    By the way, Snow went out with Ralf and is probably currently experiencing its first dungeon exploration.


    Having Snow with him would increase the overall attacking power, and will help him in detecting enemies as well.


    Of course, it¡¯ll depend on Ralf but there¡¯s a possibility that I might have to fight Ralf over who gets to take Snow with them in the future.


    While I was thinking of Snow, having finished her talk with the old man, Esta came outside from the store.


    In her hands was some kind of paper.


    ¡°So, how did it go?¡±


    ¡°It was fine of course. You need to write down your details on this piece of paper, so do you mind doing it yourself Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. Let me write.¡±


    We both entered the store, and sat down on a table placed near the entrance and began to fill the entry form.


    The paper was mostly meant to record the basic profile of the person so I quickly began writing the details down but¡­¡­.


    After my date of birth, name, and specialized job column, it was all magic related stuff so I had no idea what to fill.


    Speciality magic, element of magic that I used, my degree of mana control, etc¡­¡­¡­


    I came here precisely because I can¡¯t use magic so I just entered ¡®n/a¡¯ in all these columns and finished my profile.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done. What do I do next?¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go and submit it so you can wait here, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Am I not allowed to see him or something?¡±


    ¡°Phillip-san is currently in the middle of making a magic item so he¡¯s in bit of a sour mood. Since it¡¯s you Chris-san, there¡¯s always a chance a random argument might break out so it¡¯s better if you wait here.¡±


    ¡°Well if you¡¯re gonna say that much, fine. I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±


    I handed over the piece of paper, and waited for Esta to return once again.


    This whole process was such a pain so part of me wanted to talk and deal with him directly but¡­¡­.


    I am also well aware of my own personality, I understand that my compatibility with people who are already in a rough mood tends to be pretty bad.


    I was the one who made the request to her, so I should just quietly follow her lead and do as told so that everything goes smoothly.


    I convinced myself like that, while I went around glancing at the goods on display in the store.


    A magic shop¡­¡­..this is my first time coming to one, and let¡¯s just say that the odd atmosphere here definitely got a perfect score.


    There were a lot of people inside the store, surprisingly enough, and that included both employees and customers.


    While mixed in with these customers, I began carefully observing the various items displayed here.


    The first thing to catch my eye was one I had heard from Esta as well, a Magic ball.


    An item supposedly invented by the Magus Family, it¡¯s a crystal with magic embedded within it.


    There were all sorts of magic balls being sold inside this store ranging from the spells I knew of, like [Fire Ball] or [Earth Ball] and other elementary magic, and there were even intermediate ones like [Flame Ball] and [Hydro Ball].


    There were no advanced magic ones here in the store, but according to a notice here, it said that even advanced magic balls could be custom made on order.


    The demand must not be very high for those to put them out on display but, they could make one if required I guess.


    I was a bit interested in advanced magic balls but, I left it aside for now and went to look at a different place.


    Moving away from the magic balls, I came to the area with various grimoires put on display.


    An amount of grimoires incomparable to [Shichifukuya] were displayed here, and all of them were so expensive that even I couldn¡¯t purchase them right away.


    I mean, the cheapest one was 10 platinum coins.


    And the truly ornate ones, didn¡¯t even have a set price tag sometimes.


    The grimoire I bought at [Shichifukuya] was also about 2 platinum coins, but now I realize that even that was pretty cheap.


    If it was 10 platinum coins like here, I probably would have never even thought of buying it, and once I again I felt a great sense of gratitude towards the old man who ran [Shichifukuya].


    While I was mesmerized by the line of Grimoires, and observing their covers and price tags¡ª¡ª


    Esta returned back from inside the store.


    ¡°Were you checking out the items here? Did you find anything good?¡±


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re all too difficult for me to use anyway¡­¡­¡­.so, how did it go for you?¡±


    ¡°he definitely made a conflicted face when he read your profile but, I think it should be fine. He did tell me to bring you with me so let¡¯s go inside now and meet him together.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Lead the way.¡±


    Having received the approval, I followed Esta inside to meet the old golem guy again, a long time since we first met.


    Since the first meeting at the caf¨¦. And then there was the time during the ruins visit, so I quite frankly didn¡¯t even remember much how he looked honestly¡­¡­¡­


    I do remember thinking he was an odd guy that¡¯s all.


    Well, now I¡¯m hoping to learn under him so I should make sure to not say anything to make him angry at the very least.

 CH 205

    Negotiations


    Walking through the employees only door, we headed inside the place.


    The store itself was moderately big, but inside, the place was much bigger and wider, and it reminded me of how Norfast¡¯s adventurer guild was built.


    Just like that cross dressing guild master had led me through into a private room at the other end of the building, here too, I walked into a similar room.


    Inside, the room was dark and narrow, and was filled some suspicious smoke.


    ¡°Phillip-san, I know you have met once a while back when we took your request, but again, this is my party¡¯s leader, Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Long time no see. The name¡¯s Chris.¡±


    After Esta¡¯s introduction, I gave a curt greeting as well.


    Reacting to my voice, the golem old man stopped whatever he was concentrated on and turned back towards us.


    ¡°ooh, I met you during the ruins investigation request right. Sorry, but I barely remember you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t remember much about you either.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Actually, now I do remember. You said something brazen like that back then as well.¡±


    ¡°Phillip-san, let¡¯s put all that aside and talk about the topic at hand. Will you be willing to teach Chris-san magic?¡±


    He must have recalled something from my attitude, as his expression looked a bit sullen.


    Perhaps sensing from the atmosphere that the conversation might head into a bad direction, Esta quickly butted in and changed the topic back to our original reason for coming here.


    ¡°Since it was Esta¡¯s request, I did plan on accepting it but¡­¡­.umm, you put in n/a for speciality magic as well as element. As in, you have never used magic at all? Hofofo, doesn¡¯t that mean you simply don¡¯t have the talent for magic? I don¡¯t mean to sound rude but it might be better to just give up on it you know.¡±


    With his one hand he made the gesture as if he was shooing some animal away.


    I heard he¡¯s the disciple of some big shot or whatever, but man, even when I met him in Oxter, he definitely irritated me.


    I had been thinking of being respectful since I was the one asking him to teach me but¡ª¡ª-that just went out of the window.


    I felt bad for Esta who wasted her time to try and make this happen, but I can just figure out some other way to deal with the corpses of monsters, and just give up on magic for now.


    ¡°Oh what? I had high hopes but I guess you can only teach people who are already talented huh?¡­¡­¡­..guess your name¡¯s famous for fucking nothing then.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what!?! Do you even know who I am!!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, and now I have no interest either. All you do is gather already talented people and act like you trained them, when you did fuck all don¡¯t you old man?¡±


    ¡°Wha, wha, what a rude person you are!!¡±


    My words made him angry enough that the old man¡¯s face reddened.


    And his face looked so funny that I ended up laughing but, seeing me laugh only made him even more angrier since and his face even more redder.


    ¡°Wa-wait please! You two please calm down! I didn¡¯t bring you both to talk so that yo can argue each other¡­¡­¡­..Phillip-san, can you not please at least give it a try?¡±


    ¡°I refuse completely! I have no intention of teaching a person who can¡¯t show even a shred of respect to me!¡±


    ¡°So he says. Sorry Esta, I know I made you go through all the trouble for it but I¡¯ll find someone else.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, please wait a minute!¡±


    While trying to call me back, Esta suddenly began rummaging through her bag in a panic.


    And, brought out a red ball like item and showed it the old man.


    ¡­¡­¡­Hm? That red ball, wasn¡¯t that the crystal that was in that Dead Lich¡¯s right eye?


    Didn¡¯t she sell it for a platinum coin? Or did she buy it back again?


    ¡°Phillip-san, please look at this jewel.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Hm? What? Showing me some jewel isn¡¯t going¡ª¡ª-¡°


    Saying that, the old man suddenly stopped in his tracks.


    He snatched the red jewel off Esta¡¯s hands and put it under the lens on his table and began passionately studying it.


    ¡°Th,this is¡­¡­..!!¡±


    ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s a jewel with enough mana embedded that it could become a core of a golem.¡±


    ¡°E-esta! Where did you find this!?¡­¡­..or rather, please sell this to me! I¡¯ll pay whatever amount you ask for!!¡±


    Having snatched the jewel back from him by Esta, the old man was pleading her to give it back to him.


    He was acting all high and mighty but now he looked like just another old man.


    ¡°if you properly teach Chris-san magic, I will think about it. Phillip-san, how about it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Fine! All I have to do is teach this brat magic right? I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    He hesitated for a second but on his scale of importance, it was clear that the jewel was far more important to him.


    I thought of this back when we met in Oxter as well but when it comes to golems, this old man really looses all his sense of reasoning doesn¡¯t he?


    Esta used that brilliantly, and negotiated a way for me to get taught by him.


    ¡°Phillip-san, thank you very much. Then, please take of care of Chris-san¡¯s coaching!¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine, I get it. I made a promise so I won¡¯t go back on it! Esta, you can go to the practice room and continue your usual drills.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡­¡­¡­.And Chris-san, work hard with your magic training as well okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks for the negotiating.¡±


    Seeing Esta off and thanking her, it was just us two now in this dark and narrow room.


    Due to our little spat, we both kept silent for a while until the old man cleared his throat loudly and then began to talk again.


    ¡°Since it is Esta¡¯s request, I will teach you but if you act like you did again, I will drive you out of here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.of course you can but, are you sure you¡¯ll be okay without ever getting that red jewel? If I tell Esta to not sell it to you, I guarantee you will never get your hands on it ever.¡±


    As soon as he started talking again, he tried to take the upper hand again but, I quickly kicked him down back to the earth.


    I do want to learn magic but, I will never ever agree to going through a heavy-handed one-sided beat down style of teaching like I went through under my father ever again.


    I used the bargaining chip left to me by Esta, and forcefully brought us to an equal standing.


    ¡°ugugugu!¡ª¡ª¨CWe¡¯ll begin practicing magic. I¡¯ll quickly teach you some basic magic, and then get the jewel from Esta!¡±


    ¡°That is quite literally what I want as well. I have no interest in actually becoming a proper disciple of yours.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, what a impertinent brat you are¡­¡­¡­.First, I will test your aptitude. Follow me.¡±


    Stopping whatever work he was doing, the old man left the room.


    I followed after him and was led to probably the most suspicious looking room I have ever seen in my life.


    The entire room was covered in magic circles and even I hesitated for a second to step inside this place.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, hurry up and sit down inside the room.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..So I just have to sit in the centre there?¡±


    ¡°yes. And then close your eyes for a while.¡±


    As instructed, I sat down in the middle of the room and then closed my eyes while remaining silent.


    When I had entered the room it was completely quiet but, after closing my eyes for a while I was hit by this feeling as if I was surrounded by people on all sides and I could also hear also sorts of sounds coming from everywhere.


    Due to my constant lifestyle in the forest, I had become so sensitive to sounds and I almost opened my eyes out of instinct but¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t open your eyes yet! Just sit there, and do nothing!!¡±


    Somehow the old man sensed I was about to open my eyes and warned me, so I endured it all and continued keeping my eyes shut.


    While putting up with this sensation, as if people were coming close to me and then walking away, for a while, finally the room began to return to normal.


    ¡°You can open your eyes now. And then, quietly leave the room.¡±


    Opening my eyes after getting his permission, I looked around but of course, no one was there except the odd empty room.


    I was extremely curious to know what that presence inside was but, for now let me leave the room first.

 CH 206

    Zero Talent


    After leaving the weird room, I followed the old man back to his original work room.


    In the meantime, unlike before where he was making an annoyed face, the old man was looking at the piece of paper I had filled with a serious expression.


    Did he enter his teaching mode, or was it something else that made him curious¡ª¡ª¨CI had no idea but, at least it looks like he was finally taking this seriously.


    ¡°Sit down there.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..So, what the hell was that earlier? Can you explain a bit.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand even if I did. Forget that, and answer my questions instead¡­¡­..is everything written on this paper true?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all exactly as the paper says. I can¡¯t use any magic, and in fact, I haven¡¯t even been able to sense my mana.¡±


    ¡°In that case, this is extremely peculiar¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯ll give the conclusion first, you have absolutely no talent for magic. ¡ª¡ª¡ªOr rather, your body is well suited for magic but you have utterly zero talent for using it for magic properly.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    ¡°According to the appraisal done in that room, your body most certainly possess a more than decent amount of mana, I can tell. However, if you can¡¯t use magic even after possessing that much mana means your brain simply isn¡¯t proficient at using magic.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­I see.


    I sort of get what the old man was trying to tell me.


    I never had any talent for magic in the first place, but thanks to Eggmash I had raised my magic stat to such a high level that it had created this irregularity.


    My body was never supposed to be capable of using magic but I had no made it so that it had more mana than the average person.


    That had thrown the old man into confusion.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that it¡¯ll be hard for me to learn magic?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the gist of it yes. Even with all this mana, to still not  being able to use magic¡­¡­¡­hofofo, being talentless truly is pitiful eh.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.well if you can¡¯t teach me magic, the jewel ¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°I never said I can¡¯t. Depending on method, anyone can learn how to use magic after all.¡±


    Since he seemed like he was mocking me, I was going to fire back at him but the old man quickly added another statement to stop me beforehand.


    I never liked his attitude in the first place so if I really had no talent, then I would have simply given up on it but¡­¡­¡­can he really teach even someone with no talent like me on how to use magic?


    Perhaps, I can have some hope after all.


    ¡°Really? If you can, tell me how.¡±


    ¡°I will of course. You¡¯re the one who jumped to a wrong conclusion¡­¡­¡­here eat this medicine, and then follow me again.¡±


    The old man handed me a vial with a jet black liquid that was giving off a dangerous smell.


    It certainly didn¡¯t look like a potion, and to be honest I didn¡¯t want to drink it but, I took a deep breath and instantly gulped it all down.


    How do I put this¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s like I drank some chemical. It was really bitter.


    A normal person would have definitely thrown up but, thanks to constantly eating horrible poisonous plants, this was well within tolerable range for me.


    Compared to Greath¡¯s Ongneer, this was like ten times better in taste.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªooh! First time seeing one who didn¡¯t puke it all out on their first attempt. While it isn¡¯t interesting but it¡¯s good to see that at least you have some guts contrary to your looks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just to this kind of shit. Anyway, hurry up and take me wherever we¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. Follow me.¡±


    This old golem guy, I thought it was weird that he was staring it me after giving me the vial but I guess he was really hoping to see him puke it all out eh.


    I don¡¯t think I will ever come to respect this old man¡ª¡ª¨Cwhile thinking that, I followed the old man entered a big, wide room with a couple dozen people already inside.


    Judging from their similar attire and the fact they were practicing magic, they¡¯re all probably this old man¡¯s students.


    They¡¯ll greet him happily every time he passed them so I guess even this eccentric old man had disciples that actually liked him.


    I also saw Esta in the room practicing magic as well, so I assume this is the Practice hall.


    ¡°We¡¯re going into a room further inside from here. Normally only I¡¯m allowed inside, so be grateful that you get the chance to see it.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell feels thankful from getting allowed into some random room?¡±


    Retorting back, we entered into the inner room from the Practice hall.


    It wasn¡¯t as wide as the practice hall itself, but it was still pretty big.


    How many rooms are there inside this building¡­¡­¡­


    Edestor rent was already pretty high, and the fact that this old man was able to rent such a huge building just showed how rich he was really.


    ¡°So what do I have to do? I assume I need to do something to become able to use magic?¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t really have to do anything specific. Simply relax yourself, and focus on what you are about to feel so that you never forget this sensation.¡±


    ¡°I have to do nothing? What do you¡ª¡ª-¡°


    Before I could finish my question, the old man fired some magic straight at me.


    I panicked and tried to dodge but it was from extremely close range so I couldn¡¯t move in time and took it head on.


    The moment the magic hit, it felt like my neck was being choked, and I became unable of using my voice.


    Because of that I struggled to even breath, as I put my hands on my neck and desperately tried to suck in air¡­¡­¡­.but no matter how much I tried, no air entered inside.


    While watching me desperately struggle, the old man simply walked to a chair and sat down and continued to watch me as if he was watching something funny.


    ¡ª¡ª¨Cthis old fucker, I will definitely kill him.


    My hands and knees were on the floor, I tried to grab on to the old man to try and make him suffer with me but, when I tried to get close, he fired more magic at me.


    Struggling already, I was unable to dodge anything¡­¡­¡­.and the moment the magic hit me, I completely lost my consciousness.

 CH 207

    Special Seat


    I don¡¯t know how much time had passed.


    I thought I had died from getting hit by the old man¡¯s magic but I guess I survived.


    I had been sat up on a chair by someone, and the old golem man was also sitting on a chair in front of me¡­¡­..and was sleeping.


    To get revenge for whatever magic he used on me, I tried to get up from my chair to hit him off the chair but suddenly, I got hit by an extremely strong sense of discomfort.


    ¡ª¡ªMy body refused to move at all.


    My breathing felt different to my own, I couldn¡¯t even move my eyelids.


    It was as if my body had been hijacked and only my consciousness seemed to remain.


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    A indescribable fear came over me but that too was only effecting my consciousness, my body seemed unaffected by my emotions.


    The fear I felt should have made my body sweat like crazy, yet nothing happened to my actual body.


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    Even though I was ¡®awake¡¯, I was unable to do anything, I could do nothing but wait for time to pass with this fear overcoming me when¡ª¡ª


    ¡°About time you woke up.¡±


    I felt like I heard the old golem guy talk.


    But it wasn¡¯t the old man sleeping in front of me that spoke those words, it came from my own mouth.


    ¡°hofofo, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re shocked and bewildered but, explaining everything is a pain so I won¡¯t¡­¡­.Listen, I¡¯m going to control your body to use magic, so be sure to engrave that feeling, that sensation into your brain.¡±


    I really had no idea what the hell was happening here but¡­¡­.


    I understood one thing for sure. That the old man was currently in control of my body.


    My consciousness still remained, but my body was entirely under his control.


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡­¡­.dear me, having a young body really is so much easier to move around in eh.¡±


    He stood up from the chair with my body, and walked out back into the main practice hall where all his students trained.


    Even though it was my body, they seemed to know that it was still the old man inside, as the students all gave a bow to greet ¡®me¡¯.


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    Experiencing something like this for the first time ever in my life, I was utterly bewildered but I followed what the old man had said, and raised my focus and concentration to the max to remember the sensation of using magic.


    From what I can infer, the old man had taken over my body and was basically teaching me how to use magic in the most easiest way possible.


    From the reaction of the students around me, I can tell that this is not too rare of a situation.


    I was still frankly pissed at the fact that all this was done without any kind of explanation but, if I fail to learn magic right now, there¡¯s a good chance I¡¯ll have to go through this all over again.


    Then, I need to remember this feeling and imprint it onto my consciousness as if my life depended on it, and learn how to use magic no matter what.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to start using magic. Do your best to learn it all kid.¡±


    Trying my best to not get distracted from the discomfort of this situation, I relaxed my mind and tried to focus up.


    If I had to describe it, it felt like how you feel when you¡¯re reading the moves of an opponent.


    Anyway, I concentrated wholly on every little movement of my body, and tried to match myself with the old man¡¯s actions.


    From the way he walked to even little things like how he scratched his nose, I tuned myself entirely to his actions, and right as my concentration hit its peak, the old man began using magic.


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    ¡°First of all, try and understand the feel of the flow of mana. I¡¯ll do it in one go.¡±


    With his words, it seemed like every pore on my body was releasing heat.


    The feeling was similar to when you exercise to the push your body to the limits and your entire body felt hot and you could feel the steam rising from your body.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I see. So this is what mana is.


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    ¡°Looks like you understand mana now. Next I¡¯ll stop this flow of mana from your body, so be sure to remember how to do this as well.¡±


    The next thing he did was to show how to stop releasing that heat-like substance from your body.


    This was¡ª¡ª-you know, when you forcefully try to stop yourself from sweating too much after an exercise, kind of like that I guess.


    It was basically closing all the pores on your body, and was basically a method to stop your mana to needlessly escape your body.


    ¡°Now, I will activate a magic. This will have multiple things happening one after another so you¡¯ll have to carve it into your muscle memory. [Fire Ball].¡±


    He gathered all that misty feeling into his left hand, and with the chant fired the spell from his palm.


    As that misty heat released from my palm, it turned into flames¡ª¡ªand then launched a [Fire Ball].


    It hit a puppet set in front of him, and then the [Fire Ball] dispersed.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Amazing.


    Even though an entire ball of fire was created in the palm of my hand, yet I felt no heat like I did when I used [Heat Control].


    Since it was born from me, I did feel a pleasant warmth though.


    But after launching out of my hand, it turned into swirling ball of fire that blasted into a puppet with force.


    According to Esta, using too much mana would cause something similar to mental fatigue but as of right now, I felt nothing.


    Perhaps it was thanks to me raising my magic stat with EggMash, or maybe it was because it was the old man using my body.


    Either way, I was really happy right now, and it felt like I was watching a magic show from a special seat.


    ¡°It seems your body really is ill suited to using magic. Even though I¡¯m using it, the amount of mana wasted is too big. Not to mention, the fatigue is high too¡­¡­¡­.I thought it¡¯d be easier to move around since it¡¯s a young body but, if it¡¯s like this, even my old body would still be much better.¡±


    Just as I was feeling all excited and moved from experiencing magic, the old man just had to pour cold water on my head.


    While irritated from his unnecessary words, I¡¯ll admit it did help me calm myself again as well.


    From there on, for a while, the golem old man continued to fire beginner magic and I continued to absorb as much as I could to my consciousness, and finally stopped once my body ran out of mana.


    During this time, he fired about 30 different spells.


    I guess me pumping my magic stat was all worth it as even though this body had never used magic, it was still able to endure 30 different spells before running out of mana.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough for now. Since I was able to use a lot more magic than I originally expected, I can tell that you certainly have more mana than the average person¡­¡­..Well, I guess your constitution was really just that unsuited to magic it seems.¡±


    While muttering complaints about my body, the old man walked back with my body back into the inner room.


    I was getting more and more annoyed from not being able to retort back but, thanks to him I am getting closer to fully learning how to use magic, so I should tolerate it for now.


    Now I was wondering how exactly would he return back to his own body but, the old man simply sat down back on the chair and at that moment¡ª¡ª-my consciousness flew away again.

 CH 208

    My First Magic


    When I woke up¡ª¡ªthe old man in front of me was already awake, and I too regained control over my own body.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. Head to the practice room and try out if you have actually learnt how to use magic or not.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..there¡¯s a lot I want to say but, I¡¯ll give my thanks first of all. Thanks to you I have become capable of using magic I think.¡±


    ¡°Fohoho, you underestimate magic. The most you¡¯ll manage on the first day is to control mana.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll definitely use magic today.¡±


    I smiled towards the old man who claimed it¡¯d be impossible for me to do so.


    While my body was taken over, I was as focused as I am when facing a really strong opponent.


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    I had engraved every little sensation I felt when the old man used magic straight into my body.


    I was still a bit uneasy about the spell chants but, I¡¯m confident I can perfectly reproduce every exact action for how he controlled mana and then used magic.


    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you a confident one, but magic is not so simple. Your body is not well suited to using magic in the first place, and this method we used skipped many steps to get you to understand how to do it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.And so you think it¡¯d be impossible for me? Alright, how about we make a bet?¡±


    ¡°A bet? As in, whether you¡¯d be able to use magic by the end of the day or not? ¡ª¡ª¨CHmm, gambling is for fools. In the first place, I doubt you have anything that I would want, so how would you make it a fair bet?¡±


    ¡°The jewel that Esta had. I¡¯ll give it to you for free. Sounds like a good wager to me no?¡±


    I boldly spoke to the old man.


    This was honestly such a farce but, if he¡¯s so confident in saying that it¡¯d be impossible for me, then why not bet on it.


    I¡¯m confident I can do it, and he¡¯s confident I can¡¯t.


    As a means of settling our continued spats and arguments today as well, this was the best way to do so.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I am a bit confused as to why you¡¯re this confident. Surely, this wasn¡¯t some trick and you could always use magic or something right?¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon as someone who literally controlled my body you should know better than anyone, I have never used magic in my life. So, what will you do? It¡¯s fine if you want to run away though.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.interesting. Alright, I¡¯ll allow myself to fall for your cheap bait. But, if you fail I will have that jewel for free, make no mistake.¡±


    ¡°of course, if I am unable to use magic today, you get the jewel. On the other hand, if I do manage to use magic, you will owe me one big favour for the future.¡±


    ¡°Very well, provided it is something I can do, I will do whatever you want. ¡ª¡ªof course, that is if you do actually use magic today.¡±


    Saying that, the old man began to laugh loudly.


    I am definitely going to succeed and make him pay for making fun of me all this time.


    And so began my practice to use my magic as well as my duel with old man.


    If I do it, it¡¯ll be killing two birds with one stone, so this was a must-win battle for me.


    Leaving the room, I returned back to the practice hall with the old man.


    I headed back to the place he was using magic with my body, and instantly began trying out my magic.


    ¡°Now is where you will realize that your body was able to use magic because I was using it, and not you.¡±


    ¡°Shush. Be quiet now.¡±


    I made the old man, who was trying to rile me up, shut up and concentrated entirely on using magic.


    The first wall was how to cover myself in mana.


    Depending on the sensation I had carved into my mind as my guide, I tried unleashing the mana within me.


    I couldn¡¯t release mana evenly from my entire body like the old man did but, I could tell that mana was flowing out of the centre of body.


    Sensing myself release mana with my own strength, I ended up smiling but¡­¡­.


    I also realized something important.


    ¡°My mana¡­¡­¡­hasn¡¯t recovered yet?¡±


    ¡°uppupup, finally you realzied! You woke up soon after I let go of the control of your body. Right now, your body is pretty much out of mana.¡±


    Since I didn¡¯t really pay attention to how much mana I had left, I didn¡¯t really fully comprehend it but now I finally further realized that it was my body that was firing magic just awhile ago right in this exact location, not the old man himself.


    Which meant that the amount of mana left inside me was miniscule, and even as I¡¯m getting used to manipulating mana, I¡¯m using more mana on top.


    Considering the amount of mana left in me, the amount of times I can actually try to use magic is only a few.


    So this is why the old man has so boldly proclaimed that it was impossible for me to do it today, because he knew how little mana I had left.


    ¡°You knew yet you kept quiet huh.¡±


    ¡°Why should I tell you? Fohoho, now I get that jewel for free!¡±


    Even though he¡¯s an old man, he skipped around me like a happy child.


    The students in the hall were looking at us weirdly, yet he didn¡¯t care and continued frolicking around.


    Certainly, the situation just became far worse but, I¡¯m not the type to give up so easily.


    I fully remember the feeling of using it still, it¡¯s fine as long as I succeed at my first proper try.


    But first, I need to get used to this feeling of using mana.


    This also continued to consume mana but if I panic and try and use magic too soon, it won¡¯t work so I patiently practiced.


    After that, I practiced how to stop the flow of mana next.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Alright.


    Since it was similar to practicing using skills without speaking with Alyazi-san, while the overall feeling was different, I think I have a good grasp on the fundamentals.


    Now, I just have to gather this mana into my hand.


    Releasing my mana from inside, I stopped within my body and then, I concentrated it all into the palm of my hand.


    I practiced this process on repeat again and again.


    Since I was as focused as I am normally only in important battles, I still hadn¡¯t forgotten the feeling of using magic.


    ¡­¡­¡­.now I just need to turn this mana into actual magic.


    The thing I was most worried about was the chant still, but back when I was practicing with Esta in Realzard when she was still learning, I accompanied her chanting practice so it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t done it before.


    I took a deep breath, and then began the chant.


    ¡± ¡®One of the four gods of creation of the world. The light of judgement that illuminates the world and incinerates evil. I will illuminate the light on the path which is darker and redder than blood. Take my body as your own and show thy strength- [Fireball].¡¯ ¡°


    I chanted the spell, and released the accumulated mana in my palm.


    Although I felt that I had used more mana than required¡ª¡ªfrom my palms burst forth a ball of fire the size of my head and flew towards the puppet in front of me.


    The [Fire Ball] I launched blasted directly on the puppet, and dissipated with a small popping sound.


    Honestly, I was a bit annoyed by the extra loss of mana but, this was a success regardless.


    I wanted to make a smug face just to rub it in to the old man who was almost certainly watching from behind but¡­¡­¡­


    But this last spell completely exhausted my mana.


    I thought that I could at least fire a couple more but, I guess the old golem guy was just that good at perfectly manipulating the mana release.


    With my inexperienced mana control, I ended up using 2-3 shots worth of mana for just this one try.


    I was hit with a dizzying sensation, and I lost all my sense of balance.


    I couldn¡¯t tell what was the floor and what was the ceiling and I fell to my knees while still trying to endure it but I was unable to suppress the nausea that made my head swing.


    Slowly the pain hitting my head grew more and more, and my vision that was still spinning also began to go dark.


    I could tell that someone called out to me while I lay collapsed but I couldn¡¯t even tell what they were saying.


    I decided to just give up on trying to struggle against the fatigue that was hitting me¡ª¡ª-and slipped into a deep sleep.

 CH 209

    Mana Burnout


    I jumped up awake while being hit with an indescribable kind of discomfort.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­if I recall, I tried magic for the first time, but since I completely exhausted my mana, I entered a state of mana burnout?


    My memories of what happened at the end are a bit vague but I think I¡¯m starting to recall most of it.


    Looking around, I was currently in some dreary room with just the bed I¡¯m on, a desk and two chairs in it.


    Considering I collapsed in the practice hall, I¡¯m either in a room at the [Magic Cave] or I was carried all the way to the Healers guild.


    The feeling of discomfort and unease from entering mana burnout was still strong but I tried to get up regardless and see what¡¯s outside this room when, the door to the room was opened by someone.


    The person who came inside was a woman, someone I didn¡¯t know.


    She seemed to be carrying a wet towel, and was probably the person in charge of taking care of me.


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    ¡°Oh, are you feeling well enough to get up?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my body is much better now¡­¡­¡­..also sorry, but who are you?¡±


    ¡°Oh right, I should have started there. My name is Sofia, a student of Phillip-san. I have been nursing you alongside Esta-san, Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°I see. Sorry for the troubles and thank you for taking care of me.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize. We must help each other when in trouble no? Besides, in a way I am technically your senior disciple now, so you can always ask me for help.¡±


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    With a bright smile, Sofia said so.


    Well I didn¡¯t really intend to actually become a disciple of that old man or anything so she¡¯s not really my senior but¡­¡­¡­.I don¡¯t need to correct her on that in this situation, do I?


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll gladly ask for your guidance when I need it. Please take care of me then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, you can come to me whenever. Ah, also¡­¡­..Phillip-san and Esta-san are currently in the magic ball creation room. It¡¯s the room that¡¯s always filled with smoke but, do you know which one I¡¯m talking about?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the room I met him in originally so I know. I¡¯ll go meet them right away. Thank you for telling me.¡±


    Giving my thanks to Sofia, I left the room I was asleep in and went to the magic ball creation room.


    I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s the room the old man was working in when I first met him.


    I was still feeling very fatigued and weary so, I wanted to go back home already but¡­¡­..


    There was still stuff I wanted to talk with the old man about so I quickly made my way to the room.


    I more or less knew where the room was but this building turned out to be much bigger than I thought, so it took quite some time to get there.


    My headache was also getting worse but, I continued to endure it as I entered the room.


    ¡°ooh, you¡¯ve already recovered it seems. How are you feeling?¡±


    With an aloof attitude, the old man asked about my condition.


    I was told Esta was here as well but she was nowhere to be seen, and it was just the old man working here alone.


    ¡°My body feels heavy, my headache is getting worse every second, and I feel like puking. It¡¯s the worst I have ever felt.¡±


    ¡°Fohoho, that¡¯s good to hear.¡±


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    Hearing about my body¡¯s horrible state only made him laugh happily.


    This old fucker¡­¡­¡­I really want to punch him at least once.


    ¡°That aside, I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten your wager on the bet? I am thankful for being taught magic but, this and that different.¡±


    ¡°Of course I remember. I truly believed that I would win considering the conditions when we made the bet but, it would seem you have a bit more talent for magic than I originally expected¡­¡­¡­Well, if you had collapsed like this mid-battle, only death would await though.¡±


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    ¡°Obviously. In the first place, if that was a real battle, I wouldn¡¯t be using magic in such a situation. The bet required me to use magic within the day. And I succeeded, so I¡¯ll have you listen to one of my requests, no questions asked.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure. I can always do that. Of course, as long it is something I can do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I already know what I intend to ask. I want you to make the cost of teaching me and Esta, completely free. Forever.¡±


    To make sure that he doesn¡¯t feign ignorance later, I came all the way as soon as I woke up to finish the deal.


    Since he said he¡¯d listen to any request within his power, this should be acceptable¡­¡­¡­.well, at least I think so.


    ¡°So you want me to teach you both for free? Well, losing out on the fees from one or two students is not that big of a deal. I really thought you¡¯d come up with something crazy, but I guess you are surprisingly modest huh.¡±


    ¡°Just like you said old man, I did collapse right after using the magic. Consider it my way of making a compromise¡­¡­¡­.if we make a bet again, I¡¯ll be sure to come up with a better request though if you want.¡±


    ¡°Fohoho, as if I¡¯d lose a bet twice to someone¡­¡­¡­but for the time being, like you asked, I will accept the waiving of the fees as the wager, and settle the bet.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    With the details of the bet finalized, I decided to leave the room and go get some much needed rest but, as I put my hand on the doorknob, the old man called out to me again.


    ¡°before you leave, answer me one thing. How did you manage to use that magic?¡±


    While continuing with his work, and not even looking at me, he asked me that.


    I assume he¡¯s asking about the [fire ball] I fired back then.


    But if he asks me that, all I can really say is that I just imitated him that¡¯s all.


    And since I fainted right after, my memories are still vague to be honest.


    ¡°Well, I just imitated you old man. The mana manipulation aside, I¡¯m pretty sure I imitated every single action you did perfectly.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°What? Doesn¡¯t sound convincing enough?¡±


    ¡°No. I just thought of something that I want to test. It¡¯s fine, you can go back for today.¡±


    He seemed to be in deep thought and his words made me a bit curious but¡­¡­¡­..my body really was at its limits now.


    I really do want nothing more than to go back and rest.


    Desperately moving my body that was on the verge of collapsing again, I headed back to [Gorush].

 CH 210

    Speciality Magic


    2 days had passed since I used magic for the first time.


    Probably because I really overdid it, I fell ill for the first time in a long while, and spent these two days resting on my bed and doing not much else.


    Snow, as expected, had been a great success in the dungeon so alongside Ralf, they continued going there for these two days as well.


    Thanks to that, I had to spend all my time alone inside the room as I waited for my body to recover.


    Though this was not my intention, this break did help me properly rest and by the afternoon of the second day, I had recovered enough to at least walk around.


    Analyzing and compiling all the info from the Roza forest as well as making a map, rechecking my feel for using [Fire ball], and re-reading the grimoire I once bought for Esta, I did all these things instead.


    With all that done, although I still felt like I had wasted 2 precious days of my two free weeks, at least now I could say that it wasn¡¯t completely fruitless.


    And today, I plan on going back to the old man¡¯s place, [Magic Cave], once again and begin my magic training proper.


    Since I had harmed myself in trying to win that bet, I can¡¯t just let go of the fact that any future teaching would be free from now, can I?


    While I had become capable of using [FireBall], I was still pretty wasteful with it so I want to learn more magic other than that as well.


    I am still curious about the thing the old man said the last time we talked as well so, of the remaining 11 days of free time, I¡¯ll spend 9 of those on magic training from now.


    With that decided, I quickly made my way to the [Magic Cave].


    .


    .


    After finishing my prep, I left [Gorush] and quickly reached [Magic Cave].


    The moment I saw this needlessly big store again, I got flashbacks of my mana burnout and my body seemed to instinctively reject the idea of going back in but¡­¡­¡­I forcefully suppressed said instincts and opened the door to the store.


    By the way, thanks to her Unique Skill [Mana Regen], Esta had never entered mana burnout even once apparently.


    It was an incredible skill that allowed her to use magic multiple times beyond the average amount without ever entering mana burnout.


    Furthermore, Esta possessed exceptional talent when it came to magic from the start so her speed of learning new magic was not normal, and now that I was learning magic myself I only further realized what a monster Esta was when it came to magic.


    While feeling slightly envious of Esta, I passed through the main hall of the store and went inside straight to the old man¡¯s work room.


    Entering after a knock at the door, I saw the old man working at his table just like that day.


    Sneaking up behind him to check on him, I saw him completely focused on polishing the red jewel of the Dead Lich that he probably bought from Esta.


    He was so into it that I honestly drew back a bit but, since he still hadn¡¯t even noticed my presence, I called out to the old golem man.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t ignore me.¡±


    ¡°Wha? Oh, well if itsn¡¯t Chris. Finally recovered eh?¡±


    He finally noticed me, but his hands showed no signs of stopping as he continued polishing the stone.


    It was pretty difficult to talk like this but¡­¡­¡­.well, whatever.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why, I¡¯ve come back to learn more magic. Since it won¡¯t cost me more money after all.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re really here to learn, I¡¯ll gladly teach you all sorts of things¡ª¡ª¨Cis what I¡¯d like to say but, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to use much other than the [Fire Ball].¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.What? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Exactly how it sounds. Your speciality element is fire. To put it simply, your mana is very easy to convert into fire.¡±


    ¡°But, that doesn¡¯t really mean that I can¡¯t learn any other magic at all right?¡±


    ¡°theoretically speaking, yes. In fact, my own speciality is the water element but, I can use all 4 basic elements up to the advanced level now.¡±


    ¡°Then, I can also¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Did you forget already? Your speciality was fire magic, yet you were having so much difficulty learning magic, remember? With your current level of mana, using other elements is nigh impossible. If you don¡¯t want to experience mana burnout again, you should give up on that idea.¡±


    Since he actually bothered to properly explain things this time, even I had no choice but to accept it as fact.


    Even using a beginner level magic like [Fire ball] consumed a lot of mana from me.


    If I were to use magic of a different element, I honestly don¡¯t know how much mana I will end up consuming.


    That said, I¡¯m not the type to give up without at least trying it once but¡­¡­¡­.the moment the old man said the words ¡®mana burnout¡¯, my willpower to try that died out pretty quickly.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Then would intermediate level fire magic also be impossible for me?¡±


    ¡°fohoho, you¡¯ve barely mastered beginner magic yet you think you could use intermediate magic? You amateurs really do come up with some funny comments I swear.¡±


    This old man seemed to be really enjoying making fun of me again.


    Other elemental beginner magic was impossible, and so was even fire type intermediate magic for now at least.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..is there really no other magic I could learn?


    In that case, me coming here was really a big waste, and the promise for teaching me for free was also basically worthless.


    So I guess all I can do is keep on practicing and mastering [Fire Ball] for the time being it seems.


    ¡°Alright then old man, there¡¯s nothing you can teach me now, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not. You can still learn [Fire Arrow] another beginner fire magic, then I could also teach you many other applications of [Fire Ball] as well. Also¡­¡­..¡±


    Saying that, the old man suddenly paused his words.


    While he continued hesitating over something, he stopped polishing the red jewel and finally turned around to look straight at me.


    ¡°There is one more magic I could potentially teach you. Well, I don¡¯t know if you could technically even call it magic or not but, it is worth trying out I believe.¡±


    ¡°A magic I could use outside of beginner fire magic? Not technically magic?¡­¡­¡­..is it a magic that¡¯s still incomplete or something?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s definitely not incomplete, however it is extremely difficult to use instead. It is called [Anti Magic]. Even I have only been able to prove that it is useable in theory only and haven¡¯t actually succeeded in activating it.¡±


    He suddenly started saying something ridiculous.


    A magic that even he couldn¡¯t use even though he had mastered advanced level magic, yet he wanted to teach it to me, someone who learnt how to use magic just a couple days ago?


    Part of me was suspicious that he was simply trying to rope into some weird experience but then, I recalled that last time as well he seemed to be muttering about wanting to try something.


    And his expression right now was surprisingly serious so I sort of understood why he came up with this suggestion.


    ¡°Old man, are you saying that it is something you can¡¯t use but for some reason, I can?¡±


    ¡°For argument¡¯s sake, yes. A person that hasn¡¯t been in touch with magic too much yet possess an extreme level of concentration and perception is the main requirement. You basically have zero talent for magic but, you most certainly fulfil these two conditions. If you are willing to try, I will teach it to you.¡±


    I don¡¯t even know what kind of magic this even was and it was uncertain whether I¡¯ll actually learn it or not as well so I hesitated on whether it worth spending time on but, if it¡¯s the only kind of magic I could learn outside of fire magic, it was at least worth trying it out I think.


    He¡¯s an odd old man but I had learnt exactly how incomparably skilled he was with magic first hand when he took control of my body.


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    ¡°I have a lot of other things to do as well so I can¡¯t say I¡¯ll devote my everything into learning or mastering this magic but¡­¡­¡­..I do want to try it out. Teach me this [Anti Magic].¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re interested. Then we start right away. Head to the practice hall so we can start your training for [Anti Magic].¡±


    ¡°Hm? Shouldn¡¯t the [Fire ball] and [Fire arrow] practice come first?¡±


    ¡°Were you even listening to me?  It¡¯s better to not be too used to using magic. It¡¯d be bad if you got too used to it so just be quiet and follow me.¡±


    I was instantly scolded so I had no choice but to follow the old man back into the practice hall.

 CH 211

    Anti-Magic


    The more I think about it, the less I understand about this magic.


    If the name were to be taken literally, it was a magic designed to counter magic¡ª¡ª¨Cso like a defensive magic right, but I don¡¯t know how it would work or what made it so different.


    While I continued to ponder over what [Anti Magic] even was, but before I could come to any kind of conclusion, we had already reached the practice hall.


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    ¡°I¡¯ll start with a basic explanation of the magic first and foremost. [Anti Magic] is a magic that completely negates the magic of your opponent.¡±


    ¡°So it is a defensive type magic then? The effect sounds similar to what I expected as well but, are you sure I of all people could use something like that?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s pretty simple, in theory that is. I was meaning to ask you but, what were your thoughts after using magic for the first time?¡±


    ¡°That maintaining balance was hard, for one. Also, to release mana, then hold it within your body, and then accumulate it all into your palm, this entire process used a lot more concentration than I thought.¡±


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    Of course, part of it was the fact that I just wasn¡¯t used it yet but, still I had to be many more times careful than I originally expected.


    Once I grabbed the basics, I thought I had been able to fire them like I use skills instantly but, it didn¡¯t go that well.


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    ¡°Furthermore, having to chant the spell while concentrating mana into a single focal point¡ª¡ªand then also having to aim at your target at the same time; In a real battle, that target would be constantly moving, and there is always a chance for something irregular to occur on top so honestly, I just don¡¯t see myself using something this delicate in an actual intense battle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Finding the perfect balance for the entire process is quite possible the most important part of effectively using magic. That¡¯s why, the greatest magicians of old would be training in magic since they were young, and learnt how to control and move mana like it was a part of their own body.¡±


    Then, the old golem man began blabbering about all sorts of historical records in regards to magic.


    He was like this when it was about golems as well but really, he gets all passionate whenever he starts talking about something he really loves.


    I let most of what he spoke pass from one ear and through another, and continued to just nod until he returned back to the main topic at hand.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ªAnd so, we learnt that the most important thing in regards to magic is how good a balance you can hit with it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, like I said, I felt that when I tried it out the first time as well¡­¡­¡­¡­So, how does that help us here? I don¡¯t see how it connects to using [Anti Magic].¡±


    ¡°You really do have poor judgemental skills lad. If the balance is so vital, if you manage to break that balance, even the most talented magician will fail in activating their magic. Which means, [Anti Magic] is¡ª¡ª-¡°


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    ¡°Not a defensive magic, but a disruption magic that interferes with the opponents spell casting?¡±


    ¡°Fohoho, precisely!¡±


    Alright I understand the theory but, how exactly would you disrupt someone¡¯s spell¡­¡­¡­


    Even after hearing everything, I still wasn¡¯t seeing how exactly I would be capable of using this magic.


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    ¡°I get the logic and theory behind it but how do you actually do it in practical terms?¡±


    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t I say before, I don¡¯t actually know if you even can still, there is only the ¡®possibility¡¯ that it is doable.¡±


    ¡°Well if the ¡®possibility¡¯ exists then I want to try it already. Teach me the chant for this [Anti Magic].¡±


    ¡°There is no chant. [Anti Magic] is in a sense, simply blasting raw mana at your opponent. Meaning against an enemy that can¡¯t use magic, it¡¯s basically a worthless skill.¡±


    ¡°Ha?¡­¡­¡­..is that even magic then?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is! It¡¯s absolutely a great magic no doubt!¡±


    A magic that involves blasting raw mana on your opponent.


    To put it simply, it¡¯s like launching the accumulated mana in your palm without ever turning it into a fireball I guess?


    In terms of difficulty, the process itself seems easier than a [FireBall] since it requires less steps.


    From his explanation, I really don¡¯t get why this is a magic that this old man can¡¯t use.


    ¡°So explain, why exactly can you not use this magic old man?¡±


    ¡°Because you have to fire mana to disrupt the opponents magic, you have to perfectly match both the quantity and nature of mana they are using, and fire that specific level of mana at them otherwise it won¡¯t work. Once you get used to using your own magic, even if you can match their mana quantity, matching the nature as well becomes borderline impossible.¡±


    You¡¯re telling me years of experience of using mana in your own way in turn makes it impossible to manipulate the nature afterwards eh?


    Well, it was somewhat similar to how swordsmanship styles work so is sort of get it.


    ¡°But, a complete amateur is different, he¡¯s a blank state that is not yet stained in a specific way, which means he can always paint however, whatever he wants at any time.¡±


    ¡°Well isn¡¯t that a poetic way to put it lad. But, you are correct. As for how to practice changing and manipulating the nature and quantity of mana, I¡¯ll teach all of it to you so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be in your care. I want to learn it as fast as possible so make it concise and easy to understand.¡±


    I have a feeling now that I can learn this, and if I do, it¡¯ll be a great asset to me in battles.


    I was always worried over how to deal with magic using opponents so this [Anti Magic] was the perfect answer to my problem.


    Since I posses the [Mana Sense] skill, it should help me in manipulating the mana quantity and nature as well.


    Unable to suppress my excitement, I urged the old man to quickly begin the training for [Anti Magic].

 CH 212

    Maximum Concentration


    Today was the 11th day since I began practising [Anti Magic].


    Meaning, today was the last day of our two weeks break.


    Originally, I planned to end my magic training after 9 days but, at the 9th day I had this feeling like I was almost there, like I could finally learn it now so I ended up extending the training to the last day.


    And on this last day, today, we were in the last 2 hours before the sun would set but¡­¡­I had still not yet learned [Anti Magic].


    ¡°C¡¯mon! Stop resting and get ready for the next magic!¡±


    ¡°I know. Go ahead, and use your magic.¡±


    ¡°Take this, [Fire Ball]¡±


    I activated [Mana Sense] and [Perception Enhancement], these two skills.


    As soon as the old began the chant for [Fire Ball], I instantly judged the amount of mana and its nature as it accumulated in his hands¡ª¡ª-and before his chant ended, I blasted a clump of mana at him.


    Of course, the old man was highly proficient at using magic so the time I had till he finished casting was only about 4 seconds.


    He was also specifically using a abbreviated chant apparently which meant the magic would be completed very fast.


    Which meant, that I didn¡¯t have the time to be perfectly adjusting my mana leisurely and had to make a close estimate before firing my ball of mana.


    At first, I thought this speed would make it impossible for me to learn [Anti Magic] but, soon I started to get a handle on it and now it felt like I was only a step away from properly learning it.


    I have to fully learn it in the remaining two hours. No, I¡¯m going to!


    ¡°Anti Magic!¡±


    ¡°HEY! The nature of your mana was lacking! We go again!¡±


    Another hour passed since then.


    He continued firing ¡®ball¡¯-type beginner magic at me and I practiced trying to negate them with [Anti Magic]¡ª¡ª-and finally I started to get a hang on how to match the nature of mana as well.


    The most important thing for matching the nature of the opponents mana was, to not let any part of ¡®myself¡¯ seep into it.


    On top of [Mana Sense] and [Perception enhancement], I also activated [Life Presence Sense] [Hearing Enhancement] and [Perception Range Enhancment] as well.


    What I needed to match was not just their mana, but also the minute details like their breathing rate, or any other delicate movements they¡¯d make.


    I sensed the mana flowing from the chant, and accumulated an equal amount of mana in my hands and¡ª¡ª


    ¡°[Anti Magic]¡±


    ¡°Fire Ball¡­¡­¡­.?


    The perfect ball of mana I threw hit the old man and in that instant, completely melted and assimilated around him, and negated the [fire ball] he was activating completely and made it all disappear into nothing.


    ¡ª¡ª¨CYes! FUCK YES!!!


    Seeing [Anti Magic] actually work for the first time, I made a guts pose with a tightly clenched fist.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..calm down. Still too early to get happy.


    So that I don¡¯t forget this feeling, I want to try [Anti Magic] on the next spell as well.


    I quickly suppressed my exploding excitement and looked towards the old man to ask him to use his next spell but, the old man was frozen in his spot, staring at his right hand that was about to fire magic but failed.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­? Oi, old man. Did you feel some change in your body as well?¡±


    I called out to the old man as he stood like statue, but I got no response still.


    Wait, could it be that [Anti Magic] causes some kind of other adverse effect on the target as well?


    I walked straight up to his face to check on him but, it didn¡¯t look like his body was any different from before.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­so I put my mouth right by his ear and shouted.


    ¡°OI OLD MAN! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?¡±


    ¡°NUWAHH! What!! Why are you screaming in my ear!!¡±


    The moment I shouted, the old man¡¯s body jumped back into action.


    Judging by his reaction, it doesn¡¯t look like he suffered from any abnormality.


    ¡°I shouted because you weren¡¯t listening to anything. I mean, you didn¡¯t even notice me coming this close to you just now.¡±


    ¡± I was in deep thought! I could hear you!¡±


    ¡°then, you should have answered at least¡­¡­¡­.So, what did the magic feel like? Was that a success?¡±


    When I asked, he started staring at his hand again and then returned to being a statue.


    What is it this time?


    There¡¯s not much time left so I really wanted to practice a bit more so I was about to call out to him again but¡­¡­..before I could, the old man began talking himself.


    ¡°I think that was probably a success. But, it was a bit different than how I¡¯d originally envisioned it so I¡¯m a bit perplexed that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°¡®Probably¡¯¡­¡­.? Different from how you envisioned it¡­¡­¡­..?


    ¡°First of all, [Anti Magic] was originally created by Melkirouhi-sama for the golems to use. Originally, [Anti Magic] was nothing more than a huge blast of mana to obstruct other magic but, I further developed it and improved it for human use and then taught that version of [Anti Magic] to you.¡±


    He¡¯s begun another one of his long speeches again it seems.


    I wanted to ignore it but, this time he wasn¡¯t his usual passionate self but seemed to be speaking more matter-of-factly so¡­¡­¡­I decided to seriously listen this time around.


    ¡°When I was still young, I had once gotten hit by the original version of [Anti Magic] but to explain it simply, it was like someone had jumbled my own mana and was being interfered with¡­¡­¡­but this time, the [Anti Magic] that you fired, didn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying. So was that a failure then?¡±


    ¡°No, in fact it¡¯s gone beyond just a normal ¡®success¡¯ and has basically become a different magic than the one I originally thought of.¡±


    A different magic¡­¡­¡­..is that something to be happy about then?


    I mean, the only other proper magic I knew was [Fire ball], so as someone that wasn¡¯t really in touch with the world of magic, I wasn¡¯t sure if this was something amazing or not.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good thing¡ª¡ª-I presume?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. I wasn¡¯t even sure if you¡¯d be able to use the [Anti Magic] I taught you, but you went above and beyond and surpassed my expectations. You may have no talent for magic but, your focus when it comes to battle and all things related is without a doubt an unmistakeable talent.¡±


    ¡°Oh so, my talent for magic is still zero eh.¡±


    ¡°The moment I was deemed unable of using [Anti magic], you could only call this one a defective magic. After all whether you can learn this magic or not is basically irrelevant to your talent for magic.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you taught me this magic while fully expecting me to fail at it? That¡¯s some recommendation alright.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, you seemed like someone who could learn nothing except [Anti magic] after all. But, in the first place, it¡¯s not like you want to become a magician right?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, after actually using magic I was convinced that I¡¯m ill suited to being a magician. Though I do enjoy being able to use it.¡±


    ¡°Then, your main [Fire Ball] and now [Anti Magic] are more than enough for you. And of these two¡ª¡ªput all your hard work towards mastering [Anti Magic].¡±


    Just like the old man said, being able to learn these two magic spells alone is a good enough result for me.


    In the first place, the only reason I wanted to learn magic was to burn and get rid of monster corpses, which now I can do with [Fire Ball]. But more than that I had learnt a new spell that was effective against magicians specifically with [Anti Magic] on top.


    I can¡¯t help but feel gratitude towards this old man who bet on my potential for learning a magic famously assumed to be un-learnable.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to do that. We had our disagreements over the last two weeks but, thank you for your teachings. You made it so that even someone like me with zero experience or knowledge of magic could understand easily.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Acting all polite all of sudden only makes me feel gross.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll still continue getting lessons from you for free. So a little thanks to smooth over our relationship felt worth it, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°You really are shrewd man, aren¡¯t you¡­¡­¡­..C¡¯mon, there¡¯s still time before the sun sets. Let¡¯s continue your practice so that you don¡¯t forget the feeling of using it.¡±


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s continue.¡±


    And so, for the next 30 minutes that remained till sunset.


    To not forget the feeling, the sensation of successfully using [Anti Magic], we continued practicing over and over again until the very last moment.


    Since it required the use of multiple skills as well as me being in the [Zone], the fatigue that had accumulated by the end was no joke but¡­¡­..


    I had become able to use it successfully 90% of the time, making it usable in actual battles.


    And with this, my magic learning chapter came to an end.


    A part of me wanted to learn more from the old man while I was still here but, I also have a mountain load of other things that I need to do as well.


    Whenever I get time, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll show up to further fine tune this magic with him again but, for the time being my daily visits to [Magic cave] must come to an end.


    After all said and done, I had to give my thanks to the old man for constantly sticking with me and supervising me till the end, and then I returned back to [Gorush] to rest for tomorrow as we begin completing requests anew.

 CH 213

    Pursuer


    Since I had bought some low level mana potions on the way, there was no worry of me entering mana burnout again but the mental fatigue was horrible.


    I had to maintain maximum concentration for pretty much the entire day, and during the 30mins of training after learning [Anti Magic], I showed more focus and concentration than perhaps I had ever in my entire life.


    I was feeling all faint in the head, and I was at a point where I might fall asleep the moment I lost focus but, I hadn¡¯t yet lost the sensation from before either, so I was almost equally excited as well.


    But if I keep up like this, my fatigue won¡¯t fully recover by tomorrow so I wanted to quickly go back and take a bath, and then rest on my bed.


    For that reason, I was quickly walking back to [Gorush] but¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    Ever since entering the crowded main street, I could feel someone watching me from somewhere.


    At first I thought it might be someone I know, but I soon realized that the gaze was not a favourable one, and was more like they were keeping an eye on me, monitoring me.


    And they had completely hid their presence as well so I knew they were almost certainly an enemy of mine.


    Due to the intense practice for [Anti Magic], my senses and focus were still heightened so I noticed it but beyond that, I had no idea who they were or where they were watching me from .


    Was it another pursuer, or was it just someone that just happened to target me, kind of like how Esta and Ralf when I first met them in Realzard.


    I couldn¡¯t tell but¡­¡­¡­..the fastest way to know was to catch them and make them talk.


    Of all times, why did it have to be now when I am so exhausted already? While complaining, I left the main street and entered a more quiet, empty street.


    Since there were too many people on the main street I couldn¡¯t narrow it down to the person but, I¡¯ll catch them quickly in a more empty place.


    And if they don¡¯t follow me here, I¡¯ll just leave it and go home.


    Since I didn¡¯t know when they might come to attack me, I activated my skills to stay at the highest level of vigilance as I walked through a less popular street.


    It was from further afar, but the person watching me was still there.


    Just barely out of the range of [Mana Sense] and [Life Presence Sense].


    I wanted to lure them a bit closer but, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll come any more near to me.


    And I also confirmed that it wasn¡¯t a group but just one person alone so¡ª¡ª


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..What a pain. I guess I¡¯ll go and catch them instead.¡±


    I muttered to myself finding this method to be too boring and slow, I quickly turned towards the person and dashed straight towards them.


    [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Gale][Physical Ability Boost][Leg Strength Enhancement]


    Activating multiple battle skills immediately, I rushed in towards the pursuer with the fastest speed I could currently put out.


    For a second, they thought of running away after seeing me rush straight towards them but after realizing that it would be impossible to escape from my speed, they gave up on hiding and came out in the open to face me directly.


    ¡­¡­¡­..I don¡¯t recognise them.


    It was a blonde man in his 30s. Medium build, not too tall and certainly not someone you would expect to be a strong fighter.


    From a glance, I felt like I could easily take them on but, just in case, I activated my detection skills to check.


    [Life Presence Sense][Mana Sense][Perception Enhancement]


    Their life presence was normal. But the mana sense, made me feel that something was wrong¡ª¡ª¨C


    ¡°You¡­¡­..Are you Mielle?¡±


    Realizing the reason behind my discomfort, I uttered Mielle¡¯s name.


    Her entire body had been covered in mana, which created the perfect camouflage but, after seeing the old man¡¯s mana for the past two weeks constantly, I was able to catch the irregularity as well.


    I wasn¡¯t sure but, this was almost certainly the Disguise magic used by Mielle that I saw back in the capital.


    The feeling I had now was similar to the discomfort I felt back then.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..How did you know? My disguise now should have been even more perfect from back then.¡±


    With anger mixed in her tone, Mielle spoke up after a period of silence.


    At that instant, the face in front of me began to morph and twist just like last time, and gradually lost all shape or form.


    It almost seemed like she melted but soon, it turned into a different face¡ª¡ª-the same face of the actual Mielle that I recognised.


    ¡°Ah, so it was Mielle after all. Following me secretly like this, what the hell do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Hah? ¡®what do you want from me?¡¯ you say! Are you saying that you don¡¯t have an idea of what you did!?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t think of anything. If anything, you should be in my debt no?¡±


    ¡°Debt? Oh are you still going to insist that what you did was ¡®doing me a favour¡¯ and not an act of revenge?¡±


    I thought maybe feigning ignorance might work but¡­¡­¡­judging by her anger, looks like my little letter had an incredible effect.


    Everything went well, exactly like I had planned, and it succeeded in sowing discord between Mielle and Klaus.


    Which means, I can feign ignorance either.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I guess there¡¯s no point in lying now. I just got a good opportunity to throw off Klaus, so I used you for it. My bad.¡±


    I apologized but Mielle was still shaking in anger.


    And I could sense her mana gathering into her left hand.


    ¡°You really think I would forgive you easily!? I have been searching for you to kill you all this time!! I never thought I¡¯d find you in Edestor of all places but¡­¡­¡­.I will make you pay for making a fool of me, for completely ruining my life!!¡±


    While raging with resentment like a mandwoman, Mielle began preparing to use some powerful magic.


    To think I¡¯d end up finding actual use for my new ability less than an hour after I properly learnt it.


    And the magic Mielle was prepping was not a beginner magic like I was practicing with but was close to an advanced magic.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.but, it doesn¡¯t really matter whether its beginner magic or advanced magic, as long as I match the mana, the result will be the same.


    My only real worry was that, although I had drunk a mana potion, I still had been training with Anti Magic for a long time before this, so we¡¯ll have to see whether I have enough mana or not.

 CH 214

    First Real Usage


    This wasn¡¯t training however, this was a real battle.


    If I ended up fainting like I did after using my first [Fire Ball], it¡¯d be all meaningless.


    I exhaled deeply, and fully focused all my concentration towards Mielle.


    I further activated [Hearing Enhancement] and [perception Range Enhancement] as well, and matched every action that Mielle made with my own.


    Her breathing, the quantity of mana that flowed through her body as well as the nature of it, every delicate movement; I traced it all perfectly.


    I had been practicing only against the old golem man so I didn¡¯t realize it because I had nothing to compare him to but, seeing Mielle now, I could tell that she was making a lot more unnecessary movements and was generally much more easier to imitate than him.


    ¡± One of the four gods that created the world¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°[Anti Magic].¡±


    The moment her chant began, I activated [Anti Magic].


    I felt like I was using a lot more magic than I had used for this until now but, I think I just avoided entering mana burnout.


    The magic that Mielle was about to use was apparently Ice based magic, and I could feel flowing the cold air towards me from even before the magic fully activated.


    I did have [Cold Resistance] as a counter as well but, if it held this much cold energy, if I got hit I¡¯d almost definitely die regardless of any resistance.


    If I can¡¯t block her chant, I¡¯ll be in a life threatening dilemma indeed but¡ª¡ª


    ¡°[Ice Cryonisis]¡±


    Mielle¡¯s chant ended, and the moment she spoke the name of her spell, the [Anti Magic] I had launched made a direct hit.


    It instantly melted into her body through her hand, and the advanced level ice magic that she was about to activate, completely died out.


    Mielle didn¡¯t seem to understand what had happened, as she just stood there with eyes wide open in shock.


    In her head, she must have been already imagining me dead in her ice after she launched her magic, but the reality was, that her magic had failed long before any of that could happen.


    Seeing her reaction, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s never even experienced failing to activate a magic in her life.


    To use this obvious chance and opening, I instantly narrowed the distance between us.


    All 5 of my skills, [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Gale][Physical Ability Boost][Leg Strength Enhancement], were still active.


    Mielle panicked and tried to stop me when she saw me coming close but, I instantly reached right in front of her and dove in, and before she could do anything else¡ª¡ª


    Slammed my fist cleanly right into her abdomen with full force, fainting her instantly in the process.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­phew.


    I ended up using it out of nowhere against a really strong opponent but, looks like I succeeded.


    While looking down on Mielle who lay unconscious on the ground, I exhaled a deep breath.


    I mean I knew she was a [Sage] and all but, I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d suddenly use advanced magic¡ª¡ªthat too, a compound  magic all of a sudden.


    Now, I was far from my best condition as well so I was very happy that I was able to end the battle instantly.


    I was on the verge of mana burnout, and I barely had any stamina left, so after confirming that there weren¡¯t any other people around us, I deactivated all my skills.


    And then I searched through Mielle¡¯s belongings with zero hesitation¡ª¡ª¨COoh, I knew she¡¯d have potions on her.


    I stole a normal and a mana potion, and gulped them both down instantly.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Were these both high grade potions? As expected of a rich lady.¡±


    Muttering to myself these things, I then tied up Mielle completely to stop her from running away.


    To be honest, I wanted to use something like iron chains to restrain her but, it¡¯s not like I¡¯d be carrying something like that around with me so I just used a random cord I found to just seal her movement at least.


    Now as long I keep my steel sword at her neck, I doubt she¡¯ll try to do something.


    While I waited for Mielle to wake back up, I let the potions do their job and heal me and¡­¡­..


    About 30mins later, Mielle finally woke up.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Oww, where am I¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°About time you woke up. I ddin¡¯t know how long you¡¯d take so I had no choice but to waste my time watching over you, you know?¡±


    ¡°Chris! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, at least assess your current situation before acting all bold. Your limbs are both tied up, and if you move even a bit¡ª¡ª-I¡¯ll chop your head off.¡±


    Since she just woke up, it looks like her memories of what happened there in the end were still vague.


    I calmly explained her current situation to Mielle, and threatened her to stay put in her place.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Right, my magic didn¡¯t activate, and then you¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°Exactly. Thanks for suddenly messing up all on your own though.¡°


    ¡°Wh, why did I suddenly fail my magic now of all times!?!¡±


    ¡°Oi, keep your voice low. Or I¡¯ll cut you down.¡±


    On top of all her already pent up anger, now she had been further restrained by me.


    Because of that her head seemed to be in a mess, and her mood was really weird so first of all I made her calm down.


    ¡°You will answer everything I ask now. Depending on your answers, I might consider letting you live as well.¡±


    ¡°Wh-who would let you¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°Are you perhaps thinking that I thinking that I can¡¯t kill you? Remember Carlo, of [The Maginicks]? I already killed him as well.¡±


    ¡°Carlo of [The Maginicks]¡­¡­¡­? Wait, you mean that guy from the underground organization that was working for Klaus!?! How do you know that name¡ª¡ª-A-alright. I-I¡¯ll answer any question you have so don¡¯t kill me please.¡±


    ¡°Good girl. If you make any suspicious movement, you die instantly. And I¡¯ll warn you, I can see the flow of mana as well.¡±


    The name of the [The Maginicks].


    Hearing that as well as Carlo¡¯s name, her face was drained of all colour and Mielle quickly began pleading for her life.


    Looks like Carlo really was a well known villain in the capital.


    Well, with his appearance and strength, I always knew that that was no normal guy but, looks like everything he said back then was true indeed.

 CH 215

    Questioning


    ¡°I can only tell you what I know. Also, you really will let me live if I tell everything, right!?¡±


    ¡°Of course, what you know is good enough. Depending on the info I get, I don¡¯t mind letting you live, like I said. But first¡ª¡ªtell me, where is Klaus and what is he doing right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry since this is the first question, but I have no idea what Klaus might be doing right now¡­¡­¡­.Thanks to your letter, my connection with him was completely broken and all I know is things everyone else knows as well. Also, I had been deep inside the dungeon until yesterday so I really don¡¯t know anything. I promise.¡±


    Recalling the letter again, while still afraid I could tell anger seeped back into her eyes as she glared at me while she spoke.


    Certainly, I was the one who drove the split between Klaus and her so I suppose it was my mistake to ask her of Klaus current whereabouts.


    And going by Ralf¡¯s info, the part about being deep in the dungeon until yesterday seems to not be a lie either.


    While she¡¯s obviously very angry at me, it seems like she¡¯ll answer honestly now that her life was on stake.


    ¡°Well, my apologies for that. I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d completely cut you off.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lie!! The moment he read the letter, why did he stop listening to anything I even said afterwards then!?¡±


    ¡°Well, me and Klaus being on bad terms is a fact but, I didn¡¯t write anything in that letter that would directly attack you Mielle. All I did was write some gossips at best.¡±


    ¡°Who gets that angry at some ¡®gossip¡¯, just how bad is you two relationship!? Aren¡¯t you two brothers?¡ª¡ª-What an utter mess. Just when I thought I had finally gotten away from that shitty Klaus, now I have ended up under the mercy of his shitty brother¡­¡­¡­I should have never gotten involved with you.¡±


    At the verge of crying and with tears welling up in her eyes, Mielle spoke dejectedly.


    Why is she blaming me when she was the one who attacked me first.


    I just used her since I saw the chance, but she¡¯s got what she deserved no matter how you look at it.


    In fact, even back in Realzard, she tried to attack me first.


    ¡°Stop trying to play the victim. Last time as well as today, you were the one launched the attack first. And back then, if I hadn¡¯t said I was Klaus¡¯ brother, you were planning on killing me no?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­uuu, th-that¡¯s¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°You should be glad I let your attempt to kill me go with just that letter instead. And now you have the audacity of blaming me, you damn hypocrite.¡±


    ¡°b-but, because of your letter¡ª¡ª!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about what happened, and its none of my business. If anything, shouldn¡¯t you be hating Klaus for cutting all connection from you based on just one fucking letter? Am I wrong?¡±


    When I said, Mielle completely shut up.


    Everything must have been going her way in life if a single letter that put a couple twists in her life made her hate me so much but¡­¡­¡­..there¡¯s a limit to how much unjustified hate I¡¯ll allow.


    If you¡¯re gonna attack someone, do it with the resolve of getting hit back. And if you can¡¯t take then, just grow stronger till you can stop that from happening.


    Outsmarted, and now overpowered, Mielle has no right to play the victim any longer.


    ¡­¡­¡­..well, I digress so, let¡¯s go back to getting more info out of her.


    It¡¯s not like I have so much free time that I spend it all casually chatting with her.


    ¡°Looks like you finally get it. So, is the princess in your party also on good terms with Klaus?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.No they are not. If she was, I wouldn¡¯t have been allowed in her party in the first place.¡±


    ¡°I see. So the princess and Klaus are not chummy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, far from it in fact. Well, actually I don¡¯t know what Klaus thinks of the princess but, that stupid princess and her shitty guard certainly don¡¯t think too well of Klaus.¡±


    Looks she hates the princess and her bodyguard as well.


    Is everyone against each other, or do they all just hate Mielle specifically?


    ¡­¡­¡­Well judging by how she acts towards me, I¡¯m going to assume the latter.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to hear at least. I know that Edestor is safe for me for the time being.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯ll let me go right?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not done asking questions. And depending on your sincerity, I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°Could you at least release my binds. My head and nose are all so itchy it¡¯s annoying.¡±


    ¡°Deal with it. Now, I want to ask about Klaus¡¯ ability. And also tell me about his co-operators and party members. Basically, tell me every little info you have on Klaus.¡±


    And thus, I began to drag out every little info on Klaus from Mielle.


    There was a lot more info that was vague than I would have liked but, as expected of someone who went to the same academy, and was close to him at least at one point, I also got a lot more info that I didn¡¯t know about.


    Especially in regards to his party members. It seems the influence of the [Sword God] was immense as not just Klaus himself, but all the people around him were unimaginably strong as well.


    Looks like I really will have to find the Fruit of Skill if I want to have any chance of killing him in a face-to-face fight.


    Once again, I was reminded that I needed to further increase my efforts into exploring and investigating the great forest of Roza.

 CH 216

    Co-operator


    2 hours had passed until I had gotten every little info I wanted out of her.


    Since the sun had already begun to set back when I left [Magic Cave], it was already late into the night now.


    Even though we have to start doing requests again from tomorrow, I ended up getting dragged into this trouble.


    But well, I did at least get information that was worth said trouble, and in the end, I¡¯d say the total was still on the plus side.


    As for Mielle herself,¡­¡­..what should I do with her?


    I already got all the info I wanted out of her, but there¡¯s also a chance she¡¯s gonna try and attack me again as soon as I let her go.


    And even if I let her live, all it¡¯ll do is bring more trouble to me later on I¡¯m sure¡ª¡ª¨CI guess I should kill her?


    No, I have finally gotten a hold on a person that goes to the same academy as Klaus.


    If I can get to her to become a co-operator on my side instead, she¡¯d be pretty useful.


    ¡°¡­¡­.hey,HEYY! Am I imagining it or is that killing intent I sense!? I told you everything like you asked! So, hold uo your end of the promise and let me go please!!¡±


    ¡°I did indeed get a lot of good info. But, Mielle, you seem to hate me so much, and so wouldn¡¯t you try and attack me later as revenge for both this and that again?¡±


    ¡°NO, I¡¯m done trying to get revenge! So please release me!¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s no real merit for me to letting you live though. I already got all the info, and I have feeling letting you go will only bring more problems to me in the future so, what should I do?¡±


    I slowly pushed in the sword I was resting on her neck.


    Her thin skin easily cut open, and a small streak of blood poured down.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ªOh I know! I¡¯ll help you instead! If I, who goes to the same academy as Klaus, became a co-operator of yours, surely you¡¯ll gain something from that right? That¡¯s a merit for you! Just like you said back then, it¡¯s actually Klaus who I should be made at, and now I am convinced after talking to you! I know I have lost all value after telling you everything but, if you think of the future, surely there¡¯s a lot more merits in letting me live right!?¡±


    Desperate not to die, Mielle rattled on and on to try and convince me otherwise.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Mielle herself bringing up becoming a co-operator was a good sign.


    I intended to threaten her a little more before suggesting her to become my co-operator but this works in my favour too.


    To make sure the collar is tight, let me bargain a bit more before I suggest it again.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.It¡¯s true if Mielle became my co-operator, there¡¯s definitely a merit to that. But, I have no proof that you won¡¯t instantly betray me either no?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t betray you I swear! Or rather, I have no reason to betray you. Klaus has already completely lost any trust in me, and my current party members the princess and her bodyguard don¡¯t get along with me either. There¡¯s no one else who¡¯d co-operate with me anyway!!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Well, that¡¯s one way to prove your loyalty I suppose. What a sad way of convincing someone.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it, it¡¯s all true anyway. That¡¯s why I had been chasing you all alone until now.¡±


    I mean I had planned to accept her as a co-operator even without this much convincing but, it did end further convincing me to do so.


    As long as everything she just said wasn¡¯t a complete lie, the only threat she could possess towards me was Mielle herself and nothing more.


    Now, I know we only fought barely just now, but as long as I have [Anti Magic] I won¡¯t lose in a one-on-one fight with her.


    So even if she did betray me and tried to attack me again, I just need to finish her off for good next time around that¡¯s all.


    ¡°Alright. From now on, as my co-operator, you will gather info in the capital. As long as you don¡¯t betray me, I promise I won¡¯t hurt you either.¡±


    ¡°I will, I promise! It¡¯s a deal, so please remove your sword and release my bindings already.¡±


    I put down the sword I had placed on her neck and cut off the cords that bound her limbs in a single slash.


    Just in case, I was ready with all my skills activated in case she did try anything but even after her binds released, she still didn¡¯t seem like she had any intention of attacking me.


    ¡°Like I said, I won¡¯t attack you anymore. I¡¯m not stupid enough to break a promise like tat.¡±


    ¡°I mean you did completely implode from one single letter from me. You can¡¯t convince me you¡¯re not stupid just yet.¡±


    ¡°I know you literally just let me live, but seriously why are you so irritating!?¡­¡­¡­.To think I¡¯d end up becoming a co-operator to the guy I was trying to kill.¡±


    ¡°You suggested it. Also, now that you are my co-operator, I¡¯ll let you in on at least one little secret of mine. Mielle, try using magic at me.¡±


    ¡°Magic at you? You aren¡¯t going to kill me for hitting you right?¡±


    ¡°Now why would I do something so meaningless? Cmon, hurry up and use it.¡±


    I instructed Mielle to use magic at me and I instantly focused my concentration to the max to use [Anti Magic].


    I intended to hide the existence of this magic but, now that she¡¯s my co-operator and to make sure she never even thinks of betraying me, it was important to show my full strength in my opinion.


    Just like before, I perfectly matched her breathing, mana quantity, nature, and every delicate movement.


    And the moment her chant was complete¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°[Anti Magic]¡±


    ¡°[Ice Arrow]¡±


    My [Anti Magic] hit before she could release her magic.


    Mielle had been perfect with her both her casting and chanting but, the magic didn¡¯t activate as the [Anti Magic] made it completely disappear.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Eh? A-again, my magic!? But Why!?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my magic. It can disrupt and negate magic activation. The reason why your big spell from before didn¡¯t work was also because of me, and not really a mistake you made.¡±


    ¡°M-magic disruption, you say!? If I recall, the golems of old used to have something like that but, I have never heard of any human using that!!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to explain in detail, but well, it¡¯s like this so you best assume that magic won¡¯t work on me.¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡­¡­¡­How did you grow so much in such a short time. When I met you in Realzard, you were barely stronger than the average adventurer¡­..!¡±


    When Mielle first attacked me, I hadn¡¯t even been able to sense her approaching close to me.


    Compared to then, not just my raw ability but also with the increased number of skills, I might as well be a different person now.


    ¡°A fruit of my labours, you could say. Can¡¯t fall behind the [Sword God] can I?¡±


    ¡°I feel like this goes far beyond anything hard work could achieve but¡­¡­¡­.or rather, if magic is useless against you, then I alone could never win against you. Wait y-you, hid this from me before so that you could trick me into attacking you again just to fail didn¡¯t you!?¡±


    ¡°Yep. If you had tried to use magic behind my back, I was going to instantly kill you right there.¡±


    The reason why I played dumb when she woke up was because I wanted to see if it was even worth negotiating with her.


    And now, I told her about [Anti Magic] to further threaten her.


    Having decided that Mielle still was of use to me, I needed to make sure that she never even thinks of defying or disobeying me, hence the threat.


    ¡°Both of you brothers have utterly terrifying personalities. Anyway, my heart is already broken, so I won¡¯t attack you again, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I know that but, there¡¯s still a chance that you might just run away as well. So give me something that¡¯s important to you as leverage. If not, I might still have to kill you anyway.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t run away! And even if you say, you want something important to me¡­¡­¡­.I have nothing on me right now.¡±


    Mielle said that, but I could sense her heartbeat quicken, and her eyes glanced at her bag for a second.


    ¡­¡­¡­.She definitely has something she treasures with her right now.


    ¡°Show me the contents of your bag. You¡¯re hiding something from me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything!!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything then you should have no problem showing it to me right? Hurry up.¡±


    While clearly unwilling, she must have realized that refusal was not an option as she reluctantly gave the bag to me.


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    From the size of the bag I can¡¯t really think of anything worthwhile that might be in here but her reaction was too obvious of a giveaway.


    ¡­¡­¡­..She definitely has something important to her in here.


    Taking the bag, I rummaged through the contents.


    Potions used in dungeons, simple food, and a spare change of clothes.


    ¡ª¡ª¨COf, was this a treasure she got in a dungeon?


    A pretty jewel and a gorgeous ornate bracelet.


    The jewel seemed expensive but, the I could sense some faint mana from the bracelet so it could be a magic item even.


    I took both of these items out from the bag to show Mielle but¡­¡­¡­there was no reaction.


    Her face was making an ¡®oh no¡¯ expression as if I had found it but, her heartbeat was still calm.


    So this isn¡¯t her treasure then?


    In that case, it could only be the only thing remaining inside the bag, which was a dirty looking necklace.


    While in doubt how this could be her precious treasure, I brought it out of the bag¡ª¡ª-and Mielle¡¯s heartbeat jumped up like crazy.


    From outside it looks like some cheap item but, it was clear that this was very precious to her.


    Just like Father¡¯s pocket watch, I guess Mielle has some kind of attachment to this necklace.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep this necklace as collateral. If you run away, assume that you¡¯ll never get it back.¡±


    ¡°Wh-Why did you pick that necklace of all things!!? There¡¯s other things there that are more expensive right?!¡±


    ¡°Why you ask? But I don¡¯t know either. You should be the one who knows though, right?¡±


    Never thought I¡¯d find use for [Hearing Enhancement] in such a situation as well.


    It was already pretty useful for detecting enemies but, I could also use to it to judge a person¡¯s mental state as well from listening to their heartbeat rate.


    I did need to be very close to the target which was a demerit but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll still find lots of use from this regardless.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Fine. You can hold on to that necklace, if I don¡¯t run away be sure to properly give it back to me.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Once I¡¯m certain, you¡¯ll get it back.¡±


    With this, I don¡¯t need to be worried about Mielle anymore. I had the upper hand in these negotiations from start to finish, and the rest, we can decide the details on a later date.


    After making a promise of meeting once again on a later date to talk further, I let Mielle go and finally made my way back home again.


    I don¡¯t know how my choices today will turn out in the future but, hopefully they result in some advantage later on.


    I decided to stay fully vigilant until I had made it back inside my room, as I walked through the quiet moonlit streets of Edestor.

 CH 217

    Event Report


    A lot of things had happened today, and my body was basically screaming in pain now but¡­¡­..


    I think I needed to tell Esta and Ralf about Mielle at least.


    Once again making sure that I hadn¡¯t been followed by someone else, I entered our room.


    Since I had wasted a lot of time with Mielle, it was late night already though I didn¡¯t know the exact time right now.


    I was originally resolved to waking both of them back up but, the lights in the room were still on so they might be awake still it seems.


    ¡°Chirs-san, you¡¯re late! Phillip-san said you had left a long time ago so I was really worried!¡±


    ¡°Where even were you!? We tried searching around for you as well you know? What were you doing till this late at night??¡±


    ¡°Sorry for making you both worried. I got dragged into a bit of a mess¡­¡­¡­.I know it late, but do you two mind keeping me company for a while?¡±


    ¡°A mess¡­¡­..you say? So something irregular did happen!¡±


    ¡°We can always delay our tomorrow¡¯s work for another day worst case, so sit down and explain to us what actually happened!¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll explain everything that happened after I left [Magic Cave].¡±


    And so, I explained everything to them, how I got ambushed by Mielle, and how I then turned Mielle into becoming my co-operator as well.


    Since I did this all without ever consulting either of them, I was worried they might be against my decisions but, surprisingly they listened to me talk till the very end without speaking a single word.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-And that¡¯s about it. Did you get everything?¡±


    ¡°Yeah I understood what happened but, this Miellle, you sure we can trust her? I¡¯m not one to object to anything to you say Chris but, that dirty necklace as our security doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s enough, or is that just me?¡±


    ¡°The necklace is just an insurance. I talked to her directly so I am pretty confident it¡¯ll be alright, that¡¯s why I accepted her becoming a co-operator. Also, the necklace itself seems to be very important to Mielle for whatever reason, I¡¯m certain¡­¡­¡­.How about we try it on you too, Ralf?¡±


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    ¡°Try what exactly?!¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see if Ralf has anything he¡¯s hiding from us.¡±


    ¡°As if I¡¯d have something like that. How are you going to find it our anyway?!¡±


    ¡°You just need to listen to my questions, and just stay quiet Ralf.¡±


    Explaining that, I activated [Hearing Enhancement] and [Perception Enhancement].


    And after confirming his normal heart rate, I began asking Ralf some questions.


    ¡°Ralf, do you have anything you have kept secret from me or Esta?¡±


    The moment I asked, Ralf¡¯s heartbeat rate suddenly spiked.


    Of course, there ¡®s always a chance that it¡¯s simply because of suddenly getting questioned like this, but the increase in heart rate is almost proof that he has been hiding something.


    ¡°So you do have something.¡±


    ¡°I do not! I haven¡¯t kept any secrets from you two!!¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s see what your secret is about¡­¡­¡­¡­..Is it regarding the dungeon¡­¡­¡­..maybe love and romance¡­¡­¡­.maybe your job¡­¡­¡­¡­or is it money¡ª¨CAh, so it IS money related.¡±


    ¡°Wa-wait a minute!! I get it, I get it so please stop!! I get that the necklace is in fact important so let¡¯s continue with our actual conversation, yes?!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, I have things to ask so won¡¯t you tell me in detail about everything later on?¡±


    Hearing Esta¡¯s cold voice, Ralf¡¯s back straightened from fear.


    There was a little reaction when I mentioned the dungeon as well, so I assume he¡¯s hiding something that¡¯s related to his earnings from the dungeon or something like that.


    Well, I¡¯ll let Esta handle the interrogation itself later, and I returned back to the main topic.


    ¡°Just like I did right now, I figured out that the necklace would be the best choice to keep as a collateral so it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can at least confirm it¡¯s a credible method alright¡­¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m still a bit worried considering she tried to attack you out of nowhere at the capital Chris but, as far as working as your co-operator goes, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll find anyone more qualified than her no?¡±


    ¡°I agree with Ralf. It has also made it much for safer for you to explore Edestor as well so I have no objections against making this Mielle person into your co-operator either.¡±


    Looks both of them were convinced with my decisions.


    It was a risky move but, looks like they understand that it¡¯s for the best.


    ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t expect this Mielle to aim for your life out of nowhere! There¡¯s still been no info on whether the Princes and her party had come out of the dungeon or not.¡±


    ¡°Well according to the person herself, they came out literally just a short time ago. Maybe they left right after you left the Dungeon as well Ralf.¡±


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    ¡°I see. And then she happened to be in Edestor, coincidentally saw you and decided to follow!? The timing is a bit too unfortunate, man Chris, you are really one unlucky guy!¡±


    ¡°Well, it resulted in me getting a co-operator instead so could you even call it ¡®unlucky¡¯ anymore? Well, it was right after my magic practice so that certainly sucked. I¡¯d rather not have to deal with that again.¡±


    I had drunk the high level potions that I stole from Mielle but my headache still showed no signs of disappearing and my fatigue was horrible.


    I wanted to go to sleep asap, or else I really might fall ill again. That¡¯s how bad it was.


    ¡°Speaking of, how did your magic training under Phillip-san go? Did you finally learn the magic you were practicing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I safely managed to learn it. I¡¯ll show it to you sometime later Esta, so look forward to it.¡±


    ¡°So Chris-san has also finally become a true magic user! I can¡¯t wait to see what it¡¯s like!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just one basic magic and one more, that¡¯s not even really a proper magic, but yeah. ¡­¡­¡­Well, that talk went on longer than I imagined but that¡¯s it for my report. Any questions? If not, I¡¯d like to go to sleep already.¡±


    ¡°None here! You explained everything, and I get your decisions as well.¡±


    ¡°Same here.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s already late night but, let¡¯s go to sleep quickly. As for the request that we were planning to take tomorro¨Ctoday I guess, I¡¯m sorry but we¡¯re going to have to postpone it.¡±


    ¡°No worries! You get your rest. Me and Esta will go and do some easier request in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    With everything told, our long discussion finally ended.


    While stretching and rotating my shoulders, I somehow moved my heavy body into the shower.


    And as soon as I lay down on my bed and close my eyes, I slipped into a deep slumber.

 CH 218

    Face to Face Meeting


    By the time I woke up again, the sun had already begun to set again.


    Since it was close to dawn when I fell asleep, it seems like I really slept like a log till late.


    There were no signs of Ralf, Esta or Snow in the room, and like they said last night, they must be out doing requests.


    While loosening my stiff body as I got up, I checked my condition overall and¡ª¡ª-alright.


    While I was still slightly tired, I didn¡¯t fall ill or anything this time.


    To fully recover, I wanted to sleep a bit more but, I had to go meet Mielle tonight to talk again as well.


    While I waited for the two to return, I prepared to get ready leave soon.


    .


    I took a shower to wake myself up fully, and by the time I changed my clothes, they were back.


    Looks like they were dong requests as expected as even the usually energetic Snow seemed tired as it walked in slowly wagging its tail.


    ¡°Oh, Chris, you¡¯re awake?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, about time I woke up eh. My body still feels a bit heavy but can¡¯t be sleeping all day either. How did it go for you guys?¡±


    ¡°We were completing requests like we said. It was a bit worrying without you Chris-san so, we only took a gold rank request.¡±


    ¡°After the dungeon as well, Snow¡¯s played a huge part once again! Both me and Eta barely got to do much!¡±


    ¡°I know right! Snow pretty much finished the request on its own. It¡¯s detection skills are high as well. Snow¡¯s really grown into such an excellent child!¡±


    Getting lots of headpats from both of them, Snow howled happily.


    Compared to even platinum rank monsters, Snow simply has better movement skills as well after all.


    And its body has gotten a lot bigger as well, so Gold rank ones will be a pushover for it.


    ¡°Snow, thanks for working hard in my absence. I¡¯ll treat you to some good meat next time.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    I wondered if it understood what I said clearly as Snow jumped into my arms happily.


    While petting Snow¡¯s head, I explained my plans for tonight to Ralf and Esta.


    ¡°Sorry to trouble you both right after you¡¯ve come back from work but¡­¡­..we need to talk for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Talk? Mielle related I assume?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I forgot to tell this yesterday but, I planned to meet Mielle again today. I¡¯m planning on heading there now but, what about you guys? I don¡¯t mind taking you two along and letting you meet her as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll come then. I¡¯d like to this person face to face at least once after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go too then! I¡¯ll stay out of your discussions but like Esta said, I¡¯d like to see what she looks like at least once.¡±


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s go together. Snow, sorry but you¡¯ll have to stay and watch the room this time.¡±


    And so, with these two in tow who had just come back, I headed to the place where I planned to meet Mielle.


    Said place was of course, the same empty alley where I beat and tied her up.


    We didn¡¯t decide on an exact time, and had just vaguely said we¡¯ll might at night again.


    Since the sun had only just begun to set, there¡¯s a chance she might not even be here still but¡­¡­.


    When we got there, I saw Mielle sitting and poking the ground all alone, looking bored.


    ¡°Is that the Mielle you told us about?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s her.¡±


    ¡°You said she was a master of disguise but¡­¡­¡­is that her real body?¡±


    ¡°It is. That¡¯s Mielle without her disguise. She can change her gender, age, height, basically everything, so if she allows it, I can ask her to show it to you later.¡±


    ¡°Ooh we get to see her disguise live. Can¡¯t wait!¡­¡­¡­..Also, unlike my expectations, she¡¯s a real cutie huh! Chris, did you actually punch this cute girl with full strength?¡±


    ¡°Of course. She was the one who attacked me. I¡¯m not the type to go easy on someone just because she¡¯s a woman.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re not wrong I guess but¡­¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s kinda amazing how you don¡¯t get shaken by anything huh.¡±


    Ignoring Ralf who was staring at me like a weirdo, I walked towards Mielle.


    I activated all my detection skills, and checked whether there was someone else hidden nearby but, at the very least there was no one in my detection range.


    As promised, Mielle had come alone.


    ¡°Kept you waiting huh.¡±


    ¡°About time you came¡­¡­¡­¡­..Are two behind you your comrades?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This is Esta, and that¡¯s Ralf. Since we are working together Mielle, I figured you should at least know their faces as well so I brought them with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Ralf! I¡¯ve heard it all from Chris. I know you were an enemy at first but if you¡¯re going to help us from now, let¡¯s get along. We¡¯ll be in your care!¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m Esta. I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m still not fully convinced about you but that¡¯s why I¡¯ve come here, to make sure of things as well. A pleasure to meet you.¡±


    ¡°You probably know already, but again, I¡¯m Mielle. I was tricked by your leader here, lost my place, a former elite. Right now I¡¯m in a party with this country¡¯s Princess. I don¡¯t plan on antagonizing you guys ever again, so please no need to be so on guard.¡±


    Introducing herself as a former elite, Mielle shook hands with Ralf and Esta.


    Her words still held venom within, and while she said she had no intention of opposing us, it was clear she still held a grudge.


    I really should make it a habit to always be on guard when meeting Mielle from now on as well.

 CH 219

    Future Plans


    ¡°That¡¯s enough of party introductions for now, and let¡¯s get to the main topic. When are you guys returning back to the capital Mielle? Because there¡¯s info I want you to gather there.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know either. Our party runs on the demands of our princess. But well, the last dungeon capture failed in the end, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll give up until she¡¯s made it floor 50 like Klaus.¡±


    ¡°Which means, it¡¯ll be a while before you go back to the Capital then.¡±


    ¡°So it seems. Of course there¡¯s always a chance that she suddenly says she¡¯s bored of the dungeon and we go back out of nowhere as well though¡­¡­¡­..that dumb princess, never stopped complaining while we were in the dungeon after all.¡±


    Perhaps recalling her dungeon experience, Mielle clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    She really is foul mouthed huh.


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    ¡°I¡¯ll take it as a 90% of not returning then. Which means any info gathering in the capital is not happening any time soon¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    In that case, there¡¯s really not much Mielle can do for me right now.


    I already got all the info I wanted out of Mielle, and so I guess she¡¯ll just have to stay on standby until she can gather more new info.


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    To be honest, I¡¯d rather be spending my time focusing on improving my skills and ability as well so just not having the constant threat to my life is a big plus on its own.


    I guess I can have her look out for and report to me if any enemies or pursuers might show up in Edestor, but outside that, I can leave Mielle alone until she goes back to Edestor.


    ¡ª¡ªfor a second I came to that conclusion, but then I recalled, she was the party member of the princess.


    And if what Mielle told me is true and she doesn¡¯t get along with Klaus, perhaps it is worth it to make a connection with her as well.


    Of course, that could also lead to more trouble as well but, I¡¯m sure she also has info that only a princess would be privy to.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much I can do for you right now. I¡¯ll work properly once we return to the capital so, let¡¯s maintain our distance while we¡¯re still in Edestor¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Hey Mielle, can you introduce me to this princess?¡±


    ¡°Hah? Are you aiming for the Princess as well? You should give up on that. She always has that muscle brained straight laced partner of hers by her side at all times. You¡¯ll get killed instantly.¡±


    ¡°You misunderstand. To kill Klaus, I need connections with influential and strong people, so I was wondering if she¡¯d be interested in cooperating with me.¡±


    ¡°Firsstly, I doubt it. That dumb princess has no interest in the common people, I doubt she¡¯d be even willing to listen to you.¡±


    So unless I have so sort of incentive, she won¡¯t even entertain listening to me eh.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­the only thing that could catch her interest is the fact that I am the [Sword God]¡¯s brother.


    To be honest, I don¡¯t want to use the name of the guy I was trying to get my revenge on but, if I don¡¯t use every little advantage I can get, I¡¯ll never get to Klaus anyway.


    And that includes Klaus himself.


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    ¡°You don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be interested even after knowing that I¡¯m Klaus¡¯ older brother?¡±


    ¡°If you tell her that, I guess she might be willing to listen a bit but¡­¡­..that¡¯s very risky you know? I know I said that the princess hates Klaus but, that¡¯s only based on her attitude and what I inferred from watching them from the side. There¡¯s always a chance they have some kind of connection behind everyone¡¯s back. Her hateful attitude could always be a ploy to make it harder for other to monitor them.¡±


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    ¡°Klaus and the Princess could be working together in the shadows? And what are the chances of that actually being the case though?¡±


    ¡°Oh, close to zero. Like I said, I really do think they hate each other, and the chances of them working together is unimaginable to me. However, it¡¯s not confirmed, and thus not impossible either that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Then, it¡¯s fine to tell her. I¡¯ve already resolved myself to crossing dangerous bridges the moment I joined hands with you Mielle.¡±


    I¡¯m not going to be faltering from risks of this level.


    In the off chance, the Princess and Klaus were in fact allies, and my info leaks, I¡¯ll still have lots of ways to work around it.


    ¡°Alright. In that case, I¡¯ll tell her about you. Of course, she might still refuse even after knowing you are Klaus¡¯ brother, and if she leaks your info to Klaus, don¡¯t blame me for it, that¡¯s all I¡¯m asking.¡±


    ¡°yeah, I promise I won¡¯t. But, if I find that it was not the princess but YOU who leaked my info¡­¡­¡­.there will be no mercy.¡±


    ¡°LIKE I SAID, I have no intention of betraying you!! I really want that necklace back as well so I¡¯ll fully co-operate with you.¡±


    With this much extra warning, it should be fine.


    Now I have to wait for the princess to take the bait, and honestly I have no idea if she will.


    From how Mielle talks about her, she doesn¡¯t seem like a person who¡¯d be interested but, it¡¯s fine if nothing comes out of it.


    As long as she isn¡¯t connected to Klaus, there¡¯s no demerits towards me.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll leave the talk with the princess to you¡­¡­¡­.Also, when are you going to contact me again? I want to hear the Princess¡¯ reply as soon as possible as well, and if you go back into the dungeon, it¡¯ll be impossible to contact us right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll choose when to contact you guys again if you don¡¯t mind. I don¡¯t know what nonsense the princess might drag me into next so please understand.¡±


    ¡°Sure, fine.¡±


    ¡°As for how I¡¯ll contact you, I guess I¡¯ll just walk and come to meet you. Which inn are guys staying in again?¡±

 CH 220

    Under Eye


    ¡°Hey wait a second! There was one thing I forgot to tell you yesterday but, there is one more thing you need to know about one of Klaus¡¯ co-operators.¡±


    ¡°And what would that be? Something other than what all you already told me?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s more of an addendum to what I already told you. Do you remember the one odd one out in Klaus¡¯ party?¡±


    ¡°Milworc of [Under Eye] you mean? What about him?¡±


    I heard of him from the info broker in Norfast as well.


    How Klaus had brought the leader of a hoodlum group into his party.


    I heard a bit from Mielle yesterday as well but, was there anything more left totell?


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m talking about that very person but¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want to say but I¡¯m listening so take a breath and explain properly.¡±


    ¡°Alright listen. First of all, [Under Eye] is a hoodlum group based in the capital. It¡¯s not like they have some big goal either, they¡¯re just a gathering of criminals. In comparison, [The Maginicks] whose leader, Carlo, you killed are the type that did crime in return for huge sums of money, and were closer to a criminal organisation.¡±


    ¡°I know all this. Why are you telling¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°I¡¯m explaining everything from the top so, just be quiet and listen till the end¡­¡­¡­..Anyway, so when you told me that you had killed Carlo yesterday, I was too shocked to properly think about it but, if Carlo is dead that means [Under Eye] will definitely begin to move now.¡±


    I still don¡¯t get what she¡¯s implying.


    Why would [Under Eye] take action due to Carlo¡¯s death?


    I could understand if it was [The Maginicks] who were going to take action considering I killed there leader but¡­¡­


    Unable to grasp the meaning behind Mielle¡¯s words, I could only blame her shitty explanation for my confusion.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t get what¡¯s that supposed to mean. If you¡¯re ¡®explaining from the top¡¯ then at least explain in properly and in detail.¡±


    ¡°LIKE. I. SAID. [Under Eye] will now start taking action seriously. If [Under Eye] came to Edestor, you really will have to run for your lives.¡±


    ¡°So, not [The Maginicks] whose leader I killed, but instead [Under Eye] will take action? Why??¡±


    ¡°Yes, like I told you yesterday, both organisations are currently working for Klaus. And Klaus had ordered [The Maginicks] the important duty of bringing him your head. Why? Probably because he had chosen a member of [Under Eye] as his party member I imagine. But [The Maginicks] had now failed in their task, and the one to fail was their leader himself. Which means his trust with [The Maginicks] will definitely fall, and so inevitable he¡¯ll give the same order to [Under Eye] instead. Do you understand now?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I see. That explains it better. But, wasn¡¯t [Under Eye] a small organisation than [The Maginicks]? Why do I have to be so afraid of them?¡±


    From what I had heard from the info broker as well, [Under Eye] was not as powerful as [The Maginicks].


    I am curious why Klaus took [Under Eye]¡¯s leader into his party but, I don¡¯t think my understanding of the overall situation is wrong.


    ¡°As an organisation, yes¡­¡­¡­.but if we¡¯re comparing the individual strength of its members, [Under Eye] is overwhelmingly stronger. Well, most of the punks that work for them are trash, but the 5 original founders of  [Under Eye] are all extremely strong. Rather than enter the already existing organisation, [The Maginicks], they created their own name, and were further hired by Klaus in the end. That should give you an idea of how strong they really are.¡±


    ¡°That strong huh? I always that these hoodlums were mostly all weaker than the average adventurer.¡±


    ¡°Well, if we¡¯re comparing the average hoodlum to the average adventurer, yes you would be correct. Carlo was an extreme exception in  [The Maginicks], but his subordinates were all at best gold rank adventurers. But I¡¯ve heard the 5 that founded [Under Eye] are all as strong as Carlo. And among those, their leader Milworc is said to be a match for even the [Sword God] himself.¡±


    So it seems there¡¯s 5 Carlo-level big shots in [Under Eye].


    And their leader Milworc seems to be a level above the rest. Almost as good as Klaus eh?


    I get why Mielle went out of her way to warn us of them.


    ¡°If he really can go toe to toe with Klaus, ¡ª¡ª-that¡¯s a complete monster alright.¡±


    ¡°Of course that¡¯s the rumour going around, but if he ended up becoming a subordinate to Klaus in the end, I have to imagine Klaus did win after all, right? Even with all that strength, and even though he had tried to avoid the existing hierarchy of the underworld, he and his gang still ended up giving their reins to Klaus after all.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..Honestly, this image of Klaus I hear is different from what I remember of him.


    I always thought that he¡¯d go crazy and do dumb shit with all his newfound power but instead, like me, or maybe even more than me, he¡¯s building a solid foothold underneath him for the future.


    My caution against Klaus raise even more, and I realized once again that I will have to go against with all of my strength else I¡¯ll be easily killed.


    He¡¯s going this far just to take care of one measly [Farmer] after all.


    ¡°Alright, thanks for the warning. I understand the situation better now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. That¡¯s it for the info I have.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay on guard. Mielle as well, be sure to inform me if you get any new info on this matter.¡±


    And this time finally, we left the back alley.


    Not just Klaus, I need to stay on guard against the movements of his party members, [The Maginicks] and also [Under Eye].


    Especially this [Under Eye], I really need to properly gather info on them as well it seems.

 CH 221

    Reunion after a long while


    Around 2 weeks had passed since our talk with Mielle.


    These two weeks went by pretty much as planned, completing requests for money, and by now, once again we had saved up quite a lot of funds.


    And from today, we entered another 2 weeks of free time but, as you¡¯d expect, I was no dying to go back to the Roza great forest again.


    Due to my [Anti Magic] Training last time, I was unable to make a trip to the forest and now it had been almost a month since my last visit.


    I was curious to see how my base had been doing, and I wanted to go check on the Orc King Ongneer as well.


    I also wanted to investigate the info I got from Henjak, and even while I was completing requests, my heart was still longing for the great forest of Roza again.


    With my decision already made, I quickly finished my preps, and headed to the forest¡ª¡ª-is what I¡¯d like to say but, I had an appointment for today.


    Esta had gone to [Magic Cave], Ralf was in the Dungeon, and now I had made my way to the plains outside the city.


    By the way, I never got a call back from Mielle and I hadn¡¯t heard of them leaving for the capital either so I assumed the Princess and her party were challenging the dungeon again as well.


    As you may have guessed, if it¡¯s not Mielle I¡¯m meeting, it could only be one other person¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Yo! Long time no see Chris!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been a while Bors.¡±


    Yep, he¡¯s the person we made a temp party with, the shaggy haired Bors himself.


    Originally I had planned to meet him around the time I was practicing [Anti Magic] but learning that magic ended up taking a lot longer than I expected so I had to cancel our little appointment then and postpone it for later.


    ¡°How¡¯s it been going for you guys these days? All good?¡±


    ¡°So-So. But thanks to all the places you introduced us to Bors, we feel quite settled in Edestor now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear! Speaking of, I heard that the old lady from [Gaddfoura]was looking for you it seems? You haven¡¯t shown up there either eh?¡±


    [Gaddfoura]¡¯s old lady¡­¡­..


    Oh right, I did ask her to make my potions, and had completely left it for a long time now.


    Well, I was originally planning to gather more Jinpi leaves on my next trip to Roza forest, which was also supposed to be earlier, and then receive the potions when I went to deliver the next batch of leaves but, because of the 2 week delay, I ended up making her wait longer than planned.


    But it will be a waste of a trip so I don¡¯t have to go so soon already do I?


    I have already paid her in advance anyway, so I think I¡¯ll take the stuff after I come back from Roza after all.


    ¡°I think she must have completed the potions I ordered. It¡¯s been some time since I went there after all.¡±


    ¡°ohh, so you¡¯ve been already using the place eh! You sure you don¡¯t need to go soon?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s too much on my plate already. I¡¯ll head there once I¡¯m done with my main work as planned.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, not that it matters to me! I did do my part of reminding you as asked though right? Alright then, enough talk¡­¡­..and let¡¯s begin shall we?¡±


    Of course, I didn¡¯t come all this way just to gossip with Bors, it¡¯s to have our little mock battle as we promised before.


    With our chat over, we decided to begin soon.


    Honestly, I am confident that I am overwhelmingly stronger than Bors.


    But the reason I still asked this of him was because I instinctively felt that I could still learn something from him.


    ¡­¡­¡­.well, I reiterate once again that he really does look like a random old man so, there¡¯s always a chance that my instincts were wrong.


    ¡°Do we need to set any rules? Or should we just go at it, no holds barred?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡­..let¡¯s at least make some simple rules! Just to make sure that Chris accepts his defeat graciously of course!¡±


    ¡°Sure, you can make the rules¡­¡­¡­¡­.also, there¡¯s absolutely no way I¡¯ll lose.¡±


    ¡°There are no absolutes in this world my boy! The rules are simple. First one to get three clean hits or deliver or knockout wins. Clear and concise, no?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me. Let¡¯s go with that.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just keep an eye on the monsters around us, and then let¡¯s begin. Take whichever wooden sword suits you best.¡±


    I randomly picked up a wooden sword from the bunch that Bors had brought.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­man, it¡¯s nostalgic to hold a wooden sword again. Unfortunately, it also reminded me of my horrible days of strict teaching under my father.


    I took a deep breath to calm myself, and face Bors who also took a stance with a wooden sword.


    His stance was the same as what I saw before, an orthodox sword stance.


    His fighting style was also very honest and straightforward but somehow, he was really strong. That was my impression from seeing him fight.


    In today¡¯s fight, rather than win or lose, I want to figure where this odd strength of his came from but¡­¡­..at the same time, I really don¡¯t want to lose to Bors either.


    If I lost even once, he¡¯ll never shut up about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready whenever you are.¡±


    ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s start? Prepare yourself!¡±


    With those words, Bors began to slowly approach towards me.


    Unlike his usual flippant expression, he was serious now and I could even feel a little bit of killing intent leaking from him.


    Even this sudden switch in mood is also something I feel is unique to Bors.


    I only activated my [Perception Enhancement] skill, and decided to fight raw without using any other battle skill.


    These days, I had been getting very used to using them and was using skills even against weak monsters but, this time I actively chose not to do so.


    That said, my physical ability was still around Mithril rank thanks to my poisonous plant consumption, and I could easily overwhelm Bors who was only platinum rank.


    In terms of technique as well, while Bors does have the years of experience on me, I had been trained in the art of the sword since I was a child.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not underestimating him by any means, but even speaking with no bias, it¡¯s obvious that I¡¯m stronger than him.


    I was sure that I could confidently state that as fact but¡­¡­¡­


    The moment the battle began, I realized that I was still being too naive.

 CH 222

    A Feeling of Unease


    The first to make a move was Bors.


    With the most stereotypical stance, he used the most bookish overhead slash.


    It¡¯s speed was just average as well, and was certainly not a bad attack but¡­¡­¡­a move so faithful to the basics would never trouble me.


    I easily parried his overhead swing, and the countered with a body strike.


    It was strong enough to get a knockout on the first move but, Bors instantly back-stepped to easily avoid it.


    ¡­¡­¡­this uneasy feeling again.


    Since it had been some time since then, I had forgotten it but after facing him directly, I once again remembered the unease I felt when I watched him fight back then.


    The overhead slash that Bors used was the most basic, fundamental strike possible made by stepping up in front of their opponent.


    I read his move perfectly, and had launched a body strike as counter when he should have been completely defenseless.


    I did hesitate slightly before putting enough strength in it to knock him out in one strike but, I definitely didn¡¯t miss the timing by so much that he would have been able to avoid it.


    I could at least understand if he had blocked it with his sword but he had straight up dodged it with a fast back step.


    ¡°That was a good strike! My turn next!¡±


    Bors shouted that, and quickly rushed in towards me.


    Is he aiming for a thrust attack?¡ª¡ª-No, it¡¯s a low slash.


    From the minute detailed movements of his body, I read his next move and then matched my sword to block it.


    This was the first time I took on the full brunt of Bors¡¯ attack but, as expected, it wasn¡¯t that strong.


    And this wasn¡¯t a weak attack, this had his full strength behind it.


    I have only blocked this one attack from him but, coupled with what I saw from his fight against BlueOgre, I can tell you, his strength stat is honestly at most, Silver rank level.


    I really could never lose to this guy but¡­¡­¡­I can¡¯t hit him either.


    As if he could see what move I was making beforehand, he continued to dodge every single attack I made.


    It¡¯s not like it¡¯s his agility that is excellent either, which means this odd feeling I have been getting must be a skill¡ª¡ªthat too, most probably a unique skill.


    There¡¯s no point trying to cut air again and again, so I guess I¡¯ll have to use my battle skills to finish the fight.


    Having judged the feeling of unease I had was from a skill Bors had, I decided it was okay to end the fight now.


    I activated [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical Ability Boost], these 3 skills, and began my attack once again.


    I began moving at a speed even Bors couldn¡¯t keep up with and the moment he tried to dodge again, I further activated [Gale]and [Leg Strength Enhancement], to chase him down and leave him no quarter.


    I had expected him to not last more than a couple of seconds after I went all out but¡ª¡ªterrifyingly enough, he continued to still avoid me even after I used all my skills.


    Of course, he had no room to counter back and it was a one-sided affair with him just barely defending against me but still, he was still dealing with all of my attacks somehow.


    The fact that he never fell for any of my feints either was extremely concerning, and contrary to his usual demeanour, he was keeping his calm throughout the battle.


    In the end, the indirect damage he took from blocking my blows with his sword accumulated over time and his movements dulled, and finally, five minutes after I activated all my physical enhancement skills, I was able to land 3 clean hits and somehow ended the fight as my victory but¡­¡­¡­.


    Bors had managed to persevere far, far longer than I could have ever imagined, and made me realize why he was indeed a platinum rank adventurer.


    ¡°Puhaa¡­¡­¡­..C-chris! You¡¯re way too strong! This barely even qualified as a fight and was mostly me trying to defend for as long as I could!¡±


    ¡°No, although we¡¯re using wooden swords, I was really swinging with my full strength you know. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to hold on this long. Once again, I suppose I have no choice but to accept your ability it seems.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the extremely condescending words!¡­¡­..the fact that I lost completely makes me even more annoyed because I can¡¯t even say anything back!¡±


    ¡°Of course, I won because I have a overwhelming advantage when it comes to actual ability. The fact that you actually kept up with me for so long is genuinely worth praise, I say that from the bottom of my heart.¡±


    ¡°This little bastard¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s even more annoying because I know you¡¯re not being sarcastic! Once I get a rest, I want a rematch! I¡¯ll definitely win this time around!¡±


    Bors was angry with his face all red but, everything I said was true.


    My stats were far above his, and so were the number of skills and their quality. And when it came to man-to-man combat, one again, I was more skilled I can confidently say that.


    Yet, this huge gap was still put in a deadlock by Bors thanks to one skill and his experience.To have this much trouble even though I had so many advantages, it¡¯s not a lie to say that while I won the match, I lost the battle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you on as many times you want but if I win every single time, I want you to tell me about your Skills Bors. I am genuinely curious what skills you are using.¡±


    Just like Ralf said when we first met, it was common sense in this world to not tell others of your skills.


    You¡¯re basically revealing your hand to them, and in this violent world of ours, that¡¯s as good as accepting death.


    Since all I had at the time was [Null Poison], I spoke out everything because revealing a shit hand meant nothing but, considering the number of skills I have and the fact that I¡¯m a wanted person¡­¡­.


    I have zero intention of telling anyone about my skills outside of my closest associates.


    The fact that I was asking him to reveal something like that was proof of how curious I was of his skills.


    Of course, it would be normal even if refused my bet but, the answer that came back was much more surprising.


    ¡°Hm? I don¡¯t really mind telling you my skills though? Or rather, didn¡¯t I already tell mine to you guys?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you did¡­¡­¡­.Also, is it really something you can so casually tell everyone?¡±


    ¡°Well we were together in a party after all, even if a temp one. Also, I really don¡¯t think I have any special skills worth mentioning so I don¡¯t really care.¡±


    No special skills he says?


    Those words stuck with me but, before I could think any further, Bors simply began telling me about his job and skill.

 CH 223

    A Faulty Battle Job


    ¡°The only skill I have is [Vision Enhancement]. A skill that makes my eyesight better.¡±


    ¡°Is that it? Nothing else?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. In the first place, my Job is [Charcoal Miner]. It¡¯s not even a battle job, so this was the only skill that appeared for me.¡±


    I froze in place from shock.


    His job was actually [Charcoal Miner] and his skill was [Vision Enhancement] only.


    Since I possessed the similar [Hearing Enhancement] skill, I could understand how useful the [Vision Enhancement] Skill could be but¡­¡­¡­.


    I, of all people, know better than anyone how harsh this world is and how utterly painful it is to be an adventurer in said world with just such a skill.


    I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll have better stat growth than me a [Farmer] but, his was still not an actually effective battle job.


    There¡¯s only so much you could do as a [Charcoal Miner].


    ¡°Bors, how did you get so strong even with a faulty job? That too with just one skill? You¡¯re not lying to me are you?¡±


    ¡°Why would I ever lie about such a thing!? Chris you were the one who called me lame and old for wasting all these years etc, but do you have any idea how much work I had to put in step by step, to get to this level¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°No, well, your reason to call out to us back then is still lame, that hasn¡¯t changed but, I will take back my comments over your experience and age¡­¡­¡­.I apologise for my comments. To have become this strong with such a faulty job¡ª¡ª-is definitely worthy of respect.¡±


    I bowed properly and apologised.


    When we met, my first impression of him was that he was shady as hell, and when he started blabbing about his age and experience and whatnot I ended up making some toxic comments but, I can easily imagine the hellish amounts of hard work he must have had to put in to get to this level.


    Simply not knowing was no excuse, and now I realize that I was extremely inappropriate.


    As someone who was given a faulty job as well, I know that better than anyone.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Oi Oi. Don¡¯t start seriously apologising to me all of a sudden! It was joke, a light joke! Also, getting respect out of sympathy isn¡¯t exactly what I need man!¡±


    ¡°This is not out of sympathy, I truly feel this way. I never told you but, my job is [Farmer], a faulty battle job as well. But, I was blessed with skills, that¡¯s why I was able to get this strong but, just thinking about what would have happened to me if I didn¡¯t have said skill¡­¡­..¡±


    I ended up slightly shivering just thinking about this hypothetical situation.


    If not for [Null Poison] I probably would have been dead back in Peixa forest, and if I had survived a couple of days, that Orc definitely would have killed me.


    And let¡¯s say that I did somehow escape the forest and make it to the capital, in the end I would have been just another rookie adventurer with no talent.


    I would have spent my entire life killing goblins and making ends meet day by day¡­¡­¡­..till the day I died.


    ¡°Just thinking about it fills me with dread.¡±


    ¡°I mean I did get blessed in terms of skill as well though! Or rather, Chris, you were a faulty job holder as well! That too, a [farmer]¡­¡­¡­damn, that¡¯s worse than even me! You could actually find a couple of low rank adventurers who are doing fine as [Coal Miners] but I have never met a [Farmer] that succeeded as an adventurer in my entire life, you know?¡±


    ¡°Like I said before, I was really blessed in the skill department. A skill strong enough that it made my job [Farmer] basically irrelevant to my strength.¡±


    ¡°No, still, no matter how blessed you got with skills, no amount of hard work could compensate being born a [Farmer]!¡­¡­..But, then again, I too was like that at first, unable to do even the smallest of tasks properly. But seriously, what kind of skill did you have? I told you mine so, you¡¯re obligated to tell me as well.¡±


    ¡°The skill I had was ¡ª¡ª[Null Poison].¡±


    When I said that, Bors just tilted his head with confusion and surprise.


    I suppose, hearing just [Null Poison] isn¡¯t enough to give an idea of how a skill like that could be so effective.


    I mena it took even myself some time before I fully realized this skill¡¯s true strength.


    ¡°Is [Null Poison] really such a good skill¡­¡­¡­? I really don¡¯t get how?!¡±


    ¡°I guess it is a bit hard to understand like this huh. But, trust me, it is a ridiculous skill.¡±


    Bors put his hand on his chin and began thinking of ways as to how a skill like [Null Poison] could make me this strong but, he didn¡¯t seem to come up with anything good.


    I mean could explain everything to him from the start but, that would be an unnecessary waste of time so I¡¯ll skip it.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t get it at all! How did that skill help you in battles, or allow you to get this strong?! It makes no sense! You¡¯re not just making fun of me are you??¡±


    ¡°I am most certainly not. Regardless, we digressed but¡­¡­¡­what I mean to say is that I really do think Bors is amazing that¡¯s all. If possible, can you teach me how you fight in detail?¡±


    I forcefully dragged the conversation back to topic and bowed my head to ask for his teaching.


    I get that he was using [Vision Enhancement] to increase his reaction speed but, that alone doesn¡¯t explain everything behind his ability.


    I think that it might be something he got with his years of experience, and it was definitely something that¡¯d be very useful in battle to me as well.


    ¡°You want the guy who lost to you without doing anything to teach you? Is this some sort of punishment for me?¡±


    ¡°Why would I ever make a request like that though. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s only when you¡¯re free but I hope you can teach me your style.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Sure, I guess. Let¡¯s have three more matches, if you win all three Chris,  I¡¯ll teach you everything I know, how about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay with that. You won¡¯t go back on your promise right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. But, I¡¯m going to use everything I know to try and beat you so get ready!¡±


    As long as I beat Bors, I can learn from him. A plain and simple task.


    I have every intention to learn every little thing from Bors about his fighting style that allows him to surpass very obvious and clear differences in ability but¡­¡­..


    That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll allow myself to lose a duel with him either.


    I don¡¯t know what more will he try in these next three matches but, I¡¯ll be sure to beat him.

 CH 224

    Trickery


    ¡°Daah! Shiit!  Ah, one more round!!¡±


    ¡°That was my third win. And I have plans back in Edestor later so I can¡¯t do more.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not fair to quit while you¡¯re ahead! Chris, c¡¯mon one last time, please!¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I already have plans for later. As you promised, we¡¯ll find some time so that I can have you teach me later. I¡¯ll be in your care Bors.¡±


    ¡°Oi, wait a minute!¡±


    Leaving Bors behind who was still complaining, I began walking back towards Edestor.


    The conversation must have already given it away but, as expected I won all 3 matches against Bors.


    None of his tricks worked on me. He tried throwing sand in my eyes, random kicks to catch me off guard, etc etc, Bors tried every little trick in the book but alas none were effective and soon enough, I had 3 straight wins.


    If anything, his first attempt where he didn¡¯t try any tricks was probably the one time I had the most trouble, and that was the fighting style I was hoping to learn from Bors but, the remaining fights were unfortunately a mess.


    Well, I get it, he must have felt that he had no chance of winning if he fought like the first match where it was a completely one-sided onslaught from me so he was trying to create some sort opening against me but¡­¡­¡­


    Honestly, he was so bad afterwards that I almost wanted my respect back.


    In any case, with this I have guaranteed lesson from Bors now.


    Whatever it is that allows him to fight like that, I will definitely learn it no matter what.


    Swearing to myself, I returned back to Edestor to prepare for my trip to the Great Forest of Roza.


    .


    .


    Once my packing was done, I spent no time resting, and instantly headed out to the great forest of Roza to the south of Edestor.


    It¡¯s been about a month since I had been here.


    While feeling both overawed again as well as a bit nostalgic from seeing the great forest spread in front of me, I walked towards the base I made on my last trip here.


    It took quite some time to make, and it was still far from perfect or done, so I was worried that it may have been taken over by some other monster or creature.


    [Perception Enhancement][Perception Range Enhancement][Life Presence Sense][Mana Sense][Hearing Enhancement][Stealth]


    Since I didn¡¯t bring Snow with me this time around, I was using all my detection skills, perhaps overdoing it a bit, but regardless, with full caution I headed towards my base.


    ¡ª¡ª-Finally, the base I stole from the Orcs came into my view.


    From a quick glance, it seems the same as before, and I couldn¡¯t sense any monster here.


    Still, just in case, I did a full circle around the base to check everything, and once I was sure that there were no problems, I entered my base at last.


    Seeing the base again made me realize once again how roughly built this base was and how much more work could be done here.


    Since the other huts had a horrible stench of the Orcs, I had to build my own hut from scratch so I guess it couldn¡¯t be helped but still¡­¡­..


    While checking the parts that had degraded in the month I wasn¡¯t here, I put all my stuff inside my base.


    Since I had been fighting Bors in the morning, it was already evening now.


    Even if I started exploring today, the most I¡¯d manage is collecting some poisonous plants from around the area, and fix the parts of my base that had been worn down.


    After sitting down and taking a small break, I left to collect materials to fix my base.


    First I gathered some wood, and then some rocks, vines and leaves as well.


    After gathering any good materials I could find near the base, I then went back and repaired the base to the best of my ability.


    And by the time I was done reinforcing the fencing around the place, it was already late night, so I stopped my work there for now.


    I accomplished a lot considering how little time I had been here so it was definitely worth it coming here so soon after my matches with Bors without resting in the middle.


    And from tomorrow, I am going to be able to dedicate all my energy to exploring and gathering.


    While feeling excited as I looked towards the sea of trees that spread to the horizon, I went to sleep inside my newly repaired base.


    .


    Since I had gone to sleep early last night, I woke up almost alongside the sunrise.


    There was a mountain of things to do today so I should start preparing straight away and leave as soon as it is bright outside.


    Today¡¯s plans include, firstly to check on Ongneer.


    I¡¯m curious about the Orc King¡¯s corpse I left there, and if the humanoid rabbit monster one hasn¡¯t withered yet, I¡¯d like to gather some fruits from that one too.


    It was quite some distance away from the base, and I didn¡¯t have Snow with me either.


    I need to prepare properly before heading out.


    I put out my map and compass. And then packed some water, and some emergency rations inside my bag, and then headed out to the East region of the South Area, towards the Ongneer.


    The thing I had to be the most careful of was the CrowOrnith that is supposedly an inhabitant of this area.


    It was most probably the monster I had sensed last time around so, it made sense why Henjak went out of his way to name-drop it and specifically warned me of it.


    To make sure I don¡¯t run into it, I activated all my detection skills, and continued through the forest at maximum vigilance.


    About 3 hours passed as I walked towards the location of the Ongneer.


    I wasn¡¯t even carrying the Orc King¡¯s corpse this time around yet, it took me a lot of time to get there, but in the end I did reach the place safely.


    As you¡¯d expect, I really missed Snow¡¯s presence who could search enemies better than me and get rid of them. And so with everything on my shoulders now, I ended taking a lot more time alone.


    I regretted not taking Snow with me and letting Ralf take it to the dungeon instead, as I inspected the Ongneer tree.


    As expected of the extremely dangerous Ongneer, there were no presences of monsters nearby thankfully.


    Part of me wondered if I should make a second base right around this Ongneer but, if I do that, Snow won¡¯t be able to come here either.


    Also, I don¡¯t want to sleep anywhere close to these corpses, not to mention the stench of rotting flesh that was almost unbearable.


    On further thought, a second base around this Ongneer was met with a resounding ¡®No¡¯.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Oh! It¡¯s properly sprouted!¡±


    While no base was unfortunate, the main reason for me coming here was indeed successful. The Ongneer had successfully sprouted from the Orc King¡¯s corpse.


    The humanoid rabbit one was almost withered now, but it still had a fruit hanging still.


    And then there was the fruit of the Orc King.


    After gathering both of them, I carefully sealed them inside my bag to make sure they don¡¯t get destroyed.


    With this, my first objective was done but let¡¯s see, what should I do next?


    I have already decided to leave the exploration of a new area for tomorrow so there were 2 things I could do today.


    The first one was simply, gather as many Reizen grass, Lizaf fruits etc as I could. Basically the usual poisonous plant gathering.


    I had almost eaten through all of my previous batch so I needed to gather enough again during this trip as well, so it was probably the best way to fill the time left after my Ongneer investigation.


    The other was of course, find and kill a monster for Ongneer and bring it back here.


    Since the humanoid rabbit Ongneer was already withered, I needed to find another host to make sure this Ongneer doesn¡¯t die out.


    And taking into consideration that not all monsters can sprout an Ongneer, I¡¯ll want to quickly find another new host. Especially because this place was pretty far from my base.


    Since I have spent a full three hours just to come here, it might be more efficient to find another host while I¡¯m still nearby.


    While gazing at the Orc King¡¯s Ongneer, I spent a couple dozen seconds pondering over which choice to make¡ª¡ª-but finally, I decided to go with the first option.


    Of course, it was hard to not look for a new host but, to first hunt something and then carry it back here will use up a lot of energy.


    Judging from the look of the current Ongneer, the Orc King one doesn¡¯t seem anywhere close to withering just yet so I decided that next time, I can bring Snow with me to hunt down a really good host for the Ongneer instead.


    With the decision made, I guess I should start going back to base while gathering as many poisonous plants as I can.


    Here as well, I missed Snow once again as I¡¯ll have to focus on both gathering plants as well as keeping an eye out for enemies at the same time on my own, which was going to be quite tiring as well but¡­¡­¡­


    But then again it¡¯s not like I¡¯m being restricted, as this was how I always did it back in Peixa forest and Carlisle forest.


    I¡¯m used to it and I¡¯m sure I can do it in Roza forest as well.


    I revitalized myself by giving my cheeks a slap, and began walking back the way I came while gathering as many poisonous plants as I could.

 CH 225

    Danger Zone


    Third day of being in the Great forest of Roza.


    Yesterday went well, and on top of the 2 Ongneers from the Orc King and the humanoid rabbit, I had also gathered a huge load of poisonous plants as well.


    On top of Reizen grass and Lizaf fruits being the main focus, I now was actively looking for Eggmash, that raised magic, as well as it had risen in my personal demand recently. And overall, I had collected a lot of each of the 5 basic types of plants in huge quantities.


    Like the old Golem guy said, my talent for magic was basically non-existent so I ended up using more mana than normally needed whenever I use magic.


    Even when I used [Anti magic] against Mielle, I could literally feel mana leak out of my body even when I was trying to hold it in.


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    In a one vs one battle, my current mana quantity would suffice, but if I was facing multiple enemies, or fighting consecutively, then I¡¯ll need a lot more mana than what I have right now.


    I¡¯m thinking of consistently raising my magic stat from here onwards.


    ¡ª¡ªall that aside, the main point was that 9i had been able to gather a lot of poisonous plants in the half day I spent on it yesterday.


    Well, to be honest, I wanted to gather a bit more but¡­¡­.


    Today¡¯s the day I had planned to go and investigate a previously unexplored area in the Great Forest of Roza.


    Since coming here, I had been pondering over where next to start exploring but, finally I decided that I¡¯ll head to the East Area of the forest today.


    It¡¯s the dangerous swamp area that Henjak had warned me not to get too close to.


    I had originally planned to not go there until I got more used to the forest but, right now I didn¡¯t have Snow with me.


    In the last three days I have only felt Snow¡¯s absence more and more but, if there was one area where not having Snow with me was an advantage, it was this swamp area to the East.


    Since I have [Null Poison] and [Skin Strengthen], my skills allow me to explore that area on my own comparatively safely.


    Even the Rexbills that are said to live in this swamp won¡¯t be too much trouble for me if I keep [Skin Strengthen] active, and I could always further use [Fortification] to harden my skin and defend against them.


    I could also erase my presence with the combination of [Colour change][Stealth][Silent Steps], and in case of emergency I even had [Self regen] to heal myself.


    I would never feel safe bringing Snow to that swamp area but, alone, I had no worries about it.


    Of course, I don¡¯t intend to go in too deep but, I want to see with my own eyes just how dangerous this place is and if possible, find and harvest any new things I might find there.


    It won¡¯t be strange to find plants that only grown in swampy regions after all.


    After checking through my careful prep work one last time, I began walking towards the east area of the Great Forest of Roza.


    .


    .


    5 hours after walking east from my base, I finally entered the swamp area of the forest.


    On the way here, I didn¡¯t run into any major problems but, as Henjak had warned, the ground was slowly getting softer and muddier as I approached closer, and this entire area had an eerie atmosphere around it.


    This was still just the entrance to the area as well but, I had already caught sight of one the dangerous monsters, the Rexbill, and as soon as I stepped into the swamp, a group of them swarmed straight towards me.


    From a glance, I counted about 10 of them, and I just knew that there were definitely more of them hiding under the mud which was far from a pleasant thought.


    For the time being I grabbed and picked up one of the Rexbills, and then jumped away from the swamp to try and do some preliminary tests.


    I put this caught leech like monster on my arm and activated [Skin Strengthen].


    If it managed to bite through my skin, it¡¯d mean that I¡¯ll need to constantly use [Fortification] to traverse through this swamp area, but let¡¯s see how it goes.


    The Rexbill stuck on to my arm and I could feel it was trying to bite through my skin.


    I could feel a little bit of pain even with the skill active, so I¡¯m sure it would have instantly ripped through my skin and entered my body if I didn¡¯t have the skill active.


    But for now, as long as the skill was active, my skin wasn¡¯t losing to its biting.


    Which means [Fortification] wasn¡¯t compulsory and I could continue with just [Skin Strengthen].


    I crushed the Rexbill that was stuck to my arm with my hand, and then began walking once again through the swamp area.


    After going in a bit further, it became impossible to see the ground due to the muddy water, and I was surrounded by nothing but swamp water on all sides.


    There were a lot of different plants and shrubs growing from this muddy swamp, and I could tell that the growth of the plants here was affected by their unique environment.


    Right now, the water was only at my knee level, yet I still was having trouble walking normally due to slippery and muddy ground underneath.


    But, perhaps because it wasn¡¯t deep enough, I couldn¡¯t see any of those underwater carnivores that Henjak had warned me about either.


    But, there were still were some really small creatures squirming about, and on top of the Rexbills, I also saw a small spider-like insect and a mosquito-like monster as well.


    Then there were also some small fish that had surprisingly sharp teeth, as well some weird kind of shellfish that came close to my legs to try and bite at me.


    Even though I was so much bigger in size, these creatures still constantly continued to attack me.


    Honestly, I was wanting to turn back already but, I forced myself to continue onwards a bit longer and so I ignored all the small creatures that were trying to attack me and continued walking.


    When the water level rose up to about my thigh level, the amount of monsters that were being revealed by my detection skills exploded in number.


    And I started to see more and more corpses of animals and monsters all over the place, and I got the sense that this place really was an area ruled by the rule of survival of the fittest.


    ¡­¡­¡­it really might be too dangerous to continue any further.


    There were birds already circling above me, and there was already a bird-like monster with long legs slowly walking at me.


    There were also a lot of fish that were still stuck on my leg trying to bite me, and I could even feel some tentacle like thing trying to make me trip and fall as well.


    Even with [Skin Strengthen] if I fall into this water, these monster could always attack my eyes, ears, or get inside through my mouth and other such openings so, my entire body was tense from the fear of making a mistake like that.


    I could sense all sorts of strong presences from all around me, and if I get into a fight, the chances of me falling will drastically increase.


    ¡ª¡ªAnd the most terrifying things amongst all this, was the presence of a monster that seemed to be discharging electricity.


    Part of me wanted to grab this monster and use it as a host for Ongneer but, if I got electrocuted in my current condition, I might genuinely die.


    I¡¯m not brave enough to just slouch and dive into the swamp either, and even though I had gained nothing from coming here yet¡­¡­¡­¡­..I decided to retreat for now.


    Stopping my exploration of the East area here, I decided it was better to fall back before my life gets genuinely in danger.


    Making sure that I don¡¯t let my guard down until I was completely out of the area again, I slowly, step by step, began to walk back towards me base.

 CH 226

    Search for a New Base


    After retreating from the swamp area, by the time I came back to my base, it was already late night.


    I wanted to just fall asleep asap but I forced my body to move and fully wash myself, head to toe before finally going to sleep ahead of tomorrow.


    To be honest, the East area turned out to be a far more dangerous place than I originally expected.


    Rather than a normal swamp, it was more like a submerged forest, and further in, there was enough water that it could be a full-fledged river from what I could tell.


    The entrance was indeed a swamp but the rest was beyond anything Henjak had told me, but then again, the fact that the amount of water increased as we went on was information that neither of us could have known without going through the swamp, which was full of dangerous creatures.


    Of course there was also the possibility that the info was simply old and the water level had risen in the meantime, so I couldn¡¯t blame Henjak for anything here.


    But beyond that submerged forest lies the cave that has me the most curious in all of this great forest still.


    I don¡¯t even know if this cave even actually exists or not, and if it did there was even a chance that it was fully submerged now but¡­¡­¡­.


    If there was even a small chance that the Fruit of skill exists there, I have to go and check it out.


    I can¡¯t think of a way to investigate that area but, I¡¯ll get some suggestions from Ralf and Esta as well before coming to a conclusion.


    Regardless, with the exploration of the East area now postponed till later, I was going to head to the West Area today and start exploring there.


    The East was dangerous, and the North area was apparently Demonoid or man-eater territory, which means, the only comparatively safe area to explore was the South area and West area.


    While I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve completely explored the entirety of the South Area, I did want to expand the scope of activities and so I chose to head to the West area.


    And of course, the first thing on the order of things was to find a new base in the west area.


    The great forest of Roza was extremely massive so just travelling from one place to another took a lot of time.


    Even yesterday, I only explored the East area proper for just 2 hours, meanwhile the travel time to and fro took almost 10 hours instead.


    If I had somehow gotten gravely injured in that swamp, I would have never been able to return back to my base, which would mean spending the night in the darkness of the forest.


    When monsters are constantly crawling about and vision is low, and you¡¯re supposedly injured on top.


    There is always the risk of falling into such a situation, and only death awaits you in a case like that.


    For the time being, I wanted to make a base in all 4 directions of the South area in and of itself, and during today¡¯s exploration I was hoping to build a base in the west region of the South Area.


    With that decided, I packed all sorts of things like ropes and strings etc, whatever that might come in handy for building a base, and began walking towards the west.


    Reaching an area even further beyond my usual Eggmash harvesting place, I finally entered the West region of the South area.


    I wanted to build a good base here but, I needed to find an area that would at least give me a good foundation to work on.


    The Orc nest wasn¡¯t a very good choice in the end, so I tried looking for a place that was more similar to my base that I had in Peica forest.


    A place where I can stay protected from wind and rain, but one that also didn¡¯t stand out too much in the surroundings.


    While being cautious of monsters, I strained my eyes to find a suitable place when¡ª¡ªa nice looking cave entered my view.


    I couldn¡¯t sense any monsters inside, so as long as there wasn¡¯t anything weird inside I¡¯d make that place my 2nd base.


    With all my detection skills, I also activated [Crimson Eyes].


    Yesterday, when I was coming back from the East area and was walking through the forest at night, I accidentally figured it out but. [Crimson Eyes] allowed me to see properly even in dark areas.


    Using in a well lit area just turned my vision red but, in a dark place like this cave, it made things a lot more easier to see and overall, it turned out to be a very useful skill.


    But, like I mentioned last time, the stamina cost of this skill was harsh, so I had to use it very cautiously, only when desperately needed, which was a minus.


    ¡ª¡ªWell, putting my new discoveries aside, I quickly moved to check the interior of the cave.


    I walked through the cave easily thanks to the skill allowing me to see clearly, and¡­¡­¡­I found a big black ball like thing rolling around in the centre of the cave.


    I was walking through the cave with ease because my skills didn¡¯t sense any life presence but, this black clump was definitely a monster, and a big one no less.


    Looking closely, I could see ten long but thin legs coming out of this clump, and I finally realized that it was actually a giant centipede monster.


    It had laid a huge amount of eggs and it had rolled up around them to protect the eggs, which was why it seemed like a ball from afar.


    The reason why I didn¡¯t sense its presence was I assume because it was basically in a dormant state to save as much energy as possible, but it must have sensed me after I stepped into the cave as suddenly, I could sense the giant centipede¡¯s life presence slowly increase.


    Individually moving each of its big legs, the giant centipede began to move around to fight and protect its eggs.


    I wasn¡¯t really interested in fighting this giant centipede just to use this cave as my base but, I doubt it¡¯ll let me quietly go back either¡­¡­¡­


    So if I have to fight, might as well settle for this place as my base then.


    Back in my youth, I used to hate bugs and even now, just looking at it still made my skin crawl a bit but, I had mostly conquered that irrational during my stay in Peixa forest.


    I had to eat insects in the cave for nourishment after all, not that it means I have any interest in eating this giant centipede or its eggs but, I won¡¯t have issues fighting it either.


    I drew my steel sword and aimed it towards the giant centipede that seemed ready to lunge at me at any moment.


    Since it was lying completely dormant until just now, it was bit annoying that I couldn¡¯t sense ad tell what the full extent of its strength was but, I should be able to defeat it if I fight at full strength regardless.


    Let me fire myself up, and then hunt this giant centipede, shall we?

 CH 227

    Giant Centipede


    [Crimson Eyes][Perception Enhancement][ Perception Range Enhancement][Life Presence Sense] were already active and then I also activated, [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical ability boost][Ability Unleashed] on top of those.


    While almost enjoying the sensation of feeling my stamina getting consumed steadily, I scoped out the Centipede¡¯s movements.


    I refused to attack first, and waited for the Centipede to make the first move.


    Since just staring each other down was not something I enjoyed, I continued to slowly move backwards to retreat and if the Centipede didn¡¯t attack, I would happily run away but¡­¡­.


    My hopes were dashed pretty quickly as the Centipede left the eggs on the ground and charged at me.


    It¡¯s movements seemed a bit slower than a Venom Python¡¯s for comparison¡¯s sake, but that was only for their top speed. When it came to normal movements, this Centipede was much more agile.


    That said, it didn¡¯t matter much and as long as the centipede wasn¡¯t smart enough to switch its tempo to catch me off guard, I could quite easily deal with attacks of this speed consistently.


    I let it come close to me until it was in range, dodged its biting attack and then lunged with my sword to cut at its neck area.


    My timing for activating [Gale] was perfect. As was the downward slash of my sword but¡ª¡ª-I didn¡¯t get a clean feedback.


    The only thing my sword cut was one of the feeler-like thing that grew on its head.


    I had made a perfect counter with my skill but, since the giant centipede had legs across its entire body, it managed to move just at the very last moment to dodge my attack.


    It was a pretty narrow cave, so if I pursued it I could potentially seriously wound it but, like with Venom Pythons, if it managed to coil around me, it¡¯ll be all over.


    Until I can see through all of its movements, I¡¯ll avoid chasing it too far.


    Reminding myself that impatience and panic are the worst things to have during a fight, I once again created a bit of distance between myself and the centipede.


    I was still always looking for the escape route just in case, while I continued to also focus on the giant centipede but¡­¡­.


    The monster suddenly turned its back on me and made a move I was never expecting.


    Incredibly enough, it began to eat all the eggs it was so desperately protecting until now.


    This action caught me so off guard that I ended up freezing on the spot from shock.


    Even though it was attacking me to protect the eggs, to now eat those very eggs seemed like a contradiction to its previous actions.


    Of course I could never truly understand how a giant centipede would think but, did it perhaps sense that it couldn¡¯t win against me and so would rather eat its own eggs than let someone else misuse them?


    ¡­¡­¡­.no, its current appearance as it devoured on its own eggs with the help of its many legs didn¡¯t exactly seem like a mother trying to protect its children.


    Being made witness to one of nature¡¯s great oddities I felt a bit sad watching this but, this was also a chance for me to attack, while it was eating.


    Judging from how it was still looking straight at me even as it continued to devour its eggs, it¡¯s pretty clear it has no intention of letting me run away from here anymore.


    It seems it will be a battle to the death after all.


    I gave up on escaping, and activated [Stealth] and [Silent Steps] to completely suppress my presence and then activated [Gale] to instantly launch an attack at the giant centipede.


    My aim was¡ª¡ª-the right side of where I had already chopped off a feeler.


    I¡¯m sure my smell would still give my location away somewhat but, without the use its feeler, it won¡¯t be able to accurately pin my location either.


    I came closer to the centipede, and then swung my sword down once again.


    Since the centipede was on full alert now, it¡¯s reaction speed was high so, while I was able to chop off a bunch of its many legs, my strike didn¡¯t reach its main body.


    The giant centipede opened its sharp mouth, covered with its egg fluid, horizontally wide and immediately counterattacked to bite and devour me.


    Against an enemy like this centipede that can easily crawl on the walls as well, a fight inside a narrow cave like this is pretty disadvantageous for me.


    Which means rather than constantly have a to and fro, it actually might be better if I just rushed at it head on.


    I blocked the Centipede¡¯s bite with my sword, and then drove a kick into its main body.


    It felt like I had just kicked at armour made of iron, but I still did clearly feel my leg sink into its body.


    The centipede didn¡¯t plan on letting my attacks go unanswered as it sent out its feelers to try and grab my legs but, I used [Skin Strengthen] to protect myself and then used [Leg strength Enhancement] to shake them off forcibly.


    From there, it began moving around me trying to not let me fall back again, and tried to constrict me but I used that exact timing as my chance and thrust my sword into one of the joints in its big body to deal some damage.


    Blue liquid spurt out from the wound I gave, and I had chopped off a third of its legs at this point, so I could see that the giant centipede¡¯s movements were beginning to dull.


    I have had to block against multiple bite attacks as well, but thanks to [Skin Strengthen], I had only taken a few scratches in terms of damage, and whatever poison this centipede may have had would never work on me anyway.


    If anything, my body felt a bit lighter more than anything¡­¡­¡­Perhaps, this giant centipede¡¯s poison also has ability boosting properties like the Venom Python.


    Even though I originally had no intention of even attacking it, it was this centipede that decided to launch an attack at me.


    I felt a bit bad, but I need it to die already.


    I began walking closer to the heavily wounded centipede again, and after dodging its one last ditch effort to bite me once again¡ª¡ª-this time finally, I chopped its head off.


    Its head flew in air for a while before it crashed back into the ground, and its remaining body was still squirming and crashing about in pain.


    But, without the proper brain, the body was not getting any proper orders and it just continued to wriggle about without actually taking any action.


    After a while, slowly the centipede¡¯s headless body¡¯s movements dulled and finally fully died.


    After re-confirming its death again, I deactivated all of my skills.


    On top of the battle being in a narrow cave, this centipede¡¯s body was also as hard as iron.


    Perhaps because of its eerie actions, I took heavy precautions and had ended up using all sorts of skills which also meant that my stamina consumption was harsh.


    I took a seat near the dead centipede¡¯s corpse, and rested my body as I thought of what to do about my base.


    Inside the cave, due to the intense battle with the Centipede, there was all sorts of feelers, legs and monster fluids spread all over the place. And then there were also the remaining eggs that the Centipede had failed to eat.


    As I observed the place while I rested, I noticed that this cave was very moist and there was moss growing all over the place.


    While it¡¯d keep me safe from the wind and rain, to get this base to be suitable for living will take a lot of work.


    Considering it had eggs, this Centipede was probably a female, and there is even a chance that its male partner might return later.


    Thinking calmly, I knew that this cave wasn¡¯t fit to be my base and I should probably leave to search for a better place but¡­¡­..


    If I do that, this entire fight would turn out to be for absolutely nothing.


    If there was a way to gain something out of this fight, it was to take this Centipede to the Ongneer but, I don¡¯t think Ongneer would take root properly in this weird Centipede, and even if it could, it would definitely struggle to sprout out of its hard shell body.


    I put my hand on my chin and pondered for a while as to what to do but, I guess I have to just turn this place into my base after all.


    And if the male partner returned, I guess I might as well try and use it for Ongneer as well.


    With that decided, I began cleaning up the cave.


    After wrapping the corpse of the giant centipede around the remaining eggs, I throw both of them out together.


    Once that was done, now it was time for me to show the results of my training.


    I had already succeeded in using [Anti Magic] against Mielle but, I had yet to get practical use out of [Fire Ball] since my time in [Magic Cave].


    Or rather, since I had mostly focused on mastering [Anti Magic], I haven¡¯t even practiced using [Fire Ball] since like the first day.


    I was unsure if I would be able to even activate it properly, even though it was obviously much easier to do than Anti Magic.


    I released mana from inside me, locked it within my body and then covered myself in it.


    And then, I concentrated it within my palm and¡ª-


    ¡°[Fire Ball]¡±


    I spoke of the name of the magic, and a spherical ball of fire appeared from my hand.


    I released it straight towards the Centipede¡¯s body, and it burnt up and exploded in a pillar of flames.


    I could feel my mana being shaved off from the use of magic, and judging from the destructive force of the magic, I realized I had failed in properly tuning the power of the spell but¡­¡­¡­


    It did do the job and completely set the body and eggs on fire, and by the time the flames dissipated, there were no signs of either the corpse or the eggs anymore.


    It was a lot of work to learn it but, once again, I was glad that I had learnt magic after all.


    I couldn¡¯t even imagine how much work it would have been to dig a hole and bury these things now.


    Feeling satisfied from my [Fire Ball], I returned back into the cave and continued working on my new base.

 CH 228

    Thick Fog


    About two days had passed, since I had turned that cave into my base.


    The first day was mostly, getting rid of the giant centipede corpse and its pieces, cleaning out the moss, and then driving out all the little bugs and insects that were festering here; basically cleaning up the cave.


    The entirety of the second day involved gathering all sorts of usable materials from nearby and placing it near the entrance of the cave, and then turn it into a truly liveable base.


    There were still doubts in me in regards to the quality of this new base but, at least it was possible to live normally here so technically, I¡¯ll call the base creation complete.


    After all, my main objective for coming to this direction was not creating bases but to explore.


    ¡ª¡ª¨Cwas how I forcibly convinced myself, and had decided to finally begin my exploration of the west area of the Great forest of Roza.


    I had set a 4 day time limit for my exploration and was hoping to get some sort of result from it.


    Since the remaining time, I had to spend on gathering more poisonous plants, I couldn¡¯t extend the exploration duration any longer than that.


    Let¡¯s put my all into it to make sure I gain something even from this short period of time.


    .


    .


    The further I went west from my base, the thicker the fog became here.


    And soon enough, it got so dense that it became hard to tell left from right, and all I could see ahead of me was ¡®white¡¯.


    If the east was the submerged forest, then I guess the west will be called the Forest of fog then.


    Of course, there was always a chance that this was just a random occurrence and I just happened to come here on a bad day but¡­¡­..it was not impossible to get completely lost inside this fog.


    Well, that¡¯s why I bought a compass with me, so I certainly won¡¯t get lost but, when the visiility is so bad, there is always a fear of sudden monster attack as well.


    Just in case, I tried using [Crimson Eyes] as well but it seemed to be only useful in the dark, and if anything it actually made my vision worse in this case.


    Now then, I have just barely stepped into this area but, how do I move from here.


    Now if this fog was just an occasional occurrence, I could always stop exploring for today and prepare for tomorrow but, if this was how it was always going to be, then it was better to simply continue exploring.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Shit, Henjak had almost no info in regards to the west area, so I had no idea what kind of fog this was.


    I wondered if he had no info on this because this fog was occasional, or was it because of the permanent fog that he had no info on this area? Both could be true which had me completely stumped on what to do next.


    After I continued to hesitate and ponder in the entrance of the west area for a while, I finally decided that it was better to continue.


    The reasons were simple. One, I had only 4 days so I couldn¡¯t waste time and two, this fog should also help me as well.


    To someone like me with a over abundance of skills, even after losing one of my five senses in sight, I could still manage.


    Furthermore, using [Stealth] and [Silent Steps] in this fog should completely hide my presence as well.


    There was the issue of stamina consumption but, [Stealth] and [Silent Steps] weren¡¯t that costly to use anyway, so I¡¯ll use my detection abilities a bit less, and focus on keeping my stealth skills active as long as I can.


    With all that decided, I carefully decided on which skills should I use, before heading out to explore.


    The skills I settled on were, [Perception Range Enhancement][Life Presence Sense][Stealth][Silent Steps] and [Skin Strengthen].


    [Skin Strengthen] was my basically my all around insurance, as I still hadn¡¯t forgotten about those damn RexBills.


    Henjak never really confirmed their habitat either so there was always a chance that RexBills could appear in the west area as well.


    We¡¯ve already seen that those things can¡¯t be detected by [Life Presence Sense] either, and so in a place with zero visibility like this, there is a chance that I might not notice them until they had already bitten their way inside my body.


    And so, the skill was absolutely worth it.


    As I continued walking through this pure white forest, I reached a place, it seemed like a flower field, where white flowers were growing on the ground.


    For a second, I thought it was Reizen grass but there were no purple spots on it. These were so pure white, that they would be almost invisible in this fog.


    And even I only noticed them after I had stepped and crushed a couple under my feet, but at the same time, I felt a sense of unease from the movement of the flowers.


    I realized they had released some kind of pollen that had mixed into the fog.


    This act was such a stark contrast from its appearance, that I instantly sensed that these were probably poisonous plants.


    Of course I had no proof yet, so I gathered a few and stored them inside my bag.


    For me this was the best kind of start I could have had by gathering a new kind of plant, so I¡¯m hoping this is a sign and I¡¯ll be able to gather all sorts of new poisonous plants here.


    It seemed like the number of monsters in the west area were low, meanwhile the plant life seemed to be much more abundant.


    Following that, as I continued my exploration, I found another plant that caught my curiosity.


    Unlike the previous one, this was one was visibly an odd, strange-looking plant.


    The poor visibility made me think for a moment that it was a tree, but it was the actually just the stem of the plant that had grown from the ground.


    At the top of the plant, there were lantern-like flowers hanging down, I could sense an ill aura from it, kind of like Ongneer.


    I didn¡¯t feel like touching those lantern-like flowers so I decided to gather the leaves instead.


    I circled around to where the flowers weren¡¯t hanging down directly at me, and then plucked a bunch of leaves and stored them inside my bag.


    The plant itself was surprisingly big, and ever leaf was almost the size of my face.


    I managed to somehow fold it and store it inside my bag and quickly moved away from the lantern-like flowers.


    But still, since stepping into the west area, I really haven¡¯t sensed any monster here at all.


    This area was as quiet as the Peixa forest, and my vision being covered in white due to the fog made it feel even more eerie.


    Maybe I could have managed even without stealth skills, but for now I¡¯ll continue to stay on guard as I explore the place.


    From the place I gathered the leaves of the lantern-like flower plant, I continued further west for another hour before I finally reached a new place.


    I had continued to gather more new plants on the way as well and, since the fog had ruined the visibility I had no idea of where exactly I was going until¡ª¡ªsuddenly I had appeared in front of a big water lake.


    Unlike the submerged forest of the East, this was a proper lake.


    Due to the relentless fog, I still couldn¡¯t see the entire thing but, I could tell it was pretty big.


    Part of me wanted to build a raft and try and float to the other side, but if I got attacked by underwater creatures like the East area, I really would be in big trouble so I couldn¡¯t act on my emotions.


    Just to see, I did activate all of my detection skills at full force to try and scout out the lake but, I sensed absolutely nothing from it¡­¡­¡­.


    But I wondered if the water tended to get in the way as even with [Perception Enhancement] and [Perception Range Enhancement], the reactions from the [Life Presence Sense] were pretty dull.


    I tried to poke a long wooden stick into the water but it didn¡¯t even touch the ground and got swallowed into the lake. If these creatures were deep under water, then there¡¯s a good chance my skill won¡¯t detect them from here.


    Since I didn¡¯t want to put myself under the same risks as those in the East area, I gave up on exploring this lake that spread from the centre of the West area and spread throughout the further west region of this area. And decided to stop my exploration for today.


    Even though I was heavily restricted by the fog, I had been able to explore a decent amount, so I decided to return for today and prepare for another trip tomorrow.


    If the fog remained the same tomorrow as well, honestly, the exploration will only get tougher from now but¡­¡­..I can¡¯t just give up either.


    Regardless, with water obstructing me on both sides of the forest, I realize that I needed to come up with a counter measure against this.


    Now might be the time for me to kill some underwater monster and turn it into a host for the Ongneer.


    I already had to look for the next host anyway, might as well make sure I keep this water problem in mind so that I can solve two problems with one answer.

 CH 229

    A Trap of Strings


    After reaching the lake yesterday, I turned back and used my compass to return to my base.


    I hadn¡¯t explored much in terms of amount of area explored yet, because of the thick fog, it still took a lot of time to explore even that much of the West Area.


    Even when returning back to the base, it was at a snail¡¯s pace as I had to constantly keep my eye on the compass to make sure I was walking in the right direction, as well as still stay on guard towards my surroundings.


    Now it was fun to experience something new like that but¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯d prefer to not have the fog again today if possible.


    ¡ª¡ª-with such a hope in my heart, I left to the west area for the second day of exploration but the thick white fog was still covering the entire west area.


    If the fog shows no sign of dissipating even after a day, it means that this is a definite feature of the west area.


    When I found those white flowers that seemed almost specifically coloured to perfectly meld into the white mist, I had a feeling that this might end up being the case.


    Accepting reality with calmness, let¡¯s continue my exploration of this area.


    Since yesterday I had explored from the east region to the centre of the West Area, I was thinking of heading to the north region of the West area today.


    I have yet to run into any monsters in this area yet, so today I was hoping to catch a monster from here.


    Any monster that lives in such a deep fog will surely possess some unique skills as well after all.


    I could even find a monster that might solve my ¡®underwater¡¯ problem so, today I was going to proactively look for monsters here.


    .


    .


    About 2 hours had passed as I continued to cautiously walk through the fog that hadn¡¯t thinned even a bit from yesterday.


    [Perception Range Enhancement][Life Presence Sense][Stealth][Silent Steps][Skin Strengthen], and also [Hearing Enhancement] were active, as I continued my exploration but¡­¡­..


    Finally, I caught the presence of the first living thing in the west area.


    Said creature on the other hand seemed to have been keeping an eye on me for quite some time, as it was flying in the air and tailing from a set distance.


    I caught the slight sound of wings flapping which allowed me to catch this creature¡¯s presence as well but, from what I can tell, it was quite a big flying creature, whatever it was.


    The fact that it didn¡¯t instantly attack me meant that it was not an aggressive creature, and with how it was maintaining a perfect distance from me, it must have a cautious and composed personality as well.


    Though that also means that it will be a difficult monster for me to hunt as well.


    How should I lure it in? While pretending to have still not noticed it, I continued to ponder on this question.


    The best way would be to intentionally show a big opening but, that is not without its risks for myself.


    Which means,¡­¡­¡­¡­though I have never used it in a real battle yet, now¡¯s the time to use [Sticky String Manipulation] to set up a trap.


    There¡¯s a lot of trees around here to set it up, and the fog will hide the strings very well.


    Making sure it doesn¡¯t catch me using it, I activated [Sticky String manipulation] and began laying a trap of strings between the trees, with a spider net as my inspiration.


    Now, I just have to act like I¡¯m unaware, and wait for the flying creature to fall for my trap¡ª¡ª


    And it didn¡¯t take long for that to happen.


    I used the fact that the creature was keeping its distance from me to my advantage, as it made it a lot easier to lay a trap for it.


    [Sticky String manipulation] itself worked out very well as I was able to make the trap exactly as I had hoped it to be, making me realize that once I get more used to using this skill, it¡¯ll be a lot more useful in regular battles as well.


    ¡ª¡ª¨Cbut I digress, this is no time to be discussing the details of my skill as I need to go hunt the creature stuck in my web.


    I quickly returned back to the location where I lay the trap, and I observed the flying creature that was desperately struggling to get itself free from the string trap.


    It was monster that looked like a muscular Owl, if I had to describe it.


    It¡¯s size was a little under 1 meter, compared to Carlisle¡¯s strange bird, this was a bit smaller.


    It was completely trapped in the strings I had laid out but, judging by its abnormally muscular body, I think it¡¯ll be able to free itself before long.


    It was stuck up pretty high but, if I use [Leg Strength Enhancement][Physical Ability boost][Ability Unleashed], I should reach it with my jump.


    Making sure that I properly adjust the strength of [Ability Unleashed], I jumped straight at the Owl monster to attack.


    Before the owl monster could run away, I reached it and swung my sword down at it.


    Since I cut the strings alongside its body, the Owl monster¡¯s body fell to the ground faster than I could land back down.


    I thought my sword wasn¡¯t capable of cutting through this string but I suppose a full strength swing was a bit too much for the strings to endure.


    I too landed on the ground soon after, breaking my fall safely, and quickly checked the Owl monster but, due to my attack and the direct impact from the crash landing, it was already dead.


    Since I killed without even really fighting it, I had no idea what kind of monster this even was but¡­¡­¡­..I really want to use this monster as an Ongneer host.


    But, the distance from here to the Ongneer was way too long.


    If it was alive, I would have liked to restrain it with [Sticky String Manipulation] and I could have taken it back alive to the south area and then killed it but, in my desperate attempt to not let it escape, I ended up using too much strength instead.


    I continued to ponder and wonder what to do as I stared at the corpse, and in the end decided that it was in fact worth it to carry it all the way back to the Ongneer.


    I have learnt from experience that monsters that resembled normal animals always had a lot of useful skills to provide, so the potential gain from this Owl monster was too good to ignore.


    I wondered if it was thanks to one of its skills that it was able to so clearly track me through this dense fog, so it definitely had some useful skills on it.


    Of course there¡¯s always a chance that if the skill was too good, it would end up being a Unique skill which would make me taking it back useless but¡­¡­¡­..I have to try at least.


    I used the sticky string to coil and cover the Owl¡¯s corpse, and made it easy to carry around.


    I had barely done much exploring in the West area but, I began walking back all the way to the South Area where the Ongneer was with the Owl monster¡¯s corpse.

 CH 230

    Rough Passage


    Thanks to having to carry the Owl monster¡¯s corpse all the way, my walking speed was definitely slower and it took a considerable amount of time for me to reach the Ongneer plant.


    Let alone the plant, by the time I made it to the 2nd base, the sun had already set, and since I continued to refrain from travel at night, I decided to take a break here for the day, ending my 2nd day of West area¡¯s exploration here.


    The next day, it took another half day before I made it the Ongneer plant while carrying the corpse.


    Well, at least it was a bit easier thanks to [Sticky String manipulation] as compared to having to carry the corpse completely open but¡­¡­..


    It was also a lot of work to remove the strings off the corpse later, and by the time I made it all the way back to the cave base, the third day of exploration had also ended.


    The forest was so incredibly vast that every little thing took way too much time. That was the only one big negative I had of this forest.


    I was thankful for the abundant variety of plants and monsters available here but, the travel times between places were a huge bottleneck.


    If only there were a couple more Ongneer¡¯s growing around the place, I wouldn¡¯t have to constantly go back all the way but until now, I had yet to run into another one anywhere else in the forest.


    Just like the bases, I wanted to set up an Ongneer plant in all four directions of the South Area but, I was worried of the damage it would cause on its surroundings, and having to manage all four plants at the same time would be too much effort even for me.


    In terms of time wise efficiency, it might be better to give up on gathering more common skills for the time being and focus entirely on exploring every nook and cranny of the great forest of Roza, or so I considered but¡­¡­..


    The reality was that too explore every nook and cranny of said forest, I¡¯ll need more common skills anyway.


    For the time being, I decided to at least not go back to the Ongneer for the remainder of my current stay here, and I planned to use the remaining time entirely towards gathering as many plants as I could around the area of my second cave base.


    I temporarily paused my exploration of the West Area as well, and gave my all towards plant gathering instead.


    .


    From then on, until the very last minute of my two weeks stay, I continued to gather as many plants as I could, finally bringing an end to my current expedition.


    During this trip I was once again made to realize just how useful Snow had been for me but, I did manage to take a look at the East Area and launch my exploration of the West Area as well this time around.


    I was able to gather a huge amount of poisonous plants as well, and while I wasn¡¯t without regrets over how the trip went, overall I still gave this trip a passing grade.


    I also have found a lot of new topics that I¡¯ll need to discuss with those two when I return back to Edestor and see if I can get some help over how to better explore the forest.


    If they come up with a good idea, I was even considering having not just Snow, but also Ralf and Esta come with me to help explore the forest, not to mention I really, really wanted to find out if the Fruit of Skill was real or not as soon as possible.


    If it doesn¡¯t exist, I¡¯ll need to come up with a different plan after all, and if it does exist, then I would have to make it my main focus for the foreseeable future.


    While I was reflecting on this exploration trip, I neatly packed up all my stuff in the meantime.


    In the end, since the supposed partner of the Giant Centipede never came back, I could only pray that the base remains safe in the time I am gone, and I left the Roza forest.


    Just as always, since I felt exceptionally unhygienic after a long stay in the forest, I avoided the crowds of people as much as I could and quickly made my straight to [Gorush] and entered the shower.


    Neither of them, or Snow had come back yet so I was able to slowly, take a long relaxing shower until I was sparkling clean again.


    After that, I focused on analysing and compiling all the info I had gathered from the trip, updating my map etc while I waited for all of them to return back when¡­¡­¡­


    It seems Ralf and Snow were the first to come back.


    Snow must have sensed me coming back from the smell before it even entered the room as the moment Ralf opened the door, Snow ran straight towards me and lunged at me.


    I activated [Skin Strengthen] to catch it and patted Snow¡¯s head as it happily licked my face.


    ¡°No wonder Snow was acting all weird,¡­¡­¡­..you¡¯re back Chris!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, nice to see both of you still in good spirits.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my line! Especially because you went alone this time, I was a bit worried you know? Well, knowing Chris, I knew you¡¯d be fine in the end but still.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for making you worry I suppose. That said, I will almost definitely take Snow with me next time around so you won¡¯t have to worry that much about me.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? So you¡¯ll be taking Snow with you after all eh!! Shit, just when me and Snow had finally started to build some team chemistry and had been progressing well through the dungeon as well!¡±


    ¡°The great forest of Roza turned out to be a lot more dangerous than I originally expected. You could say that me coming to this realization might be the most important reward I gained from this trip.¡±


    ¡°For Mr forest lover himself to say that¡­¡­¡­¡­damn, it must be one hell of a place huh.¡±


    When did I get such a nickname? But leaving that aside¡­¡­..


    I know I did somehow manage to spend lots of time in Peixa forest even when I was a weak nobody.


    So I was confident that no matter how big r vast this forest could be, I¡¯ll be able to manage surviving there alone.


    But during this trip I realize how na?ve I was to think that, and in terms of danger this place was incomparable to something like the Carlisle forest.


    ¡°Anyway, as for the full report, I¡¯ll wait till Esta¡¯s back before talking. There¡¯s also something I need to request of both of you as well.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s rare! You making a request from us?¡±


    ¡°No need to be so happy about it.¡±


    I left Ralf aside who seemed to be happy for whatever reason, and played around with Snow while I waited for Esta to return.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re almost caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested)

 CH 231

    Advice


    ¡°Now that Esta¡¯s back as well, let¡¯s begin our usual report meeting. But first, you two give your reports. Anything worth mentioning?¡±


    ¡°Not much to talk about here¡­¡­..if I had to say, dungeon clearing has been moving on pretty smoothly! Thanks to Snow being with me as well, we made it all the way to the 20th floor this time you know? Made a lot of money as well so I can once again confirm, this dungeon is a great place to work!¡±


    ¡°Looks like things have been smooth huh. Well good to hear you¡¯ve been enjoying it. Which brings the question Ralf, how much exactly did you earn?¡±


    ¡°Since most of the money comes from selling treasure boxes, you can¡¯t really get a set daily amount but¡­¡­¡­..during these two weeks, I made about 6 gold coins!¡±


    6 gold in two weeks huh.


    If we do requests regularly, we could earn 3 platinum coins in the same amount of time, so in terms of efficiency, requests are clearly still the way to go.


    With the stuff with Mielle solved, I was thinking of finally paying the dungeon a visit but, I guess until I¡¯m done fully exploring the great forest of Roza, I have to stick with the two weeks of constant requests for now.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely pretty good for just Ralf and Snow to earn that much but, I guess if we¡¯re all together, doing requests is still better huh. In terms of making money that is.¡±


    ¡°Well, part of it also because of how good we are at slamming out those requests quickly after all. But yeah, the dungeon¡¯s nice and all, but if we¡¯re looking to make money, requests are definitely still the better choice!¡±


    ¡°I see. I was wondering maybe we could switch it around but, we¡¯re already getting close to Mithril rank so I guess we stick with requests.¡ª¡ª-Well, good to hear that Ralf¡¯s been progressing smoothly. How about you Esta?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything special to report. I¡¯ve been learning more magic as always but, nothing too great that I¡¯d need to report about it¡­¡­¡­..ah there is one other thing though, last week, Mielle-san had come to [Magic Cave] to ask about you. When I told her that you were currently away from Edestor and won¡¯t be back for some time, she said she¡¯ll come again and just left.¡±


    ¡°So Mielle had something to talk about with me? Did she not tell you about what?¡±


    ¡°No, unfortunately before I could ask anything, she quickly left so¡­¡­.my apologies.¡±


    ¡°nah, it¡¯s fine, no need to apologise. If it¡¯s important, Mielle definitely would have said more.¡±


    If she didn¡¯t explain much, I doubt it¡¯s because they¡¯re leaving for the capital, instead it¡¯s probably more to do with the princess and stuff.


    Well, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m actually right or not though¡­¡­¡­¡­I guess I¡¯ll ask Esta to make an appointment with Mielle for now.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-that said, if she shows up again, take an appointment with a set time and place from her this time. Since I¡¯ll be away from Edestor half of every month, I¡¯ll have to depend on you for this Esta.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Next time, I¡¯ll be sure to properly ask everything from her. Leave the talking to me!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    Alright, that wraps up both of their reports.


    Now, it¡¯s my turn but this will take some time.


    First I¡¯ll explain everything that happened in the last two weeks, then I¡¯ll ask for their advice.


    Without their knowledge I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to fully explore this forest.


    ¡°Alright finally, it¡¯s my turn to talk. A lot happened in Roza forest, and I ran into some trouble so I need advice from both of you on how to deal with it.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Hm? Giving advice is all fine and all but, you skipped way too much of the explanations bud, I don¡¯t get anything!¡±


    ¡°I will explain it all, be patient. Alright, let me start with the East Area of the Roza forest¡ª¡ª-¡°


    From there, I explained in detail about everything that occurred over these two weeks.


    It took a lot of time but, I tried to stick to the important parts and told it so it¡¯s easy to understand. I think.


    Ralf and Esta are always good listeners as they stay quiet and seemed to enjoy listening to my stories.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªand that¡¯s about it. That¡¯s everything I experienced, or saw over these two weeks. Did you get it all?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Damn, that was like listening to a story, genuinely fun! Also, this Roza forest sounds way crazier of a place than even the dungeon, no!?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never been into the dungeon so I can¡¯t compare but, yes, it is in fact a ridiculous place, I won¡¯t disagree.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, you are fully determined to still explore this crazy place though right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Whether it be the submerged forest of the East, or the fog or the lake of the West, I need to conquer all of it¡­¡­¡­.And that¡¯s where, I need you two to help come up with some ideas. A way to safely pass through water to be specific.¡±


    Finally getting to the main topic of discussion, the two also realized what I wanted advice about and put their hands on their chin as they began to ponder.


    In the next two weeks as we continue completing requests again, I¡¯d be happy if either of them could come up with an interesting idea but¡ª¡ª


    Ralf seemed to have already thought of something as his face suddenly lit up.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re almost caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested)

 CH 232

    Proposed Strategy


    His face lit up with excitement and Ralf struck his palm with his fist with a *thump* and spoke his idea.


    90% of the time his ideas are worthless but there is that 10% that occasionally blows everyone¡¯s mind in the room so, I was a bit expectant.


    ¡°If you just want to pass through underwater, why not just take Esta with you? Wouldn¡¯t water controlling magic be a huge help?¡±


    ¡°I did already consider simply asking both of you for help but, you tell me Esta, will water magic help with underwater traversal?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t exactly have a magic that specifically allows me to move underwater unfortunately. In the first place, water magic usually involves attacks that use water that¡¯s all¡­¡­¡­.though I wonder if Phillip-san knows a magic that would help us.¡±


    The old golem guy huh.


    Thanks to me winning the bet, I know he¡¯ll teach us anything for free but still, I wonder if it¡¯d be that easy.


    Because I too, like Esta, don¡¯t think a magic like that exists.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go and ask the old golem guy for help. If there is a magic like that, that would save us a lot of time and trouble after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I just thought of this after hearing Ralf¡¯s idea but, I could make like a platform or foothold through Ice magic as well, what do you think? There may not be a water magic that can help, but should be possible to simply freeze the water with Ice magic though, right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡­¡­¡­that would also keep us safe from the underwater monsters as well, and we could just walk past it as well. But, theoretically speaking, is that actually doable?¡±


    The issue was whether it was practical or not.


    I have seen Esta¡¯s [Icicle Arrow] but, it definitely doesn¡¯t have the strength to freeze a lake or the swamp.


    If it was impossible alone, we¡¯d need the help of another magician.


    Snow could also technically use Ice magic as well, so maybe it¡¯d be doable if Esta and Snow work together?


    ¡°It¡¯d be impossible for me to do it alone. But, if we can gather multiple people, I do think it¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Multiple people eh¡­¡­¡­.that¡¯s a tough condition to clear. Snow can also use Ice magic right, you think we can count it as one of the helpers at least right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know just how good Snow is at ice magic attacks but, I do think it¡¯s fine to include Snow. If we had one more person other than me and Snow, I think it¡¯ll become doable but¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Needing three is rough no? Maybe if we put up a request at the guild we might find someone, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯d cost a crap ton of money?¡±


    Like Ralf said, if we are hiring someone that¡¯d be willing to help us clear through the great forest of Roza¡¯s west and East areas, they will almost certainly cost a lot of money.


    In the first place, the forest is considered a ¡®must avoid place¡¯, add the further condition of needing ice magic users, and it¡¯ll become extremely difficult to find anyone that fits the criteria.


    ¡°I do think we should discuss this with Phillip-san at least one. Perhaps, we could recruit someone from among his disciples as well.¡±


    ¡°Esta, do you know anyone among your colleagues at [Magic Cave] that can use Ice magic?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.among my acquaintances, there are two.¡±


    ¡°Just two? I guess people who can use compound magic are just that rare huh. And it would still be difficult even with those two included.¡±


    ¡°I should mention, one of those two include Phillip-san himself, and I don¡¯t think we can count on him for this.¡±


    Which means we can¡¯t really depend on that either.


    A person that can use ice magic and would be willing to explore the great forest of Roza eh.


    I might have to give up and just put up a request at the guild I guess¡­¡­¡­..or I could try and ask Mielle, even if I know I¡¯ll probably get rejected.


    I technically stopped her with my [Anti Magic] before she could use it but, she was definitely attempting to use ice magic on me back then.


    That too, an advanced level ice magic from what I could tell from the chant and the spell name, so it was definitely worth asking.


    ¡°next time we meet, I¡¯ll try and ask Mielle as well. If the method is practical, I do want to try it out but, it might take some time before we can fulfil the conditions to actually make it a reality.¡±


    ¡°man, I really thought that magic would be a good solution but it¡¯s never that easy huh!¡±


    ¡°Even with all your skills, it was impossible, Chris-san? If we ignore magic, the only the other idea that appears to me is to use Skills.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible with the skills I have right now. If I could get a useful skill from an underwater monster, then yes I could potentially make it work.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­¡­..so it¡¯s either magic or skills in the end. I guess you plan on looking for magic users while also trying to find a way to get these new skills I imagine? We¡¯ll both help as much as we can as well of course!¡±


    ¡°I agree! Of course, if any of us comes up with a better idea, then we can consider that but for now, we should be focusing on both of those methods simultaneously for now! You did find a new Ongneer or whatever it¡¯s called right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I have. Albeit only one.¡±


    ¡°Then that settles it! We could also focus on doing requests that involve water monsters or ice magic using monsters, and then carry them to the Roza forest! It will definitely drop our efficiency rate but, from a long term view, this is basically two birds with one stone, no?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be causing both of you a lot of trouble but, let¡¯s go with Ralf¡¯s plan. Thanks for the help.¡±


    ¡°Yes, leave it to us.¡±


    ¡°Ou! We¡¯ll handle it, no worries!¡±


    With both of their cooperation, from tomorrow we¡¯ll be taking action with solving the underwater problem as our main goal.


    While we continue to chase these two goals at the same time, I¡¯ll also continue thinking up any other idea that may help.


    While still in Edestor, looks like the Great forest of Roza is still going to keep us all very busy.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re almost caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested)

 CH 233

    Visitor


    5 days had passed since I came back to Edestor.


    While looking for help with magic, we planned to take on requests involving water based monsters, or at least that was our objective but¡­¡­¡­


    [Request regarding help in exploring the great forest of Roza. Wanted: A magician with at least intermediate level Ice magic mastery], This request that we had put up had yet to garner any interest from anybody, and we got zero help from the old golem guy¡¯s place as well.


    Of course, on our demand, the old man did introduce us to about ten or so magicians who could use intermediate ice level magic but the name of the Roza forest alone was too heavy as none of them seemed interested in helping us.


    As for the aquatic monsters as well, we have had no progress.


    While there is a river near Edestor, there weren¡¯t many requests asking for subjugation of underwater monsters was very rare as, well, underwater monsters are hardly going to cause any damage to people are they?


    And even if these requests did it show up, it was mostly for Glutal Salmons or Marblin Eels, basically capture requests for delicacies.


    Not to mention, just like the Stray Cowbird, you had to hand over the monster to client so you didn¡¯t get a corpse to take to the Ongneer in the first place.


    We even thought of hunting a different aquatic monster while we were catching salmons and eels but, at that point, we realized it was better to just to not take said requests and we might as well fully focus on finding a monster for Ongneer in the first place.


    All said and done, even though we were attempting to work towards helping with the Roza forest exploration, we had made absolutely no progress in the last 5 days.


    Today once again, we¡¯ll spend our day completing requests as usual¡ª¡ª-or so I thought until before I had left the room but, we suddenly had a rare visitor today.


    ¡°Hm? Did someone knock on the door? Chris, did you invite someone?¡±


    ¡°Not me. Which means it¡¯s not someone either of you called either?¡±


    ¡°I certainly didn¡¯t. Who would come at such a time anyway?¡±


    I instantly activated [Life Presence Sense] and [Mana Sense], and checked the visitor but¡­¡­¡­.


    Thanks to the abundant amount of mana I saw, I instantly knew who it was.


    I quickly opened the door to let the person inside.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened for you to show up so early in the morning old man?¡±


    ¡°Before questioning me, at least let me inside to sit. I haven¡¯t walked this much in a while so I¡¯m feeling a bit tired.¡±


    The old golem guy pushed through and walked past me and ignored the two who were surprised to see him, and sat down on a chair.


    I had a lot to retort at but¡­¡­¡­.first let me ask why he came.


    ¡°Hey is the old guy for whom we did the request back in oxter?¡±


    ¡°Phillip-san!?! Why did you come here so suddenly!?¡±


    ¡°Haa haa¡­¡­¡­.give me a second to breathe. Need to let my body relax a bit.¡±


    ¡°Here, drink some water.¡±


    I suppressed my urge to make him hury to the topic at hand, and handed a glass of water to the old man who looked a bit out of breath.


    After gulping down the water, his breathing finally seemed to return to normal.


    ¡°phew, I suppose it¡¯s my fault for constantly being stuck inside. Maybe I should start doing some exercise regularly.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ve calmed down, you can skip the preface, and talk.¡±


    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t rush me¡­¡­¡­..I came here to talk about the thing Esta had asked of me. I personally came all the way so be grateful at least.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much¡­¡­¡­..So, what did I request of you again?¡±


    Esta tilted her head in confusion either not recalling what she asked of him, or not sure which thing he was talking about because she asks about so many things from him.


    If I had to guess, it¡¯s probably in regards to ice magic users but¡­¡­¡­.


    The old man, did he perhaps find someone willing to help us with the Roza forest¡¯s exploration?


    ¡°The thing Esta asked of, is it about the ice magic user that we¡¯d been looking for?¡±


    ¡°Oh right you did ask of that too but no, not that one. It was about that weird woman who you said might come to my store asking about you lot! The girl called Mielle.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Since I can¡¯t go to the store while I¡¯m completing requests so I did ask to inform me if Mielle came asking for us! Did you come here all the way just to tell us that Phillip-san?¡±


    ¡°This Mielle showed up early in the morning you see. So no one else was there so I had no choice but to come myself.¡±


    ¡°Is that so! Phillip-san, thank you so much!¡±


    Looks like Mielle had showed up at [Magic Cave] once again asking for us. And the old golem guy had personally come all the way here just to tell us that.


    Well, we were about to leave to do requests so I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t miss each other.


    ¡°Thanks for going out of your way for this. So what did she say?¡±


    ¡± ¡®Come to the usual spot tonight¡ª¡ªshe said. Well that¡¯s all it was so I¡¯ll take my leave now¡­¡­..seriously, using an old guy as your personal carrier pigeon, you lot really are a crazy bunch.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to come and thank you again! Phillip-san, really, thank you so much for this!¡±


    ¡°No seriously, I appreciate it as well. I might come to say thanks as well.¡±


    Having recovered his stamina after sitting for a while, the old man continued to grumble and mutter complaints as he quickly left the room again and went on his way.


    Both me and Esta gave our thanks and saw him off.


    Since it was convenient for us, we had basically been using [Magic Cave] to stay in contact with Mielle but¡­¡­¡­I never thought the old man himself would end up coming here to tell us.


    He would have never done this if I was the one who had made the request so this must be thanks to Esta making said request.


    Looks like Esta really had become one his favourite disciples as I could tell from today that he seemed to pamper Esta a lot.


    ¡°What a surprise, for Phillip-san to come here himself! I had only asked him to send a messenger when needed but, I never thought he¡¯d walk all the way himself. Honestly, I¡¯m still in shock.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised too. For that eccentric old man to go this far, Esta, he must have really grown fond of you huh.¡±


    ¡°You two stop! Enough about the old golem guy, and let¡¯s talk about Mielle! What does she mean, the ¡®usual spot¡¯??¡±


    i¡¯ve only met her twice, and that was at the same place.


    I don¡¯t know if that makes it worthy of being called ¡®the usual spot¡¯ but, well, I¡¯m sure she means that same back alley.


    ¡°Last time, the back alley I introduced you two to her in, she probably means that one. Still, tonight huh¡­¡­¡­..if the old man hadn¡¯t come, we definitely would have failed to meet.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. I would have liked more time between the call and appointment but, I wonder if she has a reason to make it quick I wonder?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t  be able to tell. We¡¯ll know tonight regardless.¡±


    ¡°Yup! So then, let¡¯s focus on our usual requests till tonight then!¡±


    With Ralf¡¯s words, we left the room and headed towards the guild.


    Like he said, completing requests come first. Then we¡¯ll see what happens next.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re almost caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested)

 CH 234

    Proof


    After completing two platinum requests in the Barbadd mountains, we returned back to Edestor.


    We were all pretty exhausted but, we did need to go out again to meet Mielle tonight.


    I let Ralf and Esta head back ahead to the inn to drop Snow, while I went to guild to report the completion of requests, and then we regrouped back again at the commercial street.


    ¡°I¡¯m done with the reports. Was Snow fine?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! It must have been tired as well as it went to sleep right after I cleaned it up with a towel.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s fine¡­¡­¡­.that said, you two could have stayed home and rested as well, no need to come with me. I¡¯ve already introduced you two to her, don¡¯t need all three of us for talking do we?¡±


    ¡°For me, I simply haven¡¯t come to trust her enough yet. I¡¯d prefer to stay with to make sure she doesn¡¯t try something so please allow me to accompany you, as a precaution if anything.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just coming along cuz it seems like it¡¯ll be fun! Better than staying alone doing nothing in my room after all!¡±


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t stop you either I guess if you really want to come with me¡­¡­¡­.alright then, let¡¯s head to the back alley.¡±


    While having a light chat, we headed towards the back alley where Mielle was waiting for us.


    It¡¯s the perfect place to have a secret meeting but even after coming here multiple times, I still felt a bit overwhelmed by the suspicious atmosphere of this area.


    The moment I stepped into the back alley, I activated all my detection skills and began walking with maximum vigilance.


    I could sense people inside the alley, not one but three.


    Was it Mielle? Or just some hoodlums hanging out in the back alleys?


    ¡­¡­¡­.No these presences were too strong to be hoodlums.


    One possessed immense mana, which was probably Mielle.


    The other two didn¡¯t have much in terms mana but instead possessed incredibly life presence.


    Which means Mielle and¡ª¡ª-the princess and her knight.


    If she was bringing them with her, she should have told us in advance, is what I wanted to complain but I swallowed my words and walked straight towards the three.


    The first thing to catch my eye was Mielle, who was standing there looking extremely uncomfortable.


    Noticing me walk towards her, she suddenly broke into a relieved smile.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.I guess she wasn¡¯t lying when she said that she absolutely hated the princess her posse.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. We just came back from our requests so were running a little late.¡±


    ¡°We just came here as well so don¡¯t worry about it. That aside, as you demanded I¡¯ve brought the princess to meet you. Now by all means you guys can talk as much as you want to your heart¡¯s content by yourselves.¡±


    Saying that Mielle lightly patted my shoulders and then quickly ran away from the place.


    Should¡¯ve at least introduced them properly before running but, I suppose I should be thankful for at least giving me this opportunity so I can¡¯t ask too much more of her.


    I walked towards the place where Mielle was sitting, and spoke to the princess who was clearly not in a foul mood.


    ¡°Apologies for making you come all the way here. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard from Mielle already but I am the one called Chris.¡±


    I introduced myself but the princess seemed uninterested in answering. She simply looked at me from top to bottom and then made a gesture with her chin as if giving an order to her knight.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Are you really Klaus¡¯ older brother? Until you can prove that as fact, she has no intention of talking to you, or so she says.¡±


    ¡°Proof? What exactly would make you believe me?¡±


    ¡°You should think of that yourself. We will give you a minute to think. If you can¡¯t come up with something, then we won¡¯t come to meet you again.¡±


    The heavily armoured knight said that in an intimidating manner, and then began counting down with his fingers.


    Both their attitude and tone pissed me off but, I¡¯m the one who requested this meeting in the first place.


    Besides, I¡¯m hardly in any position to be pointing out other people¡¯s bad manners, so I suppressed my retorts and for now, began thinking of what could work as proof.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Klaus¡¯ date of birth, place of upbringing, name of parents.


    That¡¯s pretty much all the personal details I know when it comes to Klaus now that I think about it.


    And that too only because I myself share those details with him. Rest, I had no idea.


    For family, we never really talked much, and I was made to accompany father in his training from morning till night every single day.


    And Klaus was never anywhere near so I barely even knew him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªthat¡¯s why I still don¡¯t understand why he hated me so much, to the point he¡¯d try to kill me.


    ¡°Would Klaus¡¯ birthdate, hometown, name of parents be enough?¡±


    ¡°You could learn that from literally any info broker. Far from solid proof. If you really are family, surely you have some info that only a family member would know right?¡±


    The knight instantly rejected my answer, and behind him the princess looked at me like she was looking at trash.


    She was unnecessarily beautiful as well, which only made me even more angry.


    I think I already understand why Mielle absolutely hates these two.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªah, but now¡¯s not the time to be thinking up insults towards them.


    If I can¡¯t find solid proof in the couple seconds that remain, I¡¯ll fail in gaining the co-operation of the princess.


    I was already thinking that it¡¯s okay even if I don¡¯t get them on my side but, I knew that whoever was able to get the cooperation of the princess would definitely have the upper hand in the future.


    I should at least try everything I can.


    Since I knew barely anything about Klaus, I instead figured that it might be faster to think of something related to the Sparling family instead.


    I registered my adventurer card as just [Chris] so that¡¯s useless.


    I mean I could prove it if they had my blood checked and what not but, that was impossible in the current situation.


    When I left the house, I didn¡¯t bring much with me and the things I stole I had mostly sold¡­¡­¡­Hm? Wait a second.


    I quickly rummaged through my bag, and brought out a pocketwatch from inside.


    I had originally stolen it to sell it because it was something valuable to my father.


    But since it wasn¡¯t as expensive as I had hoped, I never sold it to [Shichifukuya] and kept it on me still.


    Now I don¡¯t know if this would work as proof but, this was pretty much my last option left.


    I grabbed my father¡¯s pocketwatch and handed it to the knight who was standing in between me and the princess.


    ¡°This belonged to my- our father, a possession he deeply treasured. I don¡¯t know if that counts enough or not but go ahead, and check it. There¡¯s a chance Klaus probably possessed a similar looking pocketwatch as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Understood. Let me talk to Charlotte-sama for a minute.¡±


    The knight finally gave a decent reaction and walked back to the princess with pocketwatch in hand.


    After that, they continued talking about said watch for a while, and soon the knight walked back towards me perhaps with their decision made.


    ¡°I do not know how you got hold of this pocket watch but it indeed belongs to the Sparling household. With Mielle¡¯s info on you included, we will for now believe that you are in fact Klaus¡¯ older brother.¡±


    This condescending attitude was truly limitless but, at least it worked as proof.


    I know I was the one who handed it to them but even I had no idea how exactly did they confirm that it was a belonging of a Sparling household member.


    It doesn¡¯t even have a family crest, and from my point of view, it was a broken clock whose hour hand didn¡¯t even work.


    I wondered if Klaus did indeed have a similar pocketwatch, or maybe it had some kind of hidden gimmick to it?


    ¡­¡­¡­..no point in thinking about it though, and if it worked as proof, I don¡¯t care much beyond that.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re almost caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested)

 CH 235

    Critical Situation


    ¡°So, can I talk to the princess now? It¡¯s a pain having to use you as a intermediary.¡±


    ¡°You could first start by fixing your own tone or else.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough Gautier, you can stand back now¡­¡­¡­¡­.I have yet to introduce myself haven¡¯t I? I am this country¡¯s¡ª¨CMeldrake Kingdom¡¯s 3rd princess, Charlotte Victoria Meldrake.¡± (T/N: yes this middle name is different to the one in the side story 5. I have no idea why either)


    Her attire was clearly more valuable than even Gautier¡¯s armour, although a bit dirty right now. Every ornament, every piece of cloth on her body was gorgeous yet her own beauty could easily overshadow all of those.


    Furthermore, as she elegantly made her introduction¡­¡­¡­..even though we were in a dirty back alley, when the princess made the gesture, it was as if the back alley suddenly became a lot more prettier as well for a second.


    That said her gaze from before, like she was looking at trash was still in my head, and so was her bad attitude afterwards.


    Yet, the fact that she was able to make even me be taken aback like that was proof that this princess lived in a world completely different than my own.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ve already heard it, but once again, I¡¯m Chris. Nice to meet you.¡±


    That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll bend my back over for her.


    I will talk to her like we are equals, nothing more.


    She frowned for a second seeing me not change my attitude even one bit , but quickly returned back to her serious face.


    But behind her, the knight Gautier was already seemingly pulling his word out but the princess quickly gestured to make him stop.


    ¡°Your attitude alone is proof enough, you are indeed that Klaus¡¯ older brother¡­¡­¡­I can look over a little bit of rudeness but, if you overstep your boundaries, I will kill you so be prepared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the type to change my attitude regardless of who I¡¯m talking to so don¡¯t expect much. Also, if you do try to kill me, I¡¯m not gonna show mercy either just because you¡¯re some princess, so YOU be prepared okay?¡±


    Against the princess who spoke with killing intent, I retorted back with killing intent as well.


    ¡ª¡ª-in that instant, the knight called Guatier who had been restrained once, and had stopped his hands, this time fully pulled out his sword and slashed his sword towards me.


    Thanks to [Perception Enhancement] I wasn¡¯t surprised by it, and blocked his attack with my own sword.


    [Flesh Enhancement][Fortification][Iron Wall] were instantly activated, and I had blocked him with perfect timing but¡ª¡ª-it was like when I had blocked the bear-like monster¡¯s attack in Peixa forest.


    I had gained so many skills and gotten incomparably stronger since then, yet I was unable to completely kill the force and my legs slid back a few meters.


    My hands felt numb, and the force of the attack had reverberated to my core.


    But because of this Gautier¡¯s sudden attack, something snapped inside my head too.


    Almost unconsciously, I activated [War Dance][Physical Ability boost][Ability Unleashed], then I activated [Leg Strength Enhancement][Gale] to cover the distance back and then further used [Strong Arm] and [Hard Hit]¡ª¡ª¨Cand then unleashed a slash at Gautier with the intent to kill.


    But right before my sword made an impact with Gautier, I returned to  my senses. And remembered, that things would get really messy if I actually killed him, regardless of how I felt about him.


    I quickly tried to cancel my skills but, before my sword hit, the only ones I managed to cancel were [Ability unleashed] and [Hard Hit].


    This intense counter attack from me assaulted Gautier but, Gautier quickly used the greatshield in his right arm to enter a guard stance.


    ¡°[Shield of the Guardian][Dragon Light Wall].¡±


    A yell that seemed to make the ground rumble, Gautier activated two skills.


    The greatshield shone brightly with light, and the dark back alley seemed to turn bright like it was midday.


    It was a pressure only chosen ones could use just like Klaus¡¯ [Sacred Slash].


    I was regretting only deactivating [Ability Unleashed] and [Hard hit] but, now I was regretting the fact that I deactivated even those two¡ª¡ª¡ªas I swung my sword down with full strength.


    The impact was clean.


    A normal adventurer would have been cut into two alongside the shield itself but Gautier, like me, simply slid back a few meters from the impact and had managed to block my attack.


    From just this little exchange I knew, that this guy was much stronger than I had imagined.


    Not just in terms of raw strength, but I could tell he had trained and honed his body to the utmost limit.


    ¡®Against him, I could really go all out.¡¯


    I could feel the fire in his eyes as he looked at me from behind his shield, and in the same breath both of us readied to lunge at each other again when¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Cease this!¡±


    ¡°Please stop!¡±


    The two to get in our way were, the Princess and Esta.


    And instantly, with the same timing, both me and Gautier stopped our attacks.


    I lost my cool when I got attacked, regained it back during the attack, lost it again when I sensed Gautier¡¯s strength, and then now finally returned back to my senses from Esta¡¯s intervention.


    Gautier as well, stopped the moment the Princess stood in his path, and instantly sheathed his sword.


    ¡°Charlotte-sama, I humbly ask for your forgiveness. I lost myself in rage.¡±


    ¡°Gautier, no need to apologize. If you hadn¡¯t, I probably would have attacked instead a second later¡­¡­..But, I stopped you because I feel that this Klaus¡¯ older brother who was able to stop your attack was valuable, that¡¯s all.¡±


    In a volume that I could also hear, the princess spoke so.


    I probably shouldn¡¯t be talking but, seriously, this princess and her knight were too hotheaded.


    ¡°Esta, thanks for stopping me, I almost killed him.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, please be careful, you are already being pursued by the [Sword God] himself, killing the princess¡¯ close associate would make you a wanted man in Edestor¡ª-no, the entire country.¡±


    As a response, I also spoke that in a loud enough volume to instigate the princess and Gautier and Esta totally went along with it to further flame them.


    ¡®if it had continued, I would have killed Gautier¡¯¡ª¡ª-in response to my words, I could see the veins pop on Gautier¡¯s temples again and his body was trembling like he could launch another attack at any moment.


    ¡°Gautier, calm down. I will talk to Klaus¡¯ older brother alongside Mielle, so go and take a breather away from us¡­¡­¡­there, why not go talk to that poor looking boy or something?¡±


    She pointed towards Ralf who was watching our battle with shining eyes, and venomously spoke as she ordered Gautier.


    ¡°If you intend to talk to him, it is too dangerous without me by your side.¡±


    ¡°Gautier, this is an order. If you cannot even follow my orders¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Very well. Forgive my rudeness.¡±


    Before she could finish the sentence, Gautier gave a deep bow and walked away from the princess and moved past me.


    As he crossed by me, he openly glared at me and loudly clicked his tongue.


    ¡°Forgive the rudeness of my escort. Now then, let¡¯s call Mielle back and have a chat towards forming a hopefully nice partnership.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, I¡¯m in your care.¡±


    With Mielle who looked genuinely displeased from being called back, me and the Princess began our talks about building a partnership to overthrow, if not outright kill, our common enemy, Klaus.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re almost caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested)

 CH 236

    A Request to Mielle


    ¡°I¡¯m glad it seems like we can form such an unexpectedly favourable alliance. No trickery, just a genuine intent to kill your own younger brother¡­¡­¡­¡­I must say, you have certainly piqued my interest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good and all but, as promised for now, we¡¯ll continue with a complete non-interference pact. Any deals will be through Mielle, to Gautier on your side, and Esta or Ralf on my side.¡±


    ¡°I feel you¡¯re a bit overcautious but, sure, that sounds fine to me. Any real cooperation will begin once we¡¯re back in the capital, until then, I¡¯ll continue to pretend like you basically don¡¯t exist. Sounds good?¡±


    ¡°Definitely. Nice working with you.¡±


    Advertisements


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I feel like I just got dragged into something outrageous.¡±


    I ignored what Mielle muttered in the end there, as me and Charlotte shook hands, ending our meeting.


    As for our partnership with Charlotte, it¡¯s mostly related to giving me info on Klaus once they return to the capital, and to help prepare a suitable venue for me to fight Klaus where no one can interfere.


    She also offered financial backing on top but, since I didn¡¯t have much to offer back in return, I chose to refuse that part.


    Besides, we make more than enough money from the requests already, and once we promote to Mithril rank, making money will become even easier.


    As for what I had to offer to her was fairly simple- don¡¯t reveal that I was in any way connected to her.


    The moment this secret was out, she¡¯ll cut all ties with me. And if anything, might even try to kill me to silence me as well.


    To be honest, the demerits for being found out for me were basically none realistically speaking, and I was the one gaining all the benefits from this deal but, from Charlotte¡¯s point of view, anything or anyone that gets rid of Klaus is worth helping it seems.


    In fact, Charlotte herself was already planning to get rid of Klaus, and now that I had appeared who was strong enough to succeed in it and also brought no risk back to her, there was no way she wouldn¡¯t agree to our deal.


    For the time being, I was able to create a fruitful partnership with the [War Princess].


    My first impression of her was the worst possible, and I have a feeling I will never ever get along with her knight Gautier but, this was greatly profitable partnership for me.


    Of course, I¡¯ll have to wait till I return to the capital before working properly with Charlotte and in the meantime¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Oi Mielle, you stay for a while.¡±


    Walking slightly behind the Princess and her knight, as Mielle was about to leave this place, I called out and stopped her.


    She must have had a bad premonition as her face when she turned around was terribly twisted.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Aren¡¯t the talks over? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be sure to do my job as the intermediary with the dumb princess properly.¡±


    ¡°No, this has nothing to do with her. Besides, our partnership will only begin properly once we¡¯re in the capital. I called you because I had a different request for you.¡±


    ¡°Another request? I know I said I¡¯ll cooperate but, you can¡¯t make me do everything you know? I¡¯m probably going to get taken to the dungeon again anyway, so I¡¯d like to get some rest if possible.¡±


    I could tell she was strongly implying that she wasn¡¯t in the mood to hear more requests.


    Considering her current circumstances, I did feel a bit bad for her but, I can¡¯t exactly play nice either right now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be straight to the point. I want to you to help us with my exploration of the Great Forest of Roza.¡±


    ¡°Are you even listening to me? Just how shameless are you?¡±


    ¡°Help us with my exploration of the Great Forest of Roza.¡±


    ¡°I heard you the first time!!¡­¡­¡­.when you say Roza forest, you mean the big one to the south from here right? Why are you even exploring a place like that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a specific plant. I need to explore the entire forest to find it.¡±


    ¡°Then do it yourself. You¡¯re much stronger than me anyway, it won¡¯t matter whether I¡¯, with you or not, no?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right that I¡¯m much stronger but¡­¡­..what I want isn¡¯t just raw firepower. There are a lot of places in the forest that are submerged in water, so I need help to freeze those water bodies so I can explore those places better.¡±


    After listening me to the end, she took a second before she finally understood what I was asking of her, and spoke after what seemed like much deliberation inside her head.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..it¡¯s not impossible per se, but how big are we talking here?¡±


    ¡°A submerged forest and lake, both are pretty massive. But we¡¯ll also have Esta and another Ice magic user.¡±


    ¡°Three ice magic users in total then eh¡­¡­¡­..Then, even big areas will be doable I suppose. Till what level magic can you use, Esta?¡±


    ¡°I can use magic to intermediate level. Mielle-san, can you use advanced magic as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I may have fallen from grace but I¡¯m still a [Sage] after all¡­¡­¡­or rather, you can actually use intermediate compound magic huh. That¡¯s far better than most academy students I know.¡±


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t really have many friends my own age so I¡¯ve never really had a way to compare myself¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt you¡¯re talented. What was [job] again?¡±


    ¡°Wait right there. You two can have your personal chat some other time. Mielle, can you do it with Esta as support?¡±


    I interjected in their conversation, and stopped them before they both got lost in their own world.


    To be honest, I was interested in hearing more as well but, let¡¯s focus on the main topic first.


    ¡°With a intermediate magic user, I¡¯ll need at least one more ice magic user. If we have me3 intermediate ice magic users, it is definitely doable¡­¡­¡­..or wait, I haven¡¯t agreed to it ye¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°Alright, one more then, right? Come to [Magic Cave] in two weeks from now.¡±


    ¡°Wait!! Like I said don¡¯t just¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    Before I could hear her refusal, I left the alley where Mielle stood.


    If I push her like that one-sidedly, she won¡¯t be able to ignore it later either.


    I was worried whether Charlotte would give her the permission to accompany me but, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll let it pass if it¡¯s for the sake of beating Klaus.


    I feel like I made a lot of progress from our talks today.


    Anyway, I have set two weeks as my target.


    We¡¯ll complete requests for another week, and then I¡¯ll head to the forest with Ralf, Esta and Snow to do some preliminary investigations beforehand.


    I¡¯ll end up wasting all of their times towards searching for the fruit of skill which was for my own sake alone, but I have no choice but to have them accept it this time around.


    As for the only remaining issue,¡­¡­¡­.I need to find one more ice magic user.


    Once again, I¡¯ll try and go to the old man¡¯s place to see if I could convince someone. Not like I have much to lose anyway.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re fully caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested!)

 CH 237

    Learning from Bors


    About 5 days had passed since my chat with the country¡¯s princess, Charlotte.


    We continued completing our requests and saved up quite a bit of money by now.


    I had got Mielle to help me with the exploration of the great forest of Roza but, I definitely needed to pay her properly for it so no amount of money would be enough right now.


    I also needed to find another ice magic user as well but, that wasn¡¯t going too well either so we had no choice but to focus on making as much money as possible for now.


    I had once again asked the old golem man to help us find someone willing to help but, in the end we might have no other choice but to entice them with a huge amount of money.


    Though after all this work, just thinking of how there was still a chance that we still might fail to continue through the forest, it made my body shiver with fear.


    My thoughts were heading to a negative direction as I walked through the commercial street and headed to the [Magic Cave].


    My reason for coming here was not to meet the old man but, because I had asked him to lend me the training hall, and had been practicing with Bors in there.


    I had a mountain of things to do in relation to the Roza forest expedition but, learning from Bors was also equally important, and was part of those ¡®things¡¯.


    Honestly speaking, I did consider just cutting the lessons short on the first day if I felt like I couldn¡¯t learn much from him but, after training with him, I managed to get a good hold on this ¡®A weakling¡¯s thought process¡¯ of his, I mean that in a good way, and instead ended up asking him to continue his lessons for three days straight now.


    I suppressed my yawn due to fatigue, as I walked through the dark corridors of the empty [Magic Cave] and headed to the training hall.


    Entering the hall, I saw Bors doing some light stretches inside.


    ¡°Hey Chris, you¡¯re late! Even though you requested this!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that late. I¡¯m earlier than yesterday at least.¡±


    As we did our usual greetings, I also began doing some light stretches  to get ready.


    Soon after, I picked up the wooden sword, and began my special training with Bors.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten the things I¡¯ve already taught you right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m already beaten those things into my body and brain.¡±


    ¡°good good, you¡¯re a fast learner, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll master my style pretty quickly! On that note, I actually brought someone with me to help today as well!¡±


    When Bors suddenly shouted that, a person showed up to the hall from a different room and calmly walked towards us.


    I wasn¡¯t using my detection skills, and wasn¡¯t in my usual cautious state so I never sensed them.


    He¡¯s the guy we met some time ago, one of Bors¡¯ party member.


    If I recall¡­¡­..his name was Rufus, right?


    ¡°Rufus was it? What exactly will you be helping me with today?¡±


    ¡°How rare, you actually remembered his name even though you only met him once! I never thought you¡¯d be the type to remember people¡¯s name Chris!¡±


    ¡°I am not exactly the social type am I, so the people I meet are few anyway. Hard to forget those. That aside, what¡¯s he going to help with?¡±


    ¡°With the lessons of course! I needed to corner you properly to make you feel the desperation and danger, but even after sealing your skills as a handicap, it didn¡¯t exactly feel like facing a ¡®dangerous opponent¡¯ for you right? So today, we¡¯ll fight 2v1 to attack you more relentlessly. You can use skills as well this time to defend, so let¡¯s begin practice!¡±


    ¡°What he said. Please go easy on me today.¡±


    After Bors¡¯ long explanation, Rufus gave a light bow and greeted me.


    I don¡¯t know how strong Rufus is but in the end, he¡¯s also only a platinum rank.


    Even with the two of them, it was normal of me to think that they¡¯ll be no match if I go all out with all of my skills.


    Though I also trust Bors¡¯ judgement but¡­¡­¡­.well, let¡¯s fight and see how it goes first shall we?


    This was a good chance to try and utilize the things I had learnt in the last 3 days.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll fight at full strength as well for now.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Then, let¡¯s start shall we? Begin!!¡±


    With his words, Rufus instantly circled to the left of me while Bors went to my right.


    His languid attitude from when he was greeting me was nowhere to be seen, and I could see his eyes lit with vigour.


    With a short wooden sword in his hands, Rufus lunged in straight at me and swung his word sharply.


    [Perception Enhancement][Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical Ability boost]


    I quickly activated multiple skills, and first focused on blocking Rufus who was attacking first.


    I matched Rufus who swung his sword as if to mow me down, and swung diagonally to block his attack but¡­¡­.


    The moment I raised my sword, I saw Rufus¡¯ lips curl into a smile.


    Sensing impending danger, I quickly turned my focus to what was behind me, and as expected, Bors was also launching an attack at me with the exact same timing as Rufus.


    First, I¡¯ll knock down Rufus, the deal with Bors¡ª¡ªthat was how the simulation had gone in my head but, as if mocking my estimations, Rufus stopped his attack midway.


    Before our wooden swords could collide, he stepped away backwards.


    Knocking Rufus down became impossible but, then I just have to crush Bors first instead.


    I turned around instantly to do so but, to my shock, Bors matched Rufus¡¯ movements and had back-stepped away from me as well.


    The instant I felt a bad premonition from their sudden useless actions¡ª¡ªfrom Rufus¡¯ direction, ¡®something¡¯ strong struck my side.


    Although my balance was broken, I still tried to check what exactly had hit me but, Rufus was still standing away from me and was looking at me with a calm and composed look.


    The moment I looked away from him, something had hit me.


    Magic, or a skill? ¡­¡­¡­.No point thinking about it now.


    Quickly switching my thoughts, I decided to rush Rufus and attack him but, as if he had read my thoughts, Bors instantly closed in on me.


    I panicked and tried to deal with him, and managed to avoid his attacks but¡­¡­¡­.I was getting irritated from being knocked around like this, and I had still not caught on to how they were attacking me.


    Looks like I really have to fully utilize the stuff I learnt from Bors here.


    I was planning on winning quickly and then make him return to teaching me without using skills but, looks like this might be the best kind of training in and of itself for me right now.


    I quickly changed my thought process again, from an aggressive mode to a more defensive one.


    From here, I will utilize the style of fighting I had learnt from Bors, a coward¡¯s fighting style.


    It¡¯s meant mostly as a way to buy time until you can find an opening to run away but, this will be very useful for me against all the strong enemies I will surely face in the future.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re fully caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested!)

 CH 238

    A Coward¡¯s Style of Thinking


    After learning this from Bors and using it in a real fight, I finally realized that this fighting style was something that could be utilized consistently in all battles.


    It simply depended on how well I apply it to my existing fighting style.


    Just like when I was with Alyazi-san, I need to fully make this skill my own.


    First of all, I need to keep both of them in my sights. Rather than look entirely in one of their direction, I need to position myself where I can keep one eye on each respectively.


    Having realized my plan, those two also tried to move in a way where it¡¯d be impossible for me to do so, but I also continued moving to make sure that I keep them in my sights.


    It was a pretty wide hall but, it was still pretty narrow for a real fight.


    Finally realizing that it¡¯d be nigh impossible inside this room to break my line of sight, instead of standing diagonally from me in each direction, they moved to stand in a line instead, and faced me straight from the front.


    Bors was ahead, and Rufus was behind him.


    The thing I needed to be most wary of when they were in this formation was that long range attack from Ralf, whether it was magic or skill, I still didn¡¯t know.


    I didn¡¯t move from my spot and waited for them to act.


    My thoughts were always focused on, ¡®how to escape¡¯. Rather than focus on either of them specifically, I allotted about 40% of my consciousness towards both each, and the remaining 20% towards my surroundings.


    To make sure I always know where I should escape to, and to be on alert against attacks from the side, I was quite literally focused on ¡®everything¡¯ around me.


    The important part was to not change this method of focus even when one of the specifically attacks me.


    I used all my skills to have the entire training hall inside my perception range, and I waited for them to attack.


    Inside this tense atmosphere, Bors made the first move.


    While showing clear openings to me, he ran at me from the front.


    He gripped his sword tightly, to show that he was about to launch an attack as well but¡ª¡ª¨Cnow that I had fully focused on observing my opponents, I wasn¡¯t going to be tricked anymore.


    From the little movements of his legs and the amount of strength in his arms, I knew that this was a feint, and I could tell from the way his eyeballs moved that he was being mindful of Rufus behind him.


    Bors was the bait, it was Rufus behind him that was going to be the threat.


    Having inferred that from the little info I had, I focused more of my awareness towards Rufus, although without completely ignoring Bors still.


    Since I knew that Bors didn¡¯t intend to attack, I let him run all the way towards me until he was in my range, and I did the motion of swinging my sword, but without it being an attempt at actually pursuing Bors and more to simply lure them.


    Bors smiled thinking I had fallen for his feint and instantly stopped in his tracks.


    And from there, he side stepped finally revealing the hidden Rufus who had his sword held high, ready to launch some kind of attack.


    Their timing was perfect.


    If I had let myself be focused entirely on Bors, I would have definitely failed to dodge their coordinated attack but¡ª¡ª-from the start, my consciousness was focused on Rufus more heavily.


    They were trying to bait me but, instead I was the one that was baiting Rufus¡¯ attack.


    Now, I need to simply see through Rufus¡¯ attack from the front.


    He was at least 10m away from me but still, Rufus swung his word down while aimed towards me.


    Last time, his attack came from my blindspot so I wasn¡¯t able to judge it but, seeing him swing the sword down like that with all his might made me think it was possibly a skill.


    A flying slash projectile¡­¡­¡­¡­..A skill similar to Klaus¡¯ [Sacred Slash]?


    In that case, I can use the methods I had devised to fight against Klaus.


    First, I waited till the very limit to see what kind of skill Rufus had.


    Nothing appeared from the sword that had been swung but, with a sound of wind being torn, something was definitely flying towards me.


    I can¡¯t see it but it was definitely not that amazing of an attack.


    Since the sound gave it away, I simply side stepped to avoid his attack, and as the slash flew past me, I had more or less figured out how his skill worked as well.


    Unlike [Sacred Slash], it wasn¡¯t a flying slash but more like the shockwave generated from the swing of his sword that flew towards me.


    If I had to pick, it was closer to wind magic that Esta used.


    It wasn¡¯t very strong, and lacked the ability to heavily wound the target but unlike [Sacred Slash] it was completely invisible.


    I¡¯m sure if it was done with a real sword and not a wooden sword, it probably produces a more powerful attack. Furthermore, that attack was probably Rufus¡¯ special attack.


    Regardless, I calmly analyzed the enemy¡¯s move and once again began inputting his attack patterns into my brain.


    How much can you learn about the enemy from just one attack?


    This was one of the most important fundamentals of Bors¡¯ fighting style according to him.


    I thought I had figured out his fighting style entirely but, now I realized that when I use all of my skills to analyze the opponent, the amount of info I gain is on a whole different level.


    I did also learn that it was exhausting on my mind to do so, but it was still a very different way of fighting than the usual, ¡®how much of your raw power can you dish out¡¯ that most fighting styles are about. And I could already see so many new tactics and ways of implementing these things into my own fighting style as well.


    ¡®Bors fighting style will definitely make me stronger¡¯¡ª¡ªback then it was nothing more than an instinctual feeling I got when I first saw him but, now that had turned into conviction that I was indeed correct.


    And I couldn¡¯t help but smile when that realization came to me.


    (T/N: PSA we¡¯re fully caught up with JP Raws with the advance chapters if you¡¯re interested!)

 CH 239

    A Definite Response


    After perfectly dodging Rufus¡¯ long ranged attack, Bors and Rufus became unable to land an attack on me again.


    Thanks to the aid from [Mind Unleashed] skill that I had unconsciously activated, I was able to predict each and every movement those two made, and I could read through even attack patterns that they used for the first time.


    As I continued to deal with their attacks, , I began to slowly see cracks in their combination attacks that were built on their unshakable trust¡­¡­.


    Since I could see all of their moves coming, Rufus finally lost his patience and rushed forward to attack me and finally their combination fully collapsed.


    Giving up their 2v1 advantage, Rufus impatiently tried to attack me but I easily KO¡¯d him, and the easily dealt with Bors as well¡ª¡ªand so the ¡®lesson¡¯ ended with my complete victory.


    ¡°Haah¡­¡­¡­haaah¡­¡­..T-this is way too strange¡­¡­¡­ Hey Bors! You didn¡¯t tell he was this much of a monster!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m as shocked as you! I always knew that he was pretty strong for his age but even I didn¡¯t think he was this strong!!¡±


    Laying flat with all limbs spread apart on the floor of the practice hall, Rufus cursed in a crude manner, quite different from his usual way of talking, meanwhile Bors was also staring at me with a shocked expression as he stood with his hands on his knees.


    While I did get a complete win against them, both Bors and Rufus were much stronger than I had originally thought so to be honest, I was expecting to have won even easily than this.


    ¡°Bors¡­¡­.as well as Rufus, thank you for the duel. Thanks to you both, I think I finally a good grasp on this skill.¡±


    ¡°Well good for you¡ª¡ªNOT!! What the hell even was that technique? The only people capable of completely dodging mine and Bors¡¯ combination attacks on their first time are¡­¡­.probably just the members of the [Moonlight Fangs]!!¡±


    ¡°I have no idea who that is but, I just read through all your moves that¡¯s all.¡±


    While still swaying as he walked towards me, Rufus grabbed me with both arms and questioned me so I explained it as matter of factly as I could.


    To be honest, the sensation I was feeling during the battle is something that really cannot be put into words but, if I had to try, this was the best way to explain it.


    ¡°Oi, Rufus, calm down! Your real personality is leaking out again!¡±


    ¡°Ah, shit. It¡¯s been a while since my common sense was destroyed like this after all¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m gonna head outside for a bit and cool my head.¡±


    After getting warned by Bors, Rufus calmed his rough breathing, and picked up a towel from the ground before heading outside.


    I guess his listless, gentle demeanour was just a fa?ade huh.


    ¡°Sorry about Rufus! That¡¯s what he¡¯s like when he gets too excited or agitated you see, so don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. He¡¯s usually so languid so, I was surprised a little bit, I won¡¯t lie.¡­¡­¡­¡­that aside, how were my movements? As the person facing me, do you think I¡¯ve come close to your style Bors?¡±


    ¡°Come close!? All I really do is just run away though!? Whatever you were doing there was levels higher than my fighting style!¡­¡­..Well, part of it is simply that we¡¯re just that weak but, seriously, I don¡¯t think I have anything left to teach you now.¡ª¡ª-you¡¯ve fully mastered it! Go on, and carry the name of Bors style for me now Chris!!¡±


    With a wide smile, Bors smacked my shoulders and said that.


    It was only for a short while but, I really did grow a lot during this time.


    ¡®ignore the meat and aim for the bone¡¯¡ª¡ª-well, maybe that¡¯s overselling it but, you have to seriously attack with the intent to kill to make your opponent be fully on guard and, only then will said ¡®serious attack¡¯ make for the best kind of feint.


    It¡¯s natural to think that you only do one part of an attack when doing a feint but because it¡¯s so obvious, that it can be easy to read through in a real battle. I learnt that fully well during this training.


    I could only feel my utmost gratitude towards Bors, who even brought Rufus today, to seriously push me to the limit and made me realize that.


    Now I¡¯m hardly going to be a total Bors-style user from now, but my feelings of thanks were genuine.


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not going to ¡®carry the Bors-style name¡¯ or whatever but, I will never forget everything you¡¯ve done for me, for us since we¡¯ve come to Edestor. If you ever need help, just come to me. I will return this favour in full for sure, Bors-¡®san¡¯.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, you don¡¯t need to pay me back¡ª¡ªHm? Y-you, did you just say Bors-san¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be taking my leave now. Hope to see you again somewhere in the city and we can talk then. See ya.¡±


    ¡°O, Oi! Chris! Wait a minute! Please, say it one more time, I beg!!!¡±


    Shouting inside the hall as it echoed around the place, Bors tried to run after me and stop me but¡­¡­.


    Because he was quite tired, he tripped over his feet and fell face first into the floor.


    I did consider giving a hand to get him up but, I knew he was going to be annoying afterwards so I just left him there and went on my way.


    With feelings of gratitude towards Bors-san, I left the practice hall and returned back to [Gorush].

 CH 240

    A Tightly Packed Schedule


    The day after I took my last training session with Bors.


    It was finally tomorrow when I¡¯ll take Ralf and Esta to the great forest of Roza to do our preliminary investigations.


    Since my last expedition to the forest, my days had been jam packed from doing requests, holding important discussions, training, recruitment etc, and I barely had any time to fully devote to myself.


    Today as well, I had spent the first half of the day completing a request for money but, since I had yet to even fully reflect on my last trip to Roza forest yet, I had no choice but to forcibly make some time this afternoon.


    I was genuinely quite tired, and in all honesty, wanted to go crash in a bed asap but¡­¡­.


    There was still so much I had to do in this remaining half day that I had no time to rest.


    Firstly¡ª¡ª-something I had to do at all costs, that is, to discern the details of the poisonous plants I collected on my last trip.


    While I had been consistently consuming Reizen grass and the rest everyday with my meals, the new ones I had found were simply lying about in dried form untouched as I had not been able to find some time to go to the church.


    There weren¡¯t a lot of them but, one of them was the Orc King¡¯s Ongneer so I needed to properly discern them each.


    After that, I needed to go and grab Jinpi potions from [Gaddfoura].


    I had got the message from Bors-san but, in the end I couldn¡¯t find time to go there still.


    I suppose it¡¯s only natural since I have been doing requests from morning till night but, I was never to get there during the Store¡¯s open hours, and it was always closed by the time I came back from doing requests.


    It was only the big general store [Relab Market] that employed so many people that it could stay open even at night but¡­¡­¡­


    With our lifestyle, going to places like the Church, [Gaddfoura] or Kevin¡¯s weapons store was basically impossible.


    I had been mostly doing maintenance on my sword myself but, it was about time I let a pro handle it as well. So after Gaddfoura, I needed to go to Kevin¡¯s place next.


    While I went back to the Inn to pick up my poisonous plants, I tried creating a proper schedule inside my head for the remaining day.


    .


    After packing all the poisonous plants in my bag, I made my second trip to the church since coming to Edestor.


    Walking through the holy atmosphere of the building, I entered the ability assessment room.


    Until now, I had only been in assessment room that were covered in dust so it still felt odd being in such a neat and tidy place¡ª¡ªas I rang the bell that was kept in the room.


    After waiting for a while, the old Sister, same as last time, came into the room.


    I obviously remembered her face but, since it had been quite some time since the last time I came, I wondered if she would recognize me as well. Especially considering how many adventurers she must have to see every day.


    While I was hesitating over how to start the conversation, it was Sister who sat down in front of me that spoke first.


    ¡°Oh? Aren¡¯t you the one that did multiple assessments that one time?¡±


    ¡°I am but¡­¡­¡­you remember me?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. It¡¯s true I have to do assessment for a huge amount of adventurers here in edestor but, there is only one who had me do assessments multiple times in a single day after all.¡±


    Well, that sounds about right I suppose.


    Since each assessment cost 1 gold coin, it wasn¡¯t exactly cheap either so only an idiot would do what I do normally.


    If I was in her place, I¡¯d end up remembering such a guy too even if I didn¡¯t want to.


    ¡°The world may be vast and wide, but I guess I really am the only one who does that huh. Also, it¡¯ll be multiple assessments today as well, so I¡¯ll be in your care again.¡±


    ¡°Today as well? Well, we of the church have hardly any reason to complain but¡­¡­¡­Well, if you understand that it may be futile then I won¡¯t try to stop you either. Well then, please hand over your adventurer card and one gold coin please?¡±


    I did as she asked and waited for the assessment to be done.


    I haven¡¯t eaten the Orc King¡¯s ongneer yet but, I¡¯m interested in seeing how much my stats have risen.


    ¡°Thank you for your patronage. Then I¡¯ll begin¡ª¨Cand it¡¯s done. Here¡¯s your card, please check.¡±


    ¡°Thanks a lot.¡±


    Giving a light thanks to the sister for quickly finishing, I checked my adventurer card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 26(+434)


    Strength: 24(+512)


    Stamina: 22(+319)


    Magic: 6(+182)


    Agility: 14(+244)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Yeah¡­¡­¡­¡­I mean, they have gone up at least.


    It¡¯s around a 30-40 increase in all stats.


    Of course for Agility, since I never took Jinpi potions so it¡¯s barely changed from last time but, for the rest, well, it¡¯s still a passing amount of increase.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t hoping to see a more explosive increase but¡­¡­¡­it would cocky of me to hope for more this now.


    Since my own base stats had only risen by 1, I was once again grateful for the potential of the poisonous plants.


    I fully digested my stats first, and now it was time to see the effects of the Orc King ongneer.


    It was a Mithril rank monster individually but, it would be even higher when leading an army.


    I mean I did witness its ability to increase the strength of its subordinates first hand, so I was hoping I could get a skill like that as well.


    While praying that that skill was a common skill, I left the church for the time being.

 CH 241

    An Unexpected Harvest


    After leaving the church, I went to a place where no one could see me to eat the Orc King¡¯s Ongneer, and then returned back to the Church.


    Since there was not much time left, I was going to have these assessments done one after another.


    ¡°Oh my! You¡¯re already back. It¡¯s been barely 10mins you know? I really don¡¯t understand how there could be any change but¡­¡­¡­I assume you want an assessment done again anyway?


    ¡°Yes please.¡±


    ¡°Well, who am I to say no to money. That¡¯ll be one gold coin and your card please?¡±


    She looked at me with worried eyes, but still did the assessment as asked as I handed over the card and gold coin.


    Well, normally it¡¯d be impossible to have any change after 10 mins so her reaction wasn¡¯t unexpected.


    I get why she was worried as well but for me, I could in fact feel big changes even in 10 mins.


    This to-and-fro everytime was a bit annoying so part of me wanted to fully explain everything to the old Sister just to avoid it but¡­¡­¡­


    This info was not something I could give away to people I didn¡¯t wholeheartedly trust so unfortunately, I have no choice but hope that the old sister gets used to this.


    ¡°¡ª¨CAlright, the assessment¡¯s done. I doubt you¡¯ll see any change but please check regardless.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, I won¡¯t complain even if there is no change.¡±


    I took the card from the sister and quickly checked my abilities.


    I hope I got some good skill from the Orc King.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 26(+451)


    Strength: 24(+529)


    Stamina: 22(+331)


    Magic: 6(+182)


    Agility: 14(+252)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes][Wild Instinct][Team Morale Boost]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As for my main stats, endurance, strength, stamina, and agility have all gone up by around 15 or more.


    As expected of a mithril monster, these stat boosts were nice indeed.


    Furthermore, I got two new skills as well.


    [Wild Instinct]and [Team Morale boost], both very useful sounding skills.


    It¡¯s hard to fully judge the from just name alone but, it doesn¡¯t seem like either of those are the physical buff skill that the Orc King used on the Orc Knights but, [team morale boost] was definitely a skill that was designed to help your teammates.


    I won¡¯t find out how it actually works until I try it out in an actual battle but, I was glad to have a skill that I could affect others with now as well.


    The other one, [Wild Instinct].


    This one as well, was hard to tell without trying but, I imagine it¡¯s something lie sharpening your sixth sense¡ª¡ª¨Cwhich is pretty damn useful for someone like me.


    I¡¯m sure this skill would work well in tandem with my newly learnt Bors fighting style since it puts emphasis on avoiding and dodging attacks first and foremost.


    Of course, real tests will come later but¡­¡­¡­¡­.that¡¯s about it for the Orc King Ongneer.


    ¡°You certainly look happy. Do you really enjoy ability assessment that much?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I am extremely grateful that this system that visualizes a person¡¯s ability exists. So thank you once again.¡±


    ¡°Well, we get paid handsomely for it so don¡¯t worry. By all means, come again whenever you feel like it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I mean, I literally am going to come again after a while you know? At least two more times, so take care of me.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Wait you still want to do more today!?!¡±


    I heard the old Sister¡¯s shocked voice from behind me but, I left the room without replying back.


    Next up, there were the white flowers I gathered in the Fog Forest, and the other weird plant that was as tall as a tree.


    Both plants reeked of danger so I was quite hopeful of both of them but of course, I won¡¯t know for sure until I discern them.


    I ate one of them outside the church, and then came back in again.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I decided to wait just in case but wow, you actually did come back huh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the type to lie like that. Another assessment please if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not doing this to try and feign insanity or something right?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do something meaningless like that??¡±


    ¡°I feel like getting assessments done every couple minutes is even more meaningless though.¡±


    ¡°Alright, enough of that, just hurry up. Here, one gold coin.¡±


    I threw the gold coin in front of the old Sister who was looking at me with eyes filled with suspicion, and waited for her to finish the assessment.


    This time, I ate the white flowers that grew in the fog.


    The weirder the plant the more I was hopeful of their effects so, I ate the les weird white flower first.


    ¡°¡ª¨Cand it¡¯s done. I¡¯m starting to feel bad for taking a gold coin every time now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing it for my own needs so don¡¯t worry about it. If anything, I should be thanking you.¡±


    I took the card, and walked outside the church again.


    To be honest, I had less expectations of this one so I just checked with a glance as I pushed the door of the church open but¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 26(+451)


    Strength: 24(+529)


    Stamina: 22(+331)


    Magic: 6(+182)


    Agility: 14(+252)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes][Wild Instinct][Team Morale Boost][Venom]


    There were no changes in stats but, to my shock, I had gained a new skill.


    That too, a skill called simply [Venom]. Surely, it will be very useful for me.


    This is the first time I have gained a skill from something other than Ongneer so, the word ¡®fruit of skill¡¯ ran through my head but¡­¡­..


    The Fruit of Skill was meant to grant a unique skill.


    Since this was a common skill, I assume this was skill possessed by theses white flowers who hid in the white fog themselves.


    I ended up smiling from such an unexpected harvest but, this also made my expectations of the strange plant rise even more.


    I unconsciously began to walk faster and quickly moved away from the church to quickly eat the leaves of the strange plant.

 CH 242

    A Let Down


    Having gained a skill from the white flowers that was beyond my wildest imagination, I had headed to discern the strange plant¡¯s leaves with a lot of excitement but¡­¡­¡­against all odds, there was no change in my stats.


    I got a result from the one I had no hope from, and the one I was excited for left me with disappointment.


    Well, that¡¯s how it goes sometimes but, because I was very hopeful this time, the shock was big as well.


    That said, I didn¡¯t have the time to be wallowing in my disappointment either.


    Instead, feeling happy from having gained an entirely new skill from the white flower, I headed to [Gaddfoura] to receive my Jinpi potions.


    I walked through the commercial street after leaving the church, and made my way to the more deserted area at the edge of the city where the [Gaddfoura] store was.


    I readied myself to hear complaints for being late, and then entered the store.


    ¡°Welcome. Please take¡ª¡ªWait, Chris, it¡¯s you! I was starting to think you might have died since you never came to pick your potions!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for that. Things have been so busy that I just wasn¡¯t free during the store¡¯s working hours.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. I even asked that Bors to tell you as well¡­¡­..well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright at least. As for the potions, they are all done.¡±


    Saying that, Trisha brought out a box from inside the store.


    It had about 25 vials.


    As promised, she had made 25 vials of Jinpi potion for 5 gold coins.


    The colour was a bit more gentler than Shantell¡¯s potions but, the smell was pungent enough that I could smell it even from far away.


    Of course, 25 vials being together probably added to it but, it¡¯s amazing how thick the smell is considering the vials are all tightly shut with a lid.


    ¡°That¡¯s 25 exact confirmed.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say they are exactly the same as the one you brought me but, I¡¯m confident they¡¯re as effective as that one. Unfortunately I couldn¡¯t make the smell go away though.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry this amount of smell is within permissible levels. Thanks a lot.¡±


    ¡°Same here, thanks for making such a big bulk order¡­¡­¡­.But still, whoever made that original potion for you must be a very talented one. Where did you find such an alchemist?¡±


    Shantell was the first alchemist I ever met, so I never really thought about her skill and stuff but, even from the eyes of an experienced veteran alchemist like Trisha, Shantell seemed to be a skilled one it seems.


    Shantell was almost as young as us, and with her personality being like that, I never really was conscious of her talents but¡­¡­¡­.she might be a prodigy huh.


    ¡°It was in Oxter. It¡¯s a town close to Norfast¡ª¡ªthat aside, I wanted to make another bulk order, would that be okay?¡±


    I was about to start talking about Shantell but, I recalled that I was short on time so I turned the conversation back to the main topic.


    ¡°Another order? For another batch of these potions you mean?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I already have gathered the materials. Can you make another 25 vials for me?¡±


    ¡°Well, I mean I¡¯d be more than happy to but¡­¡­¡­.what exactly do you need so much poison potion for anyway? You¡¯re not thinking of committing some terrorism or something, are you?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t don¡¯t worry. I promise it¡¯s not for using against other people. That aside, will 5 gold again be enough right?¡±


    Just like old Sister, Trisha looked at me with suspicion due to my strange actions. I calmed her down as I brought out 5 gold coins from the bag but¡­¡­..


    Trisha stopped me a wave of her hand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need that much again. Know that I know how to make these, just 3 gold coins will do.¡±


    ¡°Eh? That cheap? You sure?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bulk order, so consider it a discount. Also you bring the main ingredient as well, so this is the right amount.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, I¡¯ll take you up on that offer gladly.¡±


    In my current situation where no amount of money seems enough, her offer was more than agreeable.


    With the deal agreed upon, I handed over three gold coins and a bag of Jinpi Leaves to Trisha.


    ¡°Thank you for your patronage. Be sure to come back a bit faster this time okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll come within a month, I promise.¡±


    After packing the huge box Jinpi Potions in my bag, and making the deal with Trisha, I left [Gaddfoura]


    Even though I was the one making the request, I took so much time coming back so I was afraid I¡¯d get scolded but¡­¡­..she was still pretty kind with me.


    As I left the store feeling brighter, I could see the sun had already begun to set and the sky had turned orange.


    But my work at the Church and [Gadfoura] had been done.


    And it seems like I¡¯ll make it to Kevin¡¯s store in time as well, and with that my busy day will finally come to an end.


    Afterwards, I¡¯ll return back to the inn and maybe even have enough time to do some compiling of info on the Roza forest that I still hadn¡¯t done¡ª¡ª


    While making more addendums to my schedule, I headed to Kevin¡¯s store to get my sword maintenance done.

 CH 243

    Rehearsal


    Yesterday, I had spent half a day going around various places and stores and was able to finally finish all my errands.


    I just barely made it in time but, I did get my sword maintenance done as well so I was feeling quite satisfied with how the day had went.


    ¡ª¡ªand now, today we¡¯ll head to the great forest of Roza together as a party to explore.


    It¡¯ll only be next week when Mielle will join us as well and the exploration will begin in its earnest but, I needed to make a base in the easy region of the South Area, and I had yet to find a third ice mage so, this time we¡¯ll only spend about three days in the forest, and the remaining four will be spent on finding that last member.


    To make sure I don¡¯t forget the sensation I learnt when fighting with Bors-san and Rufus, I wanted to spend some time to myself training as well but¡­¡­.


    After forcing Mielle to come with us, if we ended up lacking in personnel and failed in exploring, it would result in a colossal waste of time and effort so we really needed to put all our effort into finding a person to help with our Roza forest exploration no matter what.


    The old golem guy was also helping with our search but I don¡¯t have much expectations from the [Magic Cave] anymore.


    I disliked this stalemate situation but, I do have a certain someone in mind that I want to try and recruit.


    I expect to get rejected there as well but, I should at least go and meet them once I return from here¡ª¡ª¡ª-But before all that, it was important we make this current expedition a success first and foremost.


    ¡°Chris! You ready? Let¡¯s go already!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been done with my prep a long time ago Ralf. You¡¯re the one who spent an age inside the toilet.¡±


    ¡°If we are all finally ready, let¡¯s head out. Chris-san, lead the way if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course. It¡¯s a pretty much a straight road though.¡±


    Now that Ralf was finally out of the toilet, it was finally time for us to head to the Roza forest.


    I¡¯ve already been there many times so I¡¯m not that worried, but it will be Ralf and Esta¡¯s first time there so I was a little bit nervous.


    I possess a huge amount of skills which made monsters like RexBills and Medicine Ants be no problem for me, but for Ralf and Esta, they are a serious threat.


    And I can¡¯t even detect these two monsters with my detect skills either so we had to be extra prepared.


    I have warned them multiple times as well but, just in case I¡¯ll remind them once more and then¡­¡­..it¡¯s off to the great forest of Roza.


    .


    .


    ¡°We¡¯re finally here. This is the great forest of Roza.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit this really is a huge forest! It¡¯s in a whole different level when compared to something like the Carlisle forest. Even I can tell that much from just looking at the entrance to the place.¡±


    ¡°It really is a frightening sight¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m always amazed how you manage to explore a place like this all on your own Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly thanks to huge number of skills I possess really. If anything, it¡¯s more safer for me to go alone. Like I warned you before leaving Edestor¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°Yes yes, we heard that enough times already! ¡®be cautious of leech and ant looking monsters!¡¯ Right? I don¡¯t think anyone will forget considering how many times you¡¯ve told us that!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just how dangerous those things are. You¡¯ll never even notice when and where they start to attack you so, seriously, be careful. ¡ª¡ª-alright then, let¡¯s head inside.¡±


    As always, I had Snow lead the way with its detection skills, and we continued forward while being vigilant of our surroundings.


    Since the south region of the South area was basically the entrance to the forest overall, there were far fewer monsters here and there weren¡¯t many dangerous creatures to be found here.


    Furthermore, since we were being extra cautious this time around as we moved, we reached the base I had built without ever running into a single monster.


    The two looked around the renovated Orc nest with interest but, most of the huts were still unusable due to the smell of the Orcs even now, so I hope they aren¡¯t expecting something too incredible.


    ¡°Amazing, is this your base! You said to not be too hopeful, but ain¡¯t this place way better than the Carlisle one?!¡±


    ¡°I agree! I was expecting something far, far worse to be honest but these things look pretty sturdily built and should be perfectly serviceable.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll soon find out why I said not to get excited the moment you actually enter one of those huts. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡±


    It¡¯s better if they experience it themselves rather than me trying to explain so I led them inside my base.


    Snow of course, already knew of the horrible smell, not to mention it also had a sense of smell that was many times stronger than ours so it quickly ran straight to the little kennel I had made for Snow last time around.


    ¡°Ugheee! The fuck is this smell!!?¡±


    ¡°See? This is why most of these buildings are unusable. Do you understand why I said that this base was deceptive now? C¡¯mon, first we have to actually build a place for both of you to sleep in as well. Once that¡¯s done, we¡¯ll go out to the east region and make a new base there. We¡¯re gonna be fast about it so keep up!¡±


    Ralf had screamed in disgust the moment he entered one of the huts, meanwhile Esta seemed to have caught a whiff from afar so she stopped before she made the same mistake.


    Now that they both understood the problem with this base, we need to quickly start to build a place for these two to stay in as well.


    I should probably make it big enough so that Mielle and one more person can use it as well¡­¡­¡­.but before all that, I need to gather materials huh.

 CH 244

    Exploration


    After we reached the base, we gathered materials from around the area and under my direction, started making another big hut.


    Since there were three of us now plus Snow, within no time we had made two crude yet serviceable huts to live in.


    ¡°phew, it¡¯s finally done! I¡¯m a bit worried about the air drafts but, overall, not bad eh?¡±


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    ¡°I agree. Good enough for a place to sleep in. Since we ended up building these much faster than I originally expected,¡­¡­..let¡¯s head to the east region right away shall we?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Wasn¡¯t the plan to head there tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Well, not exactly. Tomorrow the plan is to explore the East area , but today, we¡¯resimply heading to east region of the South Area.¡±


    He seemed to be trying to imagine the map in his head but Ralf still didn¡¯t seem to fully comprehend unfortunately. But I left it at that and we headed towards the east region from the base.


    What I want to do today is make a base in this region that will act as our centre when we go out and explore the East Area tomorrow.


    Like the last two times, it¡¯d be nice if we can find a monster nest or a cave but¡­¡­¡­.as long as it is similar to the gap between the two rocks I used as base in Peixa forest, it¡¯ll do just fine.


    I¡¯ve explained that to Ralf and Esta as well already, so we began walking through the forest while Snow continued with his enemy detection work for us.


    .


    .


    ¡°Chris-san, how about that cave over there? It does look a bit narrow but, that¡¯s quite close to being a cave no?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s definitely a bit too narrow. It¡¯s not bad but let¡¯s look around a bit more. If we don¡¯t find anything better, we¡¯ll make that our base.¡±


    Esta found a decent looking cave but it wasn¡¯t as big as I wanted and it was a bit away from the east area and I wanted a place that was a bit more closer¡ª¡ª


    And so I had to turn down Esta¡¯s suggestion when suddenly, Ralf made a surprised noise.


    ¡°Chris, hey come and look at this! Isn¡¯t this some kind of monster shit!?¡±


    Pointing to the ground, Ralf shouted to me so I approached closer to see what Ralf was pointing at. There, I saw a small hole with some monster¡¯s faeces in it.


    This means¡­¡­¡­that there¡¯s probably a monster nest around here somewhere.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t even smell and it was definitely done intentionally like this to avoid getting tracked. I¡¯m surprised you still noticed it, Ralf.¡±


    ¡°I mean I just wanted to go toilet as well and I happened to find this behind the tree! I might be lucky today!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Hm? Wait, did you shit in this whole as well Ralf?¡±


    I just wanted to go for a pee! And I haven¡¯t even done it yet! And you already know that I went toilet before leaving!!¡±


    ¡°Good then. If it¡¯s Snow maybe, it can track the monster all the way back to its nest.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know if Snow could track a monster from a monster¡¯s faeces but it was worth trying I think.


    I quickly called Snow and tried to see if it was willing to take a go at it.


    ¡°Snow, I¡¯m looking for the monster that did this. Can you track it from its dung?¡±


    I squatted down and matched my line of sight with Snow before making this request and it seemed like Snow instantly understood me as well, as it instantly turned its head away, looking extremely unwilling.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I guess it really doesn¡¯t want to smell a monster¡¯s dung after all huh.


    Well, if it was me, I¡¯d be against it as well so I wasn¡¯t gonna force it to do so. Especially when it was already taking care of detecting enemies for us.


    ¡°Well, Snow doesn¡¯t wanna do it so let¡¯s look for traces of its feet or something instead.¡±


    ¡°The dung looked like it had dried up long time ago. No chance we find any tracks now! I¡¯ll try requesting Snow as well!¡±


    ¡°It already refused so don¡¯t. Or Ralf, would you enjoy taking a whiff of so much shit and tracking a monster from it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­well, no.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s split up and look for some tracks. Snow as well, if you detect a cluster of monsters, tell us instantly okay?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    I gave a pat to Snow as it replied to that with a bark, and we began looking for this monster nest.


    We looked for tracks, meanwhile Snow tried to detect a big group of monsters.


    We ended up running into some random monsters in the way as well, as we continued searching across the east region when¡ª¨C


    Suddenly, Snow looked in a specific direction and began barking.


    ¡°Did you find something?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    ¡°Snow really is amazing huh. Good boy.¡±


    ¡°There were no tracks to be found, so I was about to give up finding this place today but, never bet against Snow eh! Alright, let¡¯s go and take care of these monsters!¡±


    ¡°Please wait a minute. And Ralf, calm down for a second¡­¡­¡­..Chris-san, first let¡¯s check what kind of monsters they even are. If it¡¯s a group of strong monsters, we¡¯ll have to come up with a better plan than just rushing straight in.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. First, I¡¯ll head ahead and take a look while hiding my presence. Ralf, Esta, wait here with Snow.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Please take care.¡±


    Like Esta said, there¡¯s no harm in being precautious.


    First let me scout the place since I have detection skills, and then we can think of how to hunt them all.


    Also, just because we sensed a group of monster together doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that it has to be a nest either, and if the nest itself was a shoddy one, there¡¯s no real reason for us to go through the trouble of fighting them in the first place.


    I calmed myself down, and began walking in the direction of the monster alone.


    [Perception Enhancement][Life Presence Sense][Mana Sense][Hearing Enhancement][Perception Range enhancement][Stealth][Silent Steps], and finally my new skill [Wild Instinct], all were activated as I slowly and cautiously made my way closer.


    After walking for a while, my own skills finally detected this group of monsters as well.


    There were a lot of monsters from what I could sense.


    While the presences were stronger than a normal Orc, they didn¡¯t have any single monster that was worth mentioning that possessed exceptionally high life presence.


    I dropped my caution levels by one, as I headed forward while hiding between trees to check what species of monsters we were dealing with here.


    Soon a base similar to the Orc settlement came into my view, and the monsters making the settlement was one I had memory of.


    With a humanoid body, white fur, and long ears.


    Yes, the one I saw as the first victim of the Ongneer here¡ª¡ªthe humanoid rabbits.

 CH 245

    Humanoid Rabbits


    There were about 20 of them.


    I was curious to know if they were technically considered demi-humans or not but, judging from the skeleton of a human adorned on the gate of their settlement as a threat, I¡¯m pretty sure I can treat these humanoid rabbits as monsters.


    That said, the humanoid rabbits in front me were slightly different in appearance as compared to the one that had become the host for the Ongneer however.


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    The humanoid rabbit that became an Ongneer host was far more muscular and its body was covered in scars like a war veteran but the ones in front of me are much more normal looking.


    Well, that one may have been an exceptional case and this is how most of them are supposed to look but¡­¡­¡­..these ones don¡¯t seem that strong either.


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    And neither do I see any of them wearing those spiked brass knuckles like that one.


    The humanoid rabbit that I originally found may been something like what the Orc King was to the normal Orcs.


    While I continued to ponder over these things, once I had observed the humanoid rabbit nest enough, I decided to head back to the rest to give my report.


    ¡°Ooh Chris! How was it? The monster nest, that is!¡±


    ¡°Looks good enough to become our new base. It¡¯s a nest of humanoid rabbits.¡±


    ¡°Humanoid ? and Rabbits?¡­¡­¡­..are they like cute monsters?¡±


    ¡°No. Well, they¡¯re not as ugly as Orcs but, they are definitely proper monsters. They even have a human skeleton on the entrance to their nest so I¡¯m sure they¡¯re not like, some type of demi-human either.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­¡­.I don¡¯t exactly enjoy killing things that look like people but if they are completely antagonistic towards human, it¡¯ll make things easier!¡±


    Ralf also hesitated like myself for a second but, when I told him all that I saw, he was fired up again.


    I mean this is only because we have seen demi-humans being used as slaves in the capital¡¯s black market.


    I¡¯d hesitate if I was asked to massacre innocent people as well, but if a criminal attacks me, or aims for a my life, of course I¡¯ll kill him with no mercy.


    A monster that will attack us no matter what, is comparatively an easier target to convince yourself into slaughtering them.


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    ¡°Chris-san, now that we are planning to attack them, can you please give all the details about what you saw there.¡±


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    ¡°There¡¯s about 20 of them. Their life presences were stronger than a normal orc but, they don¡¯t have a specific strong leader. Me and Snow, Ralf and Esta, we¡¯ll split in two teams and pincer them from both sides and annihilate them.¡±


    ¡°Stronger than an Orc eh? Well, if Chris says we can do it, it should be fine! So when do we act?¡±


    ¡­¡­..as in when do we initiate the attack eh.


    I was planning on getting it done today but, the sun had begun to set.


    If we are too late, night will fall and it¡¯ll become hard for us to return back to the Orc base.


    But then again, we should be able to swiftly deal with the humanoid rabbits considering they weren¡¯t that strong.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it today. We can then spend the entire day tomorrow fixing the new base.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get this done asap so we can go back before the sun sets eh!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave the command to you. Me and Ralf both will follow your orders as always.¡±


    ¡°Sure. For now just follow me, and make sure to not drop your guard.¡±


    After giving some light orders, I walked side by side with Snow as we cautiously walked towards the humanoid rabbits¡¯ nest.


    From there, without getting noticed by the humanoid rabbits, we stopped behind the same tree where I stopped earlier, and then began preparing for battle.


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    ¡°You two wait here. Me and Snow will circle around and instantly launch an attack. While the humanoid rabbits are completely distracted by us, you two will launch an attack from behind as well.¡±


    ¡°Got it! We just need to wait until you guys are in battle, and jump in afterwards yeah?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. Don¡¯t mess it up¡­¡­¡­¡­Alright, Snow, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll follow behind you while hiding my presence.¡±


    Leaving Ralf and Esta there, I used my stealth skills, and Snow instinctively knew how to do that as well, as we both circled around the nest and moved to the other side.


    Since I know that these humanoid rabbits possess [Hearing Enhancement], I was ready to get found out at any time and was always ready to instantly begin fighting at any time but, both of us were able to reach our position as planned, and Ralf and Esta had not been found out either.


    ¡°These things don¡¯t look like they are on guard at all¡­¡­Snow, you ready?¡±


    ¡°Auwo!¡±


    ¡°Alright, Let¡¯s start.¡ª¡ª-match my speed!¡±


    After giving Snow a pat on its head, I unsheathed my sword and rushed straight towards the nest.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    Some of the humanoid rabbits around the area who seemed to be doing some kind of manual labour were shocked from my sudden appearance but, they quickly began signalling their comrades and got ready for battle.


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    There were 4 humanoid rabbits that were around this area right now, half equipped with swords, and the other half with bare fists.


    I could tell from their stances that they were definitely experienced fighters.


    Considering they almost certainly possess [Leg Strength Enhancement], I should be careful as their attack range is definitely bigger than what it seems.


    I quickly went through all the info I had on these things in my head, and while giving the signal to Snow as well, I slashed straight at one of the sword wielding humanoid rabbit.


    As expected, the moment I lunged with my sword, it activated [Leg Strength Enhancement], and passed right by me¡­¡­¡­..it was basically something like using an Iai sword strike but, this speed wasn¡¯t enough to catch me off guard.


    Especially since I was already expecting something like this, I perfectly avoided that Iai strike away.


    And while avoiding the rabbit¡¯s attack, I made sure that my own sword gave a little greeting to the rabbit¡¯s neck at the same time.


    The head of the humanoid rabbit that used the Iai beautifully flew in the air, and the headless body crashed and slid across the ground from the momentum.


    Since they had originally encircled me and Snow, the humanoid rabbits were looking very confident at first but now that there were only 3 of them left¡­¡­¡­


    The three humanoid rabbits stood shocked in place after seeing one of their friend¡¯s head fly in the air in an instant.


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    Normally I wouldn¡¯t really be able to read a monster¡¯s expressions but these 3 humanoid rabbits were clearly panicking, which soon turned into fear and despair. I could feel the negativity seeping out of them.


    I really must be a sadist as I really wanted to play around and torment them a bit more but¡­¡­.


    Snow was the not the type to let an enemy¡¯s opening pass, and in an instant all 3 humanoid rabbits had their heads bitten off as well.

 CH 246

    Extermination


    Snow was getting better and better with its ice fangs, and I could tell that the strength behind those bites was no joke.


    And now it had become able to activate and deactivate the ice on its fangs freely instantly, making it extremely hard for any opponent to deal with it, especially those who don¡¯t know about it.


    Such were my observations as I saw the three humanoid rabbits¡¯ head fly in the air.


    ¡ª¡ª¨Cwait, now¡¯s not the time to be mesmerized by Snow¡¯s fighting, I need to go all out so as to bring all attention towards me as well.


    I quickly changed my thoughts, and focused towards the new wave of humanoid rabbits coming towards us after hearing the death cries of the 4 we just killed.


    Almost half of the entire nest¡­¡­..about 10 or so humanoid rabbits were now suddenly rushing towards me.


    Since it was just 4 last time, we were able to instantly kill them all but that¡¯ll be a lot harder to repeat when its 10 of them.


    While I was still wondering how to best deal with them, seeing the corpses of their comrades, the humanoid rabbits screamed in rage.


    Soon all of them began to scream like that, and it was loud enough to reverberate throughout the forest it felt like.


    This war cry was probably meant not just a show of rage but also meant to hopefully make their enemy flinch but¡­¡­¡­¡­alas, neither me nor Snow would be shaken from this kind of pressure.


    If anything, this made for a great signal for Ralf and Esta on the other side, so I simply smiled as I pointed my sword towards the herd of humanoid rabbits.


    It¡¯s both mine and Snow¡¯s job to endure until those two can join us as well, so I might as well try out my newly learnt Bors-style fighting which was tailor made for situations like these.


    Since I came here right after I had his lessons, I haven¡¯t had the time to really solidify and master the technique.


    I felt bad for the humanoid rabbits who were genuinely trying to kill me but, I¡¯m going to use them as my guinea pigs.


    I signalled Snow to fall back and I let out a war cry myself as I slowly walked towards the herd of humanoid rabbits menacingly.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªfirst, I need to fully capture the current situation in my head.


    Counting carefully, there were currently 11 humanoid rabbits in front of me, 7 used bare fists, while 4 of them had swords.


    From a glance I can¡¯t see any particular humanoid rabbit that seemed more skilled than others so I assume they are all on the same level as the 4 we killed just now.


    If I were to put it numbers, their agility was between 200-250.


    Rest are probably around 100s, and as for their endurance, it was probably less than a normal Orc.


    They have big attack range thanks to [Leg Strength Enhancement], but if you know about it, it¡¯s not that scary.


    While I¡¯m sure each of them have some individual differences, I calmly analyzed their general strength and prepared to take on the entire herd by myself.


    They might have overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers but they were all close combat fighters, especially the bare fist users who needed to be in super close range to fight.


    As long as I avoid getting completely surrounded¡ª¡ª¨Cat most 3 of them will be able to fight me at the same time.


    Furthermore, the first humanoid rabbit that rushed to me was hoping to land a big strike on me and was swinging its fist around in large swings, and was full openings for me to kill it but¡ª¡ª¨Cme attacking first would be the wrong move here.


    This large swinging was actually taking space from other humanoid rabbits to attack me at the same time, so I need to keep it alive for as long as possible instead¡­..


    And sure enough one of the other rabbits got hit by its fist.


    If 11 people attack a single target, there¡¯s bound to be friendly fire.


    I made my brain run at full power, and began inputting all the info I could gather about these 11 humanoid rabbits plus my surroundings into my head.


    Using the slightly unique terrain to my advantage, I made sure to constantly move in a way that I always had the upper hand and continued to simply avoid all of their attacks.


    Funnily enough, the humanoid rabbits continued to hit each other more and more, and were so focused on just trying to get to me that they were taking no advantage of the fact that they had such an overwhelming numerical advantage.


    I never would have thought that simply not attacking could also be so effective in a battle.


    Couldn¡¯t Ralf also learn how to be a tank while also dodging, rather than just taking attacks head on¡­¡­.?


    While dancing around the 11 enemies, I began thinking of such random things, that¡¯s how much freedom I had. And speak of the devil, Ralf showed up at the scene just then as well.


    Of course Esta was right behind him, and it seems like they already took care of a bunch of humanoid rabbits before coming here.


    ¡­¡­¡­.or rather, it seems like once these 11 are dead, the extermination would be complete.


    I finally gave the signal to Snow who was patiently waiting in the back, and ordered it to support me as Ralf and Esta execute their ambush.


    In the first place, these humanoid rabbits were losing their temper from watching me dodge all their attacks and now that Snow was moving as well, their attention was completely locked on us.


    They probably couldn¡¯t even imagine that I might have more allies as well who just might be aiming for them from behind them.


    They were still screaming as if to raise their morale but¡­¡­¡­they were against me and Snow.


    They hesitated over who to target first, and that little moment was also an opening¡ª¡ª¡ªfor Esta to blast her magic at them.


    ¡°[Flame Tormenter]¡±


    From the sudden ambush, about 6 of the humanoid rabbits were swallowed inside a vortex of flames.


    Unable to comprehend what had suddenly occurred, the rest just froze in shock.


    ¡°Snow, take the 2 on the left. Ralf, get the one close to you.¡±


    While they were wide open after being stunned from the sudden magic attack, I ordered Ralf and Snow as we finally began attacking as well.


    That one humanoid rabbit that was swinging its fists about wildly and the 5 that were getting hit by it must have been so tired from it all that they seemed to have no energy to even run away as they just stood there like a statue.


    As an act of last ditch resistance, they tried to point their sword at me but¡­¡­.


    Before it could even lift the sword, I stabbed my own into its heart, and the chopped the head off the other one beside it.


    After that, Snow took care of the 2 on the left instantly.


    Ralf too had already killed the one remaining, and with that the 11 remaining humanoid rabbits had been exterminated.


    Without taking even a single wound, we had completely subjugated the humanoid rabbits nest.

 CH 247

    Preliminary Work


    While looking over the corpses of the humanoid rabbits, I used one [Fir ball] to turn them into ashes.


    I doubt these humanoid rabbits ever even thought that after just a few seconds of them launching a fierce attack on me, they¡¯d all be annihilated.


    Well, I call it a ¡®fierce attack¡¯ but I had it all completely under control from the start.


    ¡°Yoo Chris! That went perfectly eh? When I saw you going against all those by yourself, I panicked a bit but, seeing how you don¡¯t have a single scratch on you, I guess you were intentionally letting them attack you, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you guessed it. I learnt a lot from Bors-san, so I wanted to try it all out.¡±


    ¡°I knew it! As expected of you to be trying out new moves in a situation like this though!¡­¡­..Hm? Bors-¡®san¡¯?¡±


    ¡°That aside, have you made sure not a single humanoid rabbit is left here?¡±


    While chatting with Ralf who came up to talk to me with a wide smile, I asked about the rest of the nest.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡­.Ohh! we didn¡¯t check inside the houses but, I didn¡¯t sense anything so I doubt there¡¯s  anyone left?¡±


    ¡°I see. There could always be more humanoid rabbits that were simply not here at the time and might come back but¡­¡­¡­.for the time being, I¡¯d say it¡¯s a job well done.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, been a while since I¡¯ve fought a big herd like this but, that was a lot easier than I expected!¡±


    ¡°Just because it was easy this time doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯ll always be like this so don¡¯t get cocky. This place is filled with monsters much stronger than these humanoid rabbits.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Chris-san, I¡¯m done burning the corpses on this side as well. What¡¯s next?¡±


    While I was warning Ralf who was acting all flippant, Esta came back from dealing with the corpses.


    ¡®What¡¯s next¡¯ eh¡­¡­¡­


    The sky was already orange, and it¡¯ll be dark within an hour.


    It¡¯d be best to finish things up and quickly make our way back to the Orc base.


    ¡°We should return to our first base. And then first thing in the morning, we¡¯ll come back here and then renovate this nest into another base.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Do we really have to go all the way back, even though we have to come back here again tomorrow? We already killed the monsters here, couldn¡¯t we just stay here for the night?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near complete to be called a base so no. And like I said, there¡¯s always a chance that other humanoid rabbits that may have been away return back here, and there¡¯s a chance that some other monster might try to ambush us here as well. Not to mention, we haven¡¯t even checked the condition of the buildings here either.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Chris-san¡¯s opinion here. We left our provisions and food back on that base as well so it¡¯s better we go back once and get our things in order before proceeding.¡±


    ¡°Ueegh. Then let¡¯s go back already! It¡¯s pretty damn far away so it¡¯ll be dark before we get there if we don¡¯t hurry up!¡±


    With Ralf convinced, we decided to go back to the Orc Base for now.


    The sun did set completely by the time we made it back but I had [Crimson Eyes] so we didn¡¯t get lost on the way.


    From tomorrow, we¡¯ll begin renovating the humanoid rabbit nest into a base.


    For our first day here, we did a lot of work so I wanted to rest my body as much as I could.


    .


    .


    3 days had passed since we entered the Roza forest.


    The day before yesterday and yesterday were all spent on fully building a decent base and we had finally finished building the east region base in the South area.


    Also, thanks to having Esta with us this time, we were able to make a much better base than the Orc base.


    Of course, Ralf was huge help in gathering materials as well, and the work that would have taken me alone a lot of time got done much faster and smoothly. Once again, I was made to realize how much better things were when in a group.


    ¡°Man, this sure turned into quite the nice base huh!? Since both the Carlisle forest base, and the base near the entrance here were made by Chris, I didn¡¯t feel strongly about it but¡­¡­.when you make one yourself, the feeling of satisfaction and attachment is a lot stronger eh!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t about attachment but, at least you get how tough it is to make these bases?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Not to mention, there¡¯s a lot of monsters constantly showing up here as well! I mean Snow took care of most of them but still, I for one, could have never been able to make one by myself.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why need good defensive fence. Now you know why we went back to the Orc base on the first day, no?¡±


    Due to his first experience being Carlisle forest, Ralf didn¡¯t have a lot of fear towards forests, so his thinking towards a lot of things was a bit too na?ve.


    Hopefully, he¡¯ll be a bit more focused from now.


    ¡°that aside, Chris-san, what¡¯s next on our agenda? Would you be focusing on gathering more poisonous plants?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll go take a quick look at the East Area, and then return straight back to Edestor. We still need to find that last ice magic user, and we only have 4 more days before our promised meeting with Mielle.¡±


    ¡°Eh? We¡¯re going back already! But we just built the base though!¡±


    ¡°We built this for use for the main expedition. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be back again here and then you¡¯ll get to sleep here as much as you want, and even when you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    I said that to the complaining Ralf, and began getting ready to take Snow and them both to the East area.


    That area was a first for Snow as well.


    Until now, Snow and myself were the vanguards for everything but, from here Medicine Ants and Rex Bills will be a danger so I¡¯ll take the front guard myself alone and handle enemy detection as well.


    I warned all three of them to be careful of where they are stepping, and I focused on detecting every little small creature that might be coming towards us.


    As we continued walking with me at the forefront, the ground below us began to slowly turn softer and mushier.


    It was still walk-able but, any more further and the mud will begin to swallow our boots.


    Snow also was equipped with something similar to boots but, for a slight inspection, this is as far as I am willing to go for now.

 CH 248

    Getting Ready for the Main Act


    ¡°Sp this the submerged forest that Chris was talking about! But rather than a submerged forest, it looks closer to the marshland near Oxter where we fought the Orc herd, right?¡±


    ¡°The water gets a lot deeper if you go further ahead. And so do the amount of dangerous underwater monsters squirming about.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you wanted to freeze it all. But¡­¡­..honestly, this is a lot wider than I originally imagined. Even with me, Snow, Mielle-san and another one, it¡¯d be impossible to freeze the entirety of the submerged forest.¡±


    ¡°Impossible!? Man, even though we went through all the effort to make that base are you saying we won¡¯t be able to explore further!?¡±


    ¡°She only said it was impossible to freeze the entire area. Making a foothold should still be doable, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, though I am worried whether our mana will last all the way but, I do think it should be possible to make footholds and proceed forward.¡±


    I made the right choice by showing the area to Esta beforehand.


    It is a bit of a worry that we can only build a foothold but, at least it¡¯s good to know that beforehand.


    There¡¯s still the danger from things like that tall legged bird, or the big flying bird. Then there¡¯s the carnivorous fishes that can jump out of the water to attack as well as those, that could possibly break through a thin layer of ice.


    It¡¯s clear I¡¯ll need to think of ways to deal with all those dangers.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s nearly impossible for people to come to this submerged forest, all sorts of creatures have built their own ecosystem here. We¡¯ll need to specifically think how me and Ralf, who can¡¯t use ice magic, will have to handle these monsters. That¡¯ll be key I think.¡±


    ¡°So I guess whether we can safely explore depends on me and you Chris! But enemies that attack from underwater, how the hell are we going to handle those?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll think once we return. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll get attacked all day, so we can definitely figure out a method¡­¡­¡­..for now, we¡¯ll begin our exploration from here onwards once we¡¯re back with everyone. So don¡¯t forget what you saw here.¡±


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯m glad we at least got to get a glance beforehand.¡±


    After chatting at the entrance of the submerged forest for a while, we returned back to go back to Edestor.


    Since we turned around right where the ground began to get softer so we didn¡¯t get attacked by Rex Bills as we made our way back to the South area, and then we walked all the way back to the Orc Base.


    ¡°This base is basically a safe point for us now. I¡¯m sure both of you had it rough since it was your first time in a forest like this, but thanks for accompanying me this time around.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks! If this is necessary for Chris to get even stronger, we of course will help as much as we can! Right, Esta?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. You don¡¯t need to ask us twice for help!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..you two sure have gotten so reliable. Hard to believe that there was a time you two struggled to kill even a single goblin.¡±


    Feeling nostalgic recalling old memories from before we even officially became a party, all three of us laughed.


    Snow could only tilt its head in confusion seeing us laugh like that.


    ¡°It took us an entire day of desperate fighting just to kill 5 goblins back then. It feels ridiculous thinking back now, but it¡¯s thanks to the struggles of those days that we were able to become this strong today.¡±


    ¡°Well if Chris wasn¡¯t there for us, we would have forever lived that life and died like that! You saved us who had nothing, and dragged us out of our dark lives. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll ever be able to repay that debt to you.¡±


    ¡°With your abilities I think you two would have been able to rise up from your struggles sooner or later I think¡­¡­¡­.that said, this is no time to be reminiscing, let¡¯s get out of this forest. Have you two learnt the way out of here yet?¡±


    I cut the talk before it turned too long from all the reminiscing, and suggested returning now.


    It was funny recalling it all now. Ralf was so antagonistic towards me when we first met, and Esta was so unsociable¡­¡­.


    If we started chatting, it¡¯ll really never end but, we have more important things to do right now than that.


    ¡°Of course I remember the way back but, is Chris-san not returning with us?¡±


    ¡°I need to go check on a dangerous poisonous plant so you two and Snow should go on ahead.¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s the case, sure, we¡¯ll do just that but, be careful alright? Suddenly all this reminiscing right before parting feels like a death flag now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. How many weeks do you think I¡¯ve spent in this place all alone. But, also, I am always extra cautious anyway. Alright then, be sure to get the prep started when you get back. I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll be waiting for you in Edestor.¡±


    After saying that and parting from those two and Snow, I once again began walking deep into the forest.


    Not too much time has passed since but, I¡¯m sure the Owl monster¡¯s ongneer should have a ripe fruit by now.


    Well, that is of course assuming it probably sprouted out of it.


    Since I caught it by surprise and instantly killed it, I never really got a good grasp of just how strong this monster was.


    There¡¯s always a chance that it was too weak to be a proper host for the Ongneer as well after all.


    While thinking of such things, I cautiously walked through the forest for a couple of hour before finally reaching the Ongneer¡¯s location.


    It was so much work to just carry it all the way so please, don¡¯t be a failure¡ª¡ª-with a eager prayer in my heart I looked there and, thankfully I saw the tree growing well out of the Owl monster¡¯s chest area.


    The first humanoid rabbit Ongneer I found was already dried up but, in its stead, the owl monster¡¯s ongneer had a green fruit hanging from it.


    I also gathered another Orc King¡¯s ongneer as well alongside the new Owl monster¡¯s ongneer.


    Now¡­¡­..I just need to safely get back to Edestor.


    This time around, I was able to make a new base, showed the East area to Ralf and Esta, and was also able to gather the Owl¡¯s ongneer as well.


    It was a sort trip but it was a fruitful one nonetheless.


    All that¡¯s left is to find one more person in Edestor who could help us¡ª¡ªand get ready for the main expedition in three days time.


    Just a bit more, and I really might get enough strength to match Klaus.


    I gripped my slightly shivering hands tightly, and calmed myself before making my way back to Edestor.

 CH 249

    Dungeon Town


    After safely returning to Edestor, I rested my body for the remainder of the day.


    The next day, alongside Ralf, I headed to the Edestor Dungeon for the first time.


    ¡°So this is the Edestor dungeon huh. I¡¯ve seen it from afar many times but this is my first time looking at it this close.¡±


    ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it! It¡¯s basically a small town in and of itself! Doesn¡¯t it looks like a normal town built close to a bigger city?¡±


    Like Ralf said, with all sorts of stores and shops built around the place, it basically looked like a small town.


    That said, there weren¡¯t any private houses here but, there were almost as many inns here as Edestor itself, and there were multiple lines of shops here and there as well.


    As for the people, there were a surprising amount of normal people here as well but, as you¡¯d expect it was mostly adventurers. More adventurer¡¯s than even Edestor itself in terms of ratio.


    Since adventurers were a rowdy bunch and hardly pleasing on the eyes, you¡¯d think the public order here would be a mess but¡­¡­.there were a bunch of tough looking soldiers patrolling the area who seemed to take care to make sure things stayed in order.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot nicer than what I imagined. I had this image of it being a more violent place but, this is basically as good as you¡¯d get in towns and cities.¡±


    ¡°I get it though, there are a hell of a lot more adventurers here after all! I thought only people who were tough and confident in their strength would bother coming to the dungeon and I expected to meet a lot of people similar to Greath but¡­¡­..now I realize that Greath was an exceptionally bad case.¡±


    Greath¡­¡­..


    That¡¯s a name I haven¡¯t thought of in quite some time but, even now, recalling him only worsened my mood.


    I must have horrible luck to have run into the one town run by a scumbag like him.


    Well, I did end of gaining very useful skills because of it in the end and I managed to learn more about Ongneer itself thanks to greath so, perhaps he was a necessary evil for my growth.


    ¡°Not a name I wish to hear again. Let¡¯s not talk about him and tell me more about the adventurers you told me about before.¡±


    While walking through the commercial street of the Edestor Dungeon, I asked Ralf.


    If you¡¯ve been wondering why I suddenly decided to come to the Dunegon, it¡¯s because I might find someone who could help us with our upcoming expedition here.


    As for who that person could be? Of course, it was someone who occasionally showed up in Ralf¡¯s stories, a member of the Scarletite adventurer party¡ª¡ª[Moonlight Fang].


    I came here to negotiate with them.


    ¡°Even if you ask me that¡­¡­¡­..even I¡¯ve only talked to them a couple times when I had some free time so I don¡¯t know too much about them!¡±


    ¡°Just tell me whatever you know. Even if it¡¯s only about the person who gave you some lessons.¡±


    ¡°Alright. [Moonlight Fang] is a party of 5 members. [Sword Saint][Dragon Knight][High Priest][Sage]; all of them incredible people worth looking up to! Among those, I got lessons from the [Dragon Knight]¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°Hold up. You only told me the jobs of four people. Who is the fifth?¡±


    ¡°No idea! I heard a lot about them but, they only talked about what kind of person they were! I only saw them once, but they were kind of a small person, and I didn¡¯t really sense anything incredible from them.¡±


    I hoped to at least get info on all 5 of them but, there¡¯s nothing to do if he doesn¡¯t know.


    A party made up of [Sword Saint][Dragon Knight][High Priest][Sage], I¡¯m sure they are all extremely strong but¡­¡­¡­.I was still curious.


    Afterwards, I heard pretty much everything Ralf knew about them, and at least had an idea of who I was dealing with before I reached the Dungeon.


    Of course the one I wanted to invite was not the [Dragon Knight] aka Ralf¡¯s tutor but instead ¡ª¡ªthe [Sage], who I¡¯m assuming can definitely use ice magic as well.


    I already took an appointment with them so I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t have to wait long before meeting them but, I was still a bit nervous.


    If I fail in recruiting them, the list of people I can think of to help me will be at 0.


    The success or failure of the great forest of Roza expedition was on the line so I couldn¡¯t mess this up.


    I need to be careful and make the request with utmost sincerity as I proceed with the negotiations.


    While I was preparing myself in my head, we reached a wide open area filled with people.


    I assume that¡¯s the place¡ª¡ªthe place where the entrance to the Dungeon proper lies.


    ¡°Chris, we¡¯re here! This is where the cave that leads to the Dungeon is! And that¡¯s the adventurer guild for Dungeon related issues specifically.¡±


    ¡°What a crazy amount of people. Do they all plan on entering the dungeon I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s what makes some of the lower levels a real pain in the ass. There¡¯s more adventurers than monsters!¡±


    ¡°That does sound like it¡¯d be annoying. So, where are the [Moonlight Fang] waiting for us?¡±


    ¡°They said the guild but they are crazy famous and stand out a lot so they said they¡¯ll be waiting inside the guild! Wait here I¡¯ll go look Chris!¡±


    Saying that, Ralf entered the guild alone.


    Left alone, I activated [Life Presence Sense] to see if I could find some strong people within the crowd.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..the amount of genuinely strong adventurers was less than I expected.


    Of course they were all far from weak by any means, but no one really stood out either.


    I wondered if it was because we were here at weird time, or was there another reason for it.


    I felt a bit disappointed from the unexpected result but soon Ralf came back.


    ¡°Chris, come here! They¡¯ll let us in from the back!¡±


    ¡°Sure, lead the way.¡±


    I headed to the place where guild employees were following Ralf, and entered the guild from the back entrance.


    Passing through the employee only area, we entered a sort of reception room when¡ª¡ªI sensed a chill raising presence from the people in the room.


    Since it was only after we entered the room that their presence was fully released, I felt the sudden gap strongly.


    Ralf had told me about 5 people, but there were only 3 on the sofa here.


    Barring one of them, this overwhelming presence that I felt from the rest no doubt belonged to the members of the [Moonlight Fang].

 CH 250

    [Moonlight Fang]


    One was a tough looking man with short blue hair. Just from a glance I could see how muscular he was and his overall body balance was incredible as well.


    With both arms spread, resting on the back of the sofa, and legs on the table, it was a really rough way of sitting but, even then I saw no openings from him and I had a feeling that even if I suddenly attacked him, he¡¯d still manage to block me¡ª¡ªI ran such a simple prediction in my head.


    The other person, was a blonde beauty who wore a circlet on her head.


    Her hair was curled like nobles do, and her general conduct seemed similar to princess Charlotte, which meant she probably came from a good family but¡­¡­..


    Her belligerent expression made it seem more like she was a warrior herself.


    And lastly, the one who I didn¡¯t feel an extremely strong presence from, was a small person sitting quietly to the side with mushroom cut hair, as if he was from the middle ages.


    He somehow reminded me of Alyazi-san but, this must be the rumoured fifth person that Ralf didn¡¯t know much about as compared to the ¡®amazing¡¯ other 4.


    From the other two I could feel the same hair raising sensation, like how I felt when I fought Bors.


    Since I was looking out for strong people in the crowd while I waited for Ralf, it was even more clear how much a different level they were in when compared to the rest of adventurers.


    ¡°Vincent-san! Thank you so much for making some time for us!¡±


    ¡°Well it was Ralf¡¯s request, so it was trivial. Don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡­¡­¡­..that aside, is the guy beside you the Chris you always talk about?¡±


    The blue haired man named Vincent somewhat reminded me of Leon, from the [Silver Winged Lion].


    When he pointed his chin towards me asking so, I chose to introduce myself as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m Chris, Ralf¡¯s party comrade. I¡¯ve heard much about [Moonlight Fang] from Ralf. Thank you for getting along with Ralf.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, for someone who called us, you sure are cheeky one eh.¡±


    (T/N: this is a bit hard to do in English, but you may have noticed this kind of similar talk before as well as Chris always uses the most informal way of talking with everyone, which is considered rude when not with close friends)


    I had made a light bow while greeting Vincent but the one to react was the one beside him, the blonde woman with curled hair.


    Her mana was leaking and I could tell she was slightly irritated.


    ¡°Oi oi, Fecilia. Don¡¯t lose your temper just because he speaks casually. Be more open-minded yeah?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m angry! He was the one who called us out yet didn¡¯t even feel the need to properly thank us first and foremost?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Ralf just do that. Liam, you heard him as well right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­e, eeh, w-well, yes.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªaah, whatever! Let¡¯s just get to the point already, shall we?¡±


    The curly haired blonde woman named Fecilia seemed to have been offended by my attitude but Vincent seemed to take it lightly and teased her to soothe her down.


    But, because of getting teased, Fecilia seemed to be even more angrier but, thankfully she asked me to get to the point which, honestly, I was thankful for.


    ¡°As for the reason I asked to meet was¡­¡­¡­.I am looking for a strong adventurer that can use Ice magic to help me explore the great forest of Roza, and of course the infamous [Moonlight Fang] was the first on the list, hence I took this appointment. Of course I¡¯ll pay whatever you ask for so¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°We refuse. We are not that free so on that note, good day.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go rejecting people on your own. You¡¯re gonna make Ralf hate me as well you know? Fecilia, you can stay quiet now, so continue what you were saying lad.¡±


    Vincent grabbed Fecilia¡¯s hand who was already getting up and leaving after cutting me short.


    While glaring at Vincent, she sat back down with folded arms.


    ¡­¡­¡­.well, looks like thanks to Vincent, there¡¯s still a chance to negotiate.


    ¡°Fecilia-san, I¡¯m sorry! Chris just has a rough way of talking, so please be a bit more tolerant if you may!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, no need to apologise. Fecilia¡¯s just a bit too worked up today that¡¯s all. So, Chris, was it? Explain in detail. Depending on the condition, I might accept.¡±


    While grinning, Vincent spoke to me.


    ¡®Depending on condition¡¯¡ª¡ªwas it. Did he money, or something else?


    I don¡¯t know if I could provide something they¡¯d want but, as long as the negotiations are still open, there¡¯s still a chance.


    ¡°Vincent, do you know of the fruit of Skill?¡±


    ¡°Fruit of Skill? Of course I do. It¡¯s a legendary fruit that can provide another skill right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly. I came to Edestor, in search of that fruit because I heard it can be found inside the great forest of Roza.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..oo, I see, I see! To search for this fruit of skill, you¡¯re looking for a strong adventurer, specifically an ice magic user! Did I get that right?¡±


    He was already grinning but after hearing the word, the fruit of Skill, he showed a wide smile.


    He leaned forward as well, and it was clear that Vincent was interested but¡­¡­¡­the other two showed no change in attitude.


    ¡°it is as you say. Of course, I will pay handsomely as you¡¯d expect of such a request. Would you be interested in helping?¡±


    ¡°Well damn! That sounds hella fun! Oi , Fecilia, why not go with them?¡±


    ¡°No chance. If you think its interesting, why don¡¯t you go yourself Vincent?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to but Chris, you guys are looking for an ice magic user, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°See? C¡¯mon Fecilia, it¡¯s Ralf¡¯s request as well, why not help out!?¡±


    ¡°No means no. I don¡¯t exactly like Ralf either do I, this has nothing to do with me.¡±


    Ralf seemed to have taken quite the shock from being told he was not well liked up front though¡­¡­¡­


    But putting such irrelevant stuff aside, I¡¯m glad that Vincent was at least trying to convince her.


    From their talks, I imagine that Fecilia is the [Sage].


    I need to persuade and convince her somehow, and get Fecilia¡¯s cooperation for the sake of this expedition.

 CH 251

    Negotiations


    ¡°Like I said already, I¡¯ll pay a handsome reward as well. So won¡¯t you help us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like your attitude, so no chance.¡±


    ¡°Fecilia, I¡¯m asking you to do so as well so please take this request, in fact¡ª¨C¡°


    Vincent struck his palm with his fist like he just got a great idea and quickly whispered something in Fecilia¡¯s ear.


    I quickly tried to activate [Hearing Enhancement] but he only said one word and I was unable to make it in time to hear what he said.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Vincent, you promise you won¡¯t go back on your word?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I promise. I give you my word.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.very well. I accept the request. Tell me the exact date and time of when we start.¡±


    I didn¡¯t even have to do much and somehow managed to gain her cooperation.


    Apparently Vincent had made some kind of promise to her, and I ended up owing a ebt to Vincent like Ralf as well.


    ¡°Day after tomorrow¡­¡­..Quite soon but I suppose I can manage then. Well then, I¡¯ll see you lot early morning day after tomorrow at the entrance to Edestor. And with that our business is done here right? Then I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    Speaking so coldly and plainly, Fecilia got up from the sofa and left the room.


    To be honest, I would have liked to tell her more info about the great forest of Roza but, she is a scarletite adventurer, I don¡¯t I need to worry about her.


    I suppose I¡¯ll have to wait for the real thing to find out just how strong she is as well¡­¡­¡­


    But first of all, I need to give my thanks to Vincent here.


    ¡°Vincent, thank you for convincing Fecilia. Thanks to you, we can start the expedition safely.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m personally interested as well, and besides I already gave a nice condition for Fecilia to make her agree.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can you tell us what that condition was? From just your one word, the colour of her eyes completely changed!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can tell you that Ralf unfortunately but¡­¡­¡­.well, just know that it was something amazing enough to make that stubborn Fecilia change her mind that¡¯s all. ¡ª¡ªWith that said, Chris, I¡¯d like you to listen to one of my request as well!¡±


    With a wide open smile that showed all his teeth, Vincent spoke while still observing me with his beast like eyes.


    I knew he wasn¡¯t just doing me a favour out of goodwill but, I wonder what kind of request he plans on making to me.


    Best case, it¡¯s something I can solve with money but, I highly doubt a scarletite adventurer is in need of anything that could be bought with money.


    ¡°What¡¯s the request? As long as it¡¯s not an impossible task for me, I¡¯ll listen but, I won¡¯t if it¡¯s something I cannot comply with.¡±


    ¡°Damn, even in this situation you still had the balls to say that you might not fulfil my request eh! But don¡¯t worry it¡¯s nothing that complicated. I don¡¯t need money and neither do I want something super valuable.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡­..what is it?¡±


    ¡°I want you to show me the Fruit of Skill as well! To be exact, if you get multiple, I would like to have one as well.¡±


    That was the request, Vincent made.


    Showing is one thing, but if he asks for one then I cannot comply.


    ¡°I can show it to you but, sorry, even if I find multiple ones I don¡¯t plan on giving them to you. What will you do now? If that¡¯s okay with you, I¡¯ll accept your conditions.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t give one even if you got like, say, ten of those?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.If I got like 30 of those, then sure I¡¯ll give one to you.¡±


    ¡°Alright! That¡¯s good enough for me. Liam, you heard the conditions as well right?¡±


    ¡°Eh, uh, yeah, I heard them. Ju-just in case, would you like me to put it in writing?¡±


    ¡°Nah, let¡¯s not make any legal documents about it. We have witnesses on both sides, it¡¯d just be a waste of paper.¡±


    Looking at Ralf, Vincent spoke with a smile.


    He looks like he¡¯s a light hearted man but, whenever he¡¯s talking about something important with me specifically, I can feel him giving off pressure and tell that his eyes are not laughing, even if his mouth is. It was uncanny to say the least.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry I keep my promises¡­¡­¡­.you really sure you guys don¡¯t need any money for this?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re hardly hurting for money now are we? So don¡¯t worry about it. That¡¯s about it for the negotiations then! And don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll make sure that Fecilia doesn¡¯t forget her promise either! Hm, then¡­¡­¡­Chris you can go back now. I¡¯ll borrow Ralf for a while though, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    Vincent asked me to leave and Ralf to stay.


    Looks like my instincts were right about his fake laughing as just like Fecilia, deep inside, Vincent didn¡¯t like me either it seems.


    That¡¯s fine though I don¡¯t get how Ralf always gets so friendly with everyone so easily on the other hand¡­¡­¡­


    I winked at Ralf and gave a nod to signal him to stay here with Vincent as asked.


    ¡°Alright. You can get the details of how the expedition went from Fecilia later. I¡¯ll leave Ralf in your hands, take good care of him. And Ralf, be sure to steal some strong technique or something from him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ll do my best to learn from him!¡±


    Leaving Ralf in the reception room of the guild, I left the place by myself.


    Now then, as for what to do next¡ª¡ª¡ªI glanced towards the dungeon.


    The crowd had only increased in number, and the entire place was incredibly lively.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t curious to go check what it¡¯s like inside but, right now, the great forest of Roza exploration was soon approaching.


    I have finally gathered the people required, and I don¡¯t want to fail the expedition because I wasn¡¯t prepared enough so I need to head back and begin on that.


    While feeling a bit regretful, I made my way back to Edestor, and left the Dungeon area.

 CH 252

    Unique Members


    2 days after gaining the cooperation of Fecilia.


    Finally today, we will begin the exploration of the great forest of Roza in its earnest.


    If I manage to find the fruit of skill from this expedition, my preparations will be as good as done for my main goal.


    I have already gained the support of the princess Charlotte, and once I have also searched for the first hero¡¯s weapon that supposedly hides in the Barbadd mountains, I will return to the capital and¡ª¡ª-Challenge Klaus to a decisive battle.


    The revenge I swore to take when I was in Peixa forest, after having been almost killed and thrown out of my own house.


    For a [Farmer] like me to surpass a [Sword God], I was ready to spend many years in preparation for that but, I have been able to grow much faster than I could have ever imagined.


    Once I have the fruit of Skill, I just need to gain a skill that can match the [Sword God].


    ¡­¡­¡­that said, it¡¯s not even confirmed that the fruit of skill even exists or not, and even if it was real, it¡¯s unclear as to what skill it will grant you so maybe there is still a long ways to go.


    While I was in a daze thinking about the future, the two who had finished their prep as well, called out to me.


    ¡°Chris! Why are you just standing there looking blankly? We¡¯re ready here.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, if you are ready as well, let us depart to the forest.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..yes, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I slapped my cheeks to re-energize myself and left [Gorush] alongside Ralf, Esta and Snow and headed towards the Edestor gate.


    .


    .


    After spending some time waiting at the city gates for the other two to arrive¡ª¨Cthe first to show up was Mielle.


    She was in her usual black robe, equipped with a longstaff. And there was also a small backpack on her back as well.


    ¡°So you did come after all. We¡¯ll be counting on you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t what you¡¯d do if I didn¡¯t come so I had no choice!¡±


    Pouting, she looked away after saying that coldly but, regardless of the reason, I was thankful of her coming here.


    Since I had basically one-sidedly decided that she¡¯d be joining us by myself, there was always a chance that she wouldn¡¯t show up after all.


    ¡°Hey, you sure you¡¯re fine with just that much luggage!? There ain¡¯t gonna be any stores in the forests, you know?¡±


    ¡°I have brought the bare minimum needed, I¡¯ll borrow the rest from you lot. You could at least do that much for me, no?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me. I tend to pack things in excess anyway.¡±


    ¡°Guess it¡¯s fine then! I was worried how you¡¯d last in the forest with just that but I guess Chris had already calculated for that in advance!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­so, when are we leaving? Isn¡¯t this all of us?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s one more member. She should be here soon¡ª¡ª-speak of the devil, she¡¯s here.¡±


    From the direction of the dungeon, the person who came walking towards us was dressed in complete contrast to Mielle. A gaudy red robe, and curly blonde hair; it was of course Felcicia.


    She didn¡¯t have it last time but she held a staff with red crystal on top, and like Mielle she was light on any other equipment.


    ¡°Ah, Fecilia-san is here as well! Vincent-san did say that he might join if he had the time but I guess, it¡¯s only Fecilia-san in the end¡­¡­..¡±


    So Vincent said something like that to Ralf?


    Ralf seemed a bit a disappointed but, I wasn¡¯t very fond of Vincent so I¡¯m glad he didn¡¯t come.


    That said, I¡¯m still very thankful of him for convincing Fecilia-san and basically saving our expedition but, this and that are different.


    ¡°Hello. Am I the last one to arrive?¡±


    ¡°Yes, with Fecilia here, we¡¯re all gathered now.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..you are really are going to stick with that attitude huh.¡±


    ¡°I am like this with basically every single person so you should give up.¡±


    I ignored Fecilia who was making a sullen face, and quickly introduced the entire party to each other.


    Mielle probably knows everyone here except Snow of course, but Fecilia has never met Esta either.


    Not to mention,¡­¡­¡­.Mielle seemed to be looking at Snow for some time now but, I wonder if she¡¯s curious about it.


    ¡°Got a problem with Snow?¡±


    ¡°n-no, I just wasn¡¯t expecting a monster here so I was surprised that¡¯s all. Th-that aside, who is that person?¡±


    ¡°Rather than me explain, you both should introduce yourselves directly. Mielle you can go first.¡±


    Mielle was mostly inside the dungeon so I thought she would have at least known about Fecilia but, she did only just arrive in Edestor so I guess she was still unaware of many things.


    ¡­¡­¡­.or maybe she was just too busy dealing with that princess to bother learning about other people.


    ¡°I am Mielle Clifford Etex. I came from the royal capital¡¯s academy to Edestor to challenge the dungeon but¡­¡­..due to certain circumstances, I¡¯ll be helping with this expedition. Please take care of me.¡±


    ¡°I have heard of you Mielle-san. You are the up and coming adventurer who¡¯s in the same party as the princess I believe?¡­¡­¡­.I am Fecilia of the [Moonlight Fang]. It¡¯ll only be for a short while but I look forward to working with you.¡±


    With a slight smile, Fecilia greeted Mielle.


    Even Mielle had at least heard the name of the [Moonlight Fang], as she looked shocked and was suddenly trembling a bit.


    Afterwards, she quickly ran to me and whispered in my ears to talk.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t [Moonlight Fang] THE scareltite adventurer party!? Chris, how the hell did you get them to help you!??¡±


    ¡°Well Ralf had some connections with them so it just happened. That aside, if we¡¯re done introducing ourselves, let¡¯s depart shall we.¡±


    ¡°I do not mind.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m okay as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s make our way to the great forest of Roza.¡±


    It¡¯s quite the eccentric party of people but, everyone¡¯s capable and absolutely worth taking so I¡¯m not too worried.


    I do need to give them all the warnings before entering the forest but¡­¡­¡­¡­.well, first let¡¯s get to the forest entrance shall we?

 CH 253

    Snow¡¯s Evaluation


    The five member party plus Snow began walking, and as the chatting continued, we reached the great forest of Roza.


    Since I let Snow handle all the enemies that we ran into on our way, I have yet to see Mielle and Fecilia properly in action.


    I did consider letting Snow take a rest and make them fight but¡­¡­..


    The entire reason I brought these two was to help build scaffolding across the submerged forest so we can explore it.


    Esta was the special one who possessed [Mana Regen], but normally, you had to sleep and rest to let your mana recover, so I wanted to save their energy as much as possible.


    Even after we enter the forest, me and Ralf will handle dealing with scrubs for the most part, and we¡¯d have to be the guards when they are making the ice platforms as well.


    ¡°Snow-san¡­¡­was it? I saw it a couple of times with Ralf, but, it really is an amazing child huh. First of all, it¡¯s quite smart, and its enemy detection and hunting abilities are basically flawless a well.¡±


    ¡°It really is excellent eh. Not to mention it looks so fluffy and cute as well. First time I thought that perhaps monsters might make for great pets as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Snow really is brilliant child! And even this is only about 30% of its full strength you know!¡±


    As Fecilia and Mielle spoke in admiration towards Snow, Esta proudly replied back as such.


    Ralf seemed to be pretty happy from hearing all the praise as well seeing how his nostrils were open wide.


    ¡°As for his detection abilities specifically, it¡¯s range is probably the most surprising part. While inside this forest, as long as we let Snow handle it, we don¡¯t have to worry about ever getting ambushed. But, on the other hand, always be wary of the small monsters that can easily avoid such detection abilities.¡±


    ¡°Small monsters? Like goblin and kobolds?¡±


    ¡°No, much smaller than that¡­¡­¡­¡­poisonous bug monsters, or leech monsters that can bite into your body and lay eggs inside it. Before you know it, you¡¯ll end up paralyzed and they¡¯ll enter inside your body¡ª¡ª-there are many kinds of such monsters here after all.¡±


    ¡°This is a forest after all. I¡¯ve gotten used to all the weird monsters in the dungeon but still, I¡¯ll be extra careful.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..bugs.¡±


    I repeated the same warnings I gave Ralf and Esta last time over and over again, to Fecilia and Mielle as well.


    Fecilia seemed aloof even after hearing it as she was used to this kind of stuff but Mielle must be extra bad against bug type monsters as her expression distorted and changed for the worse.


    ¡°Mielle, you bad with bug monsters? That¡¯s some face you¡¯re making right now.¡±


    ¡°Not just monsters, but bugs in general make my skin crawl. If possible I¡¯d never even enter a place like this forest.¡±


    ¡°You came with us even though you hate bugs so much!? Man I only thought of you as enemy at first, but to go this far for us, you really are a good person huh Mielle!¡±


    ¡°Your leader forced me to come! I didn¡¯t come here out of goodwill!¡±


    ¡°A person that tried to kill an innocent person when meeting them for the first time is no ¡®Good person¡¯ Ralf. Regardless, your hate of bugs aside, be extra careful of those.¡±


    I properly corrected Ralf as we finally stepped into the Roza forest proper.


    First, we¡¯ll head for the Orc base. We¡¯ll rest for the night there, both to get everyone used to the forest and to explain our plans in detail.


    I did still want to see both of their abilities for real but, I¡¯m not counting on it too much for now.


    Switching for Snow as the enemy detector, we made our way to the Orc base with me as the vanguard.


    .


    .


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here! This our base!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­a surprisingly well made base. But, is it even okay to be making a base inside this forest?¡±


    ¡°No idea if it¡¯s ¡®okay¡¯ or not. Even if it wasn¡¯t no one¡¯s gonna find out so we¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Putting Fecilia¡¯s strange worries to rest, I led everyone to the building where we¡¯ll rest.


    Esta, Fecilia and Mielle will rest in the building that Ralf and Esta made last time, and me and Ralf will stay in the shoddy hut I made way back when I came here for the first time.


    They¡¯re all people with quirky personalities but hopefully they don¡¯t complain too much¡­¡­..well, I¡¯ll let Esta be the one to talk to them if needed.


    ¡°Put your stuff down inside the buildings and get used to the forest by walking around the place. After that, I¡¯ll explain the plans for tomorrow in details so be ready.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Are you planning to spend the entire day here and nothing else?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s the plan. Why? Any problems?¡±


    ¡°Of course there is! I didn¡¯t come here to follow such a lax schedule. Let¡¯s get to the main objective, do whatever it is you want to do, and then return as soon as possible!¡±


    ¡°I must agree with Mielle-san here. Getting people ¡®used to the forest¡¯ is a good idea if you had brought normal people here but¡­¡­¡­I am a scarletite adventurer. This kind of stuff is worthless for me so it¡¯s better we pick up pace and head to main objective.¡±


    ¡°Your actions will almost certainly bring more danger, yet you both don¡¯t want to reconsider?¡±


    ¡°¡±No.¡±¡±


    I was ready to rest for the day in the Orc base but, Mielle and Fecilia both rejected that idea.


    Well, neither one them were too enthused to be a part of this expedition in the first place so I was ready to get some complaints and objections but¡­¡­¡­.


    I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be this much against it.


    One was a scarletite adventurer, and the other was a potential hero in the making, both were obviously talented, but as the leader I was still technically responsible for their safety.


    I wanted to proceed with maximum caution but, if neither of them seem ready to concede, I¡¯ll have no choice but to comply.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.very well. Ralf, esta, change of plans, we¡¯ll head straight to the East base right now.¡±


    ¡°Eh? We¡¯re not going to stay even though we spent all this effort making this base?!¡±


    ¡°these two want to keep moving no matter what so it can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s make sure we get there before the sun sets so we need to hurry up.¡±


    I stopped them both who were ready to rest, and we picked up all of our stuff again and began on our way to the humanoid rabbit nest that we had turned into our east region base.


    I asked Snow to handle Enemy detection once again, and me and Ralf also joined the scrub hunting as planned so that we can quickly make our way to our destination.

 CH 254

    Ice Platforms


    Due to the sudden change in plans, we were a bit exhausted by the end but we did make it safely to the humanoid rabbit base before the sun set.


    We were walking at quite the high pace but, both them still looked quite nonchalant in their expression, which showed that they were both definitely quite capable and strong.


    I guess I don¡¯t need to be worried about their physicality just because they are magicians.


    Afterwards, while talking about how we¡¯re going to explore the East area, we ate our dinner and then quickly went to sleep to recover our energy.


    Early next morning, after making sure that everyone was packed and ready, we finally began the exploration of the East area.


    ¡°Like I told you all many times before, it¡¯s better to consider the east area as entirely different area than this. The amount of dangerous monsters are far more, and be sure to always be wary of your footing.¡±


    ¡°You really are obstinate huh¡­¡­¡­and like I said before as well, I¡¯ll be fine. The dungeon is filled with dangerous monster so I¡¯m used to it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that Chris is like this! But seriously, it is very dangerous so even if you think you¡¯ll be fine, please be careful!¡±


    Sensing sparks flying between me and Fecilia again, Ralf quickly interjected to mediate.


    Since yesterday¡­¡­..in fact from the start, this Fecilia has been really trying to get on my nerves.


    I get that she doesn¡¯t like the way I talk but, she¡¯s really particular about the most minor details as well which was a pain in the ass.


    ¡°Chris-san, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll be with them and keep an eye out so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°right right, we don¡¯t want to waste time so let¡¯s hurry up and go.¡±


    Urged by Esta and Mielle, we finally set off.


    First, we need to reach the place where the ground begins to become softer.


    From where should we start using the ice platforms was to be decided on the spot but, we need to get there first before we start thinking of that stuff.


    Even though I have already gone there twice, I still kept myself at maximum vigilance as we walked to that place.


    ¡­¡­¡­.phew, it¡¯s finally in sight.


    Some Rex Bills did appear and we struggled a bit on how to deal with them which wasted some time but in the end, we reached here safely.


    From here the ground becomes softer, and further beyond, the amount water begins to increase.


    Last time when the RexBills showed up, it became a bit of a mess but, there¡¯s going to be even more from now on.


    I need to carefully think of from where do we start making the platforms.


    ¡°Chris! This is where we stopped last time right? Should we start using magic from here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself, so I¡¯d prefer if the magic users themselves made the decision. Esta, you already saw this last time, so tell me what do you think?¡±


    ¡°I think we should start using magic from here. The RexBills we ran into just a while ago is the decider really. Mielle-san was in full panic from those, and there¡¯s only going to be more and more of them from now right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just the RexBills alone, my leg got attacked by a dozen of them the moment I took a step into the mud last time I was here.¡±


    ¡°ugh, I think I¡¯ll puke¡­¡­.¡±


    Mielle¡¯s expression distorted just from listening as she looked nauseous.


    Mielle aside, even just thinking from a safety stand point, it was better to start using magic from here I think.


    The main problem was of course their Mana capacity.


    The worst thing that could happen is that they run out of mana right in the middle of the water but, if that won¡¯t be an issue, I¡¯d prefer to start using magic from now as well.


    ¡°I agree, I think we should start using magic from now just from a safety perspective as well. But, would both of your mana last all the way?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have any issue but, of course that depends on how long the way is going to be.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯ll take at least a couple of hours to go through so be prepared.¡±


    ¡°As for me, I can last for a whole day so it¡¯ll be fine. If it means we can avoid those disgusting bugs, I too would prefer to start using magic from here as well.¡±


    Looks like both of them agreed with it as well.


    I don¡¯t know if I can wholly trust their word but, they are talented magicians. I¡¯d like to entrust such matters to their own judgement.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s start making the platform from here. Until we reach the area where the entirety of our legs are underwater, you can take it in turns.¡ª¡ªFirst, Esta we¡¯ll start with you.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll do my best until my turn comes to end!¡±


    Since I haven¡¯t explained all the details of our abilities to them, they were a bit confused by my decision but, Esta possesses [Mana regen] skill.


    She has a lot more freedom with managing her mana usage so I¡¯ll have her work a bit harder while we are still in the swampy area.


    ¡°Good, Esta, we¡¯re counting on you. You can start now.¡±


    ¡°understood.¡ª¡ª-just wait a minute.¡±


    After that, Esta put both her hands on the ground and began chanting something.


    Soon enough, I could see the foothold around us begin to freeze.


    She said that she couldn¡¯t do it alone but, the ground was rapidly freezing, and the mud within a 10m radius disappeared in no time.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s frozen solid completely but it¡¯s still a lot harder than the muddy ground from before. This is definitely a good enough foothold for us to safely walk on.¡±


    ¡°I may have never heard of you before, but your skill with magic is truly great. And at that age no less¡­¡­¡­..I almost want to invite you to our party in fact.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this is pretty well done. I had heard that you could use intermediate magic but, this is honestly beyond what I expected.¡±


    While showered with praise from both Fecilia and Mielle, we let Esta be the vanguard as we began walking through this muddy swamp area.


    When I came here alone, every step I took required a lot of effort as the mud would stick to my legs but, when you have foothold like this, even just walking is so much more faster and easier.


    Once again feeling how incredible magic can be, we quickly and easily reached the area where the water level begins to rise.

 CH 255

    Potential


    30 mins since we began walking on the footholds made with the help of Esta¡¯s ice magic.


    The water level begun to rise, and it became deep enough that a single person alone couldn¡¯t do much about it.


    ¡°From here onwards, I don¡¯t think any of us could manage it alone Chris-san. What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Then you all want to work together from here? Or should we raise it to two magicians, while 1 rests?¡±


    Esta asked me, but I wasn¡¯t sure what the best course of action was either.


    The three magicians themselves should have a better idea anyway, so rather than me deciding it by myself, it was better for them to choose how to proceed from now.


    ¡°Esta can use a lot more magic than I originally thought, and Fecilia-san is obviously very strong herself. I think 2 of us can freeze the water to make a foothold while the other can rest, right?¡±


    ¡°I agree with that as well. But honestly, I could do it alone too so we can switch between myself and then Mielle-san and Esta-san as one team.¡±


    Mielle¡¯s suggestion seemed the quiet reasonable but Fecilia instead offered an even bolder plan.


    Certainly, Fecilia¡¯s magic was more skilled and powerful than both Esta and Mielle. Even I could tell that from simply watching so I¡¯m sure she could manage making a foothold all by herself but¡­¡­


    I wasn¡¯t so sure if it was the right decision to put so much burden on just one person alone.


    No matter how good of a magician she may be, the amount of mana she has is finite.


    Esta and Mielle seemed a bit troubled by this suggestion as well, so I was going to butt in and suggest something but at that very moment¡ª


    Snow, who had been watching these three silently from the side for a while, suddenly howled.


    ¡°Snow, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Aurf! Aurf!!¡±


    Snow pulled on Esta¡¯s hem and dragged her to the front, and while standing beside her, it took a an intimidating looking forward bent posture and then, just like the three magicians, began to freeze the muddy water around us and made a new platform.


    ¡°Snow, amazing! Not just ice elemental attacks, you¡¯ve even become capable of using wide area based ice element skills!?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Now this is a surprise. On top of being cute and being good at enemy detection, it can even use Ice magic? Isn¡¯t this child way too amazing!?¡±


    ¡°I am surprised as well. The quality of this ice platform is in no way lacking to either of ours as well. I didn¡¯t think Snow-san still had such a trick up its sleeve.¡±


    Surrounded by the three ladies, Snow got a lot of headpats and compliments.


    I mean, I had always counted Snow as part of helping with the ice platforms from the start but¡­¡­¡­


    That was only in a form of support¡ª¡ª-and that¡¯s it. Even I didn¡¯t think it could match the actual magicians in terms of skill.


    ¡°Snow! You really are amazing in all sorts of ways huh!¡±


    ¡°Its potential continues to amaze me¡­¡­¡­..but with that we now have 3+1 to help with the ice platforms. Esta and Mielle and then Fecilia and Snow, we can rotate between these two teams right?¡±


    ¡°We can! Even when the water level rises further, we won¡¯t need to lessen our speed!¡±


    Due to the unexpected capability shown by Snow, the three ladies were even more fired up now, and continued to swiftly make platforms as we continued on our journey.


    The further we moved ahead, the more the water rose, and even the waist high water where I stopped last time, was also no problem and we walked through with ease.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s going all fine but¡­¡­¡­aren¡¯t we surrounded?¡±


    ¡°These things haven¡¯t stopped aiming for us for quite some time huh! There¡¯s even monsters that are ramming the ice non-stop to try and break it!¡±


    ¡°Should we eradicate them all in one fell swoop with a big lightning magic? If it¡¯s my magic¡ª¡ª-even that long legged bird that¡¯s approaching us will get electrocuted as well, you know?¡±


    Just like last time, on top of the carnivorous underwater monsters, the long legged bird was also aiming for us and walking towards us.


    The three were saying that with worry but, the underwater monsters that did make it to the surface were hardly an issue while we¡¯re on this platform.


    So I felt that wasting mana on using an offensive magic just to exterminate them all was a waste of resources but, I guess for the people making the platform, it¡¯s a bit more irritating.


    ¡°if possible, I¡¯d prefer if you saved your mana for later. Even if we do get attacked, me and Ralf will take care of it, and besides, I don¡¯t what other weird monster might show up later. It¡¯s better to save it as our trump card instead.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll leave it to you two to care of it when we get attacked then.¡±


    I feel like Fecilia¡¯s words still had thorns in them but¡­¡­¡­at least she was convinced by my decision.


    Last time, I definitely saw the corpse of a big underwater monster.


    If monsters like that can be found in this area regularly, it¡¯s better that we continue to save their mana for later.


    From there onwards, me and Ralf continued to kill any monsters that approached us instantly, and as for the long legged bird, we intimidated it by throwing icy pebbles at it while it was still afar to make it maintain its distance from us.


    The pebbles were not going to kill it obviously but, they were still effective as the bird didn¡¯t attack us once, and once we reached the area where the water level rose even further, it stopped following us.


    ¡°Looks like that bird has finally given up on us. That aside¡­¡­¡­.the water level has really risen a lot here, no? At this point this feels more like a river than a forest.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. But I¡¯ll take being in the middle of river above being in a big infested forest at any time.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that!? Look in the water! There¡¯s a giant monster in there!!¡±


    Looking to where Ralf was pointing, we saw a fish like monster, about 2m in length, swimming and circling around us in the water.


    It¡¯s fine if it really was a fish monster, but if it was the Forest Lizard that Henjak had told me about, this was a lot more dangerous.


    Forest Lizard was an amphibious monster that was both strong and aggressive, and also possessed a strong poison as well.


    It could definitely climb the ice platform, so we need to really be careful.


    ¡°From here onwards, it¡¯s unknown territory even for me. Be wary of any little thing or change that you might notice.¡±


    ¡°I know! If I see something¡ª¡ª-Wait, Chris! Look at that!!¡±


    Right after I warned him, Ralf¡¯s mouth flapped open and close as he pointed back into the water again.


    I wondered if he had seen another big fish or something but¡­¡­¡­¡­.looks like a strong foe had decided to already make an appearance.


    Rising to the surface of the water and approaching us, was a monster that shared quite a lot of characteristics to what I had heard of Forest lizards.


    Judging by how 1/5th of its body was just its mouth, it was definitely a ferocious beast. Furthermore, it also had sharp claws and fangs, and a long tail.


    And its giant body was covered in the characteristic black and gold leather-like skin.


    A monster that was said to rival the forest lizard, one of the danger monsters of the East area¡ª¨CThunder Alligator.

 CH 256

    Survival of the Fittest


    It¡¯s raw strength was obviously high but on top of that, it was charged with electricity so if you were to fall into the water, you¡¯ll get electrocuted instantly.


    Henjak had warned me about this one many, many times over but, honestly, I still didn¡¯t think it would be this big in size.


    ¡°That¡¯s a thunder alligator. It¡¯s an amphibious monster that can control electricity. Avoid getting dragged into the water at all costs.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say that¡­¡­¡­¡­it¡¯s already rushing at us!!¡±


    ¡°We have the high ground, we just need to make sure it can¡¯t climb up on the platform while also making sure that we don¡¯t get dragged back into the water as well.¡±


    ¡°You sure make it sound easy huh! Also, did you say it uses lightning attacks?¡­¡­..Save me, if I fall into water okay!¡±


    ¡°Um, should I defeat this Thunder Alligator with my lightning magic before it gets here? It¡¯s safer and probably faster in my opinion.¡±


    While me and Ralf were having a spat on the ice platform deciding how to deal with it, Fecilia gave her suggestion once again.


    I¡¯m sure that using magic is probably the best way to deal with underwater monsters and, I¡¯m sure she felt a bit impatient seeing me and Ralf look all flustered.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­but considering how much longer we might have to go, it¡¯s better that me and Ralf handle the Thunder Alligator ourselves.


    Since we can¡¯t help with making the ice platforms in any way, it won¡¯t sit well with me to just sit around doing absolutely nothing.


    ¡°Thunder Alligator probably has high resistance to lightning magic so it would be useless anyway. Would be pretty dumb if it got hurt by its own lightning magic, right?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªthen, I could use [Icy Burst] to freeze it to death. Surely you  won¡¯t have a problem with that then, right?¡±


    ¡°No, like I said, I want you to save your mana. Just trust me and Ralf, and watch will you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I have zero trust in either of your capabilities¡­¡­¡­.but, I agree that we should save as much mana as possible. That said, I will act the moment I feel like things are getting dangerous and instantly kill it with my magic so be mindful of that.¡±


    While annoyed with the flat way Fecilia said that, I did agree with her conditions.


    She¡¯s not wrong after all. If we struggle, it basically puts her in more danger after all.


    But regardless, for now I convinced her to not help, and as long as we overwhelm our opponent, there should be no problem.


    ¡°Ralf, you can¡¯t hesitate here alright. We are going to defeat it as perfectly as possible.¡±


    ¡°Well after hearing her, even I¡¯m a bit more fired up! Chris you attack it from above, and I¡¯ll make sure it can¡¯t climb this platform!¡±


    ¡°Got it. Certainly, splitting the roles will be more effective. Leave attacking to me.¡±


    The sudden appearance of the Thunder Alligator sent us into a slight panic but Fecilia¡¯s remarks calmed us down.


    It¡¯s a peculiar location to fight but, if we coordinate our offense and defence well, it¡¯s not an opponent we can¡¯t handle.


    It¡¯s strange body colour was obviously a warning sign, and it¡¯s giant mouth was big enough to swallow an entire human whole in a single bite.


    Furthermore, it even possessed powerful skills that allowed this Thunder Alligator to use lightning but, Ralf used his shield to keep it in water, and I stabbed it from above whenever I found an opening, making it so that we were able to one-sidedly attack it over and over again.


    Like this we planned to slowly weaken it until it died but, the muddy water became even more difficult to see through due to its blood spreading around, and due to the blood, more carnivorous creatures began gathering around the area.


    The small carnivorous creatures rushed in to attack, but¡ª¡ª-the one they attacked was not us but the bleeding Thunder Alligator.


    It realized that it was being bitten into by the small creatures so it tried to run away from both us and the area in general, but more and more creatures attacked it and¡­¡­¡­..in a matter of moments, only a miserable corpse of the Thunder Alligator was left.


    I know we are the reason it ended up this way but, I didn¡¯t really feel like we were the ones who killed it.


    The Thunder Alligator was definitely one of the monsters that was high on the food chain but even that got mercilessly ripped to shreds. Such was the East area, where the survival of the fittest was the only rule.


    It was an abnormal area where everything other than yourself was simultaneously both an enemy and a prey to eat.


    I was keen on overwhelming this Thunder Alligator to make Fecilia eat her words but, that all motivation had cold water splashed on it unfortunately.


    ¡°The Thunder Alligator¡¯s dead right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You can see its upturned belly, and the creatures are probably feasting on the corpse underwater right about now, judging from how much blood is spreading around the body.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­What the hell, I didn¡¯t even get to feel the satisfaction of a win! This submerged forest, is a bit too unique of a place, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I mean I did tell this to you beforehand. This is just how dangerous of a place this East Area is.¡±


    The threat of the Thunder Alligator that had us panicking a bit, was now nothing more than a pathetic corpse floating across the river.


    Anyway¡­¡­¡­at least the other three also got a good idea of what kind of dangerous place this submerged forest was. Let¡¯s take that as a positive.


    ¡°Hey, should we also build a fence like thing around us? We still have Mana to spare after all.¡±


    ¡°No need. Just be cautious of your surroundings, that¡¯ll be enough for now.¡±


    ¡°I must agree with Chris here. Besides, the safest thing to do is to continue moving forward in my opinion. I don¡¯t how far our destination is but, let us continue moving ahead.¡±


    Just like Fecilia said, the safest thing was to quickly pass through this entire area as soon as possible.


    I don¡¯t know how further in we have to go still but, our aim is the cave at the end of this path.


    If Henjak¡¯s info was correct, that cave itself was an incredibly dangerous place as well but¡ª¡ª-for now, we won¡¯t know until we actually get there.

 CH 257

    A Long Journey


    While being attacked by all sorts of monsters on the way, me and Ralf continued to somehow deal with them as half a day passed by.


    I sensed that the water level  had begun to decrease again, and when we seemed to enter a swamp like region again¡ª¡ª¨Cright ahead of us, I saw something that resembled a cave like structure.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s the place! That cave has to be the place we¡¯re looking for, right!?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s a cave alright. I just hope it¡¯s the right cave.¡±


    Ralf was jumping with happiness , and Mielle looked relieved.


    The journey ended up being much longer than we expected, and Mielle had to use mana potions to endure through it all.


    Even though they were taking turns, they still had to spend a whole half of a day making ice platforms with magic so it wouldn¡¯t be weird if she suffered from mana burnout.


    ¡°Esta, Mielle, Fecilia, Snow, thank you for making the ice platforms for us until now.¡±


    ¡°You can give your thanks after everything¡¯s done. We need to do this all over again when we go back anyway, and besides, isn¡¯t the cave supposedly more dangerous than the path here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, from what I¡¯ve heard, the cave is supposedly extremely dangerous. The biggest danger is the fact that we don¡¯t know what makes the cave so dangerous. So everyone, be careful.¡±


    ¡°Ehhh, we need to continue being on guard still? I¡¯m tired from constantly being so on the edge.¡±


    ¡°For the time being at least¡­¡­..let¡¯s make a camp at the entrance of the cave. Depending on how safe it is, we can take a break there so put up with it until then.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, are you sure we can safely camp inside a cave?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see but, it¡¯s important to get a rest. We¡¯ll scout the area and it¡¯ll depend on whether we can make sure that it¡¯ll be safe but, we should try and take regular rests whenever we get the chance.¡±


    Even though the cave is supposedly dangerous, it doesn¡¯t mean that the entrance itself would also be dangerous. Or at least, that¡¯s my hope.


    Me and Snow will check for enemies and depending on what we find, we¡¯ll set up camp there.


    Just because we were back on to a swampy area where we could walk on foot doesn¡¯t mean we can let my guard down, and so we continued using the ice platforms until we reached right at the entrance of the cave, and then we entered into the place.


    Inside the cave, the sounds of water droplets falling resounded and echoed, and besides that, there was no other sound.


    I activated both [Life presence Sense] and [Mana Sense] to search for monsters but I couldn¡¯t detect anything within my range.


    ¡­¡­¡­But, Snow did seem to sense something as its fur stood up on its end and it was growling towards the insides of the cave.


    ¡°Chris-san, sense any monsters?¡±


    ¡°Nothing near the entrance, but, I¡¯ll scout ahead a bit further so wait just a bit more.¡±


    ¡°Should I come with as well? It¡¯d be dangerous if you guys got attacked suddenly, no?¡±


    ¡°no, Ralf, you stay at the entrance as well. If it was something other than a monster, it¡¯s better for me to deal with it alone.¡±


    I stopped Ralf from following me, and left even Snow behind and proceeded ahead by myself.


    On top of the previous 2 skills, I also activated [Perception Enhancement][perception Range Enhancement][Hearing Enhancement][Crimson Eyes][Stealth][Silent Steps] to help with detection and stealth, and then also activated [Sound Wave Detection]¡ª¡ªa new skill that I got from the Owl Monster¡¯s ongneer.


    [Sound Wave Detection] was a skill that allowed me to see a 3d image of things based on sound; it was like a upgraded version of [Hearing Enhancement] and [Crimson Eyes].


    Even in a completely silent place, any word I say will release soundwaves that will reflect from the surroundings and give me a clear image of my whatever I am looking at.


    If I had to point out a negative, it¡¯d be that I had to make a noise to make it work, and also the stamina cost of skill was really bad.


    It was a very useful skill but, [Sound Wave Detection] used the same amount of stamina as [Ability Unleashed].


    So I had to be mindful of when to use this ability, and of course, now was one such situation.


    Coupled with multiple other skills as well, I continued scouting the interiors of the cave.


    There were no reactions from the entrance of the cave but, there must be some kind of monster residing deep inside the cave as I slowly began to hear all sorts of sounds. No wonder Snow was acting like that.


    While making a sound myself, I continued cautiously walking forward and was hoping to analyse how many monsters were inside but¡­¡­¡­.it must be really far away as I was unable to figure out how many there were from here.


    Every bit of sound was reverberating a bit too much inside this cave making it very difficult to grasp the entirety of the interior of the cave.


    For the time being though, at least I know that there¡¯s no danger nearby which is good enough.


    ¡°I went in checked quite deep inside the place but, there are no monsters near the entrance at least.¡±


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t know if I can really trust your word or not.¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re that worried, you can always go and check it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I will do exactly that and confirm with my own eyes.¡±


    Letting Fecilia go an check ahead as well since she was doubtful of my words, me and the rest decided to set up camp here in the mean time.


    We kept our luggage to the minimum, so there was nothing other than tents and sleeping bags but, that was still much better than nothing.


    ¡°Chris, are we going to spend the night here?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking, but what do you guys think?¡±


    ¡°I have no complaints. I¡¯m almost out of mana, so it¡¯s better we leave the exploration of the cave for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I agree as well. I still have mana to spare personally but¡­¡­¡­.Chris-san and Ralf are tired as well, and if it really is a very dangerous cave, it¡¯s better if we challenge it in perfect condition.¡±


    ¡°Me too! Thanks to fighting in an unfamiliar place, and the ice platforms freezing my feet, I¡¯m way more tired than normal! This is hardly a very good place to rest but, even a little bit of sleep will go a long way to help!¡±


    Other than Fecilia who went ahead to scout the place, all three agreed to rest here at the entrance of the cave.


    From tomorrow, the exploration of the cave proper will start.


    Like Ralf said, this was not an environment to get a good rest in but¡­¡­¡­I still need to get as much rest as possible to prepare for tomorrow.

 CH 258

    An Unpleasant Presence


    2 hours after falling asleep.


    I sensed an unpleasant presence and quickly jumped awake.


    Looking around, I saw nothing around me and everyone else was sleeping peacefully so I for a second I wondered if it was all just my imagination but¡ª¡ª-


    No, this feeling like something was grabbing on to my heart was real further confirming this unpleasant presence I was feeling.


    Making sure I don¡¯t wake others up, I quickly got out of my sleeping bag, and quietly left my tent¡­¡­.


    Only to see Fecilia standing outside awake, looking towards the interior of the cave, the place from where I felt the unpleasant presence coming from.


    ¡°Fecilia, you sensed that presence and woke up as well?¡±


    ¡°No, I was awake from the start and was acting as the lookout. I can¡¯t exactly go to sleep in a hurriedly put up tent with no one keeping watch anyway.¡±


    She has a point but, I really hate her overly sarcastic way of talking.


    I ignored my irritation towards her words, and instead focused on trying to figure out what the source of this presence was.


    I could tell that whatever it was, was slowly making its way towards us, so I activated my detection skills to look for its exact location.


    ¡°Chris, did you wake up because you sensed this thing?¡±


    ¡°Yes. So you can sense it as well huh.¡±


    ¡°Of course I can. It¡¯s releasing such a vile aura constantly, it¡¯d be weird if I didn¡¯t sense it.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­.I tried locating it with my skills as we talked but the distance must be too far still, as I was unable to get a proper reaction.


    Should I get a bit closer, or maybe I should leave it be?


    I troubled my brain over what to do but, if it is coming towards us because it sensed our presence, then I can¡¯t simply ignore it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and check what it is. If something happens, wake everyone up and run away with them.¡±


    ¡°No, I will come along with you.¡±


    Due to her unexpected reply, I ended up looking at her face with suspicion.


    Her face twisted with annoyance from my reaction and she quickly explained herself.


    ¡°It is most certainly not because I am worried about your well being. I¡¯m simply curious that¡¯s all. The only monsters capable of releasing such a vile aura I¡¯ve seen are the Floor Bosses of the dungeon, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then do as you please but, just try not drag me down with you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..!??! I AM A SCARLETITE ADVENTURER YOU KNOW!? Why would I have to hear that from you of all people!! That should be my¡ª¡ª¡ª-¡°


    Ignoring her who started rattling away, I began walking deeper into the cave.


    Since I couldn¡¯t make a sound in this situation, I chose not to use [Sound Wave detection].


    I want to get close enough until it was within the range of [Perception Range Enhancement] and [Life Presence Sense] without getting detected myself.


    While also using stealth skills, I continued walking into the cave for a while when suddenly, I began hearing footsteps of a monster.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t ignore me and say something¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Be quiet. We are close to it. If you want to just chat, go back into the tent.¡±


    Instead of getting a reply, I got my back kicked with all her strength but, at least Fecilia also became serious and fully entered battle mode afterwards.


    Now, I can fully focus on the monster releasing this unpleasant presence.


    From the footsteps that I could hear thanks to [Hearing Enhancement], I began to slowly form a full picture of what this monster was like.


    It must have some sorts of suction pads on its limbs as I could hear a flat suction sound anytime its limbs touched the ground.


    It was hard to tell what size of monster this was from just this but, taking into account that these kinds of limbs help absorbs impacts¡­¡­¡­.there¡¯s a good chance this monster might actually be massive in size.


    It was definitely an oddly shaped monster, so we¡¯ll need to be extra careful of unexpected attacks.


    There¡¯s a good chance it also possess some weird skills as well, which was the most dangerous part of facing these atypical monsters.


    Right around when I had figured all this out from the sound alone¡ª¡ª-it finally got in the range of [Life Presence Sense] as well.


    No wonder we could feel its unpleasant presence from so far off, it¡¯s life presence was incredible. As you¡¯d expect of an atypical monster.


    It was about the same, no higher than even Carlo, I could feel it from so far away.


    I quietly wiped the sweat dripping down from sensing it, and started pondering over what to do next.


    The safest thing was to go back to the tents, wake up the remaining three and Snow and face it all together.


    Me and Fecilia alone could also defeat it together but, since it was unclear whether me and her could coordinate properly, it was a dangerous idea.


    ¡°It¡¯s right around the corner now. Let¡¯s go back for now and attack it all together.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible anymore. That monster, it¡¯s already sensed us.¡±


    ¡°Ha? It¡¯s speed hasn¡¯t changed at all, and its movements don¡¯t seem to imply that it has sensed us. Why do you think that¡¯s the case?¡±


    ¡°Intuition.¡±


    Part of me wanted to punch her just for talking such complete bullshit in such a situation but¡­¡­..


    Judging by her expression, she wasn¡¯t joking at all, and said that fully serious.


    That said, should I fight purely depending on Fecilia¡¯s intuition?


    There was basically no basis for her conjecture, and it was extremely risky.


    ¡­¡­..but, if she¡¯s right and it has sensed us, it might attacks us while we have our backs turned to it and that would certainly kill our chances of winning even more.


    The gears in my head turned rapidly as I hesitated over what to do, and honestly, it could take a day before I would come to a legitimate conclusion like this but, as the monster continues to approach us, I obviously don¡¯t have that kind of time on me.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll trust the intuition of a scarletite adventurer. But I¡¯ll never let you live it down if it hadn¡¯t sensed us alright?¡±


    ¡°Even if it hasn¡¯t, all we have to do is simply beat it, no? You can curl up and hide behind me if you want Chris.¡±


    ¡°As if I¡¯d let you fight alone. If you ended up dying, I have no idea what the remaining members of [Moonlight Fang] might do to me. I have enough enemies in life as it is.¡±


    ¡°Then, try and not drag me down with you, okay?¡±


    As payback for what I said a while ago, Fecilia spoke so, with a genuine smile, one she hadn¡¯t shown ever since she had joined us for this expedition.


    It did irritate me, but for some reason, seeing her act with such composure even in such a situation did fill me with confidence and a sense of security as well.

 CH 259

    A Grotesque Monstrosity


    ¡°I¡¯ll go up front. While I have the aggro, blast it with your magic.¡±


    ¡°So you want to play the Tank?¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m worried, but are you sure? Honestly, if you¡¯re gonna die instantly, that¡¯ll only cause me problems after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Even if it¡¯s an enemy I¡¯ve never seen before, I¡¯ll definitely handle it.¡±


    Since Ralf was always the tank while we were travelling through the submerged forest, Fecilia seemed unconfident in me playing that role it seems.


    To be honest, if it was me from a while ago, I too would not have been confident either but, after learning Bors¡¯ fighting style, I could boldly claim that I could play this role as well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep my expectation low. If you fail, don¡¯t expect me to save you either.¡±


    ¡°You can abandon me whenever you want. Alright then¡­¡­¡­.Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Giving a signal to Fecilia behind me, I rushed past the corner and jumped into the corridor from which the monster was approaching us from.


    The monster was still far, and it was just barely in visible range but, that was enough for me to capture it¡¯s strange form in my sights.


    Contrary to my expectations, it was actually a humanoid monster.


    Well, to be exact it was like an anthropomorphic Octopus monster, with six arms and 2 thick legs.


    It¡¯s whole body was made like a machine, and its sharp and smart form would tickle the hearts of every young boy¡¯s heart.


    It didn¡¯t look like it was carrying a weapon but, 4 of the 6 arms themselves were shaped like a crescent moon blade, and they looked similar to sickles or scythes.


    It was monster I had neither seen or even heard of but, facing it directly, the pressure was definitely big enough that it could make anyone want to run away from it.


    And even after me appearing directly in front of it, it still showed no changes in its movements¡­¡­¡­


    Looks like Fecilia¡¯s intuition was right after all.


    ¡°I curious about its pursed lips. It might be capable of spitting some kind of liquid out of there.¡±


    ¡°Something? Like ink?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure but, assume that it has some kind of long range attack as well.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t that bothered by it but, like she said the monster did have pursed lips.


    I just thought that was how it¡¯s face was shaped but, judging by the stiffened muscles around its face, it was definitely getting ready to spit something.


    Since it was shaped like an octopus, I wanted to assume that it would also use some kind of smoke screen like the actual creature but, judging by its strength, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be something that simple.


    Whatever it is that it can spit is only one of its many attacking tools anyway.


    It¡¯s entire body seemed made for pure close combat but, it also clearly had ranged attacks on top. Truly a troublesome opponent.


    I began inputting all the information I gained from observing it into my brain, and then began activating my skills to ready myself to utilize Bors¡¯ fighting style.


    And this time, I have a Scarletite adventurer as support.


    I¡¯m going to focus entirely on dodging its attacks and leave the attacking to her.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Phew.


    Finishing activating all my skills, I flipped the switch inside my head¡ª¡ª-and instantly began rushing towards the strange octopus monster.


    While keeping careful of its mouth I continued to close in on it, but it still showed no signs of changing its actions.


    Furthermore, I didn¡¯t even sense any hostility from it which made it seem like it won¡¯t even attack me but, for a mere flash of an instance, I caught its square eyes look directly at where my heart was.


    And in the next instant,¡ª¡ª¡ªsomething was spat out from its mouth, and flew directly towards my heart.


    It was inhumanly fast, and I had Fecilia behind me so I had to cut it down.


    Making that decision in a split second, I cut down whatever it was that was fired towards me like it was an Iai strike.


    The moment I struck that something, it broke and sprayed some sort of transparent liquid all over me but it showed no effect.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Was it just water?


    It simply spat out water at its opponent at an inhuman speed. It was certainly a clear, decisive, and simple yet powerful form of a long range attack.


    Just because it was just water doesn¡¯t mean that it wouldn¡¯t have hurt as it held enough force behind it to knock me away if it had hit me.


    I swung to remove the water that had stuck to my sword and checked the octopus monster only to see it stopped in its track and this time, it was twisting its arm.


    I could not read the expression of this octopus monster at all but, it was definitely surprised that I had deflected the attack that it thought would surely kill me.


    Strange sigils began appearing on its body just like the Golem we bought a long time ago, which was a sign that the real battle began here.


    I gave a hand sign to Fecilia to tell her to start attacking, as I prepared and readied myself to deal with the attacks of the octopus monster.


    ¡°[Lightning Bolt]¡±


    The battle began with Fecilia¡¯s magic.


    A lightning magic lit up the dark cave as it flew towards the octopus monster and made a direct hit ¡ª¨Cor so I thought but, right before the lightning hit, it perfectly twisted its entire body to dodge it.


    Even its simple movements were fast, and it was sharp at reading its opponents attacks as well.


    Before it starts aiming for Fecilia, I rushed in close to the Octopus monster and forced it into a close combat fight.


    From afar its form looked cool but, after watching it closely I realized it was a lot more slimy and sticky which made it look a lot more disgusting.


    And it was almost 3 meters tall. It¡¯s massive stature really worried me.


    Each and every arm it had was long as well, so I knew this was going to be a hard fight.


    ¡°The thing to focus on is not its strength but its ability to constrict and restraint you.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡ª¡ªOops, that was close. Hey, don¡¯t worry about me and just focus on attacking alright.¡±


    While avoiding the octopus monster¡¯s attacks, I urged Fecilia behind me to attack faster so that we can quickly beat in response to her warnings.


    Like Fecilia said, its ability to perform weird attacks thanks to its 6 arms, or the slashing attacks from the sickle shaped hands weren¡¯t the only danger, but it could also use those limbs to bind and constrict me like those Venom Pythons which made it really troublesome.


    I could tell it was always trying to grab on to me, and if I did get caught, it¡¯s as good as death.


    The water attack from its mouth, the ever changing attack style, the 4 sickles that could tear me apart, the strong kick from its thick legs, and the ability to constrain me with its six long arms.


    Even though I had to focus purely on defending and dodging, it was still going to be very difficult but¡­¡­¡­..facing a truly strong enemy after a long time, I could feel the corners of my lips rise into a smile.

 CH 260

    The Octopus Monster


    First and foremost, I needed to get used to all of its attacks before anything.


    I took a few steps to place myself right in middle spot of its range of attacks, and then instigated it with a no guard stance to bait it into attacking me.


    If I can cut down maybe one or two of its arms, I could probably handle it much more easily but I doubt doing that will be so simple.


    I should focus entirely on getting used to the attacks from the six arms.


    While I stood in a range where I could get attacked at any point, the first to make a move was¡ª¡ªin fact Fecilia.


    She fired another lightning bolt like last time but, it was dodged easily once again, and with the momentum of it dodging, it moved towards me to launch its next attack.


    While swaying its body to the left, the two sickle shaped arms on its right slashed at me from above.


    Its aim was exact yet prudent. Rather than aim for my vitals, it aimed for my left thigh, which one might not be focused enough to guard normally.


    Facing a an attack meant to damage me, I swivelled on right leg as my centre of balance, and rotated my body on the axis to completely avoid its attack.


    As the 2 arms of the monster passed by the front of my face, it also launched its left arms to attack my lower body while being outside my normal field of vision but, from the slight movement of its shoulder, I could predict that beforehand, and I was able to dodge that as well quite easily.


    Its ability to attack from anywhere thanks to its six arms was its greatest weapons but, since it was a humanoid monster, I had a easy time reading through its actions making it a weakness instead.


    If it was a complete octopus in shape, it may have been slower, and duller in its movements but¡­¡­..that would have been much harder for me to read through ironically enough.


    It was also easy to see when it was sucking in to ready another water blast from its mouth from the strain visible around its mouth area, and as for the kicks, it seemed like it was not able to move those as freely as its arms so they were dull and slow and very easy to avoid.


    Even its fast paced attacks were not much of a threat as long as I maintain a good distance from it¡­¡­¡­.and even though about only 10 minutes or so had passed since the start of the battle, I had already become capable of reading through most of its moves.


    Of course, that is with the prerequisite that I wasn¡¯t attacking back at all but still, it was great that I had found ways to deal with all of its attacks already.


    This was also proof that I had truly mastered Bors¡¯ fighting style, and I didn¡¯t feel the resistance towards ¡®running away¡¯ during a fight like I used to either.


    The octopus monster was slowly becoming more and more desperate from being unable to kill me, and I was doing quite well as a dodge tank so now I just had to wait for Fecilia to destroy it with her magic but¡­¡­..


    Her attacks weren¡¯t landing properly, and only once did a [Lightning Bolt] graze the monster.


    Since I was fully using all of my skills, it goes without saying that a war of attrition was disadvantageous for me.


    I really hoped she¡¯d kill it soon but, if it keeps on like this, I don¡¯t think anything will change.


    ¡°Fecilia, hurry up and kill it already! Rather than use strong magic attacks , focus on firing multiple fast magic spells instead!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.!! I don¡¯t need you to tell me that! [Sand Barrett]!¡±


    I really don¡¯t want to think about anything other than dodging the incoming attacks but, since nothing seemed to be happening I reluctantly gave some orders and finally, Fecilia changed her attacking style and began using faster magic spells instead.


    The [Sand Barrett] fired from Fecilia¡¯s hand flew right past my head with a speed that was impossible to keep up with my eyes and slammed into the Octopus monster¡¯s arm.


    Don¡¯t even give it a chance to dodge, an unavoidable attack.


    While I get that this magic wasn¡¯t strong enough to even disable the arm it hit, still, I wanted to complain why she hadn¡¯t used this kind of magic before but¡­¡­


    I could already predict it turning into another squabble between us so I held my feelings in and continued to fulfil my tank duties.


    Having finally landed a hit, Fecilia¡¯s own movements changed into being much more efficient as she began landing all sorts of different magic on the same arm that she had hit with her first attack. And due to that, the Octopus monster also changed its movements to try and block attacks aimed at that arm.


    One of its right arms changed colour to white, and became unable to function properly making it easier for me to dodge its attacks¡ª¡ª¨Cand also began to show me openings to strike as well.


    Should I continue focusing on only dodging or should I start attacking as well? I hesitated over what to do but then again, it had taken us almost 20 minutes just to disable one of its arms.


    Reverse calculating how much time it¡¯d take for us to kill the monster like that, I decided that it was better to join the attack as well. Carefully looking for openings, and also making sure that I don¡¯t get in the way of Fecilia¡¯s magic as well, I began slashing at the octopus monster.


    I was being very cautious with when to attack but, even those few attacks alone made it completely focus back to me and away from Fecilia again.


    Fecilia fired her [Sand Barrett]. I continued to play the dodge tank, and land the occasional slash on top.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


    We were against an atypical opponent that had a very high life presence and it was unclear what other tricks up its sleeve it might still have but, me and Fecilia slowly began to overwhelm it with our attacks, and once I slashed another arm of its away, we began to one-sidedly dominate the monster.


    And soon enough, of the six arms, only one remained, and I didn¡¯t even give it time to use its water bullet attack.


    But, it had been almost an hour since the battle began and my legs had begun to tremble from the fatigue, yet¡­¡­¡­¡­


    All we had to do was now land one of the big magic attacks that it had been dodging at the start of the battle.


    I took the one armed octopus monster on, and waited for the golden opportunity to crumble its stance and make it lose its balance, and then instantly dodged away from it.


    And the moment I was enough distance away, Fecilia launched a magic that she had been slowly channelling more and more mana towards.


    ¡°[Lightning Rising]!¡±


    With a huge roar that resounded across the cave, and blinding flash of light, the massive magic made a direct impact with the monster.


    For a while I could see nothing but white but, soon my normal vision began to return and I quickly moved to see the condition of the octopus monster but¡­¡­..


    All that remained in the place where that monster stood were a big black spot on the ground and some cinders, as if it had never existed in the first place, it had been completely vaporized.

 CH 261

    Fatigue


    While wiping the huge amount of sweat flowing from my forehead, I deactivated all of my skills.


    And while observing the burnt black spot on the ground, I fell on my butt as all strength left my body.


    It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been this tired.


    I never took a single hit but, the focus and nerves needed to make sure it stays that way, plus the amount of skill activated, had all resulted in a huge amount of accumulated fatigue.


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    ¡­¡­¡­..Also, Fecilia was a bit of a disappointment to be quite frank.


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    I thought she was a Scarletite adventurer so my expectations were high but, who¡¯d have thought it¡¯d take her a whole 10 minutes to land a proper blow.


    And that too, only happened because I ordered her in time. If I had let her fire those [Lightning Bolts] continuously, I definitely would have lost sooner or later.


    Even though she was talking so much shit before the battle, I wonder what kind of expression Fecilia was making now¡­¡­¡­


    Looking towards her, she looked even more exhausted than me, and was trembling with her hands on her knees.


    ¡°You okay? You look quite tired.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. What about you? You look pretty exhausted as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course I am. Because a certain someone who was in charge of attacking failed at landing a single hit. And in the end, it took an entire hour to beat that thing. Think what it was like for me who had to constantly dodge that thing for an entire hour at close range.¡±


    ¡°u,ughuuu¡­¡­.¡±


    I guess even she couldn¡¯t retort back this time around, as she simply winced while making a pathetic sound.


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    ¡­¡­¡­¡­well, I still need her cooperation and in the first place, the reason I brought her was to help with the ice platforms first and foremost.


    She did her actual job well and this was simply something extra that I hoped for.


    So I¡¯ll leave any further criticisms for now, and make sure that I praise her and don¡¯t ruin her mood completely.


    ¡°But, everything after the first attack landed was good. Your ability to aim at a single arm consecutively was pretty useful and not to mention, that last attack was more powerful than anything I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I know right. It¡¯s just that that monster was way more stronger than I expected, but I think I was able to do my job pretty well in the end!¡±


    ¡°Sure. In the end we did manage to beat it. Alright, let¡¯s go back to the tent then¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Chris, can I ask you one question, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    Fecilia, who was stood in place with her hands on her knees, slowly walked towards me and said that.


    Rather than talk, I¡¯d really like to go back to the tent and rest but¡­¡­¡­


    She was looking at me with a serious expression so I couldn¡¯t just say ¡®no¡¯ either.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Sure, what is it? I¡¯m not in the mood to listen to your complaints, I¡¯ll warn you in advance though.¡±


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    ¡°Complain? Quite the opposite. You were able to fight against a monster equal to a Floor boss on all on your own. Just who even are you?¡±


    Who? Even if you ask me that¡­¡­¡­.


    I didn¡¯t know how to answer such a question.


    ¡°I¡¯m just a normal adventurer. I don¡¯t know how else to answer that.¡±


    ¡°If I recall you¡¯re a platinum rank right? A normal platinum rank adventurer would have died instantly to a monster like that.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I guess I¡¯m an adventurer that¡¯s a bit stronger than a normal one.¡±


    ¡°And you aren¡¯t even originally a tank either, right? Ralf is the tank, and you¡¯re the attacker. But those weren¡¯t the movements of someone who wasn¡¯t used to this role either.¡±


    ¡°No, I have experience as a tank as well even before this. There was a time where temporarily I was the tank and Ralf was the attacker. Also, I have been learning some things from someone, and have finally gotten a good grasp on this style.¡±


    ¡°And who is that ¡®someone¡¯?¡±


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    Fecilia inquired obviously interested.


    I could tell her about Bors, but that¡¯ll take way too much time here.


    And I really, really wanted to rest my body, especially when there¡¯s a chance that some other monster might show up here as well.


    So first and foremost, I really wanted to return to the tents.


    ¡°It¡¯ll take long to tell you everything. Can we go back to the tents first? If some other monster came here, we really will be in big trouble.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.that¡¯s certainly true. Regardless, at least now I know that you are actually capable enough. I won¡¯t get irritated now even when you act all brazen and impertinent.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember ever being like that but sure, whatever, good to know.¡±


    And there we stopped our chat, and began walking back to the tents.


    My fatigue was killing me but I still forced myself to reactivate my detection skills, and cautiously made our way back to the cave¡¯s entrance.


    Thankfully, we didn¡¯t run into any other monster, and were able to return back safely.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°Oh? Are there people standing in front of the tent?¡±


    ¡°Yes, in fact, all three of them are outside.¡±


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    ¡°I wonder if they realized that we were not here.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe they too sensed the monster and woke up while we were away.¡±


    Like Fecilia said, outside the tent, the three were looking towards us with worry in their eyes and when I came into the view, Snow quickly ran straight towards me.


    ¡°Snow, sorry for making you worry bud¡­¡­¡­.Also, you are really big now so I¡¯d prefer if you stopped lunging at me with full speed okay?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    I don¡¯t think it heard my warning, as it continued to happily lick my face. I guess I should just let it do whatever it wants for a while, as I walked towards the other three with Snow in my arms.


    ¡°Oi Chris! You weren¡¯t here when we woke so we were hella worried! Where the hell did you both go!?¡±


    ¡°I woke up because I sensed an unpleasant presence, that¡¯s all. Since I could tell it was coming close, me and Fecilia, who was already awake, went to go check on it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­..well, at least nothing happened to you both so that¡¯s good to know.¡±


    ¡°When did you three wake up by the way?¡±


    ¡°Well, a huge thunderous roar echoed from inside the cave and woke all three of us up.¡±


    Thunderous roar¡­¡­¡­.? Fecilia¡¯s magic probably.


    I didn¡¯t even think of it but I guess we were inside a cave, a sound like that would definitely reverberate across the entire area huh.


    ¡°Sorry about that. I think that was just Fecilia using her magic.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­wait does that mean that you and Fecilia-san went and defeated that monster that gave off that unpleasant feeling!?¡±


    ¡°It noticed us while we were looking for it so we had no choice.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous to do something like that with just the two of you though? Please wake us up before doing anything like that again!!¡±


    ¡°Sorry. Next time I sense something like that, I promise I¡¯ll wake everyone up first.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­that¡¯s a pain in its own right though.¡±


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    I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear Mielle muttering that in the end, and decided to give a report to the three of what had happened. And then, to recover our stamina, me and Fecilia both went to sleep.


    The fact that more monsters like that octopus monster might be crawling about this cave made me feel tired just thinking about exploring this cave but¡­¡­¡­we don¡¯t have the option of turning back after coming this far.


    But since the exploration begins tomorrow proper, I decided to stop thinking about such stuff and forced myself to sleep.

 CH 262

    High Firepower Magic


    Three hours after I went to sleep in an exhausted state.


    While I was far from fully recovered, I had relieved a decent chunk of the accumulated fatigue so I slowly woke up again.


    Rather than my bodily fatigue, it was my mental fatigue that was heavy and I still had a heavy headache, like someone was slamming my skull from the inside.


    Since that monster had 6 arms instead of two, I had to focus far more than I ever had to when fighting against a human being.


    While complaining in my thoughts, I did some light stretches to fully wake my body up.


    ¡°Oh! I wondered why the tent was shaking suddenly, but you¡¯re already awake too huh Chris!¡±


    ¡°me ¡®too¡¯¡­¡­¡­.? Did Fecilia wake up as well?¡±


    ¡°Just a couple minutes before you did! That aside, are you sure you¡¯re okay with just this much rest!? Your complexion looks really rough buddy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m far from peak performance I won¡¯t lie but, I have recovered enough to move around without problem. Can¡¯t be spending too much time resting either, so I want to get the cave¡¯s exploration finished asap.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I won¡¯t nag you anymore either!¡±


    After a little chat with Ralf who came to peek inside the tent, I quickly changed my clothes and began to do some prep work.


    Since Fecilia is awake already as well, I quickly finished getting changed and left the tent, and found everyone waiting for me, ready to go.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. Did any problems occur while I was asleep?¡±


    ¡°No, we didn¡¯t sense any monsters nearby, and it was all quite peaceful.¡±


    ¡°Snow was also on the lookout and showed no reaction so I¡¯m sure there¡¯s nothing dangerous near us knowing its detection range!¡±


    Looks like no other monster came close to this place after the Octopus monster.


    It¡¯d be the absolute worst case if we continued getting attacked regularly right at the entrance and were stuck here all exhausted.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear¡­¡­¡­.Alright, if everyone¡¯s ready, let¡¯s go an check this cave out, shall we?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still worried if it¡¯s actually safe to explore this place any further, but are you sure it¡¯s okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. The monster we fought was incredibly strong, and if monsters like that one were crawling about in large numbers, it most certainly will not be going to be anywhere near as safe as you¡¯re hoping it to be. But, if you¡¯re that worried, you can always stay here and wait at the camp.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Wouldn¡¯t that leave me alone here? That sounds even more dangerous though?¡±


    ¡°Not my problem is it? We¡¯ll head further inside and that¡¯s not up for debate. I simply gave you the choice of waiting here if you really don¡¯t want to come that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­You¡¯re really sly aren¡¯t you. If waiting here alone was more dangerous, why would anyone choose to stay here!?¡±


    ¡°Then, simply follow us.¡±


    I shut down Mielle who seemed to be complaining, and with me and Ralf as the vanguards, we set off to explore the caves.


    Mielle¡¯s worries were certainly not something to make light of, make no mistake, however I had already thought about this enough before heading to sleep already and come to the conclusion that we do not have the choice to retreat now.


    Even if there were more strong enemies like the Octopus monster, I¡¯m still resolved to fully explore this entire until and unless I can truly believe that it was impossible to explore any further.


    Revitalizing myself with slap to my cheeks, we walked through the path I travelled yesterday, and continued further inside the cave together.


    30 minutes after leaving the camp.


    Since we were moving with caution, our speed was slow and we had long crossed past the area where we had that fierce battle with the octopus monster.


    We had still not yet sensed any other monster until now but, from here I was starting to sense some here and there, so me and Snow both became even more vigilant as we continued to proceed.


    ¡°Once we pass this corridor, there¡¯s an open space. I can sense a couple monsters there.¡±


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t this your first time coming to this cave? You can tell what¡¯s ahead in such detail?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can use the reverberations of sounds to get a good estimate of the area. That aside, we can¡¯t avoid the monsters ahead of us. Get ready to battle.¡±


    ¡°Chris, can you tell how strong these monsters are? If they are super tough, we¡¯ll need to go in with a proper formation and all!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only an estimate, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯re that strong. If the three of you can use magic to decimate them, that¡¯ll be for the best.¡±


    We had been moving slowly expecting to run into another monster like the Octopus monster but, I didn¡¯t sense anywhere close to similar life presence from the monsters ahead of us.


    I¡¯m sure they are still far from weak but, if Esta, Mielle and Fecilia all use magic together, it should end the battle without much worry.


    I expected Fecilia to be the first one to reject my idea but, after yesterday¡¯s incident she really did stop complaining and was following my orders obediently, something that surprised even Mielle.


    Me, Ralf and Snow were the front line, while Esta, Mielle and Fecilia were the rearguard normally, but we switched positions this time around, and stood back while still maintaining a position close enough to rush in for support in case something goes wrong. And while matching our timings, we all rushed out to face the enemies.


    ¡°The monster type is¡ª¡ª-A Sahagin variant? We proceed with the original plan.¡±


    ¡°Understood. [Flame Tormenter]!¡±


    The enemies ahead of us were a half-man half-fish monster, a variant of the Sahagin line of monsters.


    Normal Sahagins had greenish skin which was their main characteristic but, the ones in front of us had a blackish skin, and also had a horn growing out of their forehead.


    Just like and Orc and Orc Soldier are two different types of monsters, the monsters in front of us were also a different type than Sahagins, but even after seeing them upfront I didn¡¯t sense any particular strength from them so we continued with our original plan to subjugate them.


    First, Esta use [Flame Tormenter] to circle the group of enemies with a wall of flames.


    Having lost their route of escape, the Sahagins had no choice but to go through us from the front and then¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°[Rising Bolt]¡±


    ¡°[Ice Cryonisis]¡±


    Fecilia and Mielle both fired powerful offensive magic.


    The super firepower magic struck the sahagins from the front, and then Esta¡¯s [Flame Tormenter] began to steadily come close from all sides and constrict them, and soon only a sea of flames was left in front of everyone¡¯s view.


    And by the time that sea of flames dissipated¡­¡­..


    Just like the Octopus monster yesterday, the Sahagins had been turned into nothing but ash, and no trace of them remained.

 CH 263

    Cavern Exploration


    Since the high firepower magic ended the battle in an instant, we never even got to find out how strong those monsters actually were but, clearly they weren¡¯t strong enough to survive that level of magic.


    If it was the octopus monster, I¡¯m sure it would have easily dodged Esta¡¯s [Flame Tormenter] ¡­¡­¡­perhaps that octopus monster really was a special case even within this cave.


    ¡°Well that ended quickly. I was expecting to run into more monsters like the one yesterday but, this was anti-climactic to say the least.¡±


    ¡°yeah, I too was wondering if the one from yesterday just happened to be an exceptionally strong one but that said, don¡¯t let your guard down either.¡±


    ¡°I will not. Now that I have been hired as help, I won¡¯t let myself be a burden and disgrace myself like what happened yesterday.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Guess I don¡¯t need to be worried.¡±


    Fecilia also felt the difference between the power levels of the octopus monster and the Sahagins but, she seemed to have some self-consciousness about yesterday¡¯s mess, as it seems she was not going to be too relaxed, if anything, her eyes were glittering with willpower.


    ¡°I think I was able to do my job pretty well in the end!¡± She said that afterwards yesterday but I think she just had too much pride to reflect on her mistakes on the spot, that¡¯s all.


    ¡°Oi oi, why are you two getting all fired up on your won! We only know about that monster from what you guys told us but, was it really that damn strong!?¡±


    ¡°I have said this many times now I feel like. If it was the monster from yesterday, it would have easily dodged all the magic attacks you guys used just now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you guys aren¡¯t over-estimating it just because you two fought it by yourselves and struggled because of it? Close the escape route and then kill with advanced compound magic. I can¡¯t think of any monster that can avoid a combo like that so easily.¡±


    ¡°What Chris says is no lie. I can also confirm that that monster would have definitely dodge the attacks we just used.¡±


    There was a clear discrepancy in recognition of the monster¡¯s strength between the two of us who fought it and the rest who had only heard of it.


    Even though I explained everything in such detail, I guess it¡¯ll never truly live up to actually experiencing it yourself huh.


    ¡°Well, enough about the octopus monster. That monster possessed an aura strong to wake me up from sleep from afar. If we were coming close to another one like that, I¡¯d sense it even if I didn¡¯t want to. With Sahagin¡¯s beaten so easily, we¡¯ll continue using this same combo against whatever herd of monsters we run into.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Leave the magic to us!¡±


    I quickly cut short the talk about the octopus monster and urged everyone to continue with our exploration.


    From here onwards, I¡¯m starting to sense more strong monsters regularly, so we¡¯ll need to start fighting properly with everyone having their own dedicated roles in battle.


    Me, Ralf and Snow will focus on quickly eliminating any small monsters we might run into, while making sure to save stamina for stronger opponents.


    Esta, Mielle, and Fecilia will use the same combo as just now to decimate them if we run into a herd of monsters.


    Since this was an improvised party, it was necessary to make proper rules in advance, and following that we continued our exploration of the caves.


    From then on, we ran into multiple other monsters like the Sahagin but, there was no one that was anywhere near as strong as the octopus monster, and we were able to subjugate them all with ease.


    And above all, the [Sound Wave Detection] that I got from the Owl monster was really effective, and let me gather info of whatever¡¯s coming ahead inside the cave, we never got ambushed nor did we ever get stuck in difficult terrain.


    Its stamina cost was certainly harsh but I could quickly activate and deactivate it, and overall it was definitely one of the most useful skills in here.


    Couple with Snow¡¯s own high detection ability, this cave that was supposedly as dangerous as Bahamut¡¯s cave, was getting explored with quite some ease.


    The only real worry that we¡¯ve had since coming into this cave came from, of course, the octopus monster.


    But I had yet to sense anything like that again, let alone run into one but, as we began to approach the innermost depths of the cave¡ª¡ª-or from what I could tell was the innermost area, I suddenly felt a presence that sent a huge shiver down my spine.


    ¡°There¡¯s something right ahead of us. It¡¯s presence is similar to the octopus monster.¡±


    ¡°Me too! I just sensed it too! Like someone just grabbed my heart or something!!¡±


    ¡°I can feel it as well. But, it¡¯s slightly different from the one we fought yesterday from what I can tell¡­¡­¡­¡­that said, it is certainly as strong and unpleasant.¡±


    When I gave the alert, both Ralf and Fecilia, who must have also sensed it, gave their agreement as well.


    As for what Fecilia said, I too agree with her observations.


    Of course, since only the two of us actually fought that octopus monster, only we could tell, that this presence, while similar, was not exactly the same.


    At least if it was the same monster as yesterday, I was confident that we could beat it again but¡­¡­..


    If it¡¯s another completely different variety of monster that was as strong as that octopus monster, that changes things.


    ¡°I agree with Fecilia. The monster ahead of us is not the same monster we fought yesterday.¡±


    ¡°So a different species that is as strong as that one?¡­¡­¡­.what do we do, Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I want to avoid another fight like that here but, I am also curious as to what we could find beyond that monster as well. I¡¯m thinking we face it head on, but what about you guys?¡±


    ¡°Why are you acting all modest now? It¡¯s not like you¡¯d obediently accept and won¡¯t force to fight it anyway if we said no, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Well, I guess you¡¯re right. If you say no, I¡¯ll have to ask you to go back all the way on your own, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°See, I knew it. I had already resolved myself to go along with your nonsense the moment I left camp so let¡¯s just go at it and be done with it. I want to be done with this expedition and go back to the comforts of the city, clean every inch of my body and then get a good sleep as soon as possible.¡±


    I think everyone here seemed to agree with Mielle¡¯s thoughts in their hearts as the tense atmosphere got lightened a bit.


    ¡­¡­¡­.well in that case, I don¡¯t need to hold back either.


    Let¡¯s enter our battle formation and go and kill this damn monster, shall we?

 CH 264

    Combined Attack


    We continued moving towards the direction of the unpleasant presence, and finally made into the range of detection skills.


    I quickly used [Life Presence Sense] to check and¡­¡­¡­as expected of a monster with such a vile aura, it¡¯s life presence was quite high.


    But unlike the Octopus monster, this monster¡¯s mana was much overwhelmingly larger than its life presence.


    A monster with a large amount of life presence and an even larger amount of mana.


    It was truly a high-spec monster that was bound to give us a lot of trouble but, if it was mostly a magic using monster, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have struggle as much as we did against the octopus monster.


    ¡°I can sense the enemy now and as expected, it¡¯s a tough one alright. It¡¯s life presence is bigger than the average monster but what stands out is the fact that it possess and even larger pool of mana. To explain it simply for Ralf and Esta, it¡¯s like if Carlo also had about twice the amount of mana than the Dead Lich.¡±


    To be honest, its life presence wasn¡¯t as high as Carlo but it¡¯s better to slightly exaggerate to make sure they take the monster seriously and treat it with caution.


    Of course, there¡¯s always a chance that it frightens them too much but, I don¡¯t need to be worried about that when it comes to these two. Probably.


    ¡°The hell kind of monster is that!!? Can we really beat it!?¡±


    ¡°A Carlo that can use better magic than the Dead Lich eh? To be honest, I can¡¯t really see how we could beat it then¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm? But wait, if it¡¯s a magic user, can¡¯t Chris just nullify it? Like you did with mine.¡±


    Contrary to my expectations, both of them did seem to flinch from the threat posed by the monster but, thanks to what Mielle said, the light of confidence returned in both of their eyes.


    Exactly. As long as it¡¯s a magic using enemy, I can nullify whatever magic it throws at us.


    It¡¯s a lot harder against multiple opponents but, from what I can sense, our opponent is just one single monster.


    Of course, our strategy assumes that I can perfectly use [Anti Magic] every time but, there¡¯s no doubt that this fight should be easier than the octopus monster.


    ¡°It is precisely as Mielle said. If it¡¯s one on one, I can cancel whatever magic it plans on using.¡±


    ¡°Oh right I had forgotten about that! Doesn¡¯t that mean, we¡¯re just fighting a monster that¡¯s on the same level as Carlo then?! Well, that sounds way more doable now, right!?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Agreed. We both have also become a lot stronger since then. And we also have Mielle-san and Fecilia-san, and even Snow with us.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Looks like you two can finally see yourself beat that thing as well, so let¡¯s go and exterminate that monster. Mielle, Fecilia, you two ready as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m ready when you are.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve made my resolve and I¡¯m ready to go.¡±


    Feeling confidence form the composure showed by these two, we took our battle formation and quickly began approaching the monster.


    The monster releasing the unpleasant presence was not roaming around the caverns like the octopus monster. Instead it was in a open area, sitting completely unmoving in the middle of it like it was a shrine of sorts.


    For a second I thought it still hadn¡¯t noticed us but, from the fluctuations in its mana I could tell, the moment we step into that open area, it was going to fire its attacks at us.


    I want to hide [Anti Magic] till the very end, and only use when it creates an opening to deal a deathblow¡ª¡ª¨Cwas what I had originally planned but, if it¡¯s like this, I¡¯m going to have to start using it from the beginning.


    ¡°I can see it. That thing ahead of us is the monster we¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°normal people can¡¯t see it from so far man! Tell us out loud if and when it starts firing magic okay!?¡±


    The monster releasing the unpleasant presence was a bit different in appearance than what I was expecting.


    I was sure it¡¯d be something similar to a Dead Lich, or simply a monster that looks like a magician but, the thing sitting in the centre of the open area was a humanoid shaped rhinoceros beetle.


    First a humanoid octopus, and now a humanoid beetle eh.


    Looks like the strongest monsters in this cave are all humanoid shaped.


    ¡°The monster has the appearance of a humanoid rhinoceros beetle. And, it¡¯s accumulating mana in what seems like a long horn on its forehead.¡±


    ¡°Wait, just gathering mana in its horn? Is it not actually preparing to use magic?¡±


    ¡°So it would seem. If it¡¯s not an actual magic, then my [Anti Magic] might be useless. I know its sudden but let¡¯s switch back to our normal formation.¡±


    After fully looking at the monster¡¯s appearance, I came to the conclusion that it was not a normal magic using monster. Although I was originally behind even the magicians in the rear guard as my job was to focus on nullifying magic, I joined the front line with Snow and Ralf back again.


    Changing formations like this on the fly was normally considered taboo among parties but, even from a glance at the monster¡¯s appearance, I could tell that it specialised in close combat fighting.


    It would be much more balanced if I stuck with the frontline and focused on defending and blocking the attacks in such case.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming. It¡¯s a slash made out of mana.¡±


    Like I had originally guessed¡ª¡ªit aimed exactly for the moment we would step into the big open space, and swung its head sideways to launch the accumulated mana in its horn towards us.


    It was a large amount of mana shaped into a projectile slash attack.


    The slashing mana, that almost seemed like a compound magic, rushed towards us and for a second Ralf hesitated on what to do but then, quickly stepped ahead of all of us and took stance with his shield.


    ¡°[Divine Protection]!¡±


    As Ralf shouted the name of his skill, a golden light enveloped his body and that light concentrated entirely on his shield.


    The slashing mana fired by the rhinoceros beetle monster furiously smashed into his shield¡ª¨C


    And then disappeared into nothingness as if the hand of god itself had come down to extinguish it.

 CH 265

    Humanoid Rhinoceros Beetle


    The guard skill that Ralf had been secretly practicing inside the dungeon, [Divine Protection].


    Even from behind it looked sublime but not just that, it wasn¡¯t just flashy but also incredibly powerful.


    I can tell how amazing that skill from simply looking at the fact that he had completely negated the beetle¡¯s mana slash attack with what was an ordinary iron shield.


    According to Ralph, [Divine Blessing] can not only used in just this way, but can also counteract all kinds of state abnormalities if it is activated in advance.


    It makes you wonder if this skill could also work similarly to my [Null Poison] skill but, since [Divine Protection] quite literally negates everything that could ¡®effect¡¯ the user it would also make the bonus effects of the poisonous plants disappear as well.


    Also, the stamina cost of it was apparently extremely huge, which was quite apparent as Ralf was currently breathing heavily after using it just once.


    I honestly had no idea how this was a ¡®common¡¯ skill but, perhaps it¡¯s precisely because of such demerits that that¡¯s the case.


    ¡ª¡ª¨CBut, now¡¯s not the time to be analyzing Ralf¡¯s skill.


    ¡°Ralf, good work. As expected of our [Holy Knight].¡±


    ¡°Haah, haaah, I don¡¯t even have the energy to feel happy! Let me catch a quick breather and then I¡¯ll join you guys in battle again, so please handle it till then.¡±


    I gave Ralf a quick pat on his shoulder, and then passed by him alongside Snow, and entered the main area where the Humanoid Rhinoceros Beetle was enshrined.


    This area was about 20m in width, which was quite big for an area in the middle of a cavern.


    The corridors that we had been walking through until now had hard rock-like ground but, here it felt like the ground was made of softer soil again, and further beyond I could even see grass in the area.


    Rather than the unpleasant presence coming from the humanoid Rhinoceros Beetle, it was the ¡®thing¡¯ kept hidden behind it that really had my attention¡­¡­¡­..


    Looking at the changes in the cavern around us, I had an intuition that the fruit of Skill really might be here¡ª¡ª-that was what my gut was telling me.


    But before anything, we needed to defeat the Humanoid Rhinoceros Beetle else nothing would matter.


    The Humanoid Rhinoceros Beetle was covered in bluish, glossy, hard armour-like skin, and its limbs and body all had a thick muscular shape to them. Although I wondered if it really was actual muscle or simply shaped like it.


    It¡¯s legs had curved spikes growing out of them, probably to make sure that if it landed a kick, the target would get stuck on to those spike and become unable to run away.


    And on its head was the one long sharp harp, the same one that had fired the mana slash earlier. And right now, it was glaring at me with its sharp eyes.


    ¡°This monster¡­¡­..I have heard of it. It¡¯s name was, if I recall¡ª¡ª-Heracberg. It is said to be one of the three rulers of the great forest of Roza. I never thought it was actually real but, judging by its features, I¡¯m sure this is the same monster.¡±


    Looking at the Humanoid Beetle, Fecilia shouted so, having perhaps recalled hearing about it.


    A monster that is said to be one of the three kings of the great forest of Roza, eh?


    Henjak hadn¡¯t told me anything about this but, from the way Fecilia said it, I guess it was considered more of a legend than actual fact.


    I assume Henjak didn¡¯t tell me because vague and unclear info is not valuable and only creates panic and confusion.


    Regardless, it¡¯s a strong one. In both name and reality.


    I began focusing closely on every little movement it made, every action it did¡ª¡ª¨Cand began getting ready to use Bors¡¯ fighting style.


    Snow quickly moved right behind me, and then we ran straight towards the Heracberg in a straight line.


    My main job right now is to buy time until Ralf has recovered.


    I¡¯ll make it focus all of its attacks on me and have Snow deal damage whenever an opening showed up, and not give it a chance to gather mana in its forehead.


    Just like how I did with the octopus monster, I activated all of my skill and faced it at full strength.


    Until now, the Heracberg continued to simply observe us without so much of a quiver but, the moment I made it inside its range, it instantly launched its attack.


    It¡¯s stance was something similar to a style my father had once shown me, [Karate] I think was what it was called.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­A monster¡¯s trying to use martial arts now?


    It¡¯s body was unwavering, and its stance had no openings, I almost found it beautiful how perfect it was.


    And as soon as I was entirely in its range, it launched a thrusting attack at a rapid speed.


    It wasn¡¯t a crude large sweeping attack like most monster do. Instead, it was an instant burst from a passive stance straight into the attack.


    Even with my dodging focused style, I would have gotten hit perfectly, if not for the fact that I had seen this fighting style from my father¡ª¨Cand because I knew how it worked, I saw it coming just it in time to move away to just barely avoid the thrusting attack.


    The form my father had shown me back then was a sloppy one, clearly made by an amateur who had only dabbled in this martial arts style but, after all this time, him showing me even that level of form had borne fruit right now.


    A vast majority of fighting styles were made by humans through heavy research and experience to compensate for the fact that a basic human was not very strong when compared to monsters.


    I don¡¯t know how and from whom this Heracberg had learned this fighting style but, in the end its form was also a dull one, lacking in proficiency and the insight needed to truly master this martial art.


    But because it possessed such overwhelming amount of physical strength, even a basic understanding of such techniques would turn it into a truly fearsome monster to fight against¡­¡­¡­


    Once I get a full grasp of all its katas, I should be able to easily read through its attacks.


    No matter how fast it can do the motion, if I know what attack is coming next, I can always dodge it.


    Since its fist was also covered in the same glossy blue shell, the sensation was closer to having an iron ball being launched at you but, since I focused entirely on dodging, I continued to avoid all its attacks.


    I made sure to not give it any chance to gather mana in its horn either so everything seemed to be going my way but, unfortunately I wasn¡¯t able to create openings for Snow to attack either.


    I was constantly looking for moments to create such openings but, since I was focused entirely on dodging, I couldn¡¯t break Heracberg¡¯s pace either.


    Even though I continued to dodge all of its attacks, it¡¯s expression remained the same and if it stays like this, it will become another battle of attrition like with octopus monster and of course, I¡¯ll be the one to run out of stamina first.


    While I began to slightly panic over what to do as I continued dodge the iron fists of the Heracberg, suddenly, from behind me, diagonally to my right, something flew straight at the monster.


    ¡°[Lightning Barrett]. I told you I won¡¯t make the same mistake as with Octopus monster again, didn¡¯t I? Don¡¯t try and take it on all by yourself, and please depend on us as well.¡±


    ¡°Like Fecilia-san said, we can continue suing magic from a safe spot here! So Chris-san, please create opportunities for us to fire magic.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..how dependable.


    Hearing their words, my impatience disappeared and the confidence came back.


    I shouldn¡¯t focus on creating openings for Snow but instead create situations for those three to use magic easily instead, and in turn, their magic will create the opening for Snow to attack.


    Fecilia¡¯s [Thunder Barrett] did hit, and while only a little, it did cause damage so this was clearly the best way to approach this fight. (T/N:I don¡¯t know why the name of the magic changed here either but I¡¯ll stick with the raws.)


    This decreases the burden on myself as well, and now I can focus on creating a line of fire for those three to blast it with their magic.


    ¡ª¡ªAlright. Until Ralf returns, let¡¯s have some fun with you, Heracberg.

 CH 266

    Battle Maniac


    While extremely fast, its attacks were stereotypical and stuck to the conventional forms which made it easy for me to cleanly dodge them continuously.


    The little change in its centre of gravity, leg placement, the direction and incline of its upper body.


    Even if it was capable of firing its punches with almost no pre motion, if you observed very closely, you will notice such little details in its movements.


    Creating a steady rhythm to its jabs, I was able to perfectly avoid all of its attacks, and was even able to dodge its extremely powerful roundhouse kick, and also the thrust-like front kick.


    After each and every one its roundhouse kick, front kick, reverse roundhouse kick; the moment I avoid them is where I would have launched my own attack but this time, I didn¡¯t because¡ª-


    ¡°[Hail Kugel]¡±


    ¡°[Ignis Arrow]¡±


    From all three of the magicians, speed focused spells were launched towards the enemy.


    Esta used fire, Mielle used ice, and Fecilia used lightning element attacks, to make sure it doesn¡¯t build resistance to any of the elements and continued to do big damage to the monster.


    It¡¯s only thanks to the perfect balance between the offense and defence that we were able to fully utilize the benefits of our numerical advantage.


    Now once Ralf can join back again, no matter what this Heracberg does, we¡¯ll be able to suppress it but¡­¡­.


    Before that could happen, to try and get out of this disadvantageous position, the Heracberg made a strange movement.


    It let go of its compact stance that was ill-fitting its giant and hard body and instead twisted its knees to bend forward and put strength in its thighs to enter a new stance.


    I could tell that it was gathering huge amounts of mana in its both hands, so I moved to quickly open the line of fire but, before the magic attacks could disrupt it, it finished gathering mana in its hands.


    So much mana had been accumulated in its hands that you could see it with the naked eye, and I instantly got a bad feeling about what was about to happen.


    I could only pray that it was simply going to utilize that mana to use a magic spell but, I highly doubt it can even use magic from what I¡¯ve seen from it until now.


    Which means, it was going to use it in a similar fashion to the very first attack, the mana slash, that it had used.


    But since it¡¯s the fists and not the horn, will it be a mana blow instead of slash?


    My brain was going through all sorts of possible scenarios but, I could not prefict what it was going to do next.


    I did a quick glance behind me and saw that Ralf, having notice the change in the Heracberg, was rushing towards me from behind Esta and the others but, I knew he won¡¯t make it in time.


    Having come to that conclusion, I deactivated all my detection skills and switched entirely to my defensive skills and activated [Skin Strengthen][Fortification][Iron Wall][Pain Inhibition][Self Regen].


    Furthermore, I re-modified the already active [War Dance] and [Ability Unleashed] to further boost my defence, and braced for impact from the Heracberg¡¯s attack.


    Even though everything was going all smoothly with me dodging all of its attacks, and the barrage of magic doing consistent damage, out of nowhere, the situation became life threateningly dangerous again.


    Part of me was regretful that we weren¡¯t more aggressive and finished the fight while we had the advantage, but there was a part of me that was happy to see that this monster had more tricks up its sleeve, and that this battle was not yet over.


    I couldn¡¯t really explain this complex feeling I had.


    It was like this when I faced the octopus monster as well but, recently I feel like I have started to enjoy fighting strong enemies a bit too much.


    While looking at the Heracberg who stood there with mana enveloping its arms, I thought of such things and¡ª¡ª¨Cto brace for impact, I pulled out my shield, a rare occurrence these days.


    And the moment I took stance with my shield, the Heracberg kicked off the ground and rushed straight at me.


    As expected it was going to strike-type attacks, but rather than launch mana by swinging its fist, it looks like it was going to punch at me directly with mana infused fists.


    If possible I wanted to completely avoid the fist entirely but, now the Heracberg  was fighting  more like an actual monster.


    It¡¯ll be hard to completely avoid its attacks.


    I decided that it was better to wait for the very last moment and observe its attack and then perform a just guard to deflect it but¡ª¡ª-the Heracberg must have seen through my thoughts as it launched both its fists simultaneously to attack me at the same time.


    It¡¯s left straight aimed for the front of my face, and that was only bait for the right hand¡¯s body blow.


    To put into percentage how it had divided the mana between its two arms, it was 20% in its left and 80% in its right.


    Should I dodge the left straight and block the body blow from the right with my shield?


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­no, there¡¯s a good chance I won¡¯t be able to fully handle the full strength of the body blow.


    I decided to let the left straight aimed at my face through and focused entirely on blocking the deadly body blow.


    While taking the face punch head on with just a slight stagger, I put my entire strength into blocking that body blow instead.


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    Thanks to [Pain Inhibition] I felt no real pain, but the punch hitting my face still made me extremely dizzy, but I managed to block the body blow that came swinging at me from below completely.


    Feeling the heavy impact that seemed like it could gouge my body out, for a second my body slightly rose in the air but, I was able to completely suppress the mana infused punch.


    ¡°[Ice Cryonisis]¡±


    ¡°[Lightning Bolt]¡±


    ¡°[Flame Burst]¡±


    Right as I finished blocking, a tremendous barrage of high firepower magic from the three assaulted the Heracberg as it showed an big opening after its own attack.


    While still feeling vomit-inducing dizziness, I switched places with Ralf and somehow managed to leave the frontline.


    ¡°Chris, sorry for the wait! Leave the rest to me!¡±


    ¡°Make chances for Snow to attack as well. You should be able to quickly shave its health down. I leave it to you now.¡±


    While staggering horribly, I managed to make it behind Esta and the others before crumbling down to the floor.


    I had completely lost the sight from my right eye due to the blood flowing across my face, and I decide to watch the remaining battle with the blurry vision of my left eye alone.


    All three strong magic spells had made a direct impact and the monster was in tatters, but you couldn¡¯t let your guard down against this Heracberg until it was truly over.


    While still making sure that I can run back in just in case they need help, I continued to observe the battle closely but¡ª¡ª¨Cwith Ralf joining the battle, Snow who had a much better coordination with Ralf, went on an absolute rampage.


    Hurt, and now completely out of mana as well, the Heracberg was unable to keep up with Snow¡¯s fast movements who was in a fully healthy state, and within minutes of me leaving the frontline, Snow ripped the Heracberg¡¯s neck off and killed it.

 CH 267

    Heracberg


    After witnessing the victory, I pulled out a healing potion from my item holder and poured it over my head to recover from my injuries.


    [Pain Inhibition] didn¡¯t really have a lot of drawbacks but it does make it hard for me, the user himself, to understand just how serious the injury I have taken is.


    Considering how weak my body feels, I have to assume that I took quite some damage but¡­¡­¡­


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    Since I didn¡¯t lose consciousness and was able to see through Snow and Ralf¡¯s fight¡¯s end, I don¡¯t think the injury is that serious either.


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    ¡°Chris-san! Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I just used a healing item as well, it¡¯ll heal given some time.¡±


    ¡°Should I use mine on you as well? Looking at the wound, a intermediate healing item alone won¡¯t fully heal it.¡±


    Esta came dashing straight towards me full of worry, and a little later, Fecilia and Mielle also joined her.


    Esta was understandable, but even Fecilia and Mielle seemed worried for me, and handed over a high class looking healing item to me.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­you sure? I¡¯m not gonna pay extra for this one alright?¡±


    ¡°What kind of miser do you think I am? Rather than you become a burden for the rest of us, giving you the healing item and letting you recover is a much more safer option, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll gladly use it without holding back.¡±


    Thanks to the healing item I had already used, my headache was already getting better and my vision was also recovering but, I poured the healing potion I got from Fecilia all over my head once more.


    Then I drank the remainder, and was thinking of waiting until it started showing its affect but¡­¡­¡­.


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    ¡°Hm? Ooh! It¡¯s already working. My headache¡¯s almost gone, and my vision is clear again as well.¡±


    ¡°I can still see the swelling on the right side of your forehead but you¡¯re right, it seems to have mostly healed¡­¡­¡­..just how precious was this healing item?¡±


    ¡°Since only a limited amount of these are in circulation, the [Moonlight Fangs] basically exclusively handle the wholesale distribution of this healing potion. A single one costs 1 platinum coin, you know?¡±


    ¡°One platinum coin¡­¡­..!? Are you sure you really don¡¯t want money for this?¡±


    ¡°I mean if you want to pay I¡¯ll gladly take it but, will you?¡±


    ¡°For Ch-chris-san¡¯s sake, thank you very much!!¡±


    Esta panicked at the very mention of having to pay for this but, it¡¯s true, one platinum coin for a single potion is crazy expensive.


    Or rather, that¡¯s about as much I was going to pay her for helping with the Roza forest¡¯s exploration, but now I was worried Fecilia was going to not be convinced and ask for much more.


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    ¡°Hey Chris, you alright? Snow¡¯s killed the beetle monster already!!¡±


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    ¡°Yeah, I was watching. Ralf and Snow, both of you did very well, creating openings and attacking.¡±


    ¡°All thanks to you holding it down for so long all by yourself really, that¡¯s why Snow was able to fight so feely. Right, Snow?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    Snow was wagging its tail happily hoping to get some compliments but, with the state my body was currently in, even Snow was cautious to not jump on to me for it.


    But, looks like thanks to Fecilia¡¯s healing item, I¡¯ll be able to move my body soon enough.


    ¡°Everyone, sorry for the troubles. But thanks to the healing items, I can move normally again. Let¡¯s take a short break here in this room and then¡ª¡ª¨Ccontinue further inside.¡±


    With the gatekeeper, the Heracberg, dead, the path that lead further inside the cave was finally open.


    The corridor that went deeper inside was entirely covered with vines and ivy even on the ceiling, and this completely green path had a really odd atmosphere about it.


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    ¡°So is this fruit of skill really inside this place?¡±


    ¡°There does seem to be strange amount of greenery here, so it feels like the Fruit of Skill will be here but, I wonder if it actually exists or not?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t until we check with our own eyes but¡­¡­..with all the pains we¡¯ve been through, I sure hope it actually does exist here.¡±


    It was mostly a wish rather than deduction but, it has been on my mind ever since I saw the Heracberg waiting here in this area.


    If this environment really is the right place, the fruit of skill should in fact exist at the end of that corridor.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean much to me but, I¡¯m still getting excited! Let¡¯s hurry up and go already!¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. We don¡¯t what else we might run into inside, so let¡¯s take a breather and heal up before proceeding¡­¡­¡­..Ralf too, your legs are still shaking from fatigue you know.¡±


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    While calming Ralf who was getting impatient, we took a moderately long break in this open area.


    In the meantime, I approached the Heracberg¡¯s corpse and began analyzing the headless body of the monster.


    The octopus monster had been completely eviscerated and turned to ash thanks to Fecilia¡¯s [Lightning Rising] but, this Heracberg¡¯s body was still mostly intact if severely damaged.


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    Even though it¡¯s head was ripped off, some its fingers were still twitching even in death, and so while feeling slightly paranoid that it might jump up again, I approached closer to the corpse and began my investigations.


    The glossy blue shell of its had lost its shine and lustre, and its colour had turned to a more blackish muddy green instead.


    It¡¯s outer shell was still as hard as before but, touching it properly made me once again realize just how ridiculously sturdy this thing was.


    Even though I had multiple openings where I could have attacked it with my sword, my attacks would have never made a dent especially since I was entirely focused on using purely defensive skills, so I made the right decision to not rush in to attack it seems, even if that was only by coincidence.


    The part from its wrist to its elbow was especially hard, and I could tell that this part specifically was the probably the hardest part of its shell on its entire body.


    I wanted to extract this part out because it seemed like it could be useful, and I also wanted to see if there was some special organ in its body that allowed it to accumulate mana like it did.


    Considering the amount of mana it was able to hold, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if it even had Magic jewel embedded inside but,¡­¡­..it¡¯s shell was so hard, I wasn¡¯t able to examine its innards.


    If I used all my skills to cut at it, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to cut through to the inside but, it¡¯ll be too hard to adjust just the right amount of power and there¡¯s a high chance I end up completely destroying everything inside unfortunately.


    If I had a leeway with time, I would have loved to slowly examine its body but, the interior of this cave was not that kind of place.


    I stopped at only just ripping off the shield like part in its arm, and then moved on to check on the severed head instead.


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    A severed head that was still stuck with an expression of pain didn¡¯t make for a nice watching experience but, I still closely investigated it like I did with the body.


    ¡­¡­¡­..there wasn¡¯t much of note when it came to its head except of course, the one big long horn growing out of its forehead.


    I don¡¯t know if I could use it in some way but, it was good at conducting mana and was extremely sharp as well.


    I ripped off the horn somehow alongside a part of its forehead, and with that, the investigation of the Heracberg was finished.

 CH 268

    The Glittering Cave


    Normally, I would have loved to carry its corpse all the way to the Ongneer to use as a host but, it was borderline impossible to carry a body this big and heavy to a place that far away.


    Not to mention, I think the Ongneer won¡¯t be able to break past its shell in the first place, so carrying its entire corpse back would be useless anyway.


    While I still wanted to spend abit more time investigating it, I left it alone and gathered everyone to restart our exploration again.


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    ¡°Alright everyone, we should go now. I hope you all got a little bit of rest at least.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m fine now! The leg twitching has stopped as well!¡±


    Ralf did some light jumps to show that his stamina had recovered.


    I may have taken the most damage but Ralf was definitely the most exhausted one, so if he looks fine, it should be okay to proceed again.


    Me, Ralf, and Snow were the frontline and Esta, Mielle and Fecilia behind us; we took our usual formation and began on our way deeper inside the caverns.


    The numerous ivy-like vines of some unknown plant dangled down from the ceiling of the cave and were constantly hitting us as we walked forward making it really hard to move with pace.


    And the further inside we went, the more the number of vines that covered the corridor increased. Part of me wanted to burn it all to the ground but¡­¡­.


    Since there was a chance we might burn the fruit of skill that may be ahead of us, I was never going to take that risk so while keeping vary of the ivy, we cautiously continued to move forward.


    ¡°The ivy on the ground is increasing as well huh. Be careful not to get you leg stuck and fall.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We are paying attention properly to the ground.¡±


    ¡°Chris! These dangling ivy vines from the ceiling feel like they might entwine around our necks! We should be more careful of those!¡±


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    ¡°You¡¯re right, if you fell while your neck was entangled, you¡¯ll basically choke to death from being hung. Be careful of both up and down.¡±


    It really was like we were pushing through waves of ivy.


    Their roots were thick so you couldn¡¯t just cut them off easily, and every step took a lot of effort.


    Right when it was starting to become a bit too tiresome, we saw a light at the end of the tunnel and a open space past it.


    I couldn¡¯t sense any more monsters but, the light was so bright it was hard to believe this was inside the cave.


    ¡°Hey isn¡¯t that place glittering a bit too much!? It¡¯s not some monster doing it right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t sense any monsters ahead so no. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s the source of the light but, I think it should be safe.¡±


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    ¡°You ¡®think¡¯? Man that¡¯s too scary. Are you sure we can¡¯t ask the girls to blast it all away with magic?


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    ¡°Absolutely not. There¡¯s a chance the fruit is near there as well. If I was okay with using magic, I¡¯d have asked them to burn away the ivy first and foresmost.¡±


    ¡°I guess so¡­¡­¡­which means, we have to head in even if it¡¯s dangerous eh!¡±


    I still couldn¡¯t figure out the reason behind the glittering cave but, as long as a monster isn¡¯t involved, it should be okay.


    Since Ralf was still hesitating, I passed by him and walked into the shining area first by myself.


    The cave ended here and we might be coming outside¡ª¡ªis what I thought due to the light, but the area beyond the corridor was still part of the cave.


    The cause of this strong light¡­¡­..was it these crystals?


    ¡°Chris, does it look safe?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is, so come here already. There¡¯s glittering crystals all over the place that¡¯s all.¡±


    After hearing my words, Snow and Ralf followed me into the area and a little while later, the other three also came out from the corridor.


    And around the same time, due to entering a bright area from a dark corridor, my eyes had not yet gotten accustomed to the light at first but I finally I began to get a good look of the place.


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    The ground was made entirely of black soil and had all sorts of plants growing out of there, and there was even a small lake inside as well.


    This must be the rumoured subterranean lake I¡¯ve heard so much about.


    And in the centre of this lake, surrounded by various glowing crystals, was a floating island¡ª¡ª-


    And on that island grew one single stalk that was as big as a tree, and at the end of this giant stalk was oddly shaped, yet colourful, fruit hanging from it.


    ¡°Chris! Look at that!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a chance that that is in fact, the Fruit of Skill.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s the fruit of skill¡­¡­¡­¡­it really did exist. I always thought it was no more than a fairy tale.¡±


    ¡°But, the small island is quite far away into the water. Should we make a ice platform here as well?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so. I¡¯ll leave it to you three, as always.¡±


    Finally, the fruit of skill was in my sights.


    The last piece between me and Klaus.


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    I could hear my heartbeat rise, and due to all sorts of emotions I strangely began to sweat a lot but¡­¡­¡­


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    I quickly calmed myself by taking a couple deep breaths.


    ¡°Since I¡¯ve met you this the first time I¡¯ve seen you look so visibly shook. Are you more emotional than even when you were fighting the Octopus monster and the Heracberg?¡±


    ¡°Probably. It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that I have been wanting this fruit so much that I¡¯d die for it.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­well, that certainly sounds like an exaggeration to me. How would you use the fruit of skill if you were in fact dead?¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s the other way around, there¡¯s no point in living for me if I don¡¯t get the fruit of skill. That is certainly not an exaggeration.¡±


    Fecilia could only tilt her head in confusion unable to understand me but, well her reaction understandable for someone who doesn¡¯t know of my circumstances.


    Since the day my life was threatened and I had to run and hide in the Peixa forest, all I¡¯ve wanted to achieve was my revenge against Klaus.


    And to overtake the [Sword God] himself, I needed the fruit of skill at all costs.


    And if I was unable to do so, I would be rendered unable to fulfil the goal I want to achieve the most in life¡ª¡ª¨Cwhich would mean, I had no reason to live.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­if Ralf or Esta heard this, they¡¯d probably feel very sad but, this is the plain truth. This has been raison d¡¯¨ºtre.


    ¡°phew¡­¡­¡­..alright, let¡¯s go and grab that fruit, shall we?¡±


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    ¡°Got it. This is our last objective of this entire expedition, barring going back of course.¡±


    ¡°Please leave making the ice platform to us.¡±


    And so after what felt like a long, long expedition across the east area, we finally moved to collect the infamous fruit of Skill.

 CH 269

    The Fruit of Skill


    Unlike the muddy waters of the submerged forest area outside the cave, a pretty cobalt blue water was spread in front of our eyes.


    Alongside the shining and glittering crystals, the lake made for some truly picturesque scenery.


    Even without making the ice platforms, I feel like we could simply swim through it, but there¡¯s harm in being cautious till the very end.


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    Esta and Mielle stood in front and dipped their hands into the water before beginning to chant their magic, and soon, a part of the lake froze completely.


    We followed after the two who continued to make the ice platforms, and we continued walking towards the solitary island on which the Fruit of Skill grew on.


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    Since the submerged forest area was still in my head, I was still wary of attacks that may come from the water but, as my detection skills had already shown me, there were no monsters here, so we obviously didn¡¯t get attacked and safely reached the island.


    Everyone was still extremely wary due to the battle with Heracberg, so it felt a bit anti-climactic but that wasn¡¯t a bad thing either.


    Stepping foot on to the island, I took the lead again and finally walked directly towards the object of my heart¡¯s desire, the Fruit of Skill.


    The thick stalk had grown all the way to the ceiling.


    The stalk at the end, split into small branches, and at the end of on those branches hung a strange but colourful fruit.


    ¡°I know we could see it from afar as well so I knew this was quite high up in the air but,¡­¡­..you¡¯re gonna have to climb all the way to the top to get it huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If we cut the stalk itself, it¡¯d fall into the water after all. I did consider firing magic nearby to make it fall but, once again, it¡¯ll put the pressure of having to catch it as it falls and there¡¯s a chance that it still drops into the water which would ruin everything. So climbing it is the safest option.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san will you climb it yourself? You did get hurt against the Heracberg, and it¡¯d be dangerous if you accidentally fell so it¡¯d be safer to let Ralf do it but¡­¡­¡­.what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Oi Esta! Are you saying it¡¯s fine if I fall!?¡±


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    ¡°Better than Chris-san falling, yes. You have high endurance right Ralf, so surely you¡¯ll be fine even if you fell.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll climb it myself. Just guide me towards the fruit from below.¡±


    I stopped the two ho started arguing for whatever reason, and told them that I¡¯d climb it myself.


    In the first place, I planned on climbing it and if the Fruit of Skill was as dangerous of a plant as rumoured, I was too scared to let Ralf take that risk.


    ¡­¡­¡­Well, we don¡¯t even know for sure if this even is actually the fruit of skill or not yet.


    Although I was going to get help and directions from below as I climbed, I still put the rough location of the fruits in my head.


    They were all spread about but I could see there were at least 4 of them hanging there.


    I activated [Flesh Enhancement][Physical Ability Boost][Ability Unleashed], and then began climbing the thick stalk.


    Since there were various stalks entwined together, it was surprisingly easier to climb than I expected and in no time at all, I climbed up high upon the stalk.


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    Honestly, I didn¡¯t even need to activate the skills I used but, in the off chance I fell, it was better to keep them activated.


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    ¡°Chris-san! It¡¯s on the branch to the right of you! That branch, the one that¡¯s touching your right arm right now!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot thinner so be careful! If you think you¡¯re losing balance, just let go of the fruit! I¡¯ll catch it for sure!¡±


    Following the directions from Esta and Ralf who were shouting from below, I quickly headed towards one of the fruits.


    Since there was no space to keep my feet, I dangled down from the branch with my arms and continued and thankfully the stalk was sturdy enough to handle my body weight and didn¡¯t break which means I¡¯ll be able to gather it pretty safely.


    I didn¡¯t drop my speed even when I was using only my arms, and made it to the fruit itself in no time.


    I could tell that the fruit had an odd shape even from afar but, seeing it up close made it even clear why I felt so.


    Rather than one colourful fruit, it was actually a collection of multiple different coloured small fruits that made the entire thing.


    Not just the colours, but each every small fruit were differently shaped as well, and made the whole thing look really inexplicably uncanny.


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    But, that uncanny appearance was also proof that this was not some normal fruit as well.


    After doing a quick observation of the thing, I cut the fruit off the branch and put it inside my item holder.


    The remaining three fruits as well, I gathered quickly thanks to the instructions from below.


    By the way, all four of these fruits looked the same and I wondered if all the fruits would grant the same exact skill perhaps.


    That was my only worry but, as long as it¡¯s a unique skill, even getting one new one was quite a big advantage and that was a fact.


    ¡°I was worried at first, but it all ended pretty safely huh!¡±


    ¡°All thanks for the precise instructions from you guys. I was able to safely gather all of them.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡­..are these actually the fruit of skill?¡±


    I don¡¯t know that yet. I¡¯ll need to slowly analyze and confirm things about them but¡­¡­¡­.if my intuition is correct, these should be the fruits of skill.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can you show it to us. Surely it won¡¯t cause us damage from just looking at it right?¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. But just in case, be sure to look at it from a distance.¡±


    I brought out a fruit and showed it to the four and Snow who were waiting for me below the big stalk.


    It¡¯s smell was quite strong as well, and you could tell that it was not something a normal person could eat.


    Having instinctively sensed that, all of them instantly pulled back and had a disgusted expression the moment they saw the repulsive appearance of the fruit.


    ¡°Is this really the fruit we put in so much effort for!? It¡¯s definitely horrid in taste!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get it for taste you know? I¡¯ve long since grown immune to bad tasting things anyway.¡±


    ¡°If this isn¡¯t the fruit of skill, it really won¡¯t be a laughing matter¡­¡­¡­..now then, since we have completed our objective, let us quickly return. I really want to go back, take a nice bath, and sleep on a soft bed.¡±


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    Mielle was already saying that so, we really shouldn¡¯t waste any more time here and quickly return.


    This was still only the half way point of the expedition after all.


    From here, we have to make it all the way back from the way we came. And just thinking about it¡­¡­..even me who had fulfilled all my objectives still felt a bit depressed just thinking about it.

 CH 270

    Return


    ¡°We are finally out of the forest!! I never want to go back inside a forest ever again!!¡±


    ¡°I must agree. The exploration itself was surprisingly fun but, honestly, this was way harsher and rigorous than even the Dungeon.¡±


    After having collected the fruits of skill, we returned back from the cave in the depths of East Area, and somehow managed to get out of the great forest of Roza after 2 days of travelling back.


    We barely rested in the meantime and continued moving so, it wasn¡¯t just Mielle and Fecilia who were complaining, the rest of us, me included, were absolutely exhausted as well.


    Thankfully, we didn¡¯t run into any other monster as strong as the Heracberg or the Octopus monster near the cave¡¯s entrance again.


    Part of it was also because we didn¡¯t take a rest and instantly started on our way back but, in the off chance we had run into a monster of that level¡­¡­¡­.there was a genuinely good chance, we might have been defeated.


    ¡°My body hurts all over! I can¡¯t even imagine how you three who had to constantly make those ice platforms must be feeling right now! Must be way worse right?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, simply using the same magic over and over again is not as tiring as you¡¯d imagine. I think Ralf, you and Chris-san who had to constantly fight monsters had it much worse.¡±


    ¡°Really? Magic seems like it¡¯d be exhausting to constantly use! Especially considering how much water you had to freeze!¡±


    ¡°During fights it¡¯s definitely worse since you have to constantly think of other things as well but, if its just freezing water over and over, it¡¯s not that bad actually. Of course, if we enter a mana burnout state, we¡¯ll instantly collapse from exhaustion though.¡±


    ¡°Since we were able to take turns and rotate, and even Snow helped, there was not too much worry of a burnout happening, so it was comparatively easier in my personal opinion.¡±


    Being able to rotate and take turns was definitely a huge benefit I¡¯m sure, but I think the biggest reason was the fact that all of three of them were experts in magic.


    Mielle was also a much more talented magic user than I expected, and while a lot happened, Fecilia was most certainly worthy of being a scarletite adventurer as well.


    And Esta, who had the [Mana Regen] skill had definitely contributed the most and even Snow was helping, even though it was also fighting on the frontlines regularly with us as well.


    If we lacked even one of the people here, this expedition would have definitely ended in failure, I¡¯m confident.


    ¡°All said and done, allow me to give my thanks to everyone here once again. I couldn¡¯t have done this without any of you.¡±


    ¡°I just took part because of my promise with Vincent that¡¯s all, no need to thank me. I¡¯ll make sure to get my payment from Vincent in full, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°As for me, I¡¯d like something material rather than just a thanks. I know I chose to come and help myself but surely you¡¯re not going to give me something more than a thanks right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry Mielle. You¡¯ll get paid properly for this.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m good. It¡¯s a win-win for both of us in that case. Compared to having to follow that stupid princess and her dumb guard, this was a nice change of pace and frankly, much easier as well.¡±


    I gave a deep bow as a sign of my gratitude but I only got two very dry responses from these two.


    I suppose it is better to show your thanks not with words but with an actual reward huh.


    ¡°Alright! Now that we¡¯re safely out of the Dungeon, let¡¯s go back to Edestor already! There¡¯s not much left to go so let¡¯s push on till the very end!¡±


    ¡°Agreed. Let¡¯s not let our guard down and make a mistake at the very last stage.¡±


    While I doubt we¡¯d run into anything that¡¯d be as dangerous as the things we faced in the Roza forest, but like Ralf and Esta said, we should still remain vigilant as we make our way back to the city.


    .


    After a incident-less journey from the forest, we safely made it back to Edestor.


    Since Fecilia and Mielle had to go to the Dungeon town, they both parted with us right at the city gate and headed in that direction.


    After separating from them, we returned back to [Gorush] in a surprisingly quiet manner.


    ¡°We¡¯re fiiiinally baaaack!! Since Mielle and Fecilia-san were there, I was acting all tough but, I¡¯m really spent this time!¡±


    ¡°An unfamiliar way of travelling and battles with tough enemies. Not to mention the number of monster we had to face. It was certainly a place where we could not let our guard down even for a second. I am completely exhausted as well.¡±


    Ralf cried happily as soon as we entered the room and Esta didn¡¯t even have the energy to do that.


    Snow as well, didn¡¯t even give a howl or a bark, and instantly ran straight into the bed of towels made for its personal use and buried itself inside and went to sleep.


    Looks like everyone really pushed themselves to the limit this time.


    ¡°Good for you Snow. I wanna collapse on my bed and go to sleep as well!¡±


    ¡°You can sleep as much as you want but let¡¯s all take a shower one by one before that. The dirt on all of us is no joke.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. Rock-paper-scissors for who goes to go in first!¡±


    ¡°You two can do it. I can go last. I still have things to do anyway.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then, Esta c¡¯mon let¡¯s go, Rock paper scissors!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you can go first. I need to rearrange all our stuff after all.¡±


    ¡°Alright! I won¡¯t take too long so just wait while I go take a bath okay!¡±


    With a new change of clothes, Ralf ran into the bath energetically. I guess he had energy left after all.


    Giving a side glance to Ralf like that, I brought out the fruit of skill that we had gathered and began investigating it.


    It was about as big as Esta¡¯s face.


    Since I couldn¡¯t keep them all inside my item holder, I had to hang them on my waist to carry them but thankfully, I had been able to bring them back without damaging them.


    ¡°It really has a ridiculous appearance huh. Thankfully the smell seems to have dissipated for the most part.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If it hadn¡¯t, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have been able to bring it inside the room.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I sure hope this really is the fruit of skill. Otherwise all our effort would have been for nothing.¡±


    ¡°I agree. I do think this is the real thing but, I won¡¯t find out for fact until I test it out.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, you¡¯ll be spending tomorrow entirely on figuring this fruit out right?¡±


    ¡°No, once I take a shower, I¡¯ll start right away, today.¡±


    ¡°Eh?!? Right away?? Shouldn¡¯t you rest your body for at least today!? Or you really will collapse from exhaustion you know?¡±


    Esta spoke loudly in surprise but, with the fruit right here, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to sleep anyway.


    Since I also have the promise with Vincent to show him the fruit of skill, I need to keep one of them stored for now but, it should be fine to use the remaining 3 as I see fit.


    First, I need to get an ability assessment done, and then I¡¯ll begin my discerning process to see what these fruits actually do.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said that I wasn¡¯t as exhausted as Ralf and Esta but, if its to investigate the fruit of skill, I¡¯m sure my body can still move.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to be fighting anyone. Just going to church and getting an assessment done.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I suppose you¡¯re right so I won¡¯t stop you but still, please be careful to not collapse on the way or something okay?¡±


    ¡°Thanks for worrying about me.¡±


    While I was chatting Esta, Ralf came out of the bath having finished cleaning up.


    Like he said, he really was super fast.


    Now I just need to wait for Esta to be done as well, and once I have taken a bath too¡ª¡ªI¡¯ll finally begin my investigations of the fruit of skill.

 CH 271

    Penance


    After taking a shower and cleaning my body, I left the room quietly so as to not wake up the two and Snow who had instantly gone to sleep, and headed towards the church with fruits of skill.


    My head was feeling dull but, my body was still pumping adrenaline like crazy that kept my eyes open.


    Like Esta said, my body really could collapse at any point now and even I knew that but, my legs didn¡¯t stop and I made it to the church.


    First, I need to get my assessment done and check my current status, then eat one fruit of skill and then check again. The usual method.


    With shaking feet, I made it to the assessment room and waited for the old Sister to come.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back again. It hasn¡¯t been too long since you had an assessment done, no?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I always get assessments done in short gaps? Regardless, I¡¯ll pay as always so please do my assessment quickly.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know¡­¡­¡­..or rather, you seem exceptionally tired right now, but are you okay? Those are some deep ark circles under your eyes.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, no I don¡¯t think I¡¯m fine but, if you hurry up with assessments, the faster I can go and get some rest, so please.¡±


    I¡¯m happy that she¡¯s worried for my health but, I¡¯d prefer if she spent that time quickly doing the assessment instead. That would be much better in my current state.


    Since I was barely staying up, my responses were certainly ruder than normal while I waited for her to finish my assessment.


    The last time I came here was before I went to the East Area.


    I doubt there¡¯s been much increase in stats since then but, to get an accurate details of what effects the fruit of skill has on my body, I need to have the exact info of my stats as well.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-And, it¡¯s done. I doubt there¡¯s change but, do check.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    I took my card, in return for a gold coin and quickly checked the card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 28(+477)


    Strength: 25(+551)


    Stamina: 24(+349)


    Magic: 7(+191)


    Agility: 15(+283)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes][Wild Instinct][Team Morale Boost][Venom][Sound Wave Detection]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As expected the increase in stats was not a lot, just a little upgrade from last time.


    I don¡¯t even know if the fruit of skill increases your base stats or not but, there¡¯s no harm in making sure.


    ¡°Good enough. I¡¯ll be back again today so I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    ¡°Again, the same huh¡­¡­¡­..I really don¡¯t understand the meaning behind your actions but, sure, I¡¯ll do my job as always.¡±


    Saying that to the old Sister, I left the church for now.


    I quickly moved to an empty location, and then moved to consuming the fruit of skill.


    I brought out one of the fruits from my rucksack, and lifted it against the sun it observe it again.


    It¡¯s smell has greatly dissipated but, it¡¯s appearance was still eerie as always.


    I was scared of how it was going to taste as well but, more than that, my biggest worry was the rumour that whoever eats a fruit of skill dies on the spot.


    I have basically assumed that the death is because of a poison so I¡¯ll be fine but, there¡¯s always a chance that it¡¯s actually something else that was the reason behind said deaths.


    A little too late to get cold feet but, like I had proclaimed to Fecilia in that cavern, without this fruit, I¡¯ll never be able to catch up to Klaus and I might as well be dead.


    So even if it does kill me¡­¡­..I have no choice but to go for it.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.thanks for the food, O lord.¡±


    If I did die, I felt what worry over what would happen to Ralf, Esta and Snow, but regardless, I gave my before meal greetings and took a bite out of the fruit.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CMM!!¡±


    The moment I took the bite, an intense bitterness assaulted my tongue, which was followed by a sharp pain inside my body, as if someone was pricking my innards with a needle from the inside.


    I guess there was small spikes inside the oddly shaped fruit as well, and I almost ended up puking it all out but¡­¡­..


    I quickly drank the water I had brought to wash the fruit down into my stomach forcefully.


    The bitterness stayed even after the water and made me nauseous but, more than that, the pain that assaulted me from the inside was far, far worse.


    It was as if spikes were piercing into my tongue, my gums, my throat; and just the act of swallowing my spit resulted in intense pain.


    If this fruit was not the fruit of skill, I would throw it all away but, for now I activated [Pain inhibition] and swallowed the remainder of the fruit as well.


    I probably should have activated this skill from the start but, it cost a lot of stamina which was in scarcely available to me in my current state anyway.


    [Pain Inhibition] couldn¡¯t kill the bitterness in my mouth though, and the pain will return the moment I turn the skill off so this was mostly a temporary measure.


    Now it was also a race against time as my stamina depleted, so I wanted to quickly devour the rest of the fruit but¡­¡­¡­.This one bite was no more than 1/20th of the full fruit.


    I was at a loss against the suffering I was about to go through but then again, if this really gives me a unique skill, this will most certainly be all worth it.


    While feeling happy that at least my body didn¡¯t explode or something the moment I ate it, I continued eating the remainder of the fruit.

 CH 272

    The Blessings of the Fruit of Skill


    After washing down the last bite, I was finally able to consume the entire fruit.


    The bitterness in my tongue was strong enough that it felt almost numb, and while I felt no pain due to [Pain Inhibition] I could still feel the prickliness inside my mouth still.


    I don¡¯t even want to imagine what kind of pain is going to assault me the moment I deactivate that skill so, while the feeling of exhaustion and fatigue only grew worse, I kept it active as I made my way back to the church.


    I obviously wanted to avoid a situation where I find out now that it was actually not a real fruit of skill, but unfortunately that was nothing something in my power to decide.


    With both excitement and anxiety in heart, I headed to the assessment room.


    ¡°I was waiting for you. I know we¡¯ve been through this many times but I still get surprised when you actually return so soon.¡±


    ¡°You have my thanks. Here¡¯s the card and gold coin.¡±


    Without returning back, the old Sister seemed to have been waiting for me inside the room and greeted me as I came in, and I quickly gave her my card and money in return.


    ¡°Thanks for the patronage. Then allow me to begin¡ª¡ª-and, it¡¯s done. Please check your card.¡±


    We kept our conversation to the minimum, and the assessment was finished in record time.I took back the card from the old Sister, and was about to finally see the real identity of this fruit.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­phew.


    I took a deep breath, and then turned over the card to check.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 28(+477)


    Strength: 25(+551)


    Stamina: 24(+349)


    Magic: 7(+191)


    Agility: 15(+283)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison][Suicidal Strike]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes][Wild Instinct][Team Morale Boost][Venom][Sound Wave Detection]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CYES!!¡±


    I gripped my fist tightly and ended up shouting inside the assessment room in jubilation.


    Panicking, I quickly left the room and then checked the card again outside the church.


    No stats had increased, and neither had I gotten any new common skills but¡­¡­¡­..in the unique skills column, the newly added words, [Suicidal Strike] seemed almost be glowing.


    The name of the skill was dangerous sounding and it would make one wonder if this even was a strong skill but, the fact that it was a unique skill greatly increased my expectations regardless.


    And above all, I was happy to know that the fruit I had gathered was in fact the fruit of skill.Now, I simply have to find out if all the fruits give the same effect or not.


    If they all gave different skills, nothing else could make me happier but, the chances of it being the same were higher considering they all look the same and were growing from the same tree.


    ¡ª¡ª-well actually, there were a lot of multiple branches and stalks entwined together so maybe they were all growing from different stalks?


    In either case, once I eat the other two fruits and get my assessment done, I will find out soon enough.


    [Pain Inhibition] continued to sap away my stamina but, I¡¯m not gonna stop here and I plan on consuming the remaining fruits right here and now.


    After sitting down in a empty alley behind the church, another hour had passed.


    While fighting against the intense bitterness and feeling of vomiting, I had finally consumed the remaining two fruits of skill as well.


    Fatigue, nausea, numbness from the bitterness, severe headache, and an intense pressure was coming on my stomach bowels as well.


    Furthermore, the small spikes had absolutely ruined the insides of my mouth, and right I was in the worst condition body wise than I have ever been in my entire life but¡­¡­¡­until I get the assessment done and see the effects of the fruits, I can¡¯t collapse just yet.


    With swaying steps, I entered the church again, went directly to the assessment room in a straight line. Since I took a lot more time this time, the Sister seemed to have left, so I rung the bell and quietly waited for her to return.


    ¡°You sure kept me waiting¡ª¡ª¨Chey, are you okay!?? You were already looking rough but, now your face is deathly pale, you know.¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯ll be fine. Just do the assessment please.¡±


    I handed over the gold coin and adventurer card, and I focused entirely on making sure that I didn¡¯t lose concentration.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t on some weird drugs are you? Your condition looks really off, and not to mention these frequent assessments. You sure you aren¡¯t using some illegal augmenting drugs or something¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°No I¡¯m not. So quickly do the assessment. Please.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..the church will not take any responsibility I¡¯m telling you in advance.¡ª¡ª¡ªand it¡¯s done. Here, check.¡±


    I urged on the sister who was highly suspicious of the sudden yet extreme change in condition of my body, and then quickly took my card back and left the church.


    I can always explain her the reason afterwards once I¡¯m healthy again, but right now I wanted to get back to [Gorush] as quickly as possible.


    Was this because of the fruit of skill, or was my body simply at its absolute limit¡­¡­¡­..


    Ever since I got up from the seat, my vision was swaying from left to right, and I wasn¡¯t even able to check my adventurer card while I¡¯m like this.


    I left checking the results for later, and desperately focused entirely on walking back to the [Gorush] inn before my body collapses and I fall unconscious.


    The Final Status Update was as follows-


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 28(+477)


    Strength: 25(+551)


    Stamina: 24(+349)


    Magic: 7(+191)


    Agility: 15(+283)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison][Suicidal Strike][Hardening][Black Mist]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes][Wild Instinct][Team Morale Boost][Venom][Sound Wave Detection]

 CH 273

    Chapter 273


    Recuperation


    After that, I somehow managed to return back to the inn while swaying and staggering about but, it took me another two whole weeks before I was able to get out of bed rest and move around properly again.


    I ended up suffering from a high fever because I forced myself to consume the fruits of skill while I was already completely exhausted, and on top, the fruit itself further hurt my mouth, throat and stomach, and for almost a week I struggled to even sleep properly.


    Since healing magic or portions didn¡¯t work either, I was genuinely resolved for death but, at the brink of near death, I also learnt how to activate skills while sleeping as well.


    Activating [Pain Inhibition] while sleeping was the only way for me to get some actual rest, and only after another week of rest like that did I finally regain the ability to move about again.


    ¡°Chris, you¡¯re finally back right!? For a while, I really thought you were going to die!!¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I had accepted death for a while as well¡­¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m really sorry for causing so much trouble to both of you.¡±


    ¡°Please, we didn¡¯t think of it as troublesome at any point so no need to apologize. I¡¯m just glad you have finally recovered!¡±


    Both them were constantly nursing me in turns, and once my condition settled a bit, they went and did requests to earn my share of money as well.


    The entire great forest of Roza expedition was for my sake as well, so it feels like this entire month I had basically incurred a huge debt to these two.


    I will most definitely repay these favours back one day, but for now I need to do the things I was unable to do while I was stuck on my bed.


    The thing I was most curious to find out was obviously about the unique skills I had gained from the fruits.


    Anytime I felt like I was going to cross over into the realm of the dead, I would pick up my adventurer card and look at the unique skills column to give myself the energy to live.


    I truly think that the only reason I was able to survive those hellish days was because I couldn¡¯t just die before learning what those unique skills could do.


    I had assumed that all the fruits would grant the same effect but, in a rare case of a happy miscalculation on my part, all three fruits had granted a completely different unique skill.


    Now, I had 4 unique skills including [Null Poison].


    And counting the one remaining fruit that I had kept to show to Vincent, I¡¯ll be able to possess 5 unique skills in the end.


    To quickly master these new skills, I tried to think over what the skills would do while I lay on by bed after my condition improved a bit but¡ª¡ª¨Cthe skill name alone didn¡¯t really give away much in regards to what the effect of the skills were.


    The first one I got [Suicidal Strike] could possibly be a devastating strike at the cost of my own life if we are guessing by the name alone but, it could also be explosion that originates from my body or something like that? (T/N: Hard to translate but, ¡°jibaku¡± can mean both suicidal, or self destruction. A slight difference in nuance.)


    [Hardening] was a lot easier to imagine, and I assume it¡¯s just a higher level variation of the [Skin Strengthen] skill.


    If I combine it with [Skin Strengthen][Fortification] and [Iron Wall], I should be able to take on even the strongest of attacks head on.


    And the last one, [Black Mist]¡­¡­¡­honestly, I have no idea what this skill could possible do.


    The only thing I can think of is that I can release a black mist to use as a smokescreen¡ª¡ª-but, that was doable with just a normal smoke bomb, so I don¡¯t see what makes this so special to be a unique skill.


    ¡ª¡ª-but well, it¡¯ll be faster to juts try them out rather than think of what they can do.


    I wanted to quickly leave Edestor and try out these skills on the open plains but¡­¡­..


    ¡°Yesterday, there was a message from Vincent-san. To come meet him today at the Dungeon town! Chris, you¡¯re coming as well right?¡±


    ¡°I owe one to Fecilia after all, I think I have to, right?¡±


    ¡°Obviously! Fecilia-san, and Mielle both came to visit you while you were sick you know!¡±


    ¡°Even Bors-san, and Phillip-san said to come meet when you had recovered as well. Also, a person named Henjak also came to deliver some special herbs as well¡­¡­¡­.and now that I think about it, it was right after we used those herbs that your condition began to improve much faster.¡±


    My memories while I was ill are vague so I don¡¯t recall much but, looks like a lot of people came to check up on me.


    I may have learnt to activate skills even while asleep automatically but, the only reason I didn¡¯t run out of stamina even while I slept was because of Henjak¡¯s herbs I think.


    While I do want to go test my new unique skills, it was more important to make rounds to all the people who had helped me with the expedition and tell them that I had fully recovered.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to go on visiting trip then it seems. Let¡¯s go to the Dungeon town first and visit the [Moonlight Fangs]. Next, we¡¯ll meet up with Mielle if she¡¯s available, and then I¡¯ll drop by the old golem guy¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you to Vincent¡¯s place as well!¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I am not very good with Vincent after all.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll stay home with Snow, and then we can go to Phillip-san¡¯s place together.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Wait for me to come back from Dungeon town then.¡±


    And so, I decided to head to the Dungeon town alongside Ralf.


    While feeling this weird sense of nervousness from having to leave my room after 2 weeks of staying inside, I left [Gorush].


    ¡°Chris, how does it feel to walk the streets of the city once again? Any problems?¡±


    ¡°My body does feel a bit dull but overall, I think I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s kinda bound to happen after lying on a bed for two weeks straight eh! You should really get that dullness out of your body before you join us in co0mpleting requests again huh!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I have already decided to go and make some plans with Bors-san for that. We¡¯ll have some matches to get rid of the rust off my body.¡±


    ¡°ooh, that¡¯s sounds fun! Can I also join in and have some matches with Bors-san!?¡±


    While having such a chat with Ralf, we made our way to the dungeon town.

 CH 274

    Conditions


    Reaching Dungeon town, we made our way directly to the dungeon-use exclusive adventurer guild.


    Entering from the same back door as last time, we walked through the employee-only area and reached the same reception room.


    Just in case, I activated [Mana Sense] and [Life Presence Sense] as well but, I didn¡¯t sense any strong presence from inside.


    As my skills had already detected, the members of the [Moonlight Fangs] had not yet arrived and only a glasses wearing light skinned frail old man was sitting inside the room.


    ¡°Oh hello. I am the vice chief of this guild. My name is Melvin.¡±


    ¡°Hey, have the people from [Moonlight Fangs] not arrived yet?¡±


    ¡°I hear they are still in their Inn, ah, but I have already sent an employee to call them. So please sit down and wait, it shouldn¡¯t take too long for them to arrive.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Sorry for the trouble.¡±


    ¡°No no, this not a problem for us at all. You are an esteemed guest of the honoured [Moonlight Fangs], so by all means, you can always come to us whenever you have any business with them.¡±


    The vice chief continued to bow as he talked in a super formal and polite fashion to me.


    All this showed me was how much influence and power the [Moonlight Fangs] had, to the point where the guild seemed like a subordinate to them.


    If the [Moonlight Fangs] were also evil like Greath, this adventurer guild would have been completely ruined as well.


    While I thought of such things, the vice chief left the room.


    ¡°That¡¯s some extreme special treatment we¡¯re getting huh. Is it always like this when you meet Vincent?¡±


    ¡°No, I originally ran into them in front of the dungeon by accident, so I have never had to wait like this at all! Or rather, the first time I entered this room was when I came with you the last time Chris!¡±


    ¡°Eh, really?¡­¡­¡­¡­so who¡¯s gonna show up this time around?¡±


    ¡°Probably just Vincent-san and Fecilia-san I imagine? Oh and maybe Liam-san as well! He did become the witness for the promise between you and Vincent-san after all!¡±


    So it¡¯ll be the same three as last time.


    I kinda wanted to meet the other members at least once but, they all seemed to have strong personalities and I don¡¯t tend to get along with people like that, so maybe this is for the better.


    While thinking of such things and having some random chats with Ralf, I suddenly felt a couple of strong presences approaching towards us.


    This must be Vincent and Fecilia.


    ¡°Ralf, and Chris, sorry for keeping you guys waiting! I hear a bit from Fecilia already but, looks like your expedition went well eh!¡­¡­..but, Chris, you collapsed from the fatigue right?¡±


    Right after entering the room, Vincent began talking in his usual loud voice.


    Sitting down in front of us on the sofa, with a sly grin on his face as always, he questioned me so.


    Behind the loud Vincent, Fecilia and Liam also quietly followed him inside.


    Both of the game a curt bow to me as if apologising for Vincent¡¯s attitude.


    ¡°Yes it all went very well thanks to you help of course. And rather than the fatigue, it was mostly the effects of eating the fruit of skill that led to me collapsing.¡±


    ¡°The fruit of skill! So it really was the real thing huh! Oi, you recall our promise right?¡±


    ¡°To show you the fruit? Of course I do, and I have it on me right now don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Show¡­¡­..? Huh, wasn¡¯t the promise to give me one?¡±


    He had entered the room all smiles, but suddenly his face turned serious and he leaned forward as he cross questioned me.


    ¡­¡­¡­..I really don¡¯t like this guy after all.


    I¡¯m sure he fully remembers exactly what the promise was but, if I faltered here he really would take a fruit from me.


    ¡°No0 it wasn¡¯t. I only said I¡¯ll give you one if I found like 30 of those. This time I only gathered 4 so, the promise remains at simply showing you one. Of course, the conditions were witnessed by Liam here as well, and Fecilia can confirm the number of fruits I got, if you think I¡¯m lying.¡±


    ¡°H-he¡¯s right. Vincent, that was exactly the promise you made.¡±


    ¡°I can confirm as well. We only found 4 fruits during the expedition.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Huh? So that¡¯s how it was! My bad, Chris! I forgot and really thought you promised to give me one! No worries!¡±


    Returning back to his wide smile, he acted like he was embarrassed from getting it wrong and gave a light apology.


    No, seriously, I will never, ever get along with a guy like this.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if it was just a simple misunderstanding. As for the promise of showing it, here, take a look for as long as you want.¡±


    I brought out the fruit of skill from inside my bag, and placed it on the table.


    From his previous reactions, I thought he¡¯d be super interested in observing the fruit closely but¡­¡­..


    He just took a couple glances from afar, and the signalled with his arm to tell me it was enough and that I could put it back inside.


    ¡°Well, with that the contract is complete! Be sure to come to us for help again if you need anything! I¡¯ll always be nice to a friend of Ralf after all!¡±


    ¡°Sure. If something comes up, I¡¯ll be in your care once again.¡±


    ¡°Vincent-san, thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. How could I reject the request of my cute junior after all!¡±


    I really wondered if he even was interested in the fruit or not in the first place.


    Still unable to understand why Vincent agreed to such one-sided conditions, I put the fruit of skill back into my bag.


    And seeing Vincent happily talking with Ralf, I realized that we were done here, so I decided to leave the room by myself.


    ¡°Ralf, I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡±


    ¡°Sure! Oh and be sure to ask Bors-san about me as well when you meet okay!¡±


    While still unable to get rid of this feeling that Vincent was up to something no good, I had a quick chat with Ralf, gave a curt bow to the three and then left the guild.

 CH 275

    Fecilia


    After leaving the guild, I was planning on looking for Mielle but someone called me from behind.


    Turning around, I saw Fecilia who had chased after me for whatever reason.


    ¡°Fecilia? What happened?¡­¡­¡­oh right, I hadn¡¯t paid your share yet had I?¡±


    Vincent¡¯s attitude completely distracted me from everything so I completely forgot paying Fecilia for her work as well.


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    She even used a potion worth an entire platinum coin on me in the caverns, so my ten gold coin payment might seem like let-down for her but, regardless, I intend to pay her properly for what it¡¯s worth.


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    ¡°Oh I don¡¯t really care about the reward but¡­¡­..sure, I¡¯ll accept it regardless.¡±


    ¡°And I heard you came to visit me while I was bedridden as well. Thank you for that.¡±


    ¡°I was simply curious how the man who was able to so easily fight against those strong monsters inside the cave suddenly ended up collapsing that¡¯s all. Unlike Mielle-san, I didn¡¯t bring any visiting gifts either so, pay it no heed.¡±


    I still didn¡¯t quite get what kind of reason was that but, well, if she says pay it no heed, I shouldn¡¯t think too much either.


    But wait, did Mielle actually bring something for me?


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.I guess I¡¯ll have to buy some kind of return gift before visiting her in that case huh?


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­all that aside, you ate the fruits of skill right? I heard that was why you collapsed from Esta-san.¡±


    ¡°Well yeah. The moment I ate it, my condition suddenly took a turn for the worse.¡±


    ¡°So you really did it. I actually came to hear about it from you, but you were completely unconscious back then so could you tell me more about it now?¡±


    To hear about happened after eating the fruit of skill is why Fecilia chased after me eh?


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    I don¡¯t really want to talk about the fruit of skill to many people but, I owe a big debt to Fecilia for helping me get them so she has the right to know I think.


    Rather than try and be secretive, it¡¯s better to tell her everything without lying.


    ¡°The fruits we gathered were absolutely the real thing. As a side effect of eating them, my body completely collapsed but, I did get new unique skills as intended.¡±


    ¡°So it really was real huh. Just how strong are these new skills and what kind of abilities are they?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t plan on telling that much in detail to anyone except Ralf and Esta.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s only natural but still¡­¡­..you¡¯re a stingy one huh.¡±


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    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think of me but, I won¡¯t say what I don¡¯t want to say.¡±


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    ¡°Then let me change the question. The rumours that eating the fruit of skill will kill you, are they real? Though I suppose that is an odd question to ask the guy who did survive eating one.¡±


    How should I answer this one? I¡¯m pretty sure the fruit possess an incredible amount of fatal poison, but because I have [Null Poison] I survived but¡­¡­¡­..that was only my assumption.


    In truth, if I didn¡¯t have the [Pain Inhibition] skill as well, I probably would have died from the debilitating effects of the fruit as well, and that constant intense pain that won¡¯t even let you sleep is probably the main reason why the fruit tends to kill the person who eats it.


    In either case, the fact remains that eating the fruit kills the person.


    ¡°No, I think the fruit does in fact kill the person who eats it. I only survived because I possess multiple skills to counteract the harming effects of the fruit of skill but, if a normal person ate it, I¡¯m pretty sure they won¡¯t survive it.¡±


    ¡°Skills to counteract the effects of the fruit of skill eh¡­¡­¡­..I am curious what those might be but I doubt you¡¯d be willing to talk about those?¡±


    ¡°No chance.¡±


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    When I gave an instant reply, Fecilia pouted her lips to show her displeasure.


    Until we reached the caverns, she was mostly expressionless so I couldn¡¯t get a read on what she was thinking but, she¡¯s become a lot more expressive since then.


    ¡­¡­¡­or perhaps I simply became more used to reading her more delicate changes in expression and mood.


    ¡°Was that all? If you have any more questions, I¡¯m willing to answer them.¡±


    ¡°No, I have no more questions. Sorry for stopping you.¡±


    ¡°No, I know my answers were hardly perfect so don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡­¡­oh right, actually I have a question for you instead, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°What is it? I¡¯ll answer if I can of course.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about your hairstyle. You had quite the peculiar curly hairstyle during our expedition no? It was basically a trademark look of yours, or so I thought, but today you¡¯ve cut those away so I got curious that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Is that it?¡ª¡ª¨Chow does it look? I think short hair suits me quite well as well.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. If there¡¯s no reason behind it then that¡¯s fine.¡±


    Fecilia gave an elegant twirl, and spoke as if to poke fun at me.


    I only asked because I thought there was some reason behind it but, looks like there isn¡¯t any. I turned back around, and was about to leave when¡ª¡ª-


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°I simply recognised that I was still lacking in various ways. After promoting to Scarletite rank, I now realize how over confident and cocky I had become that¡¯s all. I took a lot of care of my hair everyday and they were precious to me but, that is why I cut them, as punishment for myself.¡±


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    ¡°Is that so¡­¡­¡­¡­.my bad. I guess it¡¯s our fault for forcing you to come to such a dangerous place with us.¡±


    ¡°While I suppose you are certainly at ¡®fault¡¯ Chris, but it did also give me a chance to revaluate myself so you don¡¯t need to apologise. To make sure I don¡¯t fall behind you who¡¯s most certainly going to become even stronger after eating the fruit of skill, I¡¯ll continue training even harder so¡­¡­¡­.if the chance arrives, please invite me again on another expedition.¡±


    ¡°Sure. We only explored the east side of the great forest of Roza, so if I decide to explore the other side, I¡¯ll be sure to invite you again.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.okay, maybe not to that damn forest again, if possible.¡±


    Her resolved face instantly crumbled, and Fecilia rejected my idea with a bitter face making us both break into a light chuckle. After that, I gave a short wave as I said goodbye and went on my way.


    When we met she was quite antagonising, and I was definitely let down a bit from what I expected of a scarletite adventurer but, in the end, as far as mentality goes, she was definitely a top-class adventurer. There were no doubts about that.


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    I need to make sure I master those unique skills properly to not fall behind Fecilia¡­¡­¡­..


    And when we party up together again, I¡¯ll need to make sure that I work hard enough that she doesn¡¯t end up thinking that I¡¯m lacking that time either.

 CH 276

    A Dry Reaction


    After parting with Fecilia, I was wandering around the Dungeon town to look for Mielle.


    From what I heard from Ralf, she hadn¡¯t gone back into the dungeon and was waiting for Charlotte and Gautier to return back instead.


    But I had no idea of where to even look for her, so I had to basically search the town aimlessly.


    It¡¯s painful to have to search like this but, since I had her take the initiative to contact us everytime, I had no way of contacting her from my side.


    I¡¯m sure I could find her by asking around but, I¡¯m not that desperate either so after I make one more lap around the town, I¡¯ll give up and return¡ª¡ª¨Cthe moment I decided that.


    I saw a familiar face walking towards me


    They recognized me as well, but they pretended to not see me and were trying to walk past by me.


    ¡­¡­¡­.it seems like they think that I didn¡¯t notice them.


    ¡°Mielle, why are you ignoring me and trying to walk past me?¡±


    ¡°Geh, you really caught me after all huh.¡±


    ¡°of course I did. Do you really disguise yourself whenever you walk around town?¡±


    Right now, Mielle¡¯s appearance was the same as the unshaven old man that she used when we met for the first time.


    It was a long time ago but, that was one of the few times I had been attacked and caught off guard so there was no way I was ever going to forget that.


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s annoying to have to dress up everytime after all. If I¡¯m an old man, I can dress however dirtily as I want.¡±


    ¡°Well, whatever. I was actually looking for you so let¡¯s find someplace to sit and talk.¡±


    ¡°Eh, just here is fine right? Can we not stand and talk?¡±


    Since a unshaven old man was talking like a young girl, we were already catching some attention though.


    I don¡¯t want to stand out too much so I was hoping to find some store to sit in but, if she says she¡¯s okay talking like this, I guess it¡¯s fine.


    ¡°In that case, we can quickly finish our talk here. First, thanks for coming to visit me. And once again, thanks for your help during the expedition.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s fine. I just happened to come to get my payment and found out that you had collapsed that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Hm? But Fecilia said that you have even brought a visiting gift though?¡±


    ¡°I just happened to have an item on my hands okay? So don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    So she ¡®happened¡¯ to be coming to get her reward, and just also ¡®happened¡¯ to have a visiting gift on her hands?


    The hell is this girl talking about? But, if she says to not think much about it, I¡¯ll do exactly that.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­I don¡¯t really get it but regardless, thanks. As for your payment, here, it¡¯s in this bag. You can check.¡±


    ¡°Oh you actually brought it huh.¡ª¡ª-10 gold coins eh. Well, it¡¯s good enough I suppose.¡±


    She said that but the corners of her lips rose into a smile the moment Mielle saw the money.


    Since she still had the appearance of an old man, it was hardly a nice smile to look at but, unlike Fecilia, I¡¯m glad she was satisfied with just the money.


    ¡°That¡¯s about it from me. If you have any question, I¡¯m willing to answer though?¡±


    ¡°Not really. If I get some message from the stupid princess, I¡¯ll call you then.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to know about the fruit of skill?¡±


    ¡°honestly, I¡¯m not interested. Unlike you Chris, I don¡¯t want power so much that I¡¯d put my life in danger.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..you say that but, didn¡¯t you come and work for the princess to rise in status after getting abandoned by Klaus?¡±


    ¡°Only because my pride wouldn¡¯t allow me to fall into ruin either. Also, I¡¯m not going to die just because I¡¯m working with someone I don¡¯t like.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, you can always ask me if you get curious later. I¡¯ll answer whatever I can as thanks for the help.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Then, bye.¡±


    I stood there and watched as Mielle juggled the coin bag in her hands and walked away.


    ¡­¡­¡­.now then, that¡¯s everything done so I suppose it¡¯s time for me to return to Edestor then.


    First, I¡¯ll go an pick up Esta at [Gorush] and then go to the [Magic Cave] together.


    Afterwards, I¡¯ll go look for Bors, and make some arrangements with him¡ª¡ª¨Cand then finally I can go and test my new skills.


    Since it took some time to find Mielle, the sun was already at the peak in the sky so I quickly made my way back to Edestor.


    .


    After returning to Edestor, I reunited with Esta at [Gorush] who was house sitting with Snow.


    Leaving Snow to rest in the room, both of us made our way to [Magic Cave].


    Not that much time has actually passed since I was last here but, so much had happened since then that it still felt like it had been a long time since I came here.


    Following after Esta, we made our way towards the inner room where the old golem guy usually worked in.


    ¡°Has Esta been coming here these days?¡±


    ¡°Yes, after your condition stabilized, I¡¯ve been coming here pretty much every day. After seeing Fecilia-san and Mielle-san¡¯s magic, I¡¯ve had a lot to think about.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I understand Fecilia but, is Mielle¡¯s magic also that amazing?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. Unlike me who only recently learnt how to use magic, those two have been learning it since they were kids or so I heard. Even when we use the same magic, the level of proficiency they have is on a whole different level.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. From the side, yours looked the same to me though.¡±


    ¡°In my case, having [Mana Regen] allows me to compensate for the lack in quality that¡¯s all. But, I will most certainly surpass them both soon, I can say that precisely because I watched them from closeby. So look forward to that.¡±


    Saying that, Esta gave a somewhat evil sounding laugh.


    Looks like the Roza forest expedition ended up being a good bonus for Esta as well.


    Feeling excited to see how Esta will grow from here, we reached the old man¡¯s room while chatting.


    A suspicious kind of smoke was leaking out of the room as always, and I could easily imagine him working on some new crazy thing as usual.

 CH 277

    Big Mana Ball


    ¡°Phillip-san, I¡¯ve brought Chris-san with me.¡±


    ¡°oo, wait there for a while. I¡¯ll be done in just a second.¡±


    We were made to wait outside the room, and after the smoke had dissipated, the old golem guy gave us the permission to enter again.


    I followed after Esta but, even without the smoke, the room was still reeking of an odd smell.


    ¡°As always, this room continues to stink.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the first thing you have to say? Well, good to see you back in healthy spirits I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for the worries. And thanks for the potions as well.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. I was worried¡ª¨Cor rather curious about the fruit of skill that¡¯s all, so I did a favour to get you in my debt.¡±


    With a sly smile, the golem guy openly spoke so.


    I had a feeling it¡¯ll be that but¡­¡­¡­.Fecilia, Mielle, and now this old man. They¡¯re all quite profit minded huh.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing special to tell you however. Just that eating it gave me pains strong enough to kill me.¡±


    ¡°I could tell that from watching you over the last 2 weeks! I don¡¯t want to know that¡­¡­¡­.C¡¯mon, did you actually get new skills?¡±


    ¡°Who knows I wonder. I¡¯ll tell you if you answer my question instead.¡±


    ¡°A question for me? What is it?¡±


    ¡°I want to ask about high density mana. [Anti Magic] can only be used for disruption and interference right, but if you were to say hypothetically condense an even greater amount of mana, could it also be used as a direct attack?¡±


    On the way back from the forest, I had been thinking about it. The Big mana blasts that Heracberg was using.


    It used an inhuman amounts of mana but, if I was secretly wondering if I could replicate it as well.


    Magic, and mana was this old man¡¯s speciality so if there¡¯s someone who knew how to do it, it¡¯d be him but¡­¡­.


    ¡°If you accumulate a high amounts of mana, of course it can be used to attack directly¡­¡­¡­.But, the consumption of mana is so high that its basically unsuitable to be used in actual battle. And I¡¯ve said this before but, you have zero talent in controlling mana. While it¡¯s not impossible, it¡¯s not something I¡¯d recommend you to try¡ª¡ª-of course, the final decision lies on you but, I had to warn you in advance.¡±


    ¡°I see. A monster I fought in the great forest of Roza was using mana like that so I wondered if I could as well but¡­¡­¡­I guess things aren¡¯t that simple huh.¡±


    ¡°One of the great signs of mankind¡¯s evolution is magic itself. If firing mana alone was stronger, no one would be using magic in the first place.¡±


    Now that I think about it, he does make a very valid point.


    I mean, that¡¯s the entire reason why I learned how to learn [Anti Magic] in the first place, and reality was never going to be that simple or easy.


    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ve answered your question so it¡¯s your turn to answer. Tell me verything about the Fruit of Skill!¡±


    ¡°Alright. I do owe you at least this much I suppose.¡±


    From there, I spoke all that I knew and understood about the fruit of skill.


    It was more or less the same as what I told Fecilia but, he kept asking for more details so it ended up taking quite some time before he was satisfied.


    I always had this image of him that he wasn¡¯t interested in anything unrelated to magic but, I suppose a thing like the fruit of skill was bound to attract even his attention.


    I planned to go to Henjak¡¯s place afterwards as well but, knowing that I¡¯ll have to have a similar conversation there as well, I suddenly started feeling reluctant to do so.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ªand that¡¯s about all I have to tell.¡±


    ¡°Fohohoh! I got to hear some really good information! Having heard it all, I feel reinvigorated to try out more new things as well so you can go back now!¡±


    ¡°After all the questioning, that¡¯s it? Seriously, what a self-centred old man.¡±


    ¡°Say whatever you like. Esta, you plan on using the practice hall again right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be training today as well.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to teach you today but, you are free to use it however long you like.¡ª¡ª-alright then you two, see you later.¡±


    Jumping out his seat, he grabbed our shoulders and pushed us out of the room.


    Well I have nothing more to talk so it¡¯s fine but, this way of getting sent out still kinda pissed me off.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go and begin my magic practice. Chris-san, what do you plan to do next?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go an visit a couple of acquaintances. And afterwards, I¡¯ll go out and test my new skills.¡±


    ¡°Testing new skills¡­¡­..Sounds fun. Be sure to tell me about it later if you find out how the new skills work. It¡¯ll make me happy.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Once I know for sure, I¡¯ll tell both you and Ralf about them.¡±


    After having a quick chat like that, I separated from Esta and left the [Magic Cave].


    I was already tired from talking to people today, but I had to pay a visit to Bors-san and Henjak at all costs as well.


    After having a quick lunch somewhere, I¡¯ll go to Henjak¡¯s place first.


    As thanks for the info he gave me about the great forest of Roza, I¡¯ll give him all the new info I learned instead.


    And so after having lunch at the commercial street, I headed to both of their places but¡­¡­¡­they were both out.


    I wasted all this time walking around, and suddenly I had nothing else to do either.


    I assume, Henjak was out gathering plants and Bors was probably out completing requests and won¡¯t be back before night.


    What should I do?¡­¡­¡­¡­..I didn¡¯t want to have to come again another day.


    I really wanted to finish my visiting rounds within today, so I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait fo them to return.


    Until then¡ª¡ª¨CI guess I¡¯ll instead do the skill testing now.


    I began moving with the northern plains as my new destination, knowing fully well that the sun would also probably set by the time I¡¯m done testing all my new skills out.


    I had been constantly talking about the fruit of skill today so from a personal perspective as well, I really wanted to just get on with testing the new skills already.


    Unable to suppress my excitement, I basically ran towards the northern plains.

 CH 278

    Synergy


    Having finally reached the northern plains, I quickly started my testing for the new unique skills I had gained.


    The first one to try was¡­¡­¡­the safest option, [Hardening]. Let¡¯s start there.


    From what I could tell, this should be a higher tier version of [Skin Strengthen], and so its effectiveness and efficiency should be much better than said skill as well.


    Saying the name inside my mind, I activated the skill.


    [Hardening]


    When I did that, as expected the arm on which I focused [Hardening] at turned stiff and solidified but, it wasn¡¯t just the skin that was effected but also the muscles underneath as well and under the effect of [Hardening,] I was unable to move anything below my elbow that had the skill active on.


    Not my wrist, and neither any of the fingers moved, and it seems like it was impossible to make any kind of complex movement at all.


    The level of hardness was not that hard either, and if I had to compare the arm I had used [Hardening] on was only slightly more harder than what [Skin Strengthen] would have done.


    ¡­¡­¡­..perhaps because I went through a lot of effort to get these skills, I had unreasonably high hopes but still, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit disappointed by this.


    I was confused why this even qualified as a unique skill but then again, not all common skills have the same level of power so I just have to assume I got a bad draw here.


    It¡¯s not like it¡¯s unusable, so I pulled myself together and was about to check the next skill when suddenly¡ª¡ª


    A fallen leaf that was flying in the air from the wind just happened to land on to my hardened palm of my hand.


    I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it and went to pick it up with my other hand when¡­¡­.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..is the leaf, hardened as well?¡±


    Something completely unexpected happened, and I ended up muttering out loud.


    The leaf that had coincidentally landed on my hand, had also been affected by [hardening] and had become completely stiff.


    And here I thought this was a difficult to use version of [Skin Strengthen] but turns out, this was this skill¡¯s actual use!


    Not just yourself, but it could affect other items and make them much harder instead.


    Suddenly, my evaluation of this skill drastically changed.


    Deactivating [Hardening] for a moment, I checked to see that the leaf also returned back to normal, and then I unsheathed my steel sword and activated the skill again.


    I realized that using [Hardening] on a sword would be extremely useful but it was hard to tell if the skill was actually working on an object that was already very hard in the first place and I couldn¡¯t really tell the difference.


    But after seeing the leaf, I¡¯m confident that the skill must be affecting the sword as well, and from here on, whenever I fought a strong enemy, I should always use [Hardening] on my sword before fighting.


    The next thing I wondered was how far was the range of things I could harden?


    If it was dependant on my what I saw, that would once more completely open up another whole new way of using this skill.


    Like, could I focus on an enemy¡¯s leg and harden it to completely ruin its movement? Or could I use it on an ally to raise their defence?


    With all sorts of ideas in my mind,¡­¡­¡­I tried various things and came to the conclusion that I had to touch whatever item I was trying to harden otherwise it won¡¯t activate.


    I guess I got a bit too excited but, even being able to harden anything I touch was still a great skill.


    Giving my thanks to the random leaf that coincidentally happened to land on my hand, now it was finally time to try out the next unique skill I have, or so I thought but suddenly I came up with another idea.


    The [Sticky String Manipulation] skill that I used against that owl monster.


    I know I can harden anything I touch but, what about things I create with my own skill?


    I activated [Sticky String Manipulation], and made it attach to a tree a little distance away from me.


    And then I activated [Hardening] on the strings and¡­¡­¡­the strings coming out of my hand suddenly became completely stiff just like the leaf.


    I deactivated [Sticky String Manipulation], and this time I decided to use it again while having [Hardening] activated from the start.


    I aimed at the same tree and activated [Sticky string Manipulation] and when I swung my arm¡ª¡ª-Hardened strings, like they were made of iron, were launched from my hand at a tremendous speed, and stabbed straight into the thick bark of the tree.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­I could actually use this in real battles as well.


    I could have never even imagined such a use when I first got the [Sticky String Manipulation] skill but, now I could use it as a kind of attack, and also as a restraining skill against enemies that could deal with the hardened version. A truly all-purpose skill.


    This alone made it into quite the monstrous skill but, there was still one more thing I was curious about.


    I know now that I can harden a skill, but, could I harden something that was wrapped with [sticky string manipulation]?


    I cut off the strings tied to the tree, and then picked up the leaf again and wrapped it in the sticky strings.


    And then, I activated hardening on the sticky string while it was still wrapped around the leaf¡ª¡ªeven without touching it directly, I could tell that the lead had become completely hardened as well.


    I don¡¯t quite get the logic behind it but, I assume because I produce the strings with my own skill, it¡¯s treated as a ¡®part of my body¡¯ as well.


    The experiment was a great success, and being able to harden anything that was wrapped with the sticky string greatly increased the range of things I could use [Hardening] on.


    It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that [Sticky String Manipulation] has fully unlocked the potential of [Hardening]. And the better and more proficient I get with using these strings, the more variety I could bring into my fighting style.


    While feeling surprised by the potential of a unique skill, I already knew that I could get even more stronger as I get better and better at using these skills.


    There were so many applications of [Hardening] alone that I wished that these skills came with some kind of instruction manual but¡­¡­..unfortunately, I¡¯ll have to slowly try things out and figure it all out by myself.


    Finally ending the testing of [Hardening] for now, I moved on to test the next unique skill I have gained.

 CH 279

    Unique Skills


    [Hardening] turned out to be a much better skill than I had hoped for.


    Honestly speaking, considering the diverse applicability of this skill, I don¡¯t think my other two unique will be anywhere close to as useful as this one but, until I fully figure them all out, I have to keep testing.


    The next skill I decided to test, was the mysterious [Black Mist] skill. I really had no idea what this one could do.


    This was exactly the kind of skill that you simply have to use directly to understand what it does, and honestly, there¡¯s a good chance that even after using I don¡¯t figure it out completely.


    It would have been easier if I called Ralf with me and test it on him to get a better idea but¡­¡­


    Since it is an unknown skill, there were too many dangers in using Ralf as a test subject so I decided against it.


    First I¡¯ll try it against no target, and if I don¡¯t get it, I¡¯ll use it against monsters.


    And if I still don¡¯t understand it, only then will I have to ask Ralf to help me with it but¡­¡­.


    While thinking of such things, I activated the skill.


    [Black Mist]


    The moment I spoke it inside my head, a blackish mist suddenly released out of my body and instantly wrapped the surroundings in darkness.


    It was as if I had suddenly walked into a dark room with no light, and even I, the user himself couldn¡¯t see anything in his surroundings.


    Since I had no light source on hand, I decided to use [Fire Ball] to light up the area but scarily enough, even using a fire ball didn¡¯t create enough light to see my surroundings.


    Only when I brought the hand that had a fire ball active right in front of my face did I get the feeling like I was able to see something shining slightly, but that was it.


    Looks like this [Black Mist] completely robs the eyesight of anyone caught in its area of effect.


    The fact that even I myself lost my eyesight was a demerit but, if I know things are going to get dark beforehand since I¡¯m the user, I could always figure out ways to deal with it. I mean, I do have an abnormal amount of skills on me after all.


    All the skill took away was your vision. I could already think of how well this would work with detection skills like [Perception Sense][Life Presence Sense][Mana Sense][Hearing enhancement][Perception Range enhancement][Wild instinct] and [Sound wave detection].


    On the other hand, if I use [Silent steps] and [Stealth], it would make me borderline impossible to find.


    It¡¯s a skill combo that would be near impossible to deal with for anyone who sees it for the first time.


    ¡­¡­¡­.but, I also just figured out another weakness of this skill.


    And that was that this mist could very easily be blown away by the wind.


    It wasn¡¯t even that strong of a wind but, the [Black mist] I had released had already dissipated into the air.


    In about 10 seconds or so, I was able to see my surroundings again.


    If I can¡¯t predict when the wind might blow, this skill can very easily become useless, let alone if someone could use wind magic that would easily get rid of this.


    And when I¡¯m with teammates, it would make it harder for them as well so, while this skill certainly was strong, it also had very clear weaknesses.


    But in the right place, at the right time, a skill like this can be a game changer. I suppose that¡¯s also what most unique skills are like huh.


    Now the only thing I don¡¯t know is if there¡¯s any other side effect that it causes outside completely robbing the target of their eyesight but, that¡¯s something I¡¯ll only find out with more testing.


    I¡¯ll try it on some scrub monsters to make sure it¡¯s not poisonous or something and if that¡¯s not the case, I¡¯ll have Ralf be a test dummy to tell me if he felt any other side effects.


    Lastly, I need to check if [Crimson Eyes] could see through the [Black Mist].


    If it can, the [Black Mist] would lose one of its weaknesses for me personally.


    Although it was useless against the white fog of the Roza forest, so I don¡¯t have much expectations.


    I activated [black mist] once again and then when I used [Crimson Eyes]¡­¡­¡­as my vision got dyed in red, I became able to see my surroundings again.


    So it failed against white fog but if its ¡®darkness¡¯, it didn¡¯t matter if it was due to mist, the crimson eyes worked well against it eh?


    My questions towards the [Crimson Eyes] skill rose again but, at least I know that it works well against the [Black Mist].


    Both [hardening] and [black mist] have had some good  compatibility with my existing skills, and I just know that they were bound to very useful to me in the future.


    Stopping the [Black Mist] testing here, it was time to test the last remaining skill.


    I was thoroughly satisfied with the two skills I got already but, the last one was, quite frankly speaking, one that even I was a bit worried about.


    I mean it¡¯s literally called [Suicidal Blow]


    With wording like that, I was wary of even testing it out but¡­¡­¡­.


    I don¡¯t have the choice to simply ignore a unique skill that I gained after so much hard work either.


    Just in case, I pulled out a health potion and kept in an easy to reach location, took a deep breath, and readied myself for whatever¡¯s about to happen.


    I walked towards the same tree I tested the string and hardening on, and then activated my skill.


    [Suicidal Blow]


    The moment I did, I instantly felt all strength leave my body.


    Right after I felt both my stamina and mana completely drain, I then began to feel a power rise within me, one many times more than what had been drained out of me¡ª¡ª¨C


    And strength much higher than even [Mad Warrior] began flowing across my body, and I was engulfed by a strong euphoric sensation.


    I gathered all of that strength into my fist, and decided to smash it all into the tree in front of me.


    The fist I swung distorted the air, broke the sound barrier and hit the tree with speed the eye could not follow, and instantly uprooted the entire tree from the ground with the impact.


    A few seconds after my fist had landed¡ª¡ª¨Ca huge explosion roared around the area and shockwaves spread across, and the tree that had been uprooted from the impact bounced across the ground, crashing and smashing everything in its way as it got blown away into the distance.


    The impact was so strong that I was worried I had smashed my own fist as well, so I timidly looked down to check on the condition of my fist¡­¡­¡­.


    Only to see it completely unhurt thanks to a visible glow of mana completely enveloping my fist, the same as what the Heracberg had used against me.


    As soon as I sighed in relief, a strong sense of fatigue hit my entire body and I collapsed to my knees as my legs lost all strength.


    And unable to even think of anything further¡ª¡ªI simply lost consciousness and fell asleep right there and then.

 CH 280

    The Price


    When my eyes opened back again, it was already dark outside, and the starry night sky was spread across my view.


    It was a pretty sight that would take anyone¡¯s breath away from its beauty if not for the fact that my body was not in a normal condition and I was hit with the severe headache that came with mana burnout as well as the intense fatigue that came from exhausting all of my stamina.


    I desperately tried to move my dull and heavy body, and pulled out the potion from my item holder to gulp it down.


    While hit with extreme nausea, I somehow still managed to drink the entire vial, and my body gradually began to gather strength again but¡­¡­¡­the severe headache from being in mana burnout hadn¡¯t gone away.


    Since I didn¡¯t bring a mana potion, it was painful just thinking about how I¡¯ll have to return to Edestor in this state.


    Getting up, I checked on the tree I had attacked to re confirm that what I saw before collapsing was not a dream, as there were the traces of a tree that had been violently uprooted from here still there.


    Since it was dark, I couldn¡¯t see the tree itself from here, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s lying somewhere a little distance away all smashed up.


    I kind of wanted to see what had happened to the terrain around here in detail but¡­¡­.


    My headache made it difficult to even think normally, and I really just wanted to return back to Edestor as soon as possible. And after patting off the dirt and dust of my clothes, I began to slowly make my way back to Edestor.


    I must be very lucky, as I didn¡¯t get attacked by monsters on the way, and was able to safely return to Edestor.


    I made my way to the item shop in the commercial store with staggering steps to quickly buy a mana potion, and took a seat on the trash bin in the back alley to gulp it all down.


    As my mana began to recover again, the headache and the numbness in my body began to dissipate a little bit and I finally regained my ability to think properly again at least.


    To be honest, I wanted to buy another mana potion to drink but, these potions were surprisingly costly, and since I had used a health potion already as well, I don¡¯t want to waste any more money.


    It was already night, and there wasn¡¯t much time left anyway so I might as well just brace myself through the pain.


    I also still need to go to Bors-san and henjak¡¯s place¡­¡­..but before that, I should analyze the [Suicidal Blow] while I recover as well.


    Because I collapsed instantly after, my memories were a bit vague but I do remember a little at least.


    I lost all my mana and stamina the moment I activated the skill, which was followed with me feeling a kind of explosive strength inside me that I had never felt before.


    And when I released it all towards the tree, it got smashed and blown out of the ground.


    The skill¡¯s name was quite apt, as it led to a complete loss of both mana and stamina in your body, but in return for such a high price, it allowed you to make one extremely powerful strike.


    Its usage will be extremely limited but regardless, it gave me enough strength to punch a tree out of the ground.


    It was basically a move to end a battle when there were no more enemies left, and I myself was running out of ideas. A true last resort. That was its ideal usage.


    The one thing I was curious of was whether the strength of that one strike was fixed or not.


    If the strength was dependant on how much stamina and mana you have left, then perhaps it could be used directly at the start of a battle as well.


    And in such a case, it will hurt its use as a last resort as you won¡¯t have a lot of stamina or mana left at the end of a fight.


    To be honest, I hope the power is fixed regardless but, logically thinking, it¡¯s probably dependant on your mana and stamina reserves.


    Frankly speaking, I didn¡¯t want to do any more testing but, to fully understand the skill, I¡¯ll have to sooner or later¡ª¡ª-but we can leave that for later, as I need to finish my visiting trips as well.


    Since I wasted a lot of time from being unconscious, I only have enough time to visit one of the places.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I debated it inside my head and decided its better if I visit Henjak first, and then make a quick appointment with Bors-san before returning.


    While trying to suppress the headache that refused to go away, I made my way to Henajk¡¯s house.


    I could sense no one here during the day, but right now I could see the lights on inside the house, and as predicted, he was probably back from his gathering trip.


    I felt a bit bad for coming this late, but I went and strongly knocked the door to Henjak¡¯s house.


    I knocked a couple more times but he showed no signs of coming out. I know he¡¯s in there, so he¡¯s probably just pretending to be away like he did last time.


    Since I know that, I just have to keep knocking until he answers.


    While calling out to Henjak as well, I continued knocking¡ª¡ªand after a while, he must have given up as well, as the door opened.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Ah so it really was you Chris. Good to see that you¡¯re healthy again but¡ª¡ª¨Cdo you really enjoy coming here again and again to pester me?¡±


    ¡°No, I only came here to thank you for bringing me those medicinal herbs while I was sick.¡±


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t really feel like a friendly, thanking visit though? Anyway, it¡¯s already late so for today¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°Just let me in. You want to hear about the Roza forest anyway right? We¡¯ll exchange info right now.¡±


    ¡°I mean I do but, can we not do this tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°From tomorrow, I need to work on de-rusting my body after staying in the bed too long and will be very busy. So just let me in already.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Tch.¡±


    Just like last time, he loudly clicked his tongue, and then let me inside his house.


    I know I¡¯m hardly acting like someone who¡¯s where to give his thanks but, I really want to finish these visits by today and so I¡¯m going to have Henjak fold over for me.


    In return, I¡¯ll give Henjak all the info about the Roza forest I gained for free.


    Walking through the house that always had a strong stench of plants in it, I sat down in front of Henjak in his living room and began our conversation.

 CH 281

    Similar Sensibilities


    Henjak poured the same delicious tea for me.


    While drinking the tasty tea, I quickly began talking.


    ¡°First of all, thanks, for all the herbs you brought for me. Like I said, they were a great help.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I wanted to hear about the Roza forest, so I kinda needed you to get healthy again after all.¡±


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    ¡°Regardless of the reason, the point remains that you helped me¡­¡­¡­.Also, who did you hear from that I had collapsed by the way?¡±


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    ¡°The old lady from [Gaddfoura]. She requested me to go deliver some good herbs to ya if I had any.¡±


    From Trisha, huh.


    Well, I heard about Henjak from Trisha as well, and she did tell she regularly bought plants and herbs from Henjak.


    So I assume, Bors-san told Trisha, and then she told Henjak.


    ¡°Is that so. Looks like I¡¯ll have to go give my thanks to Trisha as well.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. You should be thanking her not me. But all that aside, hurry up and tell me about what all you found in the great forest of Roza. What did you discover?¡±


    Seriously, is everyone around me only interested in the info I have?


    I think Bors-san was the only one who might have been genuinely worried for me among these lot.


    Well, it¡¯s not like I hate it. I tend to prefer working with people who are straight to the point and only focused on their own interests. Makes it easy for me to understand them as well.


    ¡°Alright, alright, don¡¯t get impatient. But first¡­¡­¡­let me start with explain everything from the start, from when I entered the Roza forest.¡±


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    ¡°Looks like it¡¯ll get long then, but, if it¡¯s useful info, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Henjak¡¯s eyes were sparkling with interest like a child who was being shown a new toy, and so I began talking about everything I had learnt of the forest since I first entered the place.


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    I stuck mostly to the important parts so it might not have been easy to follow the entire story but¡­¡­..Henjak continued to listen to me silently, completely focused on every word I spoke.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CAnd that¡¯s about all that happened before I collapsed. I abridged quite a lot of it so I hope you didn¡¯t have too much difficulty keeping up with everything.¡±


    ¡°Nah, you kept it concise and quite easy to understand actually. Especially the things you told me about the East area, that was easily the best part. I don¡¯t really have the physicality to go on such expeditions at my age but, in quite some time¡­¡­¡­I feel like I am starting to dream again.¡±


    Seeing Henjak answer so earnestly, I felt glad that I came to talk to him.


    As someone who gathers a lot of plants as well, I know better than anyone that these forests have something mysteriously fascinating about them that can completely possess you.


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    I knew from the day I met Henjak that he was the same as me, a man that had been possessed by the charms of the forest.


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    When it comes to forests and plants, he might be the only person with whom I can enjoy talking to.


    ¡°if you truly feel that way, then I suppose it worth coming here to talk with you. Also, on top of everything I told you, there¡¯s something I want to show you as well.¡±


    ¡°Something to show me? Wa-wait, you don¡¯t mean¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°I sure hope this lives up to your expectations.¡±


    I brought out the fruit of skill, and showed to Henjak who was trembling in his place.


    As someone who shares the same sensibilities as myself, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d love to see the fruit of skill with his own eyes before he dies.


    To be honest, I had considered eating the last fruit as well before going to test my new skills but, Vincent¡¯s reaction was dull so I decided I¡¯d at least show it to Henjak as well before eating it.


    As expected,¡ª¡ª-no beyond my expectations even, Henjak was completely stunned, and seeing his reaction made me smile as well.


    ¡°This is the real thing, the fruit of skill. The talk about it killing anyone who eats it is real so be careful when observing it.¡±


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    ¡°Th-this really is the actual fruit of skill right? I always thought it was just a baseless rumour but, to think it was actually real¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, I wanted to know something in return for showing you this fruit. Have you ever seen a fruit like this anywhere else? You know, perhaps people have been ignoring the fruit of skill lying somewhere obvious simply because they didn¡¯t know about it?¡±


    ¡°No, I have never seen a fruit this oddly shaped in my life. If I had, I would have gathered it even if I didn¡¯t know that it was a fruit of skill. That aside, let me look at it more closely please!¡±


    I was hoping I could find some without having to travel so deep into the Roza forest but, I suppose it was unrealistic of me to assume that it would be growing somewhere in the open randomly.


    Having vaguely answered my question, Henjak was completely enraptured by the fruit and was observing it closely from every direction.


    And after letting him freely observe it for quite some time, I put the fruit back inside my bag.


    Henjak was still greedily staring at the bag hoping to observe it longer but, as you¡¯d expect, I can¡¯t just simply give a fruit of skill away to anyone.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all I wanted to talk about, and I¡¯ve shown the fruit as well so I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡±


    ¡°What, going back already?¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°It¡¯s already late at night after all. And there¡¯s still one more place I wanted to visit¡­¡­¡­also, when I came here didn¡¯t you click your tongue in annoyance and tried to send me back?¡±


    ¡°Did I? I don¡¯t remember anything from such a long time ago. You are always welcome into my home with the fruit of skill. I¡¯ll gladly let you in.¡±


    Seriously, what a greedy old man.


    Alas, I intend to consume the last fruit of skill as well so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get to experience being invited with open arms into his house ever again.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll drop by if something else comes up. See ya.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, same here. Take care.¡±


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    Giving my farewells to Henjak, I left his home.


    I ended up spending a lot more time here than I thought but, I know which inn Bors lives in and even if he has gone to sleep I doubt he¡¯d be too mad if I woke him up.


    I just need to make an appointment for later, it won¡¯t take too long¡ª¡ª¨Cmy body was already tired as well so I wanted to be done and return to my own room as soon as possible as well.

 CH 282

    The Final Fruit of Skill


    Approximately a week had passed since my visiting trips.


    During this entire week, I did independent training during the day and afternoon to retrain and temper my dulled body.


    At night, I¡¯ll get help from Bors-san with it and with Ralf also joining, we¡¯d have some serious battles as part of our special training.


    Normally, Rufus would also be a part of these sessions, and thanks to them all, I was able to return my body to the same condition as it was before I collapsed.


    Today I did some final tuning, and right now the sun was at its peak at noon.


    Since I have to wait till evening before I can talk with Ralf and Esta to decide our plans from tomorrow, I had some free time right now.


    I could continue training and further tuning my body but¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯m thinking it¡¯s time to finally eat the last fruit of skill.


    I was quite busy over the last week to do it certainly but, more than that, the trauma from last time hadn¡¯t disappeared and I just didn¡¯t feel like I was ready to eat it again.


    But since from tomorrow I¡¯ll be stuck with non-stop work, I need to eat it and test its effects by today.


    It won¡¯t even be funny if I ended up collapsing again for another two weeks but this time, I have readied more measures to deal with it so it should go much better.


    Since Ralf, Esta and Snow are out completing requests, I returned back to our empty room at [Gorush], and quickly brought out the fruit of skill from my bag.


    A lot of time had passed since I had plucked it from its plant yet, it showed absolutely no signs of rotting, and in fact hadn¡¯t even changed in appearance at all. And I couldn¡¯t even sun-dry it like other plants either.


    It must be structured completely differently from normal plants, and part of me wanted to experiment on it rather than just eat it but¡­¡­¡­..


    I couldn¡¯t just give up on getting another new and unique skill either.


    First, while being careful of the spikes, I cut the fruit down in single eatable bite sized portions.


    Since it was quite big, cutting it into bite sized portions meant that there¡¯d be a lot of parts but, this was still far better than directly biting into it, even if it was more time consuming and troublesome to do.


    Last time, I bit in without ever finding out where the spikes even were, and after that, due to the pain and the fatigue my brain was working well enough to find a solution.


    I just decided that since I had already eaten some of the spikes, I might as well not bother and then ate the second and the third fruit without doing anything as well.


    And precisely because I did something THAT stupid that my condition worsened so horribly but, this time I had another precaution prepared on top of cutting the fruit in small pieces.


    I took out a big bottle from my bag, and put it right beside the cut pieces of the fruit.


    In the bottle was a bluish liquid, and it was this liquid that was my answer to the problem.


    The liquid¡¯s true identity was¡ª¡ªa [Gaddfoura] speciality, Pure Slime jelly.


    With the Oblaats as my inspiration, I had Trisha makes this specifically for me.


    Oblaat itself wouldn¡¯t work against the spikes but, this pure slime jelly will help swallow it all down to my stomach.


    Once the jelly reaches my stomach, it will rage violently when the digestion begins but, it should be manageable with [Pain Inhibition].


    Of course, all of this was just my theory at this point, and I obviously haven¡¯t actually tried it so I was a bit nervous but¡­¡­¡­


    I took out the pure slime jelly from the bottle and poured and covered it all over the fruit of skill¡¯s pieces.


    Then I took a deep breath, and then instantly began eating through the pieces of the fruit of skill.


    It went down my throat surprisingly easily, and it went directly down to my stomach without any pain or distress.


    It was ho0nestly a bit anti climactic but, if I can keep this up, I will be done eating the fruit of skill in no time.


    Making sure to activate [Pain Inhibition] the moment I start feeling any pain, I chomped down through the fruit of skill with the help of the pure slime jelly.


    Since the whole process was a tough one, it took me a full 30mins to eat through the entire fruit but, compared to the hell I faced last time, this one went down with quite the ease.


    It¡¯ll take some time before my stomach begins to digest it all, so I waited for a while until the pains began, and when it does start, I¡¯ll activate [Pain Inhibition] and then head out to get my assessment done at the church.


    Since the pure slime jelly was a custom order that used a rare materials, it cost me a lot of money but I can confidently say now that it was absolutely worth the money.


    Making a note in my head to thank Trisha when I see her again¡­¡­¡­..I waited for the pains to start while also feeling excited to find out what new skill I may have gotten.


    .


    Once the severe stomach pains began, I instantly activated [Pain Inhibition].


    And soon after, I left the room and headed to the church to get my assessment done.


    As of now, I don¡¯t feel any great irregularity with my body, and neither did I feel the prickling spikes inside my mouth like last time so I was able to move around without much problem.


    There¡¯s still some of the special herbs I got from Henjak remaining so, if I take another dose of that before sleeping, I¡¯m sure my stomach pains would settle by tomorrow.


    As I continued to ponder about various things, I had already reached the church before I knew it.


    As always I ignored the worshipping going on, and made a straight line to the assessment room and rung the bell.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.you¡¯re back again. You looked like you were in an awful state last time but, was everything alright afterwards?¡¯


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back to full health. Last time I was certainly sick, but I did speak quite rudely for which I apologize.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡­¡­¡­.so, I assume you want another assessment done today as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Same as always.¡±


    I brought one gold coin and my adventurer card, and urged her to start the assessment.


    The old sister must have decided to not get too involved with me, as she calmly took my card and went on with the procedure without asking any further questions.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CAnd it is done. Please check.¡±


    ¡°Thanks as always.¡±


    Giving a light thanks, I quickly checked my adventurer card.


    I wonder what kind of skill will I get now¡ª¡ª-with excitement in my heart, I looked at the card.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 30(+477)


    Strength: 25(+551)


    Stamina: 28(+349)


    Magic: 7(+191)


    Agility: 15(+283)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison][Suicidal Strike][Hardening][Black Mist][Effect Spread]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes][Wild Instinct][Team Morale Boost][Venom][Sound Wave Detection]


    The new skill I got was¡­¡­¡­.[Effect Spread].


    I had no idea what this skill could do or how this skill worked so I don¡¯t know whether to be happy or not.


    From the name, it seems like could increase the range of attacks or magic ¡ª¡ª¡ªor something like that maybe but, I can¡¯t really imagine how that would work either.


    Since it¡¯s a unique skill, I know it¡¯s definitely going to be a useful skill, so I¡¯ll have to do some detailed experiments to fully figure it out.

 CH 283

    Our Next Objective


    After the ability assessment was done, I went to the same old northern plains to test out the [Effect Spread] skill but¡­¡­¡­..


    I tried various things but found no clear effect or change in my body, and ended up wasting time.


    Although my inability to figure the skill out left me feeling a bit frustrated and gloomy, but since I had already promised to talk with Esta and Ralf this evening for our upcoming plans, I had to stop my testing midway and go back to [Gorush].


    When I got home, the others had not yet returned but, by the time I was done taking a shower and freshening up, the two and Snow were back home as well.


    ¡°Sorry, the guild was really packed and it took longer than usual to just report the request completion, which made us all late.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I only came back just a while ago as well. So, did the request go well?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Even without you Chris, we¡¯ve become capable enough to complete platinum rank requests on our own!¡±


    ¡°Ralf may be acting all proud, but in reality a lot of our success is thanks to Snow working especially hard. We mostly focus on killing enemies that Snow missed out on, and really, things have been quite easy thanks to that.¡±


    ¡°I see. Good job, Snow.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    Giving some headrubs to Snow who came running to me, I praised it a lot as thanks for doing a good job in my absence.


    Once we¡¯re done talking, I should reward it with some nice fruit and meat to enjoy.


    ¡°Hey, not just Snow,  I¡¯m also working pretty hard to keep the enemies¡¯ attacks from reaching you guys aren¡¯t I!?¡±


    ¡°Yes yes, anyway, we should start our meeting already. We¡¯re already late as it is.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Don¡¯t you two want to take a shower first?¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t that dirty today so I can wait until later!¡±


    ¡°Same here. I can also take a shower afterwards.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s start.¡±


    We sat down on the chairs around the table in a circle, and got ready to have our usual meetings.


    Putting down the sweets I bought while returning from the northern plains down in the centre of the table, I began speaking first.


    ¡°Alright, right away, let¡¯s first decide how we¡¯ll move from tomorrow onwards. I know we have a bit of leeway when it comes to money thanks to you two continuing to complete requests but, do either of you have any recommendations?¡±


    ¡°I think we should continue doing more requests and save up a bit more money. We used up quite a lot of our funds during the Roza forest expedition, so I¡¯m still worried even if we have a bit of leeway now.¡±


    ¡°I feel like we should try something different now! We already got a huge reward in the way of the fruits of skill from the expedition so we don¡¯t need to be so cautious anymore!¡±


    And the opinions are split already.


    I get both of them but, quite frankly, this time I agree with what Ralf said.


    We¡¯ve made the agreement with the princess and I have finally gotten the fruits of skill that I had longed for so it¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that in terms of preparations, we¡¯re almost done.


    Of course, sometimes that itself can make you restless as well but, now I really want to make some progress and move forward with my main goal.


    ¡°I understand where Ralf¡¯s coming from but, you have to remember Chris-san only just recovered from his illness, we should wait until he¡¯s back fully fit and running again before taking any big steps. We haven¡¯t even seen the full strength of what new skills he has gained so we too should slowly get used to his new skills while facing monsters during requests.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­well when you put it that way, I have no rebuttal! What do you think Chris?¡±


    ¡°To be honest I agreed with Ralf originally but, what Esta says is not incorrect either. While making a bit more money, we maybe should take a few requests that allow us to test our party coordination and chemistry once again. That might the best choice for now.¡±


    Looks like we¡¯ll focus on doing requests with me rejoining the party from tomorrow in that case.


    With the fruits of skill in hand, I did think that it was time to start getting ready to go to the capital now but, before anything, you need money for that.


    Then there¡¯s also the skill I gained most recently that I haven¡¯t fully figured out yet, so it really might be better to continue doing some requests and test various things about this new skill.


    ¡°I think that settles our plans for the upcoming weeks but, once we have enough money, what then? Both of you said that we should try something new and different didn¡¯t you? Do you have something in mind?¡±


    ¡°The Dungeon of course! Klaus and his party beat the 50th floor didn¡¯t they? Then that¡¯s the best way for us to test and compare our own abilities!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry Ralf but the Dungeon is not in our plans for now. I personally am also very interested in it but, the dungeon is too peculiar of an environment and there¡¯s too many uncertainties. I just don¡¯t see any merit in going dungeon diving at this point, and challenging the 50th floor just as a test of strength is nothing more than  waste of time.¡±


    ¡°EH!? I thought you were excited for it too, but we¡¯re really not going to do it!? I mean, we¡¯re in Edestor, and when you think of Edestor, the first thing you think of is the dungeon right!?¡±


    ¡°Once I have accomplished my main goal, we can always come back and challenge it later. Don¡¯t the dungeon floors go even beyond the 50th? It¡¯d be more fun when we¡¯re not at a time limit and can take our time going through it all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.well if you put it that way, sure! But it¡¯s a promise alright, we¡¯re going to come back. No excuses later!!¡±


    Of course, it depends on whether I can actually survive after fighting Klaus but, I do want to challenge the dungeon at some point.


    It¡¯d be fun to compete with the [Moonlight Fangs] as well, so when everything¡¯s over, I¡¯d love to come back to the dungeon.


    ¡°Well, if the Dungeon is out of the picture, what exactly did you have in mind Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°yeah yeah! Is there something else you wanna do then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the place we went for our first request here in Edestor. I have been curious about it since the day we came.¡±


    Both of them tilted their heads in confusion as it didn¡¯t click inside their head what I was talking about.


    A lot has happened since we came to Edestor so it makes sense that they don¡¯t recall but¡­¡­¡­I bet Bors-san will be really sad if he saw them like this.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the Barbadd mountains of course. Remember, that¡¯s where we went with Bors-san?¡±


    When I said that, both of them hit their palm with their fist having finally recalled it.

 CH 284

    Weapon Search


    ¡°OOh! That¡¯s the place we fought the Blue Ogres right! But wait, why are we going there out of all places now??¡±


    ¡°Climbing across the Barbadd Mountains, they say there is a cave, called [The Cave of Bahamut]. Have you heard of it? There, in that cave sleeps the sword of the first hero, the [Vendettatein], or so I have heard. That¡¯s my goal.¡±


    ¡°Ooh I remember! Chris-san, You did tell us about this a long time ago in front of the notice board in the guild¡­¡­¡­And certainly, except myself who got this staff from the uncle from [Shichifukuya], our equipment certainly feels lacking. If Chris-san or Ralf could use a sword like that, it would greatly increase our power.¡±


    ¡°The sword of the first hero¡­¡­¡­¡­[Vendettatein]! Sounds awesome! Back when we came to Edestor, it would have been impossible for us but now, I¡¯m sure we can conquer even the mighty [Cave of Bahamut] itself!!¡±


    Looks like both of them are overwhelmingly in favour of my idea.


    Since I instantly rejected the Dunegon idea, I though Ralf might sulk a bit but¡­¡­..well, I suppose that¡¯s just not the kind of personality this guy has huh.


    ¡°Looks like both of you agree then. But, as you¡¯d imagine from the notice left abandoned on the board, clearing a place like [Cave of Bahamut] is for Scarletite rank adventurers, normally speaking. We¡¯ll need to extra careful and prepare the best we can before we challenge that place okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course! This has a much more material reward for conquering it as compared to the Dungeon¡¯s 50th floor, and at the same time a great place for us to test our mettle. As expected of Chris-san, you always come up with the best choices for us!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting fired up too! We¡¯ll need to gather some info as well in that case! Though I imagine it¡¯d be a bit easier than finding info for the great forest of Roza was!¡±


    ¡°While we do our requests, let¡¯s split and also find out as much info as we can about both the [Barbadd mountains] and the [Cave of Bahamut].¡±


    With all members in agreement, we have settled on our next main objective.


    I imagine this will probably be our last main objective in Edestor.


    Once we have conquered the [Cave of Bahamut]¡­¡­¡­.finally it¡¯ll be time to return to the capital and challenge Klaus.


    ¡°Chris, what happened? You¡¯re suddenly making a really scary face!¡±


    ¡°I was just thinking of how the final duel with Klaus was soon coming closer. Once we have cleared the [Cave of Bahamut], there¡¯ll be nothing else left to do.¡±


    ¡°I try not to think about it too much but, your objective is to get revenge against you younger brother after all¡­¡­¡­¡­frankly, it gives me a lot of complex feelings.¡±


    ¡°Same here. Unlike before, we¡¯re leading such satisfying and happy lives now after all! I¡¯d end up wishing that these days could go on forever.¡±


    ¡°Sorry. For making you go along with my own selfishness.¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t need to apologise Chris-san. We made a party with you knowing full well what it entails, and having such a lofty goal is precisely why we have been able to become so strong.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! And not to mention, once we beat the shit out of that Klaus, we can once again return back to this lifestyle, and this time for good!¡­¡­..So let¡¯s beat that guy at all costs!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be counting on you two till the very end.¡±


    Both of them gave a strong nod when I said that.


    You wouldn¡¯t think we were talking about something dark like getting revenge on someone, that¡¯s how bright the atmosphere was in this room.


    Now it was about time we all should go and get some rest to prepare for tomorrow but¡­¡­.


    There was still something very important that I hadn¡¯t talked about yet so I restarted the conversation.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ªspeaking of, I forgot to talk about something very important.¡±


    ¡°Important? What¡¯s more important than what we already talked about?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s about my new skills. I wanted to explain my new skills to you guys as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, we hadn¡¯t talked about that yet had we. So, are they really some incredible skills?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, all the new skills I got from the fruits are unique skills.¡±


    ¡°All unique skills!? Man, that fruit really is some crazy item huh!!¡±


    ¡°Yes, although the side effects did almost kill me, even though I had [Null Poison]. But for the time being, let me give a light explanation or a live showcase if possible of what they all do.¡±


    Now there¡¯s only so much I could actually show in a room like this. And I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever get the right opportunity to show [Suicidal Strike] but, I still need to give them proper explanations of the skills.


    Who knows, they might even think of some other way of using those skills as well, especially for [Effect Spread] that I still didn¡¯t know anything about.


    ¡°The first one is the [Hardening] skill. It allows me to harden anything I touch.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Eh? What kinda skill is that? Is it even that useful of a skill?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite confident of its applicability. Hey Ralf, give me your hand.¡±


    Taking Ralf¡¯s hand who was still tilting his head in confusion, I used [hardening] on it.


    Instantly, his hand became hardened as steel and while he was surprised at first but then began touching his hand looking amused.


    ¡°Amazing, this is crazy! How has it become this hard!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good for defence, and if I throw something after using [Hardening] it¡¯ll hit much stronger. I can even use it to make swords and shields stronger as well.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wouldn¡¯t this skill make me even stronger as well!? We need to try this stuff out later!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that almighty of a skill. Like I said, I need to touch it to activate it.¡±


    ¡°So while it¡¯s usability is a bit limited, it¡¯s still a very powerful skill regardless, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the right way to think about it.¡±


    The first skill alone got quite the reaction.


    Since I didn¡¯t really have much skills that could affect others this clearly, Ralf found it quite fresh as well.


    But, I don¡¯t plan on using [Hardening] too much on Ralf or Esta, and the ones I want them to remember about and learn are the other two skills, barring [Suicidal Strike] of course.


    As far as showcasing these skills go, these next ones are the main ones in my honest opinion.

 CH 285

    Skill Presentation


    ¡°This is where the real thing begins. The next skill is called [Black Mist]. Ralf, open the window will you.¡±


    ¡°Window¡­¡­¡­? Sure!¡±


    I hesitated whether I should use this inside the room but, I think using it once should be right?


    I need to know what it feels like to use this skill inside enclosed rooms anyway, so I deemed it necessary for testing purposes.


    ¡°Now, my next skill releases a pitch black mist that covers the surroundings. I want you both to get a good taste of how this skill feels.¡±


    ¡°A pitch black mist huh? I don¡¯t really understand how it¡¯d work but¡­¡­¡­..understood. Please, go ahead and use it.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Here we go, [Black Mist].¡±


    With a signal, I intentionally spoke the skill¡¯s name and activated it.


    Instantly, the entire surroundings got covered in black mist that I released, and the entire room got covered in darkness.


    ¡°Wha, what the hell is this!? I can¡¯t see shit! Like, at all! I can¡¯t even tell where the window is!!¡±


    ¡°We can hear each other¡¯s voices at least¡­¡­¡­.But, we can¡¯t even see a centimetre in front us, which would make it really hard to tell what was going on.¡±


    ¡°Esta, try lighting the place with fire magic.¡±


    ¡°Understood. [Fire]¡ª¡ª!?! I can¡¯t even see the light of the fire itself??¡±


    ¡°As expected, it¡¯s the same for you too. Looks like the [Black Mist] really cuts off your vision entirely.¡±


    ¡°Man, getting hit by this mid battle sounds like it¡¯d be insanely scary! Alright, we get how it works so disable the skill already!¡±


    ¡°I would love to but, this is not a skill that can be ¡®deactivated¡¯ at will. We have to wait for the wind to blow it away.¡±


    ¡°Wait really! That seems like a pretty big defect!¡±


    I ignored Ralf who couldn¡¯t seem to stop screaming, as we sat there waiting for the black mist to fully clear away, and in the end, it took a whole 30 minutes before the mist was fully cleared out and we could see properly again.


    It would seem that inside, the wind flow is obviously not as good which makes the time for which the mist persists much, much longer.


    If we had not opened the window, the [Black Mist] probably would have simply stayed here, and with the amount of time it lasts in places with bad air flow, I could always use it again to make sure the darkness never ended as well.


    I¡¯m sure if it wasn¡¯t night right now, we would have caused a bit of commotion outside but, in the end it was worth it to use it inside a room to test.


    ¡°Looks it¡¯s finally cleared out enough to be able to see inside the room huh. Chris-san, can you yourself not see anything either?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t. Although, I can use other skills to move around pretty accurately.¡±


    ¡°Then, doesn¡¯t that make this skill really strong? If you get the timing right, you could completely one-sidedly slaughter your enemies.¡±


    ¡°Wait really? I don¡¯t see how this skill is that good!?¡±


    ¡°Like Esta said, this skill is indeed very powerful but, it does have one more weakness. Esta, fire a wind arrow through the window.¡±


    ¡°Understood. [Wind Arrow]¡±


    When Esta fired the [wind arrow] outside through the window, all the remaining black mist that was inside the room was blown outside alongside the wind arrow.


    It had already dissipated a lot but still, to be so easily blown away by even the beginner level wind magic, made this a very obvious weakness of this skill.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I see. It¡¯s certainly very weak to wind!¡±


    ¡°Precisely. If I were to use it outside, even the natural wind blowing would quickly clear it away.¡±


    ¡°That is certainly a big weakness but¡­¡­..I just thought of a good strategy to possibly use it. Couldn¡¯t we also have Wind magic carry the black mist and have it cover a bunch of enemies far away from us as well?¡±


    ¡°That does sound doable. Let¡¯s try it out next time we¡¯re outside.¡±


    ¡°I feel like it¡¯ll take some time to get the combination down perfectly but, if we can master it, it¡¯ll make for a greatly useful ranged attack.¡±


    Esta had already provided a great new idea on how to better use it.


    It¡¯s true, if we could trap it inside a [Wind Ball], we could then make the [Black Mist] envelop only the enemies and not ourselves as well.


    Of course, it¡¯ll have limited uses as well but, it still could be a powerful combination.


    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t ignore me here! Enough about the weird [Black Mist] already, so show us what the other skill is!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get impatient just because your brain couldn¡¯t keep up¡­¡­¡­¡­the other skill I have is [Effect Spread]. To be honest, even I don¡¯t know how this one works.¡±


    ¡°The hell!? How does that even happen?!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s because I can¡¯t sense any effect on myself even when I used it. Regardless, I¡¯ll use it now so tell me if you guys feel any change instead.¡±


    Since I didn¡¯t know the effects of [Effect Spread], I was a bit worried of using it inside the room but¡­¡­¡­..


    I already did a lot of tests and it didn¡¯t seem to work as an attack skill so I think it should be fine.


    ¡°Alright, here it goes. [Effect Spread].¡±


    After I activated the skill, all three of us just looked at each other silently for a few minutes.


    Since the last skill had such a strong impact because of covering the entire room in a black mist darkness that not even [Fire] couldn¡¯t light up, compared to that, nothing really happened which resulted in an awkward atmosphere inside the room.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Nothing happened dude! Did you really use it?¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll try a couple a more things from here. First¡ª¡ª[Hearing Enhancement].¡±


    I further activated another skill, and then tried to see if I got a reaction from either of them again.


    Now if [Effect Spread] was a skill that, let¡¯s say, allowed me to ¡®widen¡¯ the usage of the skill to effect other people, it¡¯d make it a a truly monstrous skill but¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Still nothing! What is this skill honestly!¡±


    ¡°I feel no change either. Everything feels the same.¡±


    I guess my hopes of being able to share a skill with this were dashed.


    It didn¡¯t really affect my attacks or magic either, and it didn¡¯t spread the effects of my skills either.


    There¡¯s not much else I could try except, maybe it affected using items?


    If it¡¯s a skill that allows you to share the effect of a used item with the people around you, it¡¯d still be a crazy good skill but, I can¡¯t tell without trying.


    ¡°Ralf, can you make a little cut on your arm.¡±


    ¡°My arm? But why!?¡±


    ¡°Just do it already.¡±


    While he looked at me doubtfully, regardless, he pulled out his sword and made a light cut on his arm.


    I made a small cut on my arm as well, and then drank a healing potion.


    Of course, the small wound that I made instantly began to heal but¡­¡­¡­.the question was whether it affects Ralf as well.


    Looking towards his right arm that had the cut¡ª¡ª¨Cto my surprise, the wound on his arm was healing as well.


    ¡°Oh? What the hell is this!? My wound is healing up by its own!!¡±


    ¡°So that really was how it works. [Effect Spread] allows me to share the effects of an item I use with the people within a certain range. ¡ª¡ª¡ªthis might be a crazy good skill!¡±


    I did a fist pump by myself but, it looks like these two hadn¡¯t quite realized what had just happened.


    I suppose I should give a proper explanation while also testing a few more things huh.

 CH 286

    [Effect Spread]


    First, I need to know the effective range of this new skill.


    I¡¯m also curious if it effects everybody in the range or not or could I pick who it will effect, and so with the cooperation of the two, I should begin some testing again.


    ¡°You scared me, suddenly pumping your fist like that! I mean I get it¡¯s a useful skill but, is it really that strong??¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is in fact an incredibly super useful multi-purpose skill. For the time being, I want to try a lot of different things. And I need to figure out the effective range so, Esta, go stand near the door, and Ralf, you go stand near the entrance of [Gorush] itself.¡±


    ¡°Should we make another cut on our arms as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes,  both of you, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I guess we¡¯ll do as you say for now!¡±


    With a short sword, all three of us made a small cut on our arms, and then waited until Ralf made it to his designated location.


    After confirming he had reached the spot, I activated [Effect Spread] again, and then drank a healing potion.


    Esta was about 5 meters from me at the door. I was hoping that it would at least have that long of a range but¡­¡­..


    ¡°Esta, I¡¯ve drunk the potion. Is your wound healing up?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°I see. Looks like it has to be within extremely close proximity then.¡±


    Looks like the range is very small.


    If the range was huge as well, this skill would be an insane skill but, I suppose that was asking for too much.


    If Esta wasn¡¯t affected, no way it reached Ralf.


    While waiting for Ralf to come back from the unnecessarily far away spot, I tried to figure out the exact range with Esta¡¯s help.


    ¡°Ah, Chris-san, it¡¯s healed up around here.¡±


    ¡°So the range for [Effect Spread] is about 4m huh. Just about barely usable in actual battles then.¡±


    ¡°How exactly do you intend to use this in actual battles though? Like Ralf said, I don¡¯t really see what else we could use this skill for either.¡±


    Just as I was about to explain it to Esta who was still confused, Ralf also came back to the room.


    Of course, his wound hadn¡¯t healed, and the blood was still dripping.


    I do need to explain the uses to them both but before that, let me finish the experiments.


    ¡°Ralf, thanks for your help. I want to start the next test so come closer to me.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still more!?¡±


    ¡°This is the last one. Esta, I¡¯m sorry but can you make another cut again please? I¡¯ll explain in detail once this is done.¡±


    ¡°Yes, no problem.¡±


    Once Esta had made the cut on her arm again, I made them both stand within the range of my skill, and then I drank another potion but this time focusing only on healing Ralf alone.


    If this worked, it¡¯d mean I could control who all could get effected by the [Effect Spread] skill but,¡­¡­..unfortunately Esta¡¯s wound also healed up instantly alongside Ralf¡¯s.


    ¡°The wound¡¯s closed up.¡±


    ¡°Same here!¡±


    ¡°I see. So it forces the effect on any living thing within a 4 meter range. Alright, I have more or less gotten a good grasp on how [Effect Spread] works.¡±


    ¡°I certainly don¡¯t! explain why this skill is supposedly so good!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t as effective of a skill as I originally hoped for but, this is was still going to be well worth using for me.


    Now, I should properly explain things to these two as well.


    ¡°Alright listen, [Effect Spread] is a skill that basically spreads whatever effect an item has had on me and applies it on any living thing within a 4m range from me. It¡¯s greatest strength is of course, me being able to heal my allies by myself by drinking potions. Or using a mana potion to recover my and someone else¡¯s mana. And of course, even stats raising enhancement potions will work the same.¡±


    ¡°I see. I was only seeing it as a way to save money but Chris-san, you see it more as a Healer-like skill.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. If I can act like the Healer or the Buffer of the party, it¡¯ll greatly increase the effectiveness of our party as a whole. The only issue is the short range and the fact that it applies the effect on everything within the range, so there¡¯s a chance I might end up healing an enemy as well.¡±


    This was probably the skill¡¯s biggest weakness.


    It¡¯ll take some time before I can use it effectively in actual battles, and it¡¯s not one that¡¯ll have much use against strong enemies.


    Like Esta said, it¡¯s main use would be to save money on potions really.


    ¡°Damn I didn¡¯t think of that! Which means if I get hurt, I can get healed without actually needing to do anything myself!¡±


    ¡°Right?¡­¡­¡­.But, that¡¯s not all for how this skill can be used. I haven¡¯t tried it yet but, since the spread can effect monsters as well then I can use it to attack surrounding monsters as well.¡±


    ¡°Attack? But how?¡±


    ¡°Simply speaking, by using poison of course. I drink some kind of poison, and by using this skill I can spread the effects of the poison to every monster around me within a 4m range.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.! I see it¡¯s an attack method only possible because you also possess [Null Poison]! Although in that case as well, the short range seems like it¡¯ll be an issue but, I get why you called this a multi-purpose skill.¡±


    ¡°Well, if I keep like a poison pill stored behind my teeth or something at all times, I could even poison a person when clashing swords with them. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s rife with infinite possibilities?¡±


    ¡°Well, now I¡¯m just starting to get jealous after hearing all that! I wish I could get all sorts of new skills too!¡±


    And with that, both of them got a good explanation on why [Effect Spread] is such a good skill.


    Same as the [Black Mist], I¡¯ll need the help from both of them and Snow to fully figure things out but, judging by their amused reactions, I think they¡¯ll be happy to go along with my experiments.


    All that remains is¡­¡­..to give a brief explanation of [Suicidal Strike] which was a very limited usage skill, and then end this conversation for the night.

 CH 287

    Expedition Preparations


    Around 2 weeks had passed since our discussion.


    I had been spending my days completing requests while I slowly regained my full battle senses after recovering from the side effects of the fruit of skill.


    I had been getting better more and more with both [Black Mist] and [Effect Spread] while saving up money, and finally tomorrow, we¡¯ll begin our quest to clear the [Cave of Bahamut].


    By the way, last week, Mielle and Charlotte both returned to the capital.


    Apparently they cleared till the 50th floor without Mielle so I had to deal with listening to Mielle¡¯s incessant nagging and complaining until she left Edestor.


    Even though she was constantly complaining that she didn¡¯t want to go dungeon diving with the Princess and her guard, she wasn¡¯t happy that they cleared it without her either.


    I really think that woman has a truly troublesome personality but, well, she did help me a lot so I¡¯ll avoid badmouthing her too much¡­¡­¡­¡­and let¡¯s focus on my own quest for tomorrow.


    Today, we¡¯re all focusing on doing our own individual prep, so Ralf¡¯s gone to the [Moonlight Fangs] for advice and is currently in the Dungeon town.


    Esta has been going around the city to try and gather any last info on [Barbadd mountains] and the [Cave of Bahamut].


    I had been tasked with the shopping for items needed for our journey, so I¡¯ll be heading out soon to do that.


    Well, that said, it¡¯s not like we need anything specific, and it¡¯s mostly just the usual things plus some specific potions that I¡¯d like to have, so I¡¯ll make a trip to [Gaddfoura] and [Magic Cave] today as well.


    There¡¯s not much time left so I should probably start making my way to [Gaddfoura] already.


    After calming down Snow who wanted to play around more, I left [Gorush] and went on my way.


    Until now, I had only gone there whenever I needed more Jinpi potions made but now, with [Effect Spread], my need for different kinds of potions have made my visits a lot more frequent.


    It was costly but also necessary, and I had started trying out all sorts of enhancement potions that I had mostly ignored until now.


    If I could use the Venom Python potion, or the new species of plant that I found in Roza forest that also had a temp enhancement effect, it¡¯d make things a lot more cheaper but¡­¡­¡­


    Not just the enhancement effect, but also the poison effect will spread if I used that, so I couldn¡¯t use those to buff my allies.


    Similarly, it¡¯d be great if I could transmit the effects of permanent stat raising effects of Reizen grass or Lizaf fruits as well but, the poison makes it unusable.


    For a moment I did dream of having a party with boosted stats and a bunch of skills by spreading the effects of ¡®Ongneer¡¯ as well, but alas that dream didn¡¯t last very long.


    As I was pondering over such things as I walked, I had already reached [Gaddfoura] before I knew it.


    Let¡¯s change up my thoughts, and focus on finding the best potions possible shall we?


    When I walked inside, I saw Trisha and Rupert having a chat.


    Rupert was of course the party member of Bors-san who had been severely ill in case you forgot, and she was a regular customer of this place.


    Since I have been frequenting this place a lot as well, we have been running into each other quite a lot of times these days.


    ¡°Ah, Chris-kun! Here to order more potions today as well?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m here to just buy some potions this time¡­¡­¡­..Speaking of, you sure come here a lot huh? I feel like I see you here once every three times.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my line! I tend to see you one in two times so, it¡¯s you who comes here more frequently than myself no? Isn¡¯t that right, Trisha-san.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re both the same really. I¡¯m also getting quite old so I¡¯d prefer if you two didn¡¯t run me into the ground if possible okay?¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t even come here to make you work though!? I¡¯m just dropping by to have fun.¡±


    ¡°Even talking takes energy for me these days.¡±


    Hearing Trisha¡¯s retort, Rupert made a sullen look, while I went around to find the potions I wanted.


    Today the potions I¡¯m looking for are a strong healing potion and a enhancement potion, these two.


    I had a lot of low quality healing potions for practice purposes but, this is my first time buying a high quality one.


    I was thinking I¡¯ll make my choice while asking Trisha what each and every one of these does but¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at me. Do you need something? If you¡¯re bored you can keep talking to Trisha you know.¡±


    ¡°but we¡¯re done talking already! If you¡¯re here to buy potions, should I help you out? I know you¡¯ve been coming more than even me these days but, in terms of long term experience, I obviously know a lot more than you after all!¡±


    She¡¯s right in that Rupert probably knows these things a lot better than me but, I find talking to her a bit of a pain honestly.


    My heart was strongly telling me to get just the simple explanations from Trisha and then make the choice myself but¡­¡­.. I can¡¯t make a mistake this time around so I should probably take Rupert¡¯s help.


    ¡°¡­¡­.if you¡¯re fine with it then sure, I¡¯ll take your help.¡±


    ¡°Why do you sound so dissatisfied even when you¡¯re asking for help!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Anyway, just quickly help me find the potions I want.¡±


    And so we ended up choosing the potions together.


    Somehow I always seem to end up indebted to members of Bors¡¯ party.


    Once we¡¯ve cleared through the [Cave of Bahamut], I should probably take them all three out to [PekoPeko] and treat them as a show of thanks.

 CH 288

    Unexpected Info


    ¡°Thanks. I was able to find some great potions with your help.¡±


    ¡°No no! I know you¡¯ve helped Bors out a lot so consider this my way of thanking you instead! I only chose the potions I have used myself and thought were great so I think they¡¯d be pretty effective in actual battles, than whatever even Trisha-san might have recommended!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. It¡¯d be quite dangerous if I took some defective potions, especially on our next expedition.¡±


    In the end, I bought three types of potions.


    The first one was, a high quality healing potion made out of Repairo Grass.


    It was a potion that was specialized in healing effects, and while it was considered a medium rank potion, it¡¯s healing potency was almost close to high rank potions instead.


    The second one was, a stamina enhancing potion that mainly used a plant called Fanni grass.


    It actually had many other ingredients as well and was the speciality potion of [Gaddfoura] and could not be bought anywhere else.


    The thrid and the last one was, a strength enhancement potion made from something called Ungriff fruit.


    This one was basically the same as many other enhancement potions and was considered a common recipe but, this one specifically was quite cheap yet very effective for its cost, or so Rupert believed and thus recommended this.


    ¡°But still, you sure spent a pretty penny on these things! I heard you guys were heading to the [Barbadd mountains] right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.huh? Did I ever tell you that?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I just eavesdropped on Bors and Rufus talking about it! Should I not have known about it?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind you finding out per se.¡±


    ¡°Phew, that¡¯s good to know!¡­¡­..So, is there a reason why you bought so many of these high quality potions?¡±


    I know I did say that I didn¡¯t care about her knowing but, should I really talk about heading t the [Cave of Bahamut] as well¡­¡­¡­?


    She did help me with selecting the potions, and maybe she might give some good info as well so I don¡¯t think I should keep more secrets from her.


    ¡°We¡¯re thinking of challenging the [Cave of bahamut]. It¡¯s known to be extremely dangerous, and before all that we actually have to find the cave itself so we¡¯re storing up on a lot of these potions.¡±


    ¡°Ehh!? Even though you had been helping Bors with Platinum rank requests only just a while aho, you¡¯re going to head to the [Cave of Bahamut] itself!? Kinda amazing honestly! Though I do feel a bit complicated seeing you guys surpass us so fast.¡±


    ¡°on that topic, Rupert, do you have any good info on that place?¡±


    When I asked, she put her hand on her chin and started thinking deeply.


    She did say she had many years of experience, and Bors also said that he¡¯d been here for almost 20yrs now.


    And if Rupert has been his party member for that long, surely she might have come to know of something in that time.


    ¡­¡­¡­although, she certainly doesn¡¯t look as old as Bors, she¡¯s most likely in her late twenties at most.


    But then again, Rufus was also a lot younger looking than he actually was, so I wondered how old she was as well.


    While I was wondering over her actual age, Rupert suddenly smiled having seem to have recalled some interesting info it seems.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know too many details about that place but, I have heard that the corpse of the Evil Dragon Bahamut still lies in the [Cave of Bahamut]! And said corpse has been leaking a huge amount of evil aura, because ofwhich, a lot of strong monsters run rampant near that place!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.now that¡¯s a new piece of info.


    I mean it¡¯s right there in the name, so it¡¯s not too strange for the actual Bahamut to actually be there.


    But since there were no eyewitness to the dragon itself, I thought it might not be real but, if it¡¯s only a corpse then that makes a lot more sense.


    Regardless, it¡¯s good to know that this cavern is big enough for a full sized Evil Dragon to go inside. Will certainly make it easier to look for it.


    ¡°So the cave is big enough to hold the dragon¡¯s corpse. Even if it¡¯s just a rumour, I appreciate the¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­huh? Wait? Was it actually the sword that was leaking the evil aura instead? Sorry! I forget the actual details! But, anyway, the point is that the cave is filled with huge amounts of evil aura, and it also acts as a lethal poison so definitely be careful! Be sure to not actually enter the cave itself!¡±


    Rupert¡¯s memories seemed to be vague , and they were rumours only.


    It was hard to know whether the info was worth trusting or not but, the point about the cave being filled with a lethal amounts of poison made my heart skip a beat.


    Forget humans, not a single living thing could enter this place. Except me, who had [Null Poison]. I was the only exception.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


    Anybody who heard of my skill would call it a useless skill, yet I knew that it was strong enough to make even your [job] completely redundant.¡ª¡ª¡ªI once again became aware of that fact.


    ¡°huh huh? You sure look happy after hearing that! Again, that was just a rumour I heard a long time ago, but was the info really that good?¡±


    ¡°Yes, first helping with choosing the potions and now this info. You truly have my thanks. I am indebted to you for your help today.¡±


    ¡°no no! I was just passing time that¡¯s all, it¡¯s a bit awkward if you thank me so much for so little! Just continue getting along with Bors as always!¡±


    ¡°Of course I will. If we make it back safely, do allow me to thank you both properly once again.¡±


    ¡°Ooh! I¡¯ll look forward to it!¡±


    After giving a light bow to Rupert who saw me off with waving hands, I left [Gaddfoura].


    I was able to buy some nice potions and managed to get some good info on top.


    While filled with gratitude towards Rupert from the bottom of my heart, I moved on towards [Magic Cave] next.

 CH 289

    An Unexpected Person


    After leaving [Gaddfoura], I walked all the way to the [Magic Cave].


    My visit today had nothing to do with any magic lessons, and was actually to use the shop itself.


    That said, I do want some reference before buying anything, so I plan on visiting the pld man as well to help me with it.


    After giving a light greeting to the shop clerk, I walked through the usual doors and corridors and headed to the same old room where the old golem guy is always working in.


    ¡°Hey old man, I¡¯m coming in.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Hm? Chris? Just wait outside the room for a while, things are really messy inside right now.¡±


    As always a mysterious smoke was seeping out of the room and after he said that, the smoke began to slowly lessen as well.


    Soon afterwards, he gave the permission to enter so I gave a curtsey knock and then entered the room.


    ¡°You look lively as always. Looks like the fruit of skill has had no after effects ether¡­¡­¡­just what kind of weird body do you have Chris? I want to fully examine you at least once.¡±


    ¡°On the other hand, you sure look thinner and skinnier than before. There¡¯s even dark circles under your eyes. Have you not been sleeping properly or what?¡±


    ¡°Thanks to you showing me the fruit of skill, the things I wanted to study and investigate suddenly increased that¡¯s all. I have been doing nothing but research from day till night for the past three weeks with barely any time to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Well that doesn¡¯t sound healthy. You aren¡¯t exactly young either, should probably get some proper rest regularly, no?¡±


    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying!? It is precisely because I¡¯m so old that I must study and research as much as I can before I die!!¡±


    Breathing out from his nose in vigorous excitement, the old man loudly proclaimed, so I couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well.


    How should I put this¡­¡­..this old man really is a complete weirdo.


    I¡¯m hardly in the position to be judging other I know but, this man will really put his own life in danger for the sake of his own desires.


    I don¡¯t hate it but, even I couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit worried for his health.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going that far, I won¡¯t try and stop you anymore but, if you die because of it, wouldn¡¯t that make it all worthless anyway? So try and get the bare minimum amount of rest at least.¡±


    ¡°Of course I understand that much. So, why did you come here today anyway, Chris?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Oh right, seeing you so skinny made me almost forget my actual objective. I was hoping you¡¯d give me some tips and guidance on the items sold here in your store. Things you¡¯d recommend, or things that are easy to use etc, I assume you¡¯d know those better than anyone here, right?¡±


    ¡°Hm? I can¡¯t really be your guide. As you can see, I¡¯m hardly free right now, furthermore, I barely know anything about the store itself. I know I own it but I spend most of my time here in this room.¡±


    I was hoping to get some help from like Rupert did but, he instantly shot me down.


    And his reason actually made sense as it did seem plausible that this old man never even bothered to know what all his own store was selling.


    I regretted not realizing this by myself but, I guess I¡¯ll just have to go and search them on my own.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­You¡¯re right, it was stupid of me to expect anything from you, old man. I should have known that would be the case.¡±


    ¡°So it is. Ah but, I can introduce you to someone who can help with this kind of stuff though. Consider it thanks for showing me the fruit of skill.¡±


    ¡°Really? That would certainly help.¡±


    The old man himself was a miss but, he can bring me to someone who can help with what I want.


    The old man stood up from his chair and went out to call someone after telling me to wait here.


    About 10mins later, the old man returned with a familiar looking woman.


    ¡°Chris-san, long time no see. I presume you may not recall who I am but, I was in charge of taking care of you while you fell unconscious¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°I do remember. Sofia, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes! You did remember me!¡±


    When she came in she had an uneasy expression but, the moment I said her name, Sofia showed a smile reminiscent of a blooming flower.


    It¡¯s not like we had any deep connection but, as she said, she had nursed after I had collapsed while training in magic here.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


    She always has a ¡®nice person¡¯ aura about her, and on top I was just glad that it was not someone new that I had to deal with.


    ¡°Ah I did ask you to take care of Chris back then didn¡¯t I. Well, that¡¯ll make things even faster. Can I ask you to guide Chris around the store and explain the items on sale?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I just happened to have finished my magic practice for the day so I¡¯m okay with showing him around.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s that. Sofia here will help you out.¡±


    ¡°After nursing me, I¡¯ll be once again in your care so thanks.¡±


    ¡°No worries. When it comes to [Magic Cave], I know everything there is to know so leave it to me!¡±


    Sofia hit her chest with pride, and said so with confidence.


    Well she certainly looks more dependable than the old man when it comes to this, so I may have gotten lucky here.


    After giving my thanks to the old man as well, me and Sofia went out to the main store.

 CH 290

    Magic Items


    While having some light chat with Sofia, we reached the sales floor again.


    As always, there¡¯s a lot of customers here but, let¡¯s get on with my tour shall we?


    ¡°So Chris-san, what kind of item are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°I want things that can be used in battle. Something even I can use would be nice.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. In that case, my recommendations would be the magic balls with support magic imbued in them, or the magic items that raise your abilities by simply wearing or carrying them.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Both of those things sound interesting to say the least.¡±


    ¡°The ones we have here are all top quality as well so you cannot go wrong with either in my opinion. Allow me to show you those in person.¡±


    After hearing my request, Sofia instantly nailed down the things I would be interested in.


    She must have the entire layout and item placement of the store in her head as she walked straight towards where these items were without looking around even once.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s start with the magic balls. The ones over here are the magic balls with support magic. They are not as popular as the ones that have healing and attack magic so, we don¡¯t have huge variety of them but¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m confident that we still have the best assortment in the entire kingdom here in my humble opinion.¡±


    We were standing in an area that was surrounded by a bunch of crystal balls that could fit in the palm of my hands.


    I had a casual look when I came here the first time as well but, as she said, it seems like there¡¯s different magic spells imbued in these crystal balls.


    Like Sofia had already pointed out, the support magic ones were definitely scarce both in terms of numbers and variety but, there were still enough on show that I was hesitating over which ones to buy.


    They had simple explanations of the magic spells imbued in them written beside them but, it might be better to ask for Sofia¡¯s help here as well.


    ¡°Sorry for asking question after question but, which ones do you think I should buy? I¡¯m not exactly well versed in magic after all.¡±


    ¡°The simplest and easiest to use are the magic balls that raise strength or stamina. The agility raising ones are also very strong but, they do create a difference in your usual senses, so using them in a real battle without prior practice will often backfire instead.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll stick with the simple ones then. Since they are one use only, I can¡¯t exactly waste them on practicing either, and considering the ease of use, these might be better¡ª¡ª¨Cright?¡±


    ¡°I certainly believe so. Of course, everyone has their tastes so in the end, Chris-san you should pick whichever you believe would work the best for you.¡±


    ¡°No, I mostly agree with what you say. So as per your advice, I¡¯ll buy two of the strength and stamina increasing magic balls each.¡±


    If they are highly effective, I could buy even more but¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s still undecided whether [Effect Spread] works with magic as well or not.


    In my experiments, I had only used Esta¡¯s [Fire] to get hit and try and spread its effect which obviously didn¡¯t work, but maybe support magic is a different case, especially if it¡¯s through a magic ball usage which is why I¡¯m buying these.


    The chances of it working might be low anyway, and even if [Effect Spread] doesn¡¯t work, if the effect is good enough, I can always use it just for myself which is why I bought two.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good choice! Then, next let¡¯s move to the magic items sections.¡±


    ¡°Sure, lead the way.¡±


    After putting 4 of the magic balls in my shopping bag, I followed Sofia to a different section of the store.


    The place we headed to next was scarce in terms of customers, and there was a big glass showcase, with all sorts of items displayed in it. Though made of glass, these showcases still had quite the sturdy anti-theft measures in place.


    I had a feeling when I heard about them but as expected, magic items were an extremely expensive commodity.


    I heard it from Ralf during his explanations of the dungeon as well that sometimes from the high rank treasure boxes, you could get equipment with special permanent magic effect imbued in them.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Sofia, you sure about this? I¡¯m not that rich you know.¡±


    ¡°It should be fine I think! There¡¯s quite a few items that are cheaper now because their effects are a bit vague and remained unsold for a long time. Chris-san, please look at the corner-most showcase over there.¡±


    Sofia led me to the innermost corner of the area, to a showcase that looked a bit more dusty than the others.


    Considering how the other magic items all cost dozens of platinum coins, these ones here were certainly much cheaper than those.


    That said, these ones were still minimum one platinum coin in cost so¡­¡­¡­just about inside my range.


    ¡°From gauntlets, to rings, we have quite a different variety of things.¡±


    ¡°The ones in this case are all a bit peculiar but, my recommendation would be this necklace over here. It costs 3 platinum coins but it can not only raise a bit of your agility but more than that, it has a anti-poison effect as well.¡±


    It supposedly gives a permanent boost by just wearing it and that agility increase was definitely enticing but¡­¡­¡­¡­the anti-poison effect was completely worthless to me.


    More than that, if it worked with [Effect Spread], that would make my new thought out strategy of drinking poison and spreading its effect to my nearby enemies also completely useless.


    This time, I¡¯ll have to ignore Sofia¡¯s recommendation and look for some other magic item with a nice effect.


    If these work with [Effect Spread], even a normally useless effect could become a lot more useful after all.


    In that sense, perhaps this showcase might be the most suited for me and¡­¡­¡­..Oh!


    While I thinking of such things as I looked through the items, a magic item with a curious effect caught my eye.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..This ring that can dull your hearing. It costs 1 platinum coin?¡±


    ¡°yes, with the effect being what it is, the price seems about right¡­¡­¡­¡­.just to make sure, this effects the wearer and not the enemy in case you were mistaken.¡±


    It¡¯s true, in any normal case, using an item to dull your own hearing seems kind of useless.


    Maybe if your neighbours were too loud or something¡ª¡ª¡ªit¡¯d be useful there.


    But, if I match this [Effect Spread] I can rob my enemy¡¯s hearing as well.


    Of course, I¡¯ll lose mine as well but, just like with [Black Mist] I can use other skills to compensate for that and in fact, if I couple this with [Black Mist] I can rob both the enemy¡¯s hearing and their eyesight.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve made my decision. I¡¯ll buy this ring.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? Are you sure?? For a platinum coin¡¯s worth of item, that effect really doesn¡¯t seem worth it to me but¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Thanks for showing me around today.¡±


    ¡°Ah no no. All I did was just be a guide for you¡­¡­¡­..but seriously, are you sure with this?¡±


    Even after that, Sofia continue to look at me worriedly and asking if I was really going to buy that ring but, I ignored her worries and bought the magic ring I wanted.


    I ended up buying a lot more expensive items than I expected, and if these don¡¯t work with [Effect Spread], it¡¯d be a waste but¡­¡­¡­ even for just experimentation¡¯s sake, I feel like it was all worth it in the end.

 CH 291

    The Effects of the Ring


    The next day after my shopping trips around all of Edestor to prepare for the [Cave of Bahamut].


    All our preparations were finished perfectly, and now all that was left was to head to the Barbadd mountains.


    By the way, the ring I obtained yesterday did in fact work with the [Effect Spread] Skill.


    Not only was it a huge revelation that the effects of magic items also affected by [Effect Spread], more than that, I learned that it was extremely powerful to be able to cast debuffs on enemies like this.


    And furthermore, the effect didn¡¯t completely erase your sense of hearing and only, made it hard to hear things, which mean that by using [Hearing enhancement], I could return my senses to basically a normal level.


    Since the effect was permanently activated as long as you were wearing it, I can¡¯t keep it on my finger all the time but, I am already practicing using [Sticky String Manipulation] to wear and take off items as well.


    ¡°Oi Chris! We¡¯re all done here. How about you?¡±


    ¡°My prep is complete as well. We can leave whenever.¡±


    ¡°Then let us be on our way. There¡¯s nothing wrong with leaving a bit early after all.¡±


    Looks like these two were all ready as well so we decided to leave for the Barbadd mountains a bit before time..


    .


    The huge mountains stood towering right in front of us.


    Since half of the mountains were covered in miasma, it was hard to get a full clear look but, this place too had a peculiar atmosphere unique to itself kind of similar but different to the great forest of Roza.


    Apparently, these 2 and Snow did come here for requests while I was down with the sickness after eating the fruits of skill but, I haven¡¯t been back here since coming here with Bors-san.


    Back then the monsters we faced hardly caused us any problems, but now we had gotten so much stronger since then that we didn¡¯t even need to be on guard to deal with the monsters that appeared at the foot of the mountain.


    ¡°Chris-san, allow me to give some light explanations as we proceed. The special characteristic of the Barbadd mountains, there are three times where the miasma in these mountains grow much thicker¡­¡­.that thing you can see near the mountaintop is said miasma.¡±


    ¡°I do recall Bors-san telling me about it last time I came here. And this miasma is very dangerous I presume.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is the case. During these specific periods, the miasma in the middle and the top sections of the mountain grow thicker and the lower sections that are normally clean, also get enveloped in miasma.¡±


    ¡°So what actually does the miasma do? How harmful is it to the body?¡±


    ¡°The miasma itself is not harmful actually. However monsters frequently start being birthed in the places where the miasma becomes thicker¡­¡­¡­..do you remember Ralf talking about how monster appear in the Dungeons?¡±


    If I recall, there was huge clump of mana in the depths of the dungeon, and that mana was creating monsters out of it.


    Which means¡­¡­¡­..the miasma that envelops Barbadd mountains was also similar to the clump of mana then?


    ¡°I do remember. The mana clump that gives birth to the monsters inside the dunegon right?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Barbadd mountain is also very similar to that, and it is assumed that there is another similar clump of mana somewhere in these mountains as well that is producing this miasma and birthing these monsters.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so these mountains are quite similar to the Dungeon in a sense then?¡±


    ¡°The biggest difference would be that these mountains do not want the mana of the people and this miasma is instead being used to keep people away instead. And so there are no treasure boxes like in the dungeon either.¡±


    ¡°I see. So the ¡®Vendettatein in the Cave of Bahamut is the only treasure of these mountains¡­¡­¡­..high risk, high return eh? I¡¯m getting all fired up now.¡±


    This place doesn¡¯t absorb the mana of the people that die here so how can it continue to create monsters?¡ª¡ª¨CI had various questions popping up inside my head but I don¡¯t think anyone would have the answer to that.


    The important thing that we do know is that the miasma will get thick 3 times a day, and those periods are the most dangerous times while we¡¯re on these mountains.


    Let¡¯s follow the instructions of Esta who had done heavy research on this area beforehand, and proceed with caution.


    ¡°For the time being, there¡¯s another 4 hours before the next miasma spread. I have already marked a place for us to reach in that time, so let¡¯s head there and then prepare to survive through the miasma.¡±


    ¡°Then lead the way. Me and Snow will focus on detecting enemies. Ralf, you deal with any monsters that attack us. Esta, you¡¯re the guide.¡±


    ¡°Got it! I¡¯ll beat the crap out of anything that gets in our way so leave it to me!¡±


    ¡°Leave the guiding to me. I have the entire path memorized already.¡±


    While hearing these 2 dependable answers, we were about to head out towards our first destination but¡­¡­¡­.


    There was one thing I was still curious about.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­hey, Ralf, so did you get any good result from your little trip? I was shopping, Esta was info gathering. And didn¡¯t you go to the [Moonlight Fangs] to get some advice?¡±


    The moment I asked that, Ralf jumped up with a start.


    I had heard a lot from Esta but, I had yet to get a proper report from Ralf so I figured I should ask but¡­¡­¡­


    Looks like he got a zero.


    ¡°So? Did you not get any good advice?¡±


    ¡°N-No, that¡¯s n-not true at all? I learnt a lot from Vincent-san! But that¡¯s still a secret!!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to hide it if you didn¡¯t get anything good you know? I mean I was on bed rest for a whole 2 weeks, and missed out on a lot as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hiding it! It really is a secret for now!!¡±


    Ralf really does let his unnecessary pride get in his way sometimes doesn¡¯t he?


    Both me and Esta chuckled seeing Ralf like this, and then began on our way to the spot that Esta had picked for us as we marched through these unfamiliar paths.

 CH 292

    Miasma


    We continued walking while having all sorts of random chats, and finally reached the designated place that Esta had picked out for us.


    In a place from where you could see the border of the miasma covered area, we entered a natural-made narrow cavern.


    ¡°Is this the place?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This place was right before the miasma covered area, and the monsters that appear here are mostly similar to the ones that show up at the foot of the mountain. Furthermore, we can hide ourselves inside when the miasma spreads, and even if the monsters detect us, we don¡¯t have to worry about getting surrounded either.¡±


    ¡°I see. So we can wait out the miasma inside here, and then quickly make our way into the second half of the mountains.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. Since the cave is narrow, it is a bit hard to fight in but, in the worst case, I can fire magic in a straight line to deal with any monster that might enter inside so it¡¯s quite the nice spot for us to stop at.¡±


    As expected of Esta.


    She really does think of everything and goes above and beyond in terms of preparations.


    Around 10 mins after we entered the cave, I could see the miasma spread across this area gradually as well.


    It was like a light purple coloured mist, and anyone could tell that it was dangerous.


    ¡°hey, it¡¯s really fine to breathe this right!? This looks so poisonous just from the appearance!¡±


    ¡°It should be fine. I cross checked it with multiple adventurers who have experienced it.¡±


    ¡°If you feel even a little bit strange just tell me, we¡¯ll rush back down the mountains instantly.¡±


    ¡°Got it! I¡¯ll speak up if I start feeling sick!¡±


    ¡°More than your health, be more cautious of the monsters that will appear. From what I¡¯ve heard, the number of monsters is going to shoot up by a lot while the mist is here.¡±


    While I was a bit worried about both of their health and Snow¡¯s, she¡¯s also right in that the bigger danger was the horde of monsters that is about to spawn.


    I activated all my detection skills, and raised my vigilance towards the surroundings and¡­¡­¡­.instantly sensed an abnormal amount of monsters appearing in this area out of nowhere.


    ¡°Damn, that really is a lot of them. Thankfully, it looks like only a few of them have actually sensed us here though.¡±


    ¡°If the number of monsters gets too big to handle, please draw them all near the cave, I¡¯ll eradicate them with my magic.¡±


    ¡°Well, judging by the average strength of the monsters appearing, I alone will be more than enough. You two and Snow rest inside here in the meantime, we¡¯re still not sure if the miasma has any ill effect on the body or not after all.¡±


    ¡°You sure you¡¯ll be fine alone? I mean I¡¯d love to not go out there!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll call if I get in some real danger anyway so you can rest easy.¡±


    Saying that to them, I left the cave by myself.


    If there are monster approaching the cave after sensing us, I¡¯ll need to quickly kill them all first and foremost.


    It just so happened that I wanted to try out my new [hardening] and [Sticky String manipulation] combination attack, and considering the reach of the attack, this was the perfect opportunity to test it out.


    I waited for the monsters to come closer while I manipulated the strings at will, and finally after a while, I saw one approached towards me.


    It seems it¡¯s the same monster I hunted on my first trip here, a Blue Ogre.


    It noticed my who was hidden in the cave, and made a evil face as it tried to get inside the cave.


    The cave was bit too narrow for the giant blue ogre to get inside, so while it was slightly stuck at the entrance,¡ª¡ª¨CI pointed my left hand at him, and fired [Hardening] infused string from my five fingers.


    I doubt a single one would have killed it but, 5 super hardened strings would probably do quite some damage.


    The 5 strings stabbed right into the Blue Ogre¡¯s head, and when I pulled them back out, the monster instantly fell to the ground with blood spurting out of the five new holes in its head.


    I had tested this move out on some scrub monsters as well but, it seems this really is quite the effective attack even against stronger monsters.


    The only negative about this is that it can only attack in a straight line, but if I harden the strings after I wrap up an enemy with the normal strings, I can completely restrain an enemy as well which was also very useful.


    These two methods were the only ways I could use this combination but, even if the monster is able to block my straight attack, it would still put a lot of doubt and hesitation in the mind of the enemy which was useful in its own way.


    Feeling satisfied with my combination attack, I continued taking care of whatever monsters came our way to attack.


    ¡°That¡¯s about it huh. Looks like the miasma is dissipating as well.¡±


    ¡°Damn, you really did take care of it all without our help huh! I was watching from the back but, that new attack really is almost cheating!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and it has a low stamina cost, so it¡¯s a really convenient skill to use¡­¡­¡­that aside, the entrance has been blocked from the dead bodies of the monsters, so do you mind moving them away?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I can do at least that much! I¡¯ll start feeling useless otherwise!¡±


    ¡°no, let me do it. Burning it all away with magic would be much faster after all.¡±


    Ralf was getting all worked up to begin moving the corpses on the entrance away but, Esta stopped him and simply fired a powerful [Flame Arrow] at it instead.


    It was powerful enough that we could feel the heat spread inside the cave as well, and in an instant, all the corpses had been incinerated to ashes.


    ¡°Oi Esta! Don¡¯t steal my work!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have lots to do from here onwards, so don¡¯t you worry Ralf. Remember you have to protect us as the wall of this party, even at the cost of your life.¡±


    ¡°Geh¡­¡­¡­¡­I do want to be useful, but I¡¯d prefer if I didn¡¯t have to die for it.¡±


    ¡°Enough chitchat, and let¡¯s go. We need to cover as much distance as we can before the next miasma phase right?¡±


    We left the cave we had hidden in and began walking once again towards the Cave of Bahamut.


    With the miasma settling down again, so did the abnormal monster appearance, and the monsters that were born with the miasma also disappeared.


    Looks like the monsters born out of the miasma can only survive within the thick miasma.


    ¡­¡­¡­..but from here on, we are entering an area that is almost permanently covered in said miasma.


    While readying ourselves to be prepared from getting attacked from all 4 directions at any time, let us continue our journey.

 CH 293

    The Relay Point


    In general, it was hard to see but more than that, the number of monsters that appeared because of the miasma was really abnormal.


    On top of that, the further we approached closer to the Cave of Bahamut that was the source of the miasma, the stronger the monsters got as well.


    No wonder the request for investigating the Cave of Bahamut was set at Scarletite rank, and I finally understood why this place was also considered as dangerous as the East Area of the Roza forest.


    But from my point of view, just having solid ground underneath was a huge advantage in comparison, and the danger coming from simply big strong monsters was a simple and easy to understand problem to face.


    Of course that meant that you had to possess a certain level of strength to survive here but, I¡¯m truly that confident in our strength.


    ¡°So how do we move from here? Same as before?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll stick with this formation until we get to the Cave of Bahamut. Though we might have to improvise and change depending on the miasma.¡±


    ¡°I agree. First let us head to next relay point. If the miasma gets thick before we get there, it¡¯ll be very tough for us to deal with it all.¡±


    Sticking to our usual formation, it was Ralf as the vanguard, and Me and Snow lined up behind him to make a triangle shape.


    And Esta was in the centre of this triangle, and was guiding Ralf on where to go next.


    What me and Snow had to be careful of were monsters that could appear from the side and behind us.


    As for the monsters that show up from the front, until and unless it¡¯s some super strong monster, Ralf could deal with them on his own, and so we continued to move like this to make sure we don¡¯t get ambushed.


    Now I know I said that we were cautious of being ambushed,¡ª¡ª¡ªbut the number of monsters while inside the miasma was way too big to avoid everything.


    Most of them were Ogre type monsters, and after those the second most common were Bull type monsters that had the appearance of a wild boar.


    Other than those, there were also Orc types and Goblin types that we had to fight through.


    Even the more troublesome undead monsters were popping up here and there, and even bug type monsters, the type that I dislike fighting the most, had begun to show up.


    ¡°Ralf, focus on holding down the monsters up front for now. You don¡¯t need to worry about killing them.¡±


    ¡°I know! I just need to buy time right?!¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Esta, focus fire on all the small monsters. Me and Snow will get rid of the monsters trying to surround us.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Leave it to me.¡±


    I left Ralf to handle the monster upfront all by himself, and asked Esta to deal with the bug type flying monsters that were buzzing around, and then worked with Snow to get rid of the remaining monsters circling us.


    The required ability right now was speed but, we still tried to take care of them while using as little strength as we could.


    For that reason, I only activated [Flesh Enhancement] and [War Dance].


    Outside that, only when I found the right timing and the right opportunity, I¡¯d use the [Hardening] and [Sticky String manipulation] combination to kill some of the enemies here and there.


    We started with monsters behind us, and the quickly made our way around the circle, killing everything in sight until we were left with only the monster up front that Ralf was holding down, and then we cut them all apart as well.


    The monsters themselves weren¡¯t even my enemy, my real opponent was Snow who was doing the same thing as me but from the other side.


    To make sure I don¡¯t fall behind, I continued killing the monsters with the least movement required and¡ª¡ª¡ªboth Snow and myself made it in front of Ralf at almost the same time.


    ¡°As expected of Chris and Snow! Both of you tore through everything so easily!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t drop your guard. More monsters are already on the way.¡±


    ¡°Man this really is a mess. If a normal person made it here, they¡¯d be mauled to death in no time.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell would a normal person ever come here though!?¡­¡­¡­but, wouldn¡¯t it be extremely dangerous if this miasma ever made its way to Edestor?¡±


    ¡°More monsters approaching fast. Enough chitchat, and get ready for the next wave.¡±


    ¡°No time to even take a rest huh. Snow, c¡¯mon, let¡¯s get rid of them all asap.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    Just when I thought we had cleared through the horde of monsters, another horde was already rushing towards us.


    There was no time to even breathe in this situation but, right now we should trust Esta and focus only on killing the monsters.


    Giving a signal to Snow, we joined the battle again, this time with Ralf also taking part in the attack.


    .


    An hour passed with us fighting monsters again and again.


    Ever since we stepped foot into the middle section of the mountains, we¡¯ve barely had time to rest and have had to continue fighting almost nonstop.


    I was honestly starting to get tired of just seeing the faces of these damn ogres, and it was right around then when I heard a delighted cry from Esta, who was our guide.


    ¡°Ralf! Take the left right around there!¡±


    ¡°Left? You mean to this animal trail like path? It¡¯d be dangerous even for us if we got surrounded there you know!?¡±


    ¡°I know it looks like an animal trail but, it¡¯s at the end of this path where our next stop, the relay point lies, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I¡¯ve investigated it heavily in advance and my info is not wrong so trust me.¡±


    ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll go first so look after my back!¡±


    It was a narrow path and Ralf struggled before walking through, and soon after, Esta, Snow and then finally me also went on that path.


    Now if we get attacked from the back here, or if some monsters jumped out of the vegetation on the sides, even we¡¯ll have trouble dealing with them promptly but¡­¡­¡­..such an attack never happened, and we continued walking until we reached a wide open area.


    ¡°What is this place? There¡¯s no monsters here¡­¡­¡­?¡±


    ¡°Even the miasma isn¡¯t gathering within this area.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure if there really are no monsters here but¡­¡­¡­.as my info said, this place really did exist huh.¡±


    The place was like a big hole in between all the plants and vegetation, and was a wide open area.


    I could not sense even a single monster here, as if the hordes of monster we have been fighting until now were just an illusion or something.


    This looks like the relay spot that Esta had been talking about. One of the few safe zones in all of Barbadd mountains.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t believe her but, I was still amazed by how perfect Esta¡¯s guiding had been.

 CH 294

    Summit


    ¡°Man it really has been battle after battle without breaks. It¡¯s nice to finally have a solid breather in between.¡±


    ¡°Seriously! There¡¯s way too many monsters on this damn mountain! The numbers have been way beyond anything I could have ever imagined!¡±


    ¡°So Chris-san, what should we do from now? We made it this far, and confirmed the location of the safe zone here. It is perfectly viable to return back for now. I also think that the number of monsters we¡¯ve faced was beyond our expectations.¡±


    Soon after sat down to take a break, Esta popped this question to me.


    She¡¯s right, I do have to carefully consider our next move.


    We haven¡¯t come that deep into the mountains yet, and like Esta said, it might be better to fall back for now and regroup.


    But, in my heart, I didn¡¯t want to stop and wanted to go all the way to the Cave of Bahamut, and I have been quite careful with using my stamina so it¡¯s perfectly viable to continue our exploration of the mountains.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.the question is whether these two and Snow also have such stamina remaining in them.


    ¡°It depends on how you two are feeling. What¡¯s both of your stamina reserves looking like? Also tell me if the miasma has had any adverse effect on your bodies.¡±


    ¡°Oh I mean, I can still keep going you know? Well, I barely took part in the fighting, and was mostly focused on holding the enemies down after all! As for the miasma, I haven¡¯t felt any difference I think? My body feels normal at least!¡±


    ¡°Well, I also have a lot left in me as well. I mean I was fighting even less than Ralf so. Also, the miasma hasn¡¯t had any effect on me either.¡±


    Looks like these two are also okay with continuing.


    The miasma seems to have no effect either, so now I just need to check if Snow¡¯s okay as well since Snow was the only that was continuously fighting alongside me.


    ¡°Hey Snow, how are you holding up? Tired yet?¡±


    ¡°Awoo!!¡±


    I still don¡¯t if it can actually understand what I say but when I squatted down and asked it that, Snow wagged its tail and gave an energetic howl.


    ¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m going to assume it¡¯s still raring to go then.


    I quickly checked its body to make sure it wasn¡¯t hurt or anything, and since I can¡¯t even see a scratch on its body, I have to assume it¡¯s fine as well.


    ¡°I have been saving my stamina as I fight as well so, if everyone¡¯s alright, I¡¯d like to continue the exploration. Unlike the great forest of Roza though, we can always come back here and continue so if it gets too dangerous, we¡¯ll fall back¡ª¡ª¨Cany objections?¡±


    ¡°None here! If anything, my body¡¯s getting all antsy since I haven¡¯t really put in some work yet!¡±


    ¡°If Chris-san is okay then I I have no problems either. If I feel that things are getting dangerous, I will tell you instantly. Since I have no info of any such safe zones existing from here onwards.¡±


    ¡°Sure, don¡¯t hold back if you any of start struggling. For now, let¡¯s continue to rest for a little longer and then restart the exploration.¡±


    While chatting we took about a 30min long break, and the we left the safe zone to continue further around the mountains.


    We made sure to keep a good grasp on the time so that we can return back to this place before the next time the miasma gets thicker again.


    I don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll do if we end up discovering the Cave of Bahamut but, safety was always my first priority.


    If something irregular happens, I readied myself to use [Black Mist] at any time, and we continued our exploration of the Barbadd Mountains.


    .


    We continued moving towards the summit, while killing any monster that got in our way.


    I don¡¯t know whether it was because of the miasma, or the rough mountain path, or perhaps the thin air due to being so high into the mountains; I was finally starting to feel a bit of fatigue and right around that time¡ª¡ª-the summit finally came into our view.


    Near the summit, the miasma was pretty thin, and I had sort of realized half way through but¡­¡­..


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­There¡¯s nothing here.¡±


    ¡°No seriously, the place is completely barren! How are there no monsters here like, at all!?¡±


    ¡°Even the strength of the monsters had begun to get as weak as the ones near the base of the mountain as well.¡±


    Even though we had worked our way to the summit, there was nothing to gain here except a great a view.


    Like Esta said, after a point, even the monsters had started to become weaker again.


    Around that time I sort of realized but, it seems the cave of bahamut is not located near the summit it seems.


    Well it is called a ¡®Cave¡¯ so I suppose that should have been obvious but, then again, I didn¡¯t quite see anything that could classify as a cave on our way here either.


    I really thought that we¡¯d fine it if we kept climbing the mountain but I guess it was never going to be that easy huh.


    ¡­¡­¡­.looks like it¡¯s gonna take a lot of effort just finding this damn cave in the first place.


    ¡°Well I suppose knowing that there¡¯s nothing at the summit is in and of itself kind of good info to have eh.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s one hell of a positive way to look at it, eh Chris! Sorry, but I can only call this a waste of time really!¡±


    ¡°Regardless, we have spent quite some time climbing here, so let¡¯s hurry back to that safe relay spot. Once the thick miasma has passed by again¡­¡­..we¡¯ll descend the mountain for today.¡±


    ¡°As expected, finding the cave on just our first day was a bit too much of an ask it seems.¡±


    ¡°At least now we know that we can still explore the areas with thick miasma, so we¡¯ll just have to scour the entirety of the area one by one. While paying attention to the strength of the monsters, we¡¯ll narrow it down to places where the strongest monsters appear and explore there.¡±


    Since we didn¡¯t have a lot of info on it, we really will have to look for it on foot on our own.


    Deciding to explore specifically in areas where the stronger monsters appear¡ª¡ª-we decided to focus on safely getting back down the mountain for today.

 CH 295

    Hard Passage


    A week had passed since we began our exploration of the Barabdd mountains.


    While we did take a break day in between as well, still, even after a week, we had yet to find any signs of the Cave of Bahamut and were starting to struggle with the exploration.


    The thick miasma that spread every eight hours was turning out to be a lot more annoying than I imagined, and while when we started the exploration I thought the intervals were big enough to not be an issue but¡­¡­¡­


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    Considering we had to make it back to the safe zone everytime within that period, it was hard to get any decent amount of exploration done, and because of that, our progress had been far worse than I had originally expected.


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    If we were simply aiming for the summit, 4 hours was more than enough but, considering we had to explore the entirety of the middle section of the mountains as well, this amount of time was simply not enough.


    The harsh cold reality of the situation had been made very clear to me during this past week.


    Which meant, there was only one choice left for us¡­¡­..


    While once again hiding in the relay point safe zone in the middle of the mountains that we had become quite familiar with now, I made a certain suggestion to Ralf and Esta.


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, I have a suggestion to make, mind listening?¡±


    ¡°Sure, what is it, all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking we should stop coming here to hide during the thick miasma. Honestly, because of how much time the to-and-fro constantly takes, our exploration is not making any progress.¡±


    When I said that to the two, they showed a grim expression and stayed silent.


    The middle section of the mountain was already abnormally dense with the number of monsters you would encounter, and add to that the miasma, and it would become almost unimaginable.


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    So I understood why they were both hesitant but¡­¡­¡­.if we don¡¯t take a bold step here, the situation was only going to get worse.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we could really handle the monsters during the thick miasma but¡­¡­¡­.you¡¯re right, we¡¯re certainly not going to be finding anything the way we are progressing right now.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, the same thought had been appearing in my mind as well. I imagine it will be extremely tough but, if we don¡¯t try, we might spend a lifetime here in these mountains and still not find out where the Cave of Bahamut is.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. For now, let¡¯s wait for the miasma to get thick around the safe zone, and then go out and do a test run to see how well we can handle the monsters during this time.¡±


    ¡°And if it looks like we can manage, we¡¯ll continue exploring, is that it eh!¡±


    ¡°Yes, and if it seems impossible, we¡¯ll halt the exploration of the Barbadd mountains for now, and instead we¡¯ll focus on improving our individual abilities instead.¡±


    ¡°I agree with this plan. We have been getting used to constantly being in the miasma anyway, and Chris-san¡¯s [Sticky String Manipulation] has been very effective so I think the chances of us being able to handle even the thick miasma is quite high.¡±


    ¡°Yep, I¡¯m in favour as well! In the first place, if we don¡¯t get used to the thick miasma, how are we ever going to explore the actual Cave of Bahamut itself anyway? Honestly, makes you wonder why we¡¯d been hiding until now!¡±


    Excellent.


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    I have the agreement from both of them, so now we can start exploring even during the thick miasma.


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    First, we¡¯ll wait for the next wave of miasma around this area, and test our strength while being close enough to this safe zone so that we can run away in case things go wrong.


    By the way, there is almost zero info when it comes to these thick miasma phases and no one knows what kind of monsters show up here or how strong they might be.


    Thinking of it another way, one might say that no one has ever survived facing the thick miasma and then lived to spread the info, so I was already aware of how dangerous things might get.


    ¡°Chris-san, I think it¡¯s about time, the miasma sets in.¡±


    ¡°Alright, everyone, take formation and let¡¯s head outside.¡±


    I gave a quick order, and we left the safe zone with Ralf as our vanguard as always.


    We had walked through this path multiple times this week but, this time because of the miasma, the colour of our surroundings looked very different¡­¡­¡­.making it all seem very eerie.


    We hadn¡¯t seen any monster yet, and it was that weird gap where the miasma had only just turned thick but the effects had not yet begun to show.


    As we waited in an open area for the monsters to start showing up, soon enough, slightly away from us, monsters began to spawn rapidly.


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    The first monster that showed up was, a small humanoid monster¡ª¡ª¨Ca goblin.


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    But it was not a normal goblin. It¡¯s skin was a darkened black colour and looked oddly muscular.


    In its hands was a sword the size of its entire body, and it also had a shield hanging from its back.


    And perhaps the biggest difference was the fact that it was wearing what looked like black-coloured cap.


    I think I had heard of these from Bors-san some time ago, this goblin was considered the highest in the species ranking, a Black Cap.


    It was very obvious that this was no ordinary goblin, but was the strongest type of goblin that had killed countless adventurers.


    And now, 10 of those Black Caps had spawned in front of us.


    ¡°Are those¡­¡­¡­Goblins? Aren¡¯t goblins weaker than the Blue Ogres that we fought at the foot of the mountain?¡±


    ¡°No, these aren¡¯t normal goblins. They are the strongest of its kind, the Black Caps. They are hard to hit because of their small bodies and are extremely agile, so do not underestimate them for even a second.¡±


    ¡°This is the first time I have heard of them.¡ª¡ª¡ª From here on, I will also actively take part in battles. If they are really so agile, then I¡¯ll focus on dulling their movements, and once they are stopped, Chris-san, and Snow should deliver the killing blows.¡±


    ¡°Got it. We¡¯ll follow your lead Esta.¡±


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    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll draw the aggro from all of them on me as always! From here on out, there¡¯s no more holding back!¡±


    Seeing the Black Caps, both Ralf and Esta were fired up as well.


    Until now we had been focusing on different duties as we explored but, from here onwards, all of us will focus entirely on killing the monsters in front of us and nothing else.


    I suppose I¡¯ll also stop thinking about saving stamina, and go wild on these damn monsters eh.

 CH 296

    Thick Miasma


    The first ones to make a move were the Black Caps.


    The first one of the Black Caps that had spawned ran towards us with breakneck speed, and the 9 behind him also began to run and followed after him.


    The strongest of their species, but they were still goblins. Even though they were all same species, they had no coordination between them, and were all rushing at us. Seeing them like this, I felt a bit relieved.


    They were certainly abnormally fast and agile but¡­¡­¡­in the end, the thing that would have made me afraid the most would have been if they had begun to coordinate and fight together as a group.


    Normally the weaker goblins show better coordination because they have the self-awareness that they are weak and low on the food chain and that they need to work together to survive and beat their stronger opponents, but these Black Caps were confident in their individual strength. And thus, didn¡¯t deem it necessary to fight as a group.


    Of course they were still scary opponents but, now that they were lacking their biggest threat, I felt no fear even with 10 of them as our opponents.


    I quickly gave a signal to Snow, and we took point behind Ralf, as if hiding behind him.


    The Black Cap that ran across us, had its focus taken by my and Snow¡¯s movement¡ª¡ª¡ª-got attacked by Esta¡¯s magic while its attention was diverted.


    ¡°[Freeze Trap]¡±


    It was not a direct attack, but like she had said in advance, it was an Ice spell designed to restrict their movements.


    The Black Cap that had rushed ahead first realized the abnormality and tried to stop itself from moving into it but¡­¡­¡­


    The Black Caps behind it ended up knocking and pushing into it from behind because they too were running at breakneck speeds, and thus ended up falling into the [Freeze Trap] much easier than I expected.


    Of course, the Black Caps that were at the rear had no idea what was happening, and all of them ended up getting caught in it. Looking closely, I could see ice covering all of them upto their knees, as they all came to halt as if they had just hit a wall.


    Now, all I have to do is use the {Sticky String] and [Hardening] combo to kill them one-sidedly.


    As the Black Caps struggled to free themselves from the ice, I began aiming for their heads and started firing hardened strings at them.


    Judging by their speed and agility, I¡¯m sure they would have made for extremely tough opponents but, thanks to Esta, I was able to instantly kill them without getting a single scratch.


    Of course, part of it was thanks to the fact that they blindly rushed at us but, if this is the level of monsters that are going to show up, we can explore to our hearts content¡ª¡ª¡ªand the moment I thought that¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Oi, Chris! Look that way! Something huge is spawning over there!¡±


    ¡°Wh-what could that be? Such a huge shadow¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    When I looked towards the direction that Ralf and Esta were focused on, I also saw something bigger than even an Ogre being birthed from the ground.


    Because of the thick miasma, I wasn¡¯t able to confirm its identity but, even from here I could tell that this was by far the biggest humanoid monster we had faced.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a dangerous one, I can tell at least that much. With that kind of size, I don¡¯t think our previous combo that we used on the Black Caps would work Esta, and I don¡¯t think my hardened strings could even pierce through that anyway.¡±


    ¡°Man, there really is no downtime here huh! I want to punch the me from a few seconds ago who really thought that this might be easy!!¡±


    Not just Ralf, I had the same thought and I¡¯m sure even the usually cool headed Esta must have thought something similar.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­but, now¡¯s not the time to be thinking of such things. I need to figure out how to deal with this giant monster.


    I should start the battle as normal, and then try poisoning it through [Effect Spread].


    But before that, I want to see if Esta¡¯s magic is effective or not.


    ¡°Esta, start blasting it with magic from here.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll randomly fire a bunch of attack magic spells then.¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you¡¯re on standby in case more monsters spawn near us. Make sure to not let anything get close to Esta.¡±


    ¡°Got it! Just kill that thing asap okay!!¡±


    Giving orders to them both, I waited for Esta¡¯s magic bombardment to land alongside Snow.


    And once the magic made the impact, I was planning to rush in to engage it in close combat.


    Since normal attacks won¡¯t go through, I needed to use all the strength boosting skills, and was planning to deliver one swift and strong strike.


    Seeing Esta¡¯s [Aero Flame] launched at it, I gave a signal to Snow and rushed straight in towards the giant shadow.


    Perhaps because it had only just spawned, it didn¡¯t even put up some kind of guard, and the [Aero Flame] made a direct impact with its giant body, and it seemed like it staggered for a moment.


    I can¡¯t tell how much damage it did but, at least it has some  effect.


    I told Esta to continue firing her magic as I ran, and made my way directly towards it.


    As I got closer, finally its true appearance began getting clearer.


    A similarly green-ish skin like goblins, and a fat round belly.


    If only this was the size of a goblin, you¡¯d have laughed at it appearance but¡­¡­¡­the reality was that it was a giant towering at over 5m tall in terms of height.


    In its hands was a iron club, again, in a size that I had never seen. And seeing it all in full, now I finally recalled hearing about this one from Bors-san as well.


    Well, in truth this one was much bigger than the one I heard about but there¡¯s no doubt, this monster was in fact¡ª¨Ca Troll.

 CH 297

    Troll


    This monster was no doubt a Troll, but judging by its size, it was probably not a basic normal Troll.


    Probably one of the higher species. A War Troll, or maybe even a King Troll.


    Well, it doesn¡¯t change what I have to do but, I do need to be a bit more careful or else I really might get got with a single hit from a monster this size.


    A Troll¡¯s greatest characteristic was its high strength, and even higher stamina.


    And perhaps the most dangerous ability it has- a very strong regenerative ability.


    From what I had heard from Bors-san, that ability seemed similar to the skill I stole from Carlo, [Self Regen], or perhaps a better version of it.


    Because of that, half hearted attacks were useless, and you had to use powerful attacks that could seriously wound the monster.


    But like I said, it also possessed a huge amount of stamina which obviously had a great compatibility with the [Self Regen] skill. All this is what made Trolls a truly formidable opponent and quite difficult to deal with, or so Bors-san had told me.


    And the Troll in front of me was almost certainly a higher rank type of said species, so I no doubt needed to use all my skills to deliver perfect attacks or else, I won¡¯t be able to deal any damage.


    That said, if I only aimed at landing the perfect hits, it would greatly prolong the battle.


    Which meant¡­¡­¡­.to beat it fast, I¡¯ll need to come up with a different strategy.


    Thinking of the best way to kill this Troll, while Esta continues her magic assault, I began giving complicated orders to Snow who had run together with me to the frontline.


    The order I gave was, to put it simply, ¡®close in on the troll and attack it from right underneath it¡¯.


    But, I also told Snow to not spend too much strength on its attacks and focus more on keeping its attention while dodging its attacks. Basically, I was asking Snow to play the Dodge tank role and imitate the style that I had learned from Bors.


    It may possess a strong [Self Regen] skill but, as you could tell from its appearance, its agility was quite bad.


    As long as it doesn¡¯t get distracted, Snow should be able to imitate the Bors-style of fighting even if it didn¡¯t actually learn the technique from Bors directly.


    I further asked Esta to support Snow if it looks like it¡¯s about to get hit by the Troll and¡ª¡ª-now, I was free to move however I wanted.


    While the Troll was distracted completely by Snow who rushed in towards it to attack, I activated [Sticky String Mainpulation] from all ten of my fingers, and began wrapping them around the Troll.


    Troll looked annoyed by the existence of the strings wrapping round it but it possessed enough strength that these strings were not strong enough to actually restrict its movements as they were and were barely a hindrance.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­but, that was okay for now.


    If I did end up truly constraining it from just that, it¡¯ll shift its attention away from Snow, and will start focusing on ripping the strings off its body.


    My objective right now was to simply cover the Troll in strings without actually making it look like it was doing much.


    Snow continued to attack the Troll¡¯s legs and then dodge away, and in the meantime, Esta would fire magic on to its head.


    Thanks to Snow and Esta, I was able to cover the Troll with a lot of sticky string.


    Still, the Troll was able to continue moving freely but, that will very quickly change the moment I use [hardening] on these strings.


    Now, if it managed to break through the hardened strings as well, this would have all been a big waste, so I sure as hell hope this works but¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    While praying that this works, I activated [Hardening].


    The numerous strings around the Troll¡¯s body instantly hardened up and succeeded in restraining the troll in its place.


    Since it suddenly lost the ability move everything from its feet up to its chest, the Troll lost its balance and face planted into the ground.


    My plan went as I had hoped.


    Now all I have to do is slash its head off and kill it instantly.


    I switched places with Snow to go up front and raised my sword to chop off the Troll¡¯s head.


    Even its neck was fat like a log, and I had to activate all my strength skills to chop its head off completely.


    With the expression of pain and anguish frozen on its face, the head rolled around the ground as I observed the now headless body of the Troll.


    A normal monster would have died from this but, these Troll do posses a truly incredible level of self regen.


    I couldn¡¯t drop my guard just yet, and I maintained my stance to slash again just in case it grew back its head or something but¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Looks like even Trolls die when their head gets chopped off as the big green body showed no signs of moving ever again.


    After that, I ran back to Ralf and Esta alongside Snow.


    I was worried if they were getting attacked by some other monsters in the meantime but, since we had killed off the Troll faster than we imagined, they had yet to be attacked by anything else.


    ¡°Chris, that pretty easy huh! I saw it all!¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly easy. It was only thanks to Esta and Snow that I was able to fully execute my plan without any problems.¡±


    ¡°Still, that doesn¡¯t change that we killed it easily though! Even a giant monster like that went down in a couple of minutes!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Well, yeah I guess. Anyway, let¡¯s get ready for the next wave of monsters.¡±


    ¡°Oi! I was giving a genuine compliment, don¡¯t just ignore it!¡±


    Though we had beaten the Troll, the miasma was thick still.


    I left the over energetic Ralf to himself and began preparing for whatever the next wave of monsters that was going to come.


    Both the Black Caps and the high rank Troll were quite the tough opponents but, more than that, these battles and how quickly we ended them made me realize just how strong we had gotten now.


    But, that was no excuse to let our guards down and we were going to keep using our full force to kill anything that comes at us.

 CH 298

    Uncharted Area


    ¡°The miasma is finally getting thinner again right?¡±


    ¡°It is!¡­¡­¡­..phew, looks like we made it through somehow!¡±


    ¡°The monsters that appeared were strong but, thanks to the experience we all gained from the great forest of Roza, we were able to defeat them all.¡±


    While all of us were breathing heavily, we did manage to survive through the thick miasma.


    After we had beaten the Troll, a great variety of strong monsters continued to spawn and it was a fierce battle¡­¡­¡­¡­but the my newly earned unique Skills showed their worth and we were able to survive through the entire period without taking much damage.


    ¡°for now, let¡¯s return back to the safe relay spot. And have a light chat while we recover our stamina.¡±


    ¡°Yes please! You never know when more monsters might show up in this area, let¡¯s quickly get back!¡±


    As the thick miasma dissipated and turned normal, we used the gap between the time when the strong monsters disappear and the normal monsters come back, and quickly returned back to the safe zone.


    While hiding within the relay spot where monsters don¡¯t come to attack for whatever reason even during the thick miasma, I used [Effect Spread] and  drank a healing potion.


    ¡°phew, healing potions sure hit the spot when you¡¯re tired huh! You were using them even during battle, here and there weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°So you did notice eh. I mean I did buy them in bulk for a reason, so I decided not to be too stingy with the low class potions at least. Pretty cheap especially when a single potion can be used to recover all 4 of us.¡±


    ¡°It really is an incredible way to use it. Although, it¡¯d be the best if I could have done it as the ranged user.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true! If Esta could use it, she could look at the entire battle from afar and pick the best moment to use it!¡­¡­¡­.Well, that¡¯s nothing more than wishful thinking when we can¡¯t even eat the fruit of skill though!¡±


    ¡°We digressed from the topic at hand but, anyway, it looks like we can fight well even in the thick miasma it seems. From tomorrow, we will start exploring regardless of whether the miasma is thick or not, any objections?¡±


    Returning the conversation back to the point, I questioned them both.


    ¡°No objections here! I mean they were strong monsters certainly but, we¡¯re simply stronger! Now we know that for certain!¡±


    ¡°I have no objections either. Let us find that Cave and grab the sword of the first hero!¡±


    To my question, both of them replied with vigour.


    Snow was also wagging its tail with shining eyes, and seemed to agree with our opinion. I think.


    Now, we can ignore the time limits and fully devote ourselves to finding the Cave of bahamut.


    ¡°Alright. That settles our plans from tomorrow. Let¡¯s get some rest, compile all the info on the new monsters we¡¯ve fought and then descend back down the mountain for today.¡±


    ¡°I approve! So first¡ª¡ª-the Black Caps? Let¡¯s start there.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Allow me to give my objective opinion as I mostly watched from the back, and you guys can chime wherever you feel like your experience was different as you actually fought it.¡±


    And so, we began discussing about the various monsters we had fought today.


    And once this is over, like I said, we¡¯ll return for today.


    .


    .


    The next day.


    Without delay, we began the exploration of the Barbadd mountains proper today.


    Since we have gained a certain amount of knowledge from our previous explorations, we intend to explore the areas we were unable to explore until yesterday due to time constraints.


    With proficient steps, we quickly made it back to the usual relay spot, put down half of our luggage, and then began exploring across the mountains with our utmost speed to make up for all the lost time.


    We didn¡¯t exactly have any huge clues as to where we¡¯d find our objective but, we used the strength of monsters as our guide, and continued walking towards wherever we sensed stronger monsters.


    We crossed past the area we had explored until and stepped foot into an uncharted region of the mountains. An hour since then¡ª


    As if to show that we were on the correct path, the strength of the monsters we began to face began to grow stronger and stronger.


    Though not as strong as the Black Caps or the High troll that showed up during the thick miasma, they were strong enough that me and Snow alone couldn¡¯t just steamroll our way through them like before, and the speed of our progress also began to grow slower because of it.


    ¡­¡­¡­.But, now, I was able to sense something that seemed like it would be the Cave of bahamut.


    While thinking of the legendary equipment that may or may not even exist, we continued to step forward consistently even if our pace had dropped.


    Another 2 hours had passed since then.


    Sensing something, Snow suddenly howled towards the direction straight ahead of us.


    I quickly looked towards the same direction as well, and all three of us confirmed by looking at each other that¡­¡­¡­¡­..none of us noticed anything special.


    Even I who using all of his detection skills was unable to sense it so it¡¯s obvious that Esta and Ralf would definitely not feel whatever it was.


    ¡°What¡¯s made you howl like that Snow?¡±


    ¡°Probably, something that only a monster like Snow could sense I imagine.¡±


    ¡°Chris, even you don¡¯t sense anything either?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m using all my skills and still, nothing¡­¡­¡­.But, I trust Snow¡¯s senses whole heartedly, so let¡¯s head in the direction that Snow¡¯s pointing towards.¡±


    I gave some light rubs to Snow who had its fur all standing up on its ends, and told the two that we¡¯ll head in that direction.


    After walking another 10min in the direction that Snow howled at¡ª¡ª-finally, my skills also sensed ¡®something¡¯.¡°


    I unconsciously froze on the spot and just stood there.


    This is¡­¡­¡­¡­the presence of a huge horde of monsters?


    And they were not normal monsters either, they were strong and gathered in immense numbers.


    Snow must have howled because it sensed them as well.


    ¡°Why did you stop suddenly? Did you sense something as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I finally sensed what Snow had felt back there. This is just speculation but¡­¡­¡­.I think the Cave of Bahamut lies in the direction we¡¯re heading towards.¡±


    I told them both this fact, and so we decided to stop and talk about our plans from here onwards.

 CH 299

    Role Division


    ¡°Wait the Cave is really in that direction!? It was a long and arduous path but, we¡¯ve finally made it eh! Let¡¯s hurry up and go already!¡±


    ¡°Oi, Ralf, wait.¡±


    Hearing that the cave was ahead of us, Ralf was already starting to excitedly walk towards there but I quickly stopped him.


    I¡¯m not one to talk but, Ralf really doesn¡¯t bother thinking at all huh.


    ¡°What!? If the cave¡¯s right there, shouldn¡¯t we quickly go there!?¡±


    ¡°Just listen to what I have to say for a minute will you?¡­¡­¡­¡­.there is a huge horde of monsters right at the entrance of the Cave. If we head there without a proper plan, we¡¯ll get surrounded and swiftly killed. That¡¯s how big of a horde it is.¡±


    ¡°Really? That big!? I suppose it makes sense as the origin of this mountain¡¯s miasma.¡±


    ¡°Not just numbers, but every single monster has a strong presence as well, and I assume each and every one of them is a highly dangerous monster. Also¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°¡­¡­..there¡¯s more!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost time for the miasma to thicken again isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t know if it affects the monsters at the entrance but, if by chance we got ambushed from behind by monsters spawned by the miasma, there really would be no saving us.¡±


    When I said all that, Ralf finally shut up with a grim face.


    Even zero brain cells Ralf understood how stupidly reckless just rushing there would have been.


    ¡°So, what do we do next then? At the very least we should wait out until the miasma is thin again, before heading to the cave in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°I agree with that. And I have another idea on top of that. During the thick miasma, I¡¯m thinking that you two and Snow will be our main fighters this time around.¡±


    ¡°Chris, you want to act as the support then?¡±


    ¡°That is part of the reason but, more than that I want to save my stamina as much as possible. I¡¯m thinking of challenging the monsters in front of the Cave all by myself.¡±


    ¡°HAAH!? Wasn¡¯t it supposedly a huge horde of them? Why the fuck do you want to fight them alone?!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..You¡¯re going to poison them all with [Effect Spread] aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Ralf showed a exaggerated shocked face, but Esta instantly caught on to my plan.


    Like Esta said, I want to fatally poison the monsters in front of the cave.


    I have already tested it against scrub monsters but, I haven¡¯t tried it against a group of strong monsters yet.


    I¡¯m always afraid that I might accidentally catch either these two or Snow in my range, and there¡¯s always a chance that the enemy avoids it by stepping out of my range as well so I never really found a good chance to use it until now.


    But if it¡¯s against a horde like the one we¡¯re facing, it is probably the best possible time to try it out.


    I have practiced the process dozens and dozens of times already, and if I don¡¯t use it even here, then what was even the point of getting these skills?


    ¡°Exactly. I¡¯ll use [Effect Spread] and keep drinking poison to purge the entire horde.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, that¡¯s the thing you¡¯ve been practicing right!¡­¡­¡­..Hm? But if that¡¯s the method you¡¯re going to use, couldn¡¯t you head there now as well?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the poison will have an instant effect, depending on the species, some might even be resistant to it. Hell, some might not even be affected by poison as well. And as you already know, the range for [Effect Spread] is quite small. Just because I could poison and kill them all, doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯ll happen instantly.¡±


    ¡°Ralf, can you please at least try to think before you say dumb stuff? If you keep acting on impulse like this, you really will die one day you know?¡±


    ¡°Hey I know okay!! Fine I¡¯ll stay quiet and focus on thinking of ways to defeat the monsters then!!¡±


    Giving a side glance towards Ralf who was sulking after getting scolded by Esta, I talked with her over how to handle the monsters that will appear during the thick miasma.


    This time, the formation we¡¯ve decided on is an all out attack one. No tanks, both Ralf and Snow will be the frontline attackers and Esta will be the ranged attacker behind them.


    I will mostly focus on supporting them from the side with [Sticky String manipulation], and depending on how the battle goes, healing them with [Effect Spread].


    Ralf, who had mostly been defensive minded, perhaps thanks to that Vincent, had gotten a lot better when it comes to attacking as well.


    Since Ralf has mostly been focusing on holding the enemies and preserving his strength, I¡¯ll have him explode out this time around.


    And as for me who has decided to focus on support¡­¡­¡­..since I had tasked these three with the monsters of the thick miasma, I had already turned my attention towards the monsters at the entrance of the Cave.


    The most important thing for me would be to continue to dodge attacks, and to inflict poison during the openings between those attacks.


    Like I said to Ralf already, depending on the species of monster, it¡¯ll take different amount of times for the poison to take effect, and I need to be prepared for anything, and not expect the poison to neutralize everything.


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    Inside the Cave, especially since I¡¯m alone, [Black Mist] will work wonders, and so I already began simulating my moves inside my head.


    In the meantime I could also have the other three dispose of the monster corpses etc, and while I was thinking of such things¡­¡­¡­¡­it seems like the miasma had started to become thicker again.


    ¡°Alright, Ralf, Esta, Snow. I¡¯m counting on all three of you to handle this by yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ll take them down in no time, so just focus on the support Chris!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be so good, that we won¡¯t even need your support Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    Hearing them all respond in such a dependable manner¡ª¡ª¨Cwe headed towards the first wave of monsters spawning from the thick miasma.

 CH 300

    Independent Action


    Like Esta had confidently proclaimed, I barely had to do anything as the thick miasma period ended with nothing major happening.


    They won easily¡ª¡ªWell maybe not that easy, but still, while fully using all the data we had gathered on these monsters, Esta continued to use fire the correct kind of spells to counter and kill the monsters, and Ralf and Snow took care of those that Esta missed.


    The only time they struggled slightly was when another High rank Troll appeared, so I provided some help there, and constricted it with hardened sticky strings to take it down.


    That was pretty much all I had to do, and outside that, I was able to save my stamina so I can now go on by myself to face the horde of monsters in front of the cave as planned.


    ¡°Good job. You guys really did kill all of them without needing much of my help.¡±


    ¡°Zee haa¡­¡­..We did promise that we won¡¯t trouble you after all! Though I am dead tired now!¡±


    ¡°My only regret is that we ended up taking your assistance for that Troll but, overall I think we were able to deliver on our promise.¡±


    ¡°You did. Thanks to all of your hard work, I can put my entire strength in facing the monsters in front of the Cave. Those monsters never disappeared even during the thick miasma so now it¡¯s my turn to put in some effort.¡±


    Although I was about to challenge a horde of strong monsters on my own, I still don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m doing something reckless. Who would have thought such a day would come back when I first stepped foot inside the Peixa forest.


    The threat and fear of death was always there but, more than that I felt excited as I waited for these two to recover their stamina¡ª¡ª-and then I began walking towards the direction of the Cave.


    Ralf, Esta, Snow, were all on standby some distance away from me, just enough that if things get really dangerous, I can ask them to join in to help me.


    Well, with how much I have been saving my stamina for just this, I won¡¯t let myself be embarrassed like that and will definitely finish the battle perfectly.


    After walking for about 10mins from the place where we dealt with the thick miasma¡­¡­¡­I saw a humongous opening to a cave that continued all the way down the slope.


    That must be the entrance to the Cave of bahamut. And I also saw the horde of monsters running rampant right in front of the cave.


    Even though I secluded myself in the Roza forest so many times, this is still my first time so boldly making my way towards an entire horde of monsters, making my heart beat wildly.


    On top of that, from just a glance I saw a lot of monsters that I had never seen before.


    There were a bunch of monkey-like monsters with gold fur, and there were also wolf-like monsters that had wings.


    Then there were these dwarf-like monsters with a horn growing on their head, and also this jet black slime monster. Seriously, the variety was incredible.


    The slime one especially caught my attention because it didn¡¯t seem like poison would work on it, and I already knew that this battle was not going to be anywhere near as straightforward as I hoped it¡¯d be.


    I let all the simulations I ran in my head feed the data to my body, as I activated all my ability boosting and stealth skills¡ª¡ª¡ª-and then broke into a dash towards the place where a bunch of monsters had gathered.


    There were about 30 of them total.


    I could see that some monsters had noticed me running towards them, and instantly activated [Black Mist] to confuse them.


    Inside the cave, as the black mist enveloped the area and blinded the monsters, the panic and confusion caused them to cry out loud as their screams resounded inside the cave.


    The numerous cries made it impossible to gather info from the sound alone, but I had [Crimson Eyes] so I still had a good grasp of where the monsters were exactly located.


    While taking a position where I could dodge any attacks launched even within this darkness, I jumped straight into the middle of the horde of monsters¡ª¡ª-and then first, activated [Effect Spread].


    And then, without any hesitation, drank an entire vial of Venom Python¡¯s poison potion.


    It was a strong poison that Shantell had concocted for me, and while it raised my physical stats temporarily, for those with no poison resistance, it would start with paralysis and could lead to respiratory failure, cause hallucinations and spasms. It was the perfect choice for this situation.


    I was being stingy and had refused to use it ever since the battle with Carlo always thinking that there¡¯d be a better situation to use it but¡­¡­¡­.to think that would actually work to my advantage and be of such great use in such an important battle.


    While also using [Wild Instinct] and [Sound Wave Detection], I continued to move about to bring multiple monsters in the range of [Effect Spread] and kept drinking poison potions and eating poisonous plants.


    For me personally, it didn¡¯t even feel like I was even fighting but, the effect of the poisons was truly tremendous as I could the screams and howls of anguish and pain coming from the monsters all around me.


    As expected, it was infective on the Black Slime but other than that, it was highly effective on everyone else. Before the [Black Mist] dissipates, I should quickly retreat outside again.


    Even I was surprised by how easily I had been able to complete my task, and I decided to leave the monster infested area and head back to Ralf and the rest and wait for the poison to kill the monsters here.


    Even when returning back, I didn¡¯t let my guard down and changed the colour of my skin to black with [Colour Change] to camouflage better within the Black mist on top of using my stealth skills, and made sure that no monster saw me leave as I left the cave.


    After retreating far back enough where no attacks could reach me, I also saw Ralf, Esta and Snow in the distance, and only then did I loosen the tension on my body and breathed a sigh of relief.


    I had been quite tense while executing my plans but because of the [Black Mist] since it was impossible to really see how things were proceeding inside the cave, both of them and Snow were looking more tense than even myself.


    Seeing them all stare at the cave with such a grim expression on their faces, a light smile showed on my face as I reunited with them.

 CH 301

    The Power of Poison


    ¡°Chris! We didn¡¯t see you even a single bit but looks like you were alright huh!¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, I fully believe in you but still¡­¡­¡­thank you for being safe!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, looks like I made you guys worry over me. But the work¡¯s done perfectly, and without taking even a single scratch so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Reassuring them both of my well being, all of us, including myself, breathed a sigh of relief.


    To calm them down, I was thinking of telling them exactly what all I did while inside the [Black Mist] but¡­¡­¡­


    We were not give such leeway as the Black mist inside the cave was blown by what I could only assume was the flapping of the wings of the winged wolves.


    I was originally planning to wait while the poison fully spread across the bodies of the monsters while they were blinded by the mist but, with the mist blown away, it won¡¯t be long before the monsters find our location.


    At first they weren¡¯t being cautious so they didn¡¯t detect me approaching but, now they were all going to increase their vigilance to the maximum towards their surroundings and will most certainly fish us out.


    Since most of the monsters here had been successfully poisoned, we could fully retreat all the way back and let poison do its job but then again if the most of the monsters are suffering and weakened already, there¡¯s no reason why we should run away either.


    ¡°I was hoping to give a detailed explanation but it would seem that my [Black Mist] has been blown away already. Except the Black slime, all the monsters are poisoned so let¡¯s go together and finish them off.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep up with all these rapid developments! It¡¯s fighting time again already!?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. If we don¡¯t clear them out properly now, there¡¯s a chance more new monsters might pop up in their stead.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. The insides of the Cave of Bahamut are supposedly filled with thick miasma as well, if we don¡¯t properly finish them off, we are only going to open ourselves up to some kind problem hurting us later on.¡±


    While I did originally say that I¡¯ll take them on alone, now I was going to have all of us fight together to finish the fight.


    I¡¯ll handle the still healthy Black Slime myself since I have experience fighting the Hedro Slimes, and the rest of the monsters should be weakened enough to not cause any issues for these two and Snow.


    And right around then, having finally noticed our presence here, the monsters began to swarm out of the cave and started to head towards us.


    At the front were the winged wolves, and the golden monkeys right behind them.


    Further behind them were the black slimes crawling across the floor, meanwhile, the horned dwarf like monsters lay still squatting on the ground showing no signs of moving anymore.


    This was all within my original expectations, as it was clear that the poison affected different monsters differently.


    The 4 winged wolves running towards us while baring their fangs most certainly had a high resistance towards poison.


    That said, it was clearly not a perfect resistance like my own as I could see that their movement lacked balance and were occasionally staggering here and there.


    ¡°Alright everyone, I will begin firing magic then. [Icicle Rain]!¡±


    Before I even needed to give the order, Esta fired numerous ice type arrows towards the winged wolves.


    While the monsters did somehow manage to avoid fatal damage, each of the winged wolves had still ended up with a dozen ice arrows stuck inside their bodies.


    Having received further damage and their movements dulled even further, the winged wolves retreated and let the golden monkeys behind them take the frontal charge instead.


    And, as for the monkeys that had replaced the wolves¡­¡­¡­.well, most of them had a blank look in their eyes and I could tell the poison had spread really well across their bodies.


    They seemed to be running purely on instincts, but their excessive movements had only helped the poison spread across their bodies faster.


    Both the wolves and the monkeys seemed to be on borrowed time and would probably die if we just hold them back for a while so I left this job to those two, and I instead, ran around in a circle to attack the black slimes instead.


    These ones were the most problematic enemy considering they had taken no damage and it was unclear how they could attack.


    With the 3 black slimes set as my target¡ª¨CI activated [Leg Strength Enhancement] and instantly closed the distance.


    If I attacked normally at the slime body, it would obviously take no damage as usual but¡­¡­¡­


    I didn¡¯t even unsheathe my sword, and while activating my skills I simply used my fists to punch it instead.


    Seeing me rush directly at them, the slimes simply spread themselves wide as if opening their mouths to swallow me.


    I wondered if a slime even had something like pride, or self-conceit but, let me destroy their belief that blunt attacks won¡¯t work on slimes.


    I charged my fist with the momentum of my body, and then swung it straight at the enlarged black slime.


    And then, the moment my fist touched the slime¡ª¡ª¨CI activated [hardening].


    Not just my fist, but everything that touched my fist was hardened which included the body of the slime as well, and it was unable to absorb the impact of my fist like it normally would.


    A punch infused with my strength skills, was too much for the now not-slime body of the monster to handle, and its body, alongside the core was smashed into pieces.


    Now that I now that this works, the other 2 remaining slimes won¡¯t take long to beat either.


    The slimes did try to resist till the end and tried spraying some poisonous liquid at me but¡ª¡ª¨Cin the end, they were unable to stop my fist from smashing them apart.

 CH 302

    Strategy Meeting


    After defeating the black slimes, I quickly turned around to check on the others, only to see that the winged wolves and golden monkeys that I had ignored had been already massacred by Ralf, Esta and Snow.


    I had defeated the slimes swiftly so I could quickly switch back to helping them but it seems, that the poison had weakened those monsters so much that they were not even a threat anymore.


    ¡°Thanks for the help. This¡¯ll make things go much faster.¡±


    ¡°You had already weakened the monsters a lot anyway. Most of them died from just a single [Fireball] honestly.¡±


    ¡°Seriously! All we did was deal a killing blow to monsters who were already on the verge of death and nothing more! That aside,¡­¡­¡­.can we now finally go in and explore the cave?¡±


    Here I was giving my sincere thanks yet Ralf only had the cave in his head and didn¡¯t care much for anything else.


    Well, no point wasting more time, and although we¡¯ve only just killed the monster herd, we really should begin the exploration of the cave without further ado.


    ¡°Ralf¡¯s right, let¡¯s begin the cave exploration shall we?¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, what formation are we going to use? The miasma inside the cave is very obviously thick, and if the entrance alone was like this, I can only imagine that a lot more monsters are going to show up further inside right?¡±


    ¡°The chance of that are high, yes.  Ralf will be the vanguard as always, with me and Snow right behind him as the enemy detectors. Since he¡¯s gone inside the Dungeon alone, you can handle holding back multiple monsters on your own right?¡±


    ¡°The strength of monsters here isn¡¯t exactly the same as the dungeon but, well, I¡¯m up for the challenge! But instead, I¡¯ll be counting on you two to give me exact info of whatever¡¯s coming at us okay?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re never caught off guard so don¡¯t worry and trust our skills.¡±


    With the formation decided, we entered the cave of Bahamut with Ralf as our vanguard.


    Unlike the cave in the east area of the Roza forest, both then entrance and the insides of the cave were wide and huge.


    Furthermore, like the area where the Fruit of skill grew, this cave also had shining crystals growing on the walls making the entire place so bright it was hard to believe we were inside a cave.


    The insides of the cave were not complicated either, and it was basically a bright one way road so there was no worries about getting lost either but¡­¡­¡­.as if to make up for that, it also made it impossible to avoid any monsters, and since entering this cave, we had been in one battle after another.


    Since the sound and noise reverberated and echoed across the cave, more monster would show up from hearing the disturbance, and it was getting really hard to continue forward.


    ¡°I know we were all excited to explore the cave but¡­¡­¡­.we¡¯ve barely made progress. I mean I can still see the bloody entrance from here.¡±


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t it been like an hour!? It¡¯s been nothing but nonstop fighting! And not a lot of exploration!!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.is it even possible to explore such a place? There¡¯s no end to these monsters! They just keep on coming!¡±


    ¡°We might have to give up and regroup for now. Once we get rid of the monsters coming towards us right now, we¡¯ll fall back and retreat from the cave for now.¡±


    An hour since we started the exploration of the cave of Bahamut.


    Having come to the conclusion that this current direct method was unsustainable, I had no choice but to reluctantly order a retreat.


    We had only been able to proceed a mere 100m inside the cave and had nothing else to show for all our work.


    I was not happy making this decision but, if the monsters started showing up from the entrance side as well, we¡¯d really be in a serious pinch so I had to play it safe.


    First we dealt with the monsters attacking us right now, and after that we ran back outside the cave.


    To make sure that we don¡¯t get attacked here as well, we ran back some distance away from the cave and hid in shade of  giant rock and opened an important strategy meeting.


    ¡°This was not quite what I had in mind when I thought of exploring this cave. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s even possible to ¡®explore¡¯ that cave.¡±


    ¡°We might not have any other choice but to gather a big group of people that can go toe to toe with such monsters and force our way in, no? Especially if the miasma inside the cave is actually giving birth to more monsters, it might genuinely be impossible!¡±


    ¡°If at least the cave was a bit more narrow, I feel like we could have made it work. But when it¡¯s this wide, it¡¯s actually disadvantageous for us instead.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Esta. If it was narrower, we could funnel the monsters down in to only facing a few at a time. But when it¡¯s this open and wide, and is also a straightforward path, I don¡¯t see us clearing this cave.¡±


    ¡°Chris, so what next? This ended in failure but, we did make a lot of progress today so should we return for today?¡±


    I ended up falling into deep thought when Ralf questioned me so.


    We had been perfect in our preparations, and it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll suddenly come up with a great idea to succeed next time just because we returned back either.


    But, like Ralf said, it might be necessary to gather a huge group of people to go through that monster infested cave, so we might have no choice but to depend on numbers and hire a bunch of adventurers.


    Which would mean, we would have to give on exploration for today. But¡­


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Nothing will change even if return. And also, I have been thinking but, I think it might be best for me to challenge the cave of Bahamut on my own.¡±


    ¡°HAHH!? This again?? No way you¡¯re going to be able to make it through that cave on your own dude!!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..no, actually he may have a point. Chris-san has [Black Mist], and he also possesses multiple stealth skills. It¡¯s because we¡¯re with him that he can¡¯t really use any of those things. We have been aware of that weakness for some time now.¡±


    ¡°But still, what if he did get detected by an enemy while he¡¯s on his own? No chance he can take a big group of monster by himself!¡±


    ¡°But I can. Inside a cave, I can do what I did before and poison them with [Effect Spread] if I¡¯m on my own.¡±


    I put up another strong merit against Ralf who was vehemently against this idea.


    It seems Esta seems to have already realized that me going by myself was more efficient as her expression was gloomy and she was frowning but she didn¡¯t object to the idea either.


    ¡°But, the risk is way too high man!? I can¡¯t let you go all on your own like this!¡±


    ¡°Regardless, after a certain point,  the cave becomes filled with deadly poison anyway so, we had already talked about how it¡¯ll have to be just me alone from there. This just makes that happen a bit earlier, not much of a difference is it? Also¡­¡­¡­to face a [Sword God], I need ¡°Vendettatein¡± no matter what. You understand that as well, right Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡­¡­yeah, but..¡±


    ¡°Ralf. Let us trust Chris-san and see him off.¡ª¡ª¨Cit will be alright. After all, this is Chris-san, we¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Ralf was getting emotional as Esta said so with a smile.


    Still, he refused to his approval but¡­¡­¡­.after thinking for some time, it seemed like he had made his resolve as he slowly nodded his head.


    ¡°Sorry, for making you both worry over me so much.¡±


    ¡°Seriously! Chris, if you end up dying, I¡¯m going to hold a grudge for the rest of my life okay!!¡±


    ¡°Relax. I¡¯ll be back with Vendettatein in my hands at all costs.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll be waiting here for you!¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    I left them and Snow behind the rock, and this time made my way to the Cave of Bahamut alone.


    Now I don¡¯t want someone to hate me forever so I better not die eh.


    I slapped my cheeks to re-energize myself and then began the challenge of clearing the Cave of Bahamut on my own.

 CH 303

    Quick Subjugation


    Just seeing that army of monsters again, made my legs feel heavier as I made my way towards the cave.


    While making a conscious decision to not tense up my body too much and save my stamina, I re-entered the Cave of Bahamut again.


    The most important point of this solo quest was how much stamina I can conserve consistently.


    Part of me wanted to go full blast using all my skills and charge inside the cave but, I decided against it and instead chose to conserve as much stamina as possible at every given moment and only use the necessary skills needed.


    And so, the ones I chose were¡ª¡ª-[Black Mist][Stealth][Silent Steps][Crimson Eyes].


    I also set up the ring I bought from [Magic Cave] in a place from where I can quickly wear it, thus finishing my prep.


    If I get found by monsters, I had already decided to focus more on surviving rather than fight head on.


    Already calculating how much stamina I¡¯d need to save for the return journey as well, I began walking inside the cave that had been darkened by the [Black Mist].


    While hearing the cries and howls of the monsters from nearby, I depended on my crimson eyes to cleanly avoid all the monsters and continue moving forward.


    Among the various unique skills I had received, I had thought that [Black Mist] would be the one that I¡¯d use the least but, I never thought that it¡¯d turn out to be the most useful and dependable one for me.


    Though I suppose there was always [Suicidal Strike], which had even more limited usage than this.


    While giving my gratitude towards the [Black Mist] skill, I continued my way inside the cave as the cries of the monsters also continue to echo within it, and in no time at all, I had already made it to the point where we had reached in an hour on our last attempt.


    Honestly, this method wasn¡¯t very exciting but if I can keep this pace up, clearing this cave should be quite doable.


    ¡­¡­¡­..and right when I thought that, I saw a flock of bats come towards me from the front.


    A monster with flapping wings was a direct counter to my [Black Mist], and these bats probably had a similar detection skill to [Sound wave detect] that I stole from the Owl monster.


    Of course I could bet on the fact that maybe they don¡¯t have such a skill and use [Leg Strength enhancement] and [Gale] to rush past them but¡­¡­¡­.the chances of that were very low.


    If they found me, they keep on chasing me and if that happens, I¡¯ll only end up running into more monsters instead.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.in that case, I have no choice but to kill these bats in front of me.¡±


    I softly muttered to myself, and made the decision to hunt these bat monsters down.


    My aim were only these bat monsters alone, and as soon as I quickly kill them, I¡¯ll hide myself again with black mist.


    I¡¯ll use the hearing weakening ring and [Effect Spread] to completely confuse the monsters of my position and prioritize running away.


    Having decided on my next plan of action inside my head, I activated [Leg Strength enhancement] and [Gale].


    I rushed in directly underneath  the Bats hanging on the top of the cave, and used hardened sticky strings to quickly bring them down.


    With their size it was bit much to ask for an instant death but, if I can bring them down to the ground, they were as good as dead by my hands.


    While also manipulating the ring with another sticky string, I stabbed my hardened strings at the 7 bats up top, and then further manipulated the strings to entangle around them.


    Then, I hardened the strings again, and then slammed them down into the ground. Soon after, I unsheathed my sword and closed in on them to cut them apart.


    I activated [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical Ability boost][Ability unleashed] and [Gale], and then also activated [Strong Arm] and [Hard Hit], and unleashed a barrage of strikes at the bat monsters.


    Just like the black slime, I was able to kill each of them with a single strike¡ª¡ª


    And before any of them could return back into the air, I cut them all down, and seeing other monsters rush towards me after hearing the noise, I activated [Black Mist] again.


    Afterwards, I deactivated all the other skills, and then reactivated [Stealth][Silent Steps][Crimson Eyes][Hearing enhancement], and then put on the Hearing weakening ring and hid myself in the black mist.


    You might be thinking I should have just used poison and [Effect Spread] to deal with the bats as well but, in the off chance they were resistant to poison, I¡¯d be in deep trouble so this method was more reliable.


    Just thinking about a situation where I¡¯ll have to simply assume that the enemy isn¡¯t resistant to poison because there¡¯s no other way to attack, it gave my stomach anxiety and pain.


    Due to the extreme tension and the relentless movements I had to take, my heart beat was rising like crazy, so I quickly ran away from there while trying to calm down my ragged breathing.


    Sensing more and monsters began gathering behind me near where I dealt with the bats, I quickly made my way further inside the cave while avoiding the monsters.


    I needed to be fast and precise, and certain with my kills. That¡¯s the kind of place this Cave of Bahamut was. Mistakes were not allowed.


    As the numerous monsters ran rampant, the main condition for me was to not get found out so rather than my physical stamina which I was so worried about, it was actually my mental stamina that was getting exhausted at a rapid rate.


    Desperately wiping the sweat off my forehead to make sure it didn¡¯t even drop on to the ground, I continued walking deeper into the unknown depths of the cave.

 CH 304

    Cave Exploration


    I held my breath, and slowly walked, making sure that my steps made no sound.


    I could tell that as I went further inside, the cave had started to grow more narrower but, it remained the one straightforward path still.


    My mental fatigue continued to accumulate and due to my constant use of [Black Mist], even my physical stamina had been shaved off by a quite a lot.


    But still, since the fight with the giant bat-like monsters, I hadn¡¯t run into any other monsters that had high detection skills which was my only saving grace, and I had been able to make progress consistently.


    I had to keep myself calm against the impatience that was rising inside me, and forced myself to maintain the steady speed rather than speed up and make a reckless move. Walking through the pitch black darkness and tip-toeing around the frantically searching minotaurs, I looked ahead to see¡­¡­¡­.


    The straight path finally split in two different paths.


    Did this even qualify as ¡®good news¡¯? or was it actually a bad news? Regardless, it was something and gave me a much needed emotional boost.


    The narrower the cave gets, the harder it¡¯ll be to maintain my stealth but, at the same time, it¡¯ll be much easier to fight monsters as well.


    Rather than continue like this and lose my sanity from the tension, fighting monsters head on without holding back might be much better for me at this point.


    Now I just need to pick which path I should take. Left or right?¡­¡­¡­..I guess I¡¯ll start with the right path first.


    I decided that I¡¯ll take the right path every time I run into a branching path and slowly map out the entire Cave of bahamut. This way I also won¡¯t get lost either.


    With no hesitation after having made this decision, I continued through the right path, and made my way deeper into the cave with the same level of caution as before.


    After the split, the cave became almost half as wide as before but, it was still pretty wide regardless so this was still not a situation where I could fight monsters without worrying about getting surrounded.


    But what really caught my attention was the fact that since the split in paths, the number of monsters I was running into also reduced by a lot. And right around when I was thinking that, I smelled a horrible stench coming from somewhere.


    Normally, I was expecting the number of monsters to rise the deeper I went inside the cave but, the opposite was happening here.


    For a second, I wondered if the right path was the wrong one but¡­¡­¡­the miasma here was getting much deeper in colour and thicker, that much was obvious.


    Another thing I noticed was that the monster I ran into were all non-humanoid types.


    It would seem that the info from Rupert about how the deeper sections of the caves had a lethal amount of poison was true after all.


    Near the entrance, the miasma was not harmful to the body as seen by it not affecting Ralf or Esta, but since the split in paths, I think there¡¯s also a deadly poison mixed inside the miasma in my opinion.


    If my hypothesis is correct¡ª¡ª¡ª-I squatted down and searched with my hand across the ground only to find what looked like the bones of dead monsters.


    Checking the walls as well, I also saw the decaying corpse of an Ogre-like big humanoid monster, and I also realized that the horrible stench I was smelling was coming from this corpse.


    This poison killed even the monsters that were born from the miasma itself.


    It was almost as if this cave had a strong will to not let any living thing pass any further inside but, for me, this poison was a blessing in disguise.


    Thought this did make it clear that this cave was un-clearable by normal human beings, and also explained why nobody took that request of exploring this cave even though the reward was so high.


    That said, there were still a bunch of monster here that were resistant to poison, so I couldn¡¯t be too carefree and had to continue being cautious as I make my way deeper.


    .


    3 hours had passed since I entered the Cave of Bahamut.


    The battles with monsters had begun to increase but, the overall encounter rate had drastically dropped.


    After walking further in from the split paths, forget humanoids, even normal monsters stopped appearing and only Slime-type and Undead-type monsters were roaming this area.


    The cave itself was also getting narrower and narrower, and this cavern had also become similar to the Roza forest¡¯s East area cave.


    Since I won¡¯t be able to avoid fights from here onwards, I cancelled all the stealth skills and was using only [Crimson Eyes] and [Sound Wave Detect].


    I had been doing my utmost to save as much stamina as I could but, we had still had to fight through a lot of monsters in just getting to the cave, climb the harsh mountains themselves, then fight more monsters at the entrance and inside the cave, and a lot of time had passed since then.


    Quite frankly, I was really hoping that I reach the innermost area of the cave already.


    Both my mind and body felt exhausted, and a few minutes after I was thinking of such timid things.


    As if answering my prayers, my [Sound wave Detect] skill suddenly pointed out that I was reaching a dead end soon.


    If it was just a dead end, then I¡¯ll stop the exploration for today right there and if it happens to be the resting place of Vendettatein, then it was a job well accomplished.


    If possible, I hoped it was the latter but, I didn¡¯t want to give myself too much mental damage by getting my hopes unrealistically high so I kept myself realistic.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­But, from the [Sound Wave detect] I knew that whatever lies at the end was in an intentionally created wide open area, similar to where we fought Heracberg.


    It was hard to stop myself from getting excited¡ª¡ª¡ªso with hopes in my heart, I made my way to the end of this cavern path.

 CH 305

    Treasure Guardian


    After the first split in paths, I thought there¡¯d be more splits but, in the end the path was completely straightforward again.


    There was of course the left path and whatever lay at the end of that one, but regardless, right now I was most certainly in the deepest chambers of the Cave of Bahamut.


    I took a deep breath, and then entered the final zone.


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    The first thing that caught my eye was a mysterious stone tomb crudely placed out in the open.


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    Even though it was deepest portion, there was distinct change in scenery like in the Roza forest¡¯s East area cave but¡­¡­¡­.


    There was something other than the stone tomb here as well that immediately caught my attention. A longsword and a suit of armour leaning on the tomb that seemed to have been carefully placed there.


    Both the armour and sword were releasing some kind of aura and instantly the words ¡®Vendettatein¡¯ flashed inside my head.


    As if my consciousness had been robbed by the longsword, I started walking towards the stone tomb but¡ª¡ª¨Cthe moment I was a certain distance close to the tomb, the entire area began to tremble.


    And with the trembling came a piercing roar, and when I looked up towards the direction from where the roar came¡­¡­..


    What I saw was, a jet black coloured dragon with torn wings, clung to the ceiling of the cave.


    It was missing one of its limbs, and its body was in tatters. It¡¯s skin and eyes had blisters, and rather than the proud and divine look of a dragon that it is usually described as, this one looked more sinister, evil.


    Looking closely, I could also see a black liquid oozing out of various parts of its body and dripping to the ground.


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    A tomb of stone. And if not for having lost my focus to the armour and sword, I never would have missed the presence of a dragon like this, yet in the final moment I had let my guard down.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.now, rather than that, it was more that the aura released by the longsword was so strong that it had robbed me of my consciousness.


    The Longsword¡¯s presence was stronger than even the evil black dragon that was on the ceiling.


    ¡ª¡ª-There was no doubt in my mind. That sword was most certainly the Vendettatein.


    Whatever it did to me to almost hypnotize me only made that conviction inside my head stronger. This was the real thing.


    And to get my hands on that sword, I had no choice but to defeat this black dragon that was roaring at me from the ceiling.


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    If the rumours are true then this dragon was also the namesake of this cave, Bahamut.


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    But, I feel like it was lacking in terms of presence for a supposedly legendary dragon, and it was around the same level as Heracberg that we had defeated already.


    I might be underestimating it because of Vendettatein here making it seem smaller in comparison but, with the amount of unique skills I have on me, I could definitely take this dragon down solo.


    Since I hadn¡¯t had a proper fight since entering the cave, this will be my first proper battle here, and it was against the dragon Bahamut itself.


    From the looks of it, I doubt poison will work on it anyway, so as far as the last guardian protecting the legendary sword goes, this dragon will make for a perfect opponent.


    I let go of all my thoughts about going back, and activated all the skills for which I had been saving my stamina up for.


    [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical Ability Boost][Ability unleashed][Mind Unleashed][Leg Strength Enhancement] and [Wild Instinct].


    While relishing the sensation of strength spreading across my whole body, I also drank two enhancement potions I bought at [Gaddfoura].


    I had bought them to buff the entire party with [Effect Spread] but there¡¯s no point saving them now that I was here at the final point.


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    Both my mind and body became clear and sharp, and the fatigue that I was feeling was blown away.


    I was happing to get to fully prepare, but even as I drank my potions, Bahamut showed no signs of coming down from the ceiling, and its one shining red eye continued to glare at me.


    Was it thinking of attacking me if I showed my back to run? Or did it have some other strategy in mind?


    I couldn¡¯t understand what Bahamut was thinking but, if it¡¯s not going to attack first, I¡¯ll gladly take the initiative.


    I could outright jump towards it with [Leg strength Enhancement and [Gale] but, when I have the perfect solution in [Sticky String manipulation], I don¡¯t need to take such a risk.


    My course of action decided, I activated [Black Mist] and instantly made it right below Bahamut, and launched five sticky strings towards the dragon while hidden inside the darkness.


    Like I did with the Troll, I didn¡¯t harden them before hand and used it normally first to wrap around its body but, unlike the Troll that didn¡¯t pay much attention to it, the Dragon turned its body in the air instantly¡ª¡ª-and with that momentum landed down on to the ground.


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    The wind pressure generated from its landing blew the Black Mist away, and the Bahamut stood right in front as its head looked down on me.


    I didn¡¯t feel like it was that strong when it was on the ceiling but now that it was up close and personal, I could properly feel its full presence.


    This would be my first time fighting a dragon so I could feel my blood boil with excitement like it hadn¡¯t done in quite some time now.


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    What kind of attacks does it have? I had no idea but¡­¡­¡­.even if my opponent is the legendary Bahamut, I was confident that I had the power to take it down.


    I unsheathed my steel sword and took my stance¡ª¡ª¨Cand my decisive battle with Bahamut began.

 CH 306

    A Simple Strategy


    It opened its giant mouth, and its pitch black tongue drooled on the ground as Bahamut glared at me.


    Its entire body was twitching and looking closely I could see a bunch of maggots crawling across its entire body and eating into it.


    And I could tell that its 3 remaining limbs were still strong enough to hold its entire massive body on ceiling with no issues whatsoever.


    With its wings all torn out, it must have had no choice but temper its limbs into being this strong I suppose.


    While it had come down to the ground with great vigour, Bahamut still showed no signs of attacking me.


    It was covered in hard-looking dragon scales, so I was hoping to focus more on countering its big lunges but, it seems I¡¯ll have to start the attacks first.


    Since the [Black Mist] had been dissipated upon its descent, I activated it again to cover the unnecessarily bright area in darkness yet again.


    And at the same time¡ª¨CI activated [Leg Strength Enhancement] and [Gale].


    Having lost sight of me, I was able to close in until I was right underneath its torso, and launched a full powered slash with the intensity of a true killing blow.


    My movement, step ins, rotation of the body¡ª¡ª-it was all perfect.


    The strength from my entire body was transferred into my sword strike, and I made a clean hit at the Bahamut¡¯s body.


    I honestly thought I could kill it with this one strike¡ª¡ªthat¡¯s how strong the attack I made was which gave me such confidence but¡­¡­¡­..


    It was as if I was hitting a massive clump of steel, and my sword was unable to do anything more than make a light cut on its body.


    The countless overlapping dragon scales made my aim and momentum shift, and my sword just barely reached the flesh beneath.


    Even though it was a perfect strike and I had caught it completely off guard, it barely shed any bled and I could tell the damage I had dealt was miniscule.


    And above all, the moment my strike landed, Bahamut roared which cleared most of the [Black mist] again.


    Damn, even its roar is strong enough to clear the mist eh?


    If Bahamut was an intelligent monster, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll instantly roar if I use the mist again, so it might be better if I save it for the absolutely right timing.


    With my perfect strike blocked, one of my main strategies had already been crushed.


    Even though I was right beside it, Bahamut still made no real actions and yet, my neck was drenched with sweat.


    If I could, I wanted to go back and punch the past me who cockily thought that this monster was not that big of a deal because its pressure didn¡¯t impress me. But now I unfortunately knew just what kind of monstrosity I was up against.


    It was cautious of even the sticky strings I used, so it was definitely smart. Which means, that I have to take it head on, and my usual tricks and strategies were not going to work.


    With my current best attack stopped so easily, I need to come up with a different plan of attack¡ª¡ª-and then definitely kill Bahamut.


    Bahamut stood there as the bluish black blood seeped out of the small wound I gave to its shoulder, while I also stood there with my sword in hand, unable to decide on how to attack next.


    It was a stalemate yet again but, this time the one to break the balance was Bahamut.


    Until now, it had not made any attacking moves but seeing that I was not making a move either, it began to creep across the floor to move towards me.


    Well, I¡¯d love to fight on counters to be honest so it taking the attacking initiative was in my favour but¡­¡­¡­¡­


    It¡¯s movement had no patterns as it crawled left and right in an odd fashion as it approached closer to me.


    It was hard to find the right timing, and if it¡¯s moving like this, I can¡¯t counter it properly.


    Now if it¡¯s making these irregular movements intentionally, it¡¯ll instead create its own pattern of irregularity that can also be predicted but, I think the real reason behind its odd movement is the fact that Bahamut is missing a leg making it hard for it to keep its body balance, which means it¡¯s pretty much impossible for me to read through its movements.


    And yet, because of its muscular well grown limbs, it was still very fast, and so my first course of action would have to be to find a way to slow it down before I try anything else.


    With its mouth still agape, it charged towards me with a disgusting expression unbefitting of a Dragon and attacked, which I somehow managed to dodge, and then used my [Sticky String Manipulation] and [Hardening] combo to attack it from range.


    Considering my full powered strike had been blocked, these hardened strings are hardly going to do much damage to its tough scales but, if I aim for the parts where its flesh is rotting and has blisters, I could still deal some damage, even if it was like pricking someone with a needle.


    For now I¡¯ll focus on using the terrain to avoid its attacks, and aim for the festering part of its remaining left front limb and fire hardened strings at it with pinpoint aim.


    A full 30 minutes passed as I continued doing this.


    I continued to dodge its attacks, and kept on firing hardened strings at the same exact spot.


    My physical ability raising skills were all activated, and with [Ability unleashed] also being used, my own legs were starting to feel tired from the excessive use of stamina as well but¡­¡­..


    But my continuous attacks were not in vain as they may have seemed, as for the first time, when Bahamut tried to attack, it completely lost its balance, and crashed face first on to the ground.


    It quickly got up with a roar as if nothing had happened and launched another attack at me but, my simple attacks with strings were definitely having an effect.


    I slapped my thighs that were trembling from fatigue to revitalize them, and hardened my resolve to continue using this attack until Bahamut lost its balance and fell a couple more times.

 CH 307

    Close Combat


    After breaking its balance once, I did it three more times within the next few minutes and made it fall on its head.


    It seems that it struggled with gathering strength in its front left limb, so while it continued to be persistent, I didn¡¯t stop attacking either.


    This tactic would not have worked if Bahamut still had all four of its limbs intact but, what ifs didn¡¯t matter here and I continued to aggressively attack the same part.


    And then¡­¡­¡­finally unable to control its own momentum, Bahamut completely collapsed on to the ground again.


    Now that it¡¯s like this, I don¡¯t even need to read its moves anymore and I can go all in and throw myself directly at it.


    It took a lot longer than I expected, and I did get hit lightly a couple of times no matter how good I was at evading, so I was at my limit when it came to endurance as well but, I still have just enough stamina left to finish this fight.


    On the other hand, Bahamut may have lost the use of its front left limb as well but it still had a lot of endurance left in its body.


    The key from here on would be how efficiently I can damage Bahamut but, I really didn¡¯t have the stamina left to enter another battle of attrition so I decided to attack with my full strength,


    ¡°Sorry for using such a stressful way of fighting until now. But from here on, I¡¯ll take you head on.¡±


    I doubt it even understood my words so it was a pointless declaration but regardless, I apologized for using such a boring way of fighting to overcome the power gap between our very species, and the launched a full frontal attack at the Bahamut.


    I had already located all the places among its thick scales that were rotting and weakened when I used the hardened sticky strings.


    Bahamut tried to cover its weakened forelimb, but I used a feint and then activated [Hard Hit] to launch an attack at a different point.


    My first attack at the start of the battle had been deflected by its steel-like skin but this time I specifically aimed for a portion on its chest that was not covered in its scales, and this time, my blade cut all the way deep to its very bones.


    Having gouged out a deep wound in its body, Bahamut roared and cried in pain.


    Bahamut had slowly begun to lose the will to fight due to my constant avoiding of its attack and constant attacking at its left front limb, but the pain from this one seemed to anger it and revitalized its fighting spirit as its red eye shone with power and it began to thrash about in rage once again.


    It moved its body in both directions in a slithering motion as it rushed towards me once more.


    I had more or less seen through all of Bahamut¡¯s attacks but, since I was already in close range, avoiding it was a whole different matter. Considering its huge size, it was almost impossible.


    Realizing that I won¡¯t make it in time, I quickly activated [Fortification] and [Iron Wall].


    And the I used [Hardening] to further harden my arms and my sword, and entered a guard stance.


    With every skill I used I was assaulted with a dizzying pain and fatigue but, knowing that collapsing now would mean death, I bit my cheeks to forcefully keep myself energized and guarded against Bahamut¡¯s charge.


    Even with all the skills activated, I tried to deflect the attack but¡ª¡ª-the impact was strong enough to crack a couple of my ribs.


    Even without both of its front limbs, this was a monster that could generate this kind of force.


    I felt like I could see stars in front of my eyes, but I activated [Pain Inhibition] and launched another attack.


    I aimed for the small opening it left after its charging attack ended, and this time I slashed at its back limbs.


    Before, it would have not allowed such a n opening but in the end, even if it had re-energized itself, it didn¡¯t change the fact that both of its front limbs were gone now.


    I made my creaking body move, and activated [Hard Hit] and slashed at its right thigh.


    Just like when I had slashed at its chest, my sword cut deep all the way to its bone.


    Next, I wanted to attack its left thigh as well but¡ª¡ª-Bahamut had seen my next move and kicked out with the left leg with tremendous force, making me quickly dodge back away from it.


    I really wanted to rob it of its ability to move after disabling its left leg as well but, the damage I did to the right leg should still be enough.


    Bahamut turned towards me again to rush at me but, now the wounds across its entire body were beginning to stand out.


    The heavy blow I dealt to its right leg definitely seemed to have done a lot of damage and the wound I had give to it on its chest had blood pouring out of it constantly.


    Both of us were at our absolute limits and it was clear that this battle was fast approaching its end.


    In terms remaining endurance, I was probably in a worse state but, considering the restriction to its movements from all the damage, overall I think Bahamut was worse.


    As Bahamut roared again, I regained my own composure and then silence covered the area as both of us waited facing each other and even the sound of water dipping could be heard from somewhere.


    Slowly we began to approach, closer and closer, and the moment I thought it had entered my range¡ª¡ª-Bahamut made the first move, faster than even me.


    It rotated its entire body, and swung its long tail at me like a giant whip.


    This was the first time it had ever sued this attack, and because I was also already about to lanch my own attack, my reaction ended up slightly delayed.


    ¡ª¡ª-from diagonally left above me, the tail rushed towards me aiming for my neck.


    Due to the length of the tail, it was impossible to even back-step to avoid it, and a guard from my sword won¡¯t make it in time either.


    I instantly activated [Fortification][Iron Wall][Hardening]. Furthermore, I activated [War Dance] only on my left arm, and raised it just in time to block the tail with it but¡­¡­¡­


    Due to the weight and force behind the tail, I was unable to fully block it and with an unpleasant shattering sound coming from my arm, I was completely blown away.

 CH 308

    Trump Card


    My body slammed into the wall, and the impact almost made my consciousness fade away.


    My body was already suffering from spasms from all the fatigue, and now I was struggling to move even a finger in my body.


    The left arm of mine that I had used as a last minute guard refused to move even a bit, and I¡¯m pretty sure it was completely broken.


    Due to [Pain Inhibition], I wasn¡¯t feeling any pain which was the only good thing right now but, it didn¡¯t change the fact that I had been dealt an extremely heavy blow.


    The cause of my defeat was that I had misjudged the timing to launch my attack.


    I was too focused on letting it enter my range, and instead ended up letting Bahamut make the first move.


    While being hit with a strong sensation of exhaustion, I looked around with blurry eyes only to see Bahamut slowly crawl towards me while limping.


    The word ¡®Death¡¯ crossed my mind, and I was close to giving up as well but¡­¡­¡­


    Just then, I suddenly recalled the faces of Ralf, Esta and Snow who were waiting for me outside the cave.


    I wonder if they¡¯ll cry if I never made it back.


    Honestly, if it¡¯s them, they might end up waiting many days hoping for me to come.


    Ralf is very likely to rush into the cave to try and search for me, even the usually calm Esta would probably go along with it I feel like.


    I was honestly amused just thinking how those two would react but, then my thoughts went towards what would actually happen if they really did enter the cave.


    Not only was this place crawling with monsters, after a point, the cave was filled with deadly poisonous gas.


    I didn¡¯t mind dying if it was on my own terms but, the thought of those two and Snow losing their lives for my sake was something I didn¡¯t want to see.


    If I wanted those three to not lose their lives like this¡ª¡ª¨CThen I simply need to kill this Bahamut and return back alive!!


    I deactivated [Pain Inhibition] and let the excruciating pain jolt my body and mind awake.


    My entire body was creaking from the immense pain, but it cleared the blur off my eyes.


    Once my consciousness was back again, I activated [Pain Inhibition] again, and used my still functioning arm to pull out a potion and poured it all over my body.


    Thanks to the highly effective potion that Rupert had suggested to me, my body became able to move again. With the exception of my broken left arm of course.


    Since the Bahamut was walking slowly towards me, confident of its victory, it allowed me a sliver of chance to gain victory. I instantly got up and began to desperately limp towards it to close the distance between us.


    Although I said I was able to move my body again, it¡¯s not like my fatigue and damage had completely disappeared so it wasn¡¯t like I could fight like normal again.


    Only my right arm holding my sword was still functioning properly , and the only move I could make was to counter right as Bahamut launches it attack at me.


    But considering the condition of Bahamut itself, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll even be able to launch an attack that could have such momentum that¡¯d make a counter possible.


    Of course a slower attack makes it easy to counter but, since my style of countering used the strength of the opponent against them, a weak attack will only create a weak counter.


    On top of that, with the state of my current body, I won¡¯t be able to aim and make a precise attack like before so, no matter how dull Bahamut itself had become, landing a precise fatal counter was borderline impossible for me right now.


    But if I end up hitting the scales, it¡¯d be worthless considering I was unable to cut through it even when I was at full strength.


    The energy I generated by feeling the pain of my body only lasted for so long, and I could feel cold sweat puring down my back again.


    As all these things went through my head, Bahamut continued to crawl towards me with its big jaw and sharp fangs open for all to see.


    I activated [Mind Unleashed] to come up with all sorts of simulations to find a way to winning but, the only conclusion I came to was that no tactic would work with the current state of my body.


    In that case, the only tactic left for me was¡ª¡ª¡ª[Suicidal Strike]. One final attack with my life on the line.


    That skill uses all my remaining energy, and if it¡¯s that skill, it might go through even the hard scales of the dragon.


    Since I fall into a deep sleep after its use, if I fail, I will most certainly die ¡­¡­¡­but that was the only path left for me.


    Since I was going to lose my consciousness anyway, I also activated [Mad Warrior], something I hadn¡¯t done in quite some time.


    I had basically intentionally sealed the skill away since my battle with Carlo but, if I was putting my life on the line, I might as well really go all the way.


    I wondered if my brain in this state even remember that the plan was the counter the enemy¡¯s attack but, last time I used, I did have some level of consciousness so hopefully it goes alright.


    I used my steel sword as my crutch as I stood, and waited for Bahamut to be directly in front of me.


    This time I made sure to wait and not get caught out by Bahamut¡¯s attack again, and then activated [Mad Warrior].


    ¡ª¡ª-and the next instant, my consciousness flew, and a delightful blood boiling, heart pounding, euphoric sensation rose across my body.


    I really want to feel everything with my body so I guess I should turn off [Pain Inhibition].


    ¡­¡­..Kuh Haa Haa. Aah this pain is proof that I¡¯m alive, it was comforting to me.


    I forced my broken left hand to grab on to the sword as well and then used [Hardening] to fully fix my arm in place.


    KUH HA HA! Even if the arm¡¯s broken, now I can still use both hands to swing my sword like this!!


    Seeing the Bahamut charge at me with a fierce face, a brilliant smile flashed across my face.


    Even the fear of death felt nice to experience, and it honestly seemed like a waste to use the [Suicidal Strike] skill because I wanted to experience this for longer but¡­¡­¡­.I bit on to my tongue and then activated the skill.


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    As all the strength left my body, and even further pleasant sensation struck my body.


    So much power came out of me that I could drop to the floor and writhe in pain from it.


    Honestly, it was such a nice feeling but, it was too bad it was impossible to continue feeling this for longer than this.


    While relishing the sensation coursing through my veins, I swung down my sword directly at Bahamut who was right in front of me now.


    The sword approached its head, and the sound of a great explosion alongside a metallic clang resounded ¡ª¡ª¡ª-and then, bluish black blood exploded across the entire area.


    Of course, it splashed all over me as well but, the sensation felt nice. To have overcome Bahamut in a battle to the death.


    ¡°Guh HAHAHA! AMAZING! This is the fucking best!! I wanna kill more! MORE! KILL KILL KILL EVERYTHING, AND EVERYONE!!!¡±


    Bahamut¡¯s head had been cleanly split in two, but I continued slashing and stabbing my sword at it.


    It was the greatest feeling ever but, unfortunately the sensation didn¡¯t last too long.


    Suddenly, all strength drained out of my body, and I collapsed head first into the ground.


    And instantly, I was hit with an intense drowsiness. I tried to resist it to hopefully continue feeling this euphoria for just a while longer but¡­¡­¡­.it was sadly of no use, and within seconds I entered a deep slumber in the depths of the cave, right in front of the corpse of the dead Bahamut.

 CH 309

    Spoils of Battle


    As my entire body continued to creak in pain, I jumped up awake.


    The movement of waking up like this only increased the pain however making me scream and I almost instinctively activated [Pain Inhibition].


    As the pain settled down, I continued looking up towards the rocky ceiling as I tried to recall my current situation.


    If I recall¡­¡­¡­I was struggling against Bahamut, and decided to use [Suicidal Strike] as my last resort, right?


    And I think I activated [Mad Warrior] before that as well¡ª¡ªI remember till there.


    But everything after I activated [Mad Warrior] was all vague, and I just barely have the recollection of slamming my sword into Bahamut, like it was someone else that did it.


    Last time I used it, I didn¡¯t completely lose my awareness but this time I barely remember anything.


    I suppose its dependant on the state of the body when using it but, since I rarely used it, there were still a lot I didn¡¯t know about [Mad Warrior].


    Well, there¡¯s no point trying to recall these things so, I moved my sight away from the ceiling and to the side to check my surroundings¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    And like I vaguely recalled, the gruesome corpse of Bahamut was lying right beside me still.


    And I was soaked in the blood flowing out of it.


    I was lucky that it had half dried already but, the putrid stench coming off the corpse was so strong that it was hard to tell anything else.


    Regardless, while I barely recall it, I did succeed in killing Bahamut it seems.


    It was a battle that really brought me to the edge of death, although the brutal death scene may not make it seem like it was that hard but¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.anyway, it seems like I¡¯ll be able to safely return back to Ralf, Esta and Snow.


    That fact, gave me a huge sense of relief.


    I had nothing but vengeance on my mind. My wholehearted drive towards that goal was what had brought me to this point so I wondered if such an emotion was a good thing for me but, right now, I just wanted to see their faces again.


    While still lying on the ground, I poured the healing potions on me to also clean the blood away, and drank the rest to wet my parched throat.


    Furthermore, I activated [Self Regen] to begin healing my wounds as well, and I waited until my body was fit enough to move around again¡ª¡ª¨Cand after some time, I had finally healed enough to do so.


    Well, although I say I was recovering, there were various parts that simply weren¡¯t going to heal so soon and I was most definitely not in a condition where I could fight again anytime soon.


    Considering that I¡¯ll have to face monster¡¯s on the way back as well, I knew I should probably remain here inside this area where there was no presence of any other monster to recover some more but, I was also worried because I had no idea how much time had passed.


    Knowing Ralf¡¯s personality, there was a good chance he might rush in to try and find me, so I really wanted to return back as quickly as possible.


    And above all¡­¡­¡­.the purple miasma that had been spread across the area when I was fighting Bahamut had all but disappeared.


    This was proof that Bahamut was in fact the source of that Purple miasma so there¡¯s a good chance that the miasma across all of Bahamut mountain must have dissipated as well.


    I¡¯m sure Esta was smart enough to put two and two together to realize what had happened from that but, then again, I had no idea if the outside had been affected at all or not.


    At the very least, the monsters within the cave must have decreased so it should certainly be safer.


    Using the steel sword as my crutch, I walked right towards the stone coffin.


    Before returning, I do need to claim the item for which I had come all this way for after all. Vendettatein.


    Considering the battle I had here, it wouldn¡¯t have surprised me if the coffin had been completely destroyed in the process but, somehow, it looked exactly as it was when I first saw it.


    The stone coffin was placed in a upright position leaning against the wall, and then there was longsword and the armour that was leaning against said coffin.


    There must be some sort of magic applied to it as it had not even a scratch on it.


    Before I took the armour and the longsword, I gave a curt bow in front of the coffin.


    Normally, it would be courtesy to join both hands and give respects but, unfortunately both my hands were unusable right now so forgive my insolence.


    After the bow, I looked at the letters inscribed on the stone coffin¡ª¡ª¡ª¡°Here lies the great Hero, Chris.¡±


    Seeing my own name made my heartbeat jump from surprise but, all it meant was that the first hero happened to have the same name as me.


    Now that I think about it, even in the records and stories they only ever used the nickname [First Hero] when talking about him, so I never actually knew his name.


    Well, Chris was a pretty common name honestly, so this was no more than a coincidence, yet¡­¡­¡­¡­


    I suddenly felt a strange affinity towards him just because of a shared name, and it made me strangely happy for whatever reason.


    I gave another proper bow in front of the coffin and then carefully worked to put the sword and armour on my back to carry it.


    Part of me would love to carefully inspect the newly acquired equipment but, with the state both my hands were in, one broken, other being used as a crutch; I didn¡¯t have the leeway to slowly inspect it right now.


    While giving a side glance to the corpse of Bahamut, I resisted my desire to try and carve materials out of it¡ª¡ª¡ªand decided to escape this cave having already gained my main objective here, the sword Vendettatein.

 CH 310

    Activity Limit


    At a pace much slower than when I came in, I still managed to make it back to the point where the cave splits in two.


    I didn¡¯t run into a single monster until here, and I could fully feel the effects of the miasma dissipating with my own eyes.


    But, from here onwards, the cave was going to be wider, and even without the source of the miasma, this part of the cave still had miasma left within.


    I could also sense multiple monsters, so I knew I had to be stealthy to get out safely without getting attacked from here onwards.


    Thanks to all my healing potions and [Self Regen] skill that I had been using even now, my body had recovered enough to move about normally.


    I had become able to walk without using my sword as a crutch, so I should be able to perform stealth as always as well.


    The only issue was my stamina but I have to hope that my long sleep inside the deepest area had recovered enough stamina to last me the entire way back.


    I activated [Black Mist][Stealth][Silent Steps][Crimson Eyes], and began walking through the cave that was still rampant with monsters.


    Although the number had definitely decreased from before, it was still many times more than say what you¡¯d see in the Roza forest, so I could not be careless for even a bit.


    I was ready to use a poison potion and [Effect Spread] in case I get found out, and worst case, I¡¯ll use Vendettatein.


    Although I was doubtful of whether I would be able to use it with just one hand but, I want to believe that the sword had enough strength to at least help during a pinch.


    Even though I had no basis for such belief in the sword¡¯s power, I continued to use it as mental support as I quietly walked through the [Black Mist].


    It seemed like an eternity had passed walking through the cave like this but¡ª¡ª¨Cfinally, I saw light at the end of the tunnel.


    Both my stamina and willpower were at their limit, but I continued walking purely I hopes that Ralf, Esta and Snow were there waiting for me somewhere outside.


    Honestly, if a monster had caught me I probably would have died but, now that I had made it out alive, who even cares.


    With the end in sight, I continued walking carefully so as to not mess things up at the very end¡ª¡ª¡ªand finally, I safely made it out of the cave of Bahamut.


    I almost collapsed right there and then from the sense of relief, but if I actually did collapse here, all my work would be for nothing.


    Also,¡­¡­¡­.I only just thought of this but, are Ralf and other even waiting for me? I don¡¯t know exactly how much time had passed inside the cave but, it certainly wasn¡¯t a short duration.


    Considering how long I must have been unconscious for as well, it won¡¯t be too strange for them to return for a while during the night or something. But if that was the case, I was in big trouble.


    My stamina was at its limit, and the outside of the cave was still covered in miasma.


    I don¡¯t have the strength in me to beat a bunch of monsters anymore, and if vendettatein doesn¡¯t have some super power hidden in it that can completely turn the tide of battle, I had no hopes of returning safely but¡­¡­¡­¡­


    All my doubts and worries were very quickly blown away.


    I saw the figures of Ralf, Esta and Snow slightly away from the cave, and Ralf especially was walking around in circles like he was in deep thought about something.


    They too soon noticed me as well as Esta instantly burst out in dash towards me followed by Snow.


    Ralf who was staring at the ground while walking in circles, was a bit late but soon noticed me as well.


    ¡°Chris-san!! You are alright!!¡­¡­..i was really, really worried!!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s up for debate if I¡¯m ¡®alright¡¯ or not but, at least I¡¯ve made it back alive.¡±


    ¡°Aurf! Awoo!!¡±


    ¡°Oh no. Your wounds are serious¡­¡­..! Please hand over your luggage! And let us quickly head to the safe zone.¡±


    Esta swiftly took all the stuff I was carrying, and handed half to Snow to carry.


    And finally, Ralf made it to us as well¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Chris! We were so worried!! I was honestly so close to rushing into the cave myself!! But, thank go you came back safely¡ª¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Ralf, now¡¯s not the time! Hurry up and carry Chris-san! We¡¯ll quickly carry him to the safe zone!¡±


    ¡°Hey, at least let us have our heartwarming reunion¡­¡­..but seriously, you look rough huh! Chris, c¡¯mon, get on my back! Any parts that are exceptionally damaged? I¡¯ll be extra careful!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m using [Pain Inhibition] so don¡¯t worry about that. But, my left arm is fully broken, so I¡¯d like something to affix that in place if possible.¡±


    ¡°Got it! Let¡¯s ignore everything n the way and quickly rush to the safe zone then! Esta, Snow, I¡¯ll leave my support to you two!¡±


    ¡°We know! Hurry up already!!¡±


    And thus, having safely escaped from the cave of Bahamut, I was carried on Ralf¡¯s shoulders and was quickly transported to relay point that was existed as a safe zone.


    I must have been at my absolute limit as the moment I got on Ralf¡¯s back, my body stopped listening to me¡­¡­¡­¡­and just like in the cave of Bahamut, I slipped into a deep slumber once again.

 CH 311

    Waking Up


    When I woke up, I saw Esta¡¯s face looking down at me.


    Seeing as we seemed to still be outside, we¡¯re probably at the relay point in Barbadd mountains.


    Unlike when I fell asleep in the depths of the cave, I think I slept much longer this time around.


    ¡°Chris-san, you¡¯re awake! How¡¯s your body feeling?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks to you guys, I seem to have recovered from most of my fatigue.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear! You slept a whole two days straight so we were really starting to worry.¡±


    Apparently I have been asleep for a two days straight since escaping from the cave of Bahamut.


    Even after I turned off [Pain Inhibition], the pain didn¡¯t suddenly rush back, and I think they helped me recover even faster by using potions on me while I rested as well.


    Moving my body around, it still definitely hurt a bit but, this was honestly nothing compared to what I had gone through after eating the fruits of skill.


    My left hand though, was still completely unmoveable.


    ¡°Speaking of¡­¡­¡­..I don¡¯t see Ralf anywhere. Did he go back to Edestor?¡±


    ¡°Well, sort of, kind of, yes?¡±


    What kind of vague answer is that? I tilted my head in confusion and asked Esta to explain further.


    ¡°Well, I did ask him to go back to Edestor, but for shopping for supplies that is. In fact, he already went back once and then came back, and now this his 2nd time going back since you fell asleep, Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s what you meant. Looks like I¡¯ve caused a lot of trouble to Ralf and Snow as well huh.¡±


    ¡°I might not be in the position to say this, but you shouldn¡¯t feel bad about it! In the first place, this is all because we weren¡¯t able to go inside the cave with you. If it¡¯s just nursing you, we can all at least do that much without complaining! In fact, we¡¯ll gladly do it as many times, whenever, wherever, you may need it!!¡±


    Clasping both her hands, Esta strongly proclaimed so, which only made me laugh out loud.


    Seriously, a lot had happened but¡­¡­¡­.having returned safely, and being able to chat like this made me really happy.


    ¡°But, is it safe for those two to go up and down the mountain by themselves? I know Ralf and Snow are strong enough that they can deal with most monsters but still, it seems quite dangerous.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s to help you Chris-san, they are willing to face at least that much risk! Also, I don¡¯t know if its because you cleared the Cave of Bahamut but, the periods of thick miasma have completely disappeared. In fact, even the normal miasma has begun to dissipate, so climbing up and down the mountain has become much safer.¡±


    I see. Looks like I was right in assuming that killing Bahamut has resulted in the miasma slowly fading away.


    If the thick miasma doesn¡¯t appear, that means, the lower area of the mountains simply won¡¯t get covered by miasma at all making returning to Edestor much safer.


    ¡°But all that aside, how are your injuries? It seemed quite bad so please tell if you still have any place that hurts.¡±


    ¡°I mean, my entire body still is in pain but, it¡¯s healed enough that I have no problem moving around. My left arm aside, I should fully recover in about a day¡¯s rest time, especially with [Self Regen] skill constantly active.¡±


    ¡°And what of your left arm then? You did tell us to be careful with it before you fell asleep, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got hit while fighting the monster in the depths of the cave¡ª¡ª¡ªit¡¯s almost certainly broken in quite a bad way. And then I think it got forcibly overused on top of that, making the injury really worsen like this unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Why are you talking like it¡¯s not you who did it?¡­¡­¡­¡­.but regardless, once we¡¯re back in Edestor, we should go and get it checked at the Healer¡¯s guild!¡±


    Not ¡®me¡¯ who did it eh? I mean, I don¡¯t remember what even happened after all.


    But when I woke up, seeing my left arm also grabbing on to the sword genuinely shocked me.


    But I didn¡¯t want to make Esta worry about me even more so I decided against telling her about [Mad Warrior].


    With nothing else better to do, and quite frankly, getting bored¡­¡­¡­I decided that finally, it was time check on my spoils from the cave of bahamut. The sword Vendettatein.


    It was kept near the entrance of the safe zone alongside the armour, and even while within the sheathe, it was releasing quite the tremendous aura.


    In the end, I had yet to see the blade itself, so I was really excited to see what happens when I pull it out of the sheathe.


    ¡°Esta, did you guys check up on the equipment I brought out of the cave?¡±


    ¡°No, frankly speaking, we were busy with more important things, taking care of you specifically,  so nobody has really touched them.¡±


    ¡°I see. I was thinking of doing that now but, it might be a tad dangerous so stay back a bit okay?¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll leave the place for a bit then.¡±


    I had Esta leave the relay point, and finally decided to draw Vendettatein.


    If the rumours and legends are true, this longsword was built from Bahamut itself.


    But wasn¡¯t Bahamut the black dragon that I had a death match with?¡­¡­¡­.and somehow this sword was made from materials from that dragon, I guess?


    Well, I mean it was a black dragon living in the Cave of Bahamut so I just chose to call it that, it¡¯s not like I had any real proof that it was actually the real Bahamut, and neither do I have any proof that this sword was the actual Vendettatein either.


    At this point, I had no idea what was true and what was a lie but¡ª¡ª-I feel like the moment I draw this sword, things will make a bit more sense.


    I took a deep breath, and then pulled Vendettatein out of its old looking scabbard.

 CH 312

    Vendettatein


    A beautiful pitch black blade.


    It seemed like you could get sucked in into the darkness of the black blade, and I was completely captivated by it.


    The black blade reminded me of the dragon that I fought inside the cave but, this black seemed more pure than that of the dragon.


    Thinking calmly, even when I entered that area I did get completely captivated by the sword to the point I didn¡¯t even sense a dragon of that kind, and if it¡¯s true that the dragon¡¯s own materials were used in forging this blade¡­¡­¡­.I have a feeling that the materials must have been even higher quality than the dragon I fought.


    While thinking of such things, I slowly caressed the blade with my hand to get a feel for it.


    The handle and grip were simple in design but were made of a material I had never seen before, and the blade itself had red jewel like thing embedded in its centre.


    It could be just for decoration but for whatever reason, it had piqued my curiosity.


    Even when I touched it, it showed no reaction, and even when I gripped the handle and took a stance with the sword, nothing extraordinary happened.


    Part of me wondered if maybe I had to hold it with both hands maybe? But at the same time, I thought of a way that might result in some change in the sword.


    While holding on to the sword with my right hand, I began flowing mana into the sword.


    At first, nothing happened but, after a certain amount of mana had absorbed¡ª¡ªthe red jewel in the middle of the blade began to shine brightly.


    The red light spread across the entire blade, and formed a pattern similar to the crest that showed up on Golems.


    I could tell that the blade was inherently sharp but while it was shining like this, the sword had transformed into something that made its normal form look basic in comparision.


    When I stopped pumping mana into it, the red jewel began to dim again, and returned back to being the normal black blade.


    It took a lot of mana to make the red jewel react but, when it did activate, it turned the longsword into an otherworldly sword.


    I was hit with the desire to instantly go out and test it but, right now I was still injured and monsters had decreased in number due to the miasma fading away.


    I wasn¡¯t exactly in a condition to leave the safe zone to go around looking for monsters to kill right now.


    Unfortunately, testing will have to wait for another day¡­¡­¡­..however I was able to confirm that this sword was most certainly Vendettatein.


    The stone coffin belonged to the Hero, so I was quite confident even before but, nothing beats checking with your own eyes.


    We¡¯ll have to decide later who¡¯s better for using it, me or Ralf, but regardless, this greatly increases our collective strength that¡¯s for sure.


    I put it back inside the scabbard, and recalled Esta back.


    ¡°Chris-san, how was the sword?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s as amazing as I expected. It was worth putting my life on the line to get this.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good to know at least. I can¡¯t wait to see how it looks in an actual battle!¡­¡­¡­and, what of the armour?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know much about it either. Unlike the sword, it¡¯s not easy to tell how amazing it potentially could be from just a glance. Though I can tell that it was made with a material I have never seen before.¡±


    At Esta¡¯s question, I stared at the armour I brought alongside the longsword but¡­¡­¡­.like I said, it doesn¡¯t stand out the way the sword doesn.


    If I cut at it with my steel sword, I¡¯ll probably get a good idea of its quality but that¡¯s not something an amateur like me should try. It¡¯s better if I take it to someone like Kevin and get it appraised.


    ¡°I see. But if it was kept alongside the sword, surely it was used by the first hero as well right? Then, it¡¯s quite possibly also pretty amazing no?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the chances of that are high indeed. At the very least, it¡¯s definitely much better than the leather armour I¡¯m wearing right now.¡±


    And just like that while I was talking about this stuff with Esta,¡ª¡ª-it seems Ralf and Snow came back as well.


    I could hear their footsteps approach the relay point.


    ¡°Oi, I¡¯m back from Edestor! Esta, how¡¯s Chris?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve recovered quite a lot thanks to your help. Sorry for the all the trouble I¡¯ve caused you both, Ralf, Snow.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Oo, Ooh! Chris, you¡¯re up! Honestly I was worried you might never wake up again, so I¡¯m glad! Here, I bought a whole bunch of healing potions! Go on, drink as much as you want!¡±


    ¡°Sure, thanks. I¡¯ll gladly take them.¡±


    On Ralf¡¯s recommendation, I drank down, 2 of the potions he had brought.


    They were only low quality potions so it was hard to tell if they were even having any major effect but, it wasn¡¯t a waste either.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡­¡­Chris. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t able to come with you inside the cave of Bahamut. Because of that, you ended up in such a great danger all alone.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It was my decision to head inside alone, if anything I should be the one apologising for making you guys wait in the Barbadd mountains all this time just for my sake. If you lot hadn¡¯t be there, I probably would have died on the way back.¡±


    ¡°As if we¡¯d ever go back without you dumbass!! In the first place, you haven¡¯t done anything worth apologising for! It¡¯s our own weakness that resulted in you having to go alone. I¡¯m really sorr¡ª¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Ralf, enough with the apologies. I¡¯m giving you guys my thanks aren¡¯t I? And you two feel the same and are always thanking me as well aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s much better that way, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Well, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of how it went, the matter of the fact is that I was able to successfully bring the equipment of the first hero with me. There¡¯s no need to dwell on the past anymore¡ª¡ª-we are close to our final goal now. The decisive battle awaits.¡±


    Ralf had his head hung in shame until now but, I strongly spoke to raise his morale up.


    We¡¯ve finished everything we wanted to do in Edestor, and achieved all our objectives.


    I have finally gained enough strength to equal him, and also gained equipment that could match a [Sword God].


    All that remains¡­¡­¡­.is the final battle with Klaus.


    ¡°You¡¯re not about to get cold feet after all this time are you?¡±


    ¡°Hell no! I¡¯ll make up for what I couldn¡¯t do here, and go all out against him instead!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for the best. I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll also give you my full support. I will help you achieve your goals Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    ¡°Esta, and Snow as well, thank you. Alright, once my wounds have healed somewhat, we¡¯ll return back to Edestor¡­¡­¡­..and then begin our preparations to head to the Capital.¡±

 CH 313

    Healer¡¯s Guild


    The next day.


    Having recovered enough to walk normally, I, while being protected by Ralf, Esta and Snow, finally made our way back to Edestor.


    Like Esta had said, the miasma around Barbadd mountains had greatly thinned, that said, there will still a lot monsters that naturally lived in this habitat so we still got attacked by quite a lot of them on the way back.


    Thinking back now, I probably should have at least helped with enemy detection at least but, the monsters on the foot of the mountain were hardly any danger to us so I ended up letting Snow handle it all.


    Due to that, the number of battles we faced were high but, none of them were difficult by any means, and we safely descended the mountains.


    It feels like it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen Edestor.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally back. The bustling crowds almost feel nostalgic.¡±


    ¡°I guess you might feel that way huh Chris! So, what do we do next? Don¡¯t you wanna go and get your arm checked?¡±


    ¡°No, let¡¯s go back to [Gorush] for now. I really want to take a proper bath first. I¡¯ll cause a scene at the Healer¡¯s guild if I head there directly in this dirty condition.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so! It was hard to say this earlier because I felt sorry but yeah, dude you smell like shit!¡±


    ¡°If you feel sorry, then don¡¯t say it later either dumbass.¡±


    Seeing Ralf say that with a smile pissed me off.


    The mountain climbing, then exploring the cave, then having a death match with Bahamut, and then escaping said cave somehow.


    And even after escaping, I had to stay at the relay point to recover. All in all, I had spent basically three whole days in the wild, so I know better than anyone that I stink like hell right now¡­¡­¡­


    But if someone says that to your face with a smile, it¡¯s bound to piss you off no?


    ¡°My bad, my bad! Well, it¡¯s not just you, Esta¡¯s almost equally bad so don¡¯t mind it too much!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­this man really has no shred of delicacy in him. Chris-san, would you be interested in beating this idiot to a pulp?¡±


    ¡°Sounds fun. Let¡¯s pretend it¡¯s ¡®special training¡¯ and give him a proper hammering, shall we?¡±


    ¡°Oi, Wait! It was just a light joke!!¡±


    In an attempt to run away from us, Ralf sped back to [Gorush] at full speed.


    Seeing him comically run away like that, me and Esta looked at each other and chuckled at the hilarity of it all.


    It was just our usual casual banter, but having faced death directly inside the cave of Bahamut¡­¡­¡­..these little moments suddenly felt a lot more precious to me.


    .


    .


    Returning to Gorush, and having thoroughly cleaned myself in the shower, I resisted the urge to relax inside the room and left the Inn.


    Most of the wounds I had suffered against Bahamut had been healed thanks to [Self Regen] and the various healing potions but, my left arm alone remained unmoving still.


    It must related to the fact that I had apparently forcibly used it again after activating [Mad Warrior], as the state of my left arm was far worse than I imagined.


    Part of me was already regretting using [Mad Warrior] again¡­¡­¡­..but it¡¯s not like it¡¯ll change anything so I should focus on getting it healed instead.


    I mean, that back alley doctor was able to heal Ralf¡¯s leg that was injured for years so surely the Healer¡¯s guild will be able to heal my arm as well.


    After judging the extent of the damage done, I¡¯m confident it¡¯s nowhere near as bad as Ralf¡¯s long time injury at least.


    While thinking of such things, I walked towards the healer¡¯s guild that was located on the guild street of Edestor.


    By the way, Ralf and Esta did want to come with me but I needed them to go shopping for our little celebratory party tonight so I came here alone instead.


    Quickly entering the place, I noticed that the place was busier than I expected. Most of them being elderly people here for checkups it seems.


    I had to stand in line just to get to the reception, and it took a while before my turn came.


    ¡°Hello, do you have a registration ticket?¡±


    ¡°No, this is my first time coming here.¡±


    ¡°A first visit I see. Can you please fill up this form here with all the details, and then bring it back to me?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I took the form and pen from the receptionist, and left the receptionist to go sit down on an open table.


    The form was basic. Reason for visit, etc needed to filled in so I entered in the details about my left arm there.


    Once done, I returned back to receptionist to hand it back and received a numbered ticket in return.


    I sort of realized from the huge crowd here but, I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d take almost an hour before my turn would come.


    Hearing my ticket number called, I got up and was guided to the examination room where an experienced looking healer wearing a white robe was seated.


    I had come to a similar guild when looking for Ralf¡¯s treatment but, since it was for me personally this time, I felt a little bit more anxious than last time.


    ¡°Hello. You have difficulty moving your left arm after an injury¡ª¡ª¨Cis that correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I think it¡¯s broken, which is why it¡¯s not moving.¡±


    ¡°I see. Allow me to examine it if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    The healer got up from his chair, and slowly moved my arm around to check as he began the medical examination.


    He seemed to be using some kind of magic as well, and after a couple of minutes of palpation, he sat back down on his chair.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite the horrible injury you have there. Not to mention it was broken in a really odd manner, yet it got healed while still in an odd shape¡­¡­..which is why you are having difficulty moving it normally.¡±


    ¡°So, can it be fixed?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. If it had completely healed while still like that, it would have been difficult but, at the current stage, we can still fix it so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I¡¯d like to have the treatment done as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Understood. There are 2 methods¡­¡­¡­.we can affix it in the right place with equipment and then slowly use medicine to let it heal naturally. Or we can use multiple healers together to use healing magic to quickly heal the arm. The former takes time but is significantly cheaper, the latter is almost instantaneous but will be an expensive procedure. Which would you like?¡±


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    Time, or money, I have to pick between one eh?


    Unfortunately we are pretty short on money right now so I¡¯ll have to take the former method.


    Besides, I have [Self Regen] so once they have affixed it in the right place, I can use my skill to heal it much faster than normal anyway.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the first method please.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Then we¡¯ll do the procedure right away so please head inside to the treatment room.¡±


    As asked by the healer, I headed to the inner room¡ª¡ª-had my arm corrected in quite the forceful manner, had to constantly feel the intense pain as they affixed it in place with their equipment. It was, to put it simply, a hellish experience.

 CH 314

    Acting Alone


    Shit! That was one hell of a way to treat an injury.


    It was so sudden that I forgot to use even [Pain Inhibition], and had to experience a sharp pain that made even me scream out loud.


    But, the process itself was successful.


    With my left arm affixed in placed, I just need to wait for it naturally heal itself and then I¡¯ll be able to move it around normally again.


    Since I chose the cheaper method, the overall cost wasn¡¯t much in the end so I was glad I actually did come to the healer¡¯s guild in the end.


    Of course, until my arm fully heals, I can¡¯t use it all because it¡¯s firmly affixed in its place but, my right arm was perfectly fine, so as long as it was healed by the time we left Edestor, that¡¯s good enough for me.


    As for doing requests, I¡¯ll switch to playing a more support role with [Effect Spread], and since my right arm was still free, I could also use the [Sticky Strings] and [Hardening] to attack from range as well.


    While visualising my new method of fighting inside my head, I made it back to [Gorush] once again.


    Since the Healer¡¯s guild was busier than I expected, it took quite some time but, well, I¡¯m sure they have already begun the prep for our party I assume.


    ¡°I¡¯m back, sorry for being late.¡±


    As I looked around while entering the room and saying that, I saw Esta already busy in the kitchen, and Ralf was helping her set things up on the dinner table.


    She seemed to be going all out as the dishes laid out on the table seemed far more extravagant and exquisite than usual.


    ¡°Chris! You¡¯re home! How¡¯s the arm looking?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I had it properly treated. Now I just need to rest and let it heal over time, and it¡¯ll be back to normal soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear that there was no permanent damage! So I assume we¡¯ll only leave Edestor once your arm is fully healed, right Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°Sounds about right. Sorry for twisting the schedule for myself.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. There¡¯s still a lot we have to do in Edestor anyway, like saying goodbyes to all the friends we made here etc¡­¡­¡­..it¡¯s not like we¡¯d be able to leave so suddenly anyway.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! We ended up splurging a lot in clearing out the Barbadd mountains, so we need to start making some money again as well! Chris, are you going to join the requests, or will you rest?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll come along as support at least. My left arm may be useless right now, but overall I am not sick or anything.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good to hear! If we have Chris at support as well, that greatly decreases the danger level after all!¡±


    ¡°I know I¡¯ll be causing you two quite a lot of trouble for the time being so the least I can do is help out with enemy detection, and other chores in general at least.¡±


    ¡°I personally think it¡¯s okay if you take a full rest but, I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t happy to see you come complete requests with us again¡­¡­¡­¡­on that note, looks like the cooking is all done so let¡¯s begin our party!¡±


    With our plans from tomorrow settled, on Esta¡¯s word, we began our celebratory party.


    For finding Vendettatein, and returning safely.


    Just for today, I want to forget everything else and eat and drink to our heart¡¯s content.


    .


    The next day after our little bash.


    Since we had stayed up late till night, Ralf of course, but even Esta was still asleep.


    Since I had slept a lot while we were at the safe zone, I was able to wake up normally on time.


    I wondered if I should wake them up for requests but¡­¡­¡­..Ralf and Snow had been going up and down the Barbadd mountain for shopping, and Esta had been stressing out over nursing me back to health, so I wanted to let these three have a well earned holiday today. And instead, I¡¯ll go out and do whatever I can do on my own.


    Well, I say that but there¡¯s not a lot I can do on my own right now. And considering the current state of my left arm, the most I can do is to get Vendettatein and its abilities assessed.


    Also, I need to get the armour checked as well.


    To be honest, I don¡¯t want a lot of people to know that I now possess Vendettatein but I think it¡¯s necessary that I consult Kevin on this matter.


    I trust him at least a bit, so first I¡¯ll show the sword and armour to him and see if he can tell me more about the abilities and effectiveness of them both.


    With that decided, I did my prep making sure I don¡¯t wake up any of them and then made my way to Kevin¡¯s weapon store.


    Carrying Vendettatein and the armour, I reached the back alley where Kevin¡¯s store was located.


    As always, the walls around the strange entrance were blackened, and it was hard to tell from outside if the store was open or not.


    But seeing the smoke rising from the chimney, I assume he¡¯s inside¡­¡­¡­..


    I gave a light knock at the door before entering the place.


    ¡°Kevin, you here?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CI am. Give me a moment to finish here, then I¡¯ll come out.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I could hear the sound of metal being hit from inside, and once the sound stopped, a sweaty Kevin showed up from the inside.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. What can I help you with today?¡±


    ¡°I had weapon I wanted you to look at actually. Could you appraise it for me?¡±


    Saying that, I put down Vendettatein and the armour in front of Kevin.


    The moment he saw the equipment, his eyes turned round from surprise, and his hands instantly reached towards Vendettatein.


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    ¡°This is¡­¡­¡­.an incredible weapon. This is at a level I have genuinely never seen before.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I thought so. That longsword  is something I got from the depths of the Cave of Bahamut¡ª¨C the Vendettatein.¡±


    ¡°Having this sword actually in front of my eyes, it¡¯s impossible for me to refute you or say that you¡¯re lying.¡±


    ¡°So, can you appraise Vendettatein for me? I want to know exactly how strong it is and what kind of abilities it has hidden inside of it.¡±


    When I asked, Kevin let go of the sword and then shook his head.


    His excitement seemed to not have dissipated but, his hands were raised in pre-emptive acceptance of his defeat, as if he had deemed himself unworthy of testing the sword.


    ¡°Sorry, but doing an accurate appraisal of this sword is beyond my capabilities. I know I am a weapons smith but, my speciality lies purely in smithing and that alone.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I see. I thought maybe you could appraise it but, if you can¡¯t that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-But, even if that sword is the real Vendettatein, I do know a person who could appraise it.¡±


    ¡°Really? Who? Can you introduce me to them?¡±


    ¡°Of course I can¡­¡­¡­..but before that, do you mind if I observe the sword for a little bit longer?¡±


    Having gained his cooperation, I let the excited Kevin thoroughly enjoy observing the Vendettatein for a little while longer.

 CH 315

    Info on the Appraiser


    ¡°Wow this really is an incredible blade! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve felt this excited!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear¡­¡­¡­.So, did you find out anything interesting about Vendettatein? If possible, I¡¯d prefer if you could appraise it on your own Kevin.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t really say much beyond the fact that it¡¯s a top class sword. The structure of the sword is too complicated, it feels completely different from any other normal sword. I don¡¯t even think a blacksmith made this sword in fact.¡±


    I guess Kevin really had no idea about this sword¡¯s secrets.


    Like he said, judging from the fact that the sword¡¯s sharpness changes depending on the mana poured into it, it most certainly has some kind of magical technique used in the crafting of this weapon.


    Until and unless we have it appraised by a legit expert, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll find out the secrets behind Vendettatein on my own.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t tell any more than that that¡¯s okay. Then do you mind introducing me to this person you know that could help me then?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I would have done so even if you hadn¡¯t let me inspect the sword. Chris, you know of the [Relab Market] right?¡±


    I remember it being the big general store that Bors had introduced us to back when we first came to Edestor.


    Unlike the more secret, personal stores that he had introduced me to, Relab market was easily the biggest general store in Edestor.


    Even I have gone there a couple of times for shopping, it¡¯s impossible to not know about it.


    ¡°Of course I do. I visit it sometimes after all.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯ll make things easier. The owner and president of [Relab Market] is the top class appraiser I was talking about.¡±


    ¡°So the owner of such a big and successful store is also a top class appraiser? Damn, sounds like quite the amazing person huh.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s precisely because he is a top class appraiser that [Relab Market] became as big and successful as it has.¡±


    ¡°I see. That does make sense¡­¡­¡­..But, if he such a big shot, is it even possible to meet him easily? It¡¯s not much use if I can¡¯t even meet him after all.¡±


    If it was like a shop manager or something, I¡¯d have been able to meet them by just walking to the store but the owner and president is a whole different level.


    This info is not much use if I can¡¯t act on it.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I happen to know that person personally actually. As thanks for showing me Vendettatein, I¡¯ll properly write an introductory letter for you.¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯d be great.¡±


    Returning back to the inside of the store for a moment, Kevin came back with a piece of paper.


    It¡¯s a rough piece of paper with a messy handwriting and I was doubtful if that would be enough to actually let me meet this person.


    ¡°Just show this paper to any employee in [Relab Market], they should let you go and meet the owner.¡±


    ¡°You sure this is enough? It looks like a dirty piece of paper and nothing more.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Probably.¡±


    Well that didn¡¯t clear my doubts but I shouldn¡¯t squander his goodwill, and besides, it¡¯s not like I have any other option.


    Even If I don¡¯t get to meet this person, I¡¯ll just do something else instead.


    ¡°So, do you need anything else from me?


    ¡°Ah, I wanted to show you this armour set as well but, I suppose that too would be better to show this appraiser friend of yours, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pretty much.  He¡¯d do a much better job at appraising it than I could ever do. Well, if you need help with repair or maintenance, I¡¯d be the better choice though, so bring it to me then if such a need arises. If its Vendettatein, I¡¯ll do maintenance for free even.¡±


    ¡°You wanna personally work on it that much huh. In that case, I¡¯ll be sure to come to you when the time comes. Thanks for all the help today.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, all I did was write a small piece of paper for you. If anything I should be thanking you for showing me such an amazing weapon. Come again whenever you feel like it.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be in your care then.¡±


    Giving my thanks to Kevin, I left his store.


    There¡¯s still a lot of time left so I decided to walk all the way to [Relab Market].


    Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t see how the owner of the biggest store in the city is related to a blacksmith running a dingy smithy in the outskirts so I don¡¯t really expect his introduction letter to do much but¡­¡­¡­.


    Well, it¡¯s worth trying at the very least eh?


    Returning back to the commercial street, I made my way to the middle of the most bustling part of the town.


    There stood a building so large you¡¯d have to tilt your head back to see the top¡ª¡ª-this was of course, the [Relab market].


    As someone that mostly deals with back alley merchants, usually uses the side streets and generally prefers the black market more, a store like this that was overflowing with people was not really in my comfort zone.


    Although this place was the most popular store here and located in the heart of the city, you could say that the products sold here were quite reasonably priced but that said, they weren¡¯t exactly cheap either.


    Regardless, I shooed away my negative thoughts, and stepped inside the store in an attempt to meet the owner of [Relab Market].

 CH 316

    The Owner


    Walking through the crowded store, I headed to one of the employees that caught my eye.


    I had no idea if the employee would actually respond but, at least I should start with showing Kevin¡¯s referral.


    ¡°Excuse me, got a minute?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°No, well, I had business with the president of this place. By the way, I do have an introduction letter of sorts as well so could you perhaps guide me to him?¡±


    Saying that, I handed over Kevin¡¯s letter to the employee.


    It must have come out of nowhere for him as he made a suspicious and puzzled expression,¡­¡­..but he did take the letter to check regardless.


    ¡°I see. Could you please wait here for a moment? I can guide you I confirm this inside the store.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll wait.¡±


    Saying that, the employee disappeared into the backroom so I waited for him to return while observing the items displayed in the store.


    I assume the employee has gone in to show the letter to the manager and are probably pondering over how to answer my request.


    Judging by the puzzled reaction of the employee, I am 80% sure it won¡¯t work but¡­¡­¡­..there¡¯s still a chance.


    I¡¯ll bet on the remaining 20% and wait here, and just around then the employee came back.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. The manager has said that they¡¯ll personally guide you so please come with me if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Yes!


    I did a guts pose inside my mind, but looked calm on the outside.


    ¡°Sure. Lead the way.¡±


    Led by the employee, I entered the back room that was usually restricted for only store employees.


    It was a place that was not meant for public but regardless, it was still as neat and clean as the storefront itself.


    ¡°Ah, that person over there is the manager. I¡¯ve already handed over the letter to them as well so please ask any questions you may have from them, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Thanks for all the help.¡±


    ¡°No need. Well then, allow me to take my leave here and return to work.¡±


    Seeing the manager standing in front of the stairs, the employee left me and returned back to work.


    Alone, I then headed to meet this manager myself.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. I believe you are the person who will take me to meet the president right?¡±


    ¡°Ah so you are the person who brought the introduction letter correct? Yes, allow me to guide you. The president is currently in the office right now.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, and lead the way.¡±


    It was a man in his 40s, seemed surprisingly timid from his looks.


    I had imagined a more stern looking man but, I guess a shop manager doesn¡¯t really need to fit that image huh.


    I climbed the stairs while being led by said manager, and entered a big room on the third floor.


    The words ¡®president¡¯s office¡¯ was written on the black name plate on the door so I guess this has to be the right place.


    ¡°This is the president¡¯s office. Please follow behind me.¡±


    Saying that, the manager knocked the door exactly 4 times, and gently opened the door only after hearing the reply to come in from inside.


    I could tell the man inside was a man from the voice but¡­¡­¡­.I didn¡¯t expect him to be an old man in a small sized body.


    Yes, he was in fact, also a dwarf like Kevin.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that reaction!? You shocked that the owner of [Relab Market] is a dwarf?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t. I just had this image of smart suited man in my head so my bad.¡±


    ¡°Aah!? No matter how you look at it, I¡¯m a smart looking man as well!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Tch, what an impertinent customer! Damn, since it was a rare letter from him I was looking forward to it¡­¡­¡­..but that bastard Kevin, he¡¯s sent some useless kid my way!¡±


    I was a bit nervous at first, but seeing that it was a dwarf made all my nervousness blow off for some reason.


    His personality seems quite similar to the owner of [Ichiryuu] as well, someone with no sense of restraint.


    Also¡­¡­..my question as to how Kevin knew the owner of a big store like this also got instantly answered. They are from the same race so they must have known each other for quite some time.


    A surprisingly simple answer to my query.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Then, president Aaron, allow me to take my leave then.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, sorry for the troubles, and thanks for bringing him to me Hayden!


    The manager who was quietly listening to the to-and-fro between me and president, name is Aaron it seems, gave a curt bow and then left the room.


    Left alone with just Aaron in the room, I decided to quickly cut to the chase and bring out the topic at hand.


    ¡°Sorry, but allow me to get straight to the point.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead! I¡¯m not exactly interested in having a chat with you either kid!¡±


    ¡°Then we are of the same opinion.¡ª¡ª¡ªKevin told me that you were a top class appraiser which is why I came here. There is something I want you to appraise, if that¡¯s okay with you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a request from Kevin after all, and your attitude aside, I have no reason to refuse so show me!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. I have a sword and a set of Armour. I need them both appraised.¡±


    ¡°Sure why not but, I¡¯m still gonna charge an appraisal fee just to let you know!¡±


    Ignoring his demand for money, I simply pulled out the Vendettatein in front of Aaron¡¯s eyes.


    And instantly, just like Kevin, as if there was magnetic force attracting him, Aaron instantly came close to the sword, and his eyes opened wide and nostrils flared with excitement at the mere sight of the Vendettatein.

 CH 317

    Appraisal Result


    ¡°Now this is a truly remarkable blade! Where in the world did you find this thing??¡±


    ¡°In the Barbadd mountains. I assume you have heard of the name Vendettatein?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨C!! Vendettatein you say?! Is this sword really the real Vendettatein!??¡±


    ¡°I have no way to be certain but, I¡¯m still 90% sure this is the real thing. Or rather, I brought this sword to you precisely because I want to find that out.¡±


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    Unlike Kevin, he was only half convinced but, I¡¯m sure if he does the appraisal himself, we¡¯ll both find out the truth.


    Judging from his reaction, I doubt he¡¯ll refuse either but¡­¡­¡­..the issue was the cost.


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    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right¡­¡­¡­¡­But, it¡¯s hard for me to believe that this is actually the one and only Vendettatein!¡±


    ¡°Why else do you think Kevin sent an introduction letter for me then? Regardless, can you get on with the appraisal? How much is it going to cost?¡±


    ¡°I have a set price of 2 gold coins for all appraisals. Doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s a sword, armour, accessory or a consumable, the price is always 2 gold coins!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite expensive. I felt this about the items on sale at [Relab Market] as well but, from the point of view of a normal customer, this doesn¡¯t seem like a very consumer friendly place. I certainly wouldn¡¯t come here regularly.¡±


    ¡°No way, how can you say that! My store guarantees the quality of the products being sold unlike no other! And on top of that, we have kept the prices quite reasonable in comparison as well! Considering the location and the number of employees required to¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Alright, alright I got it. Enough about your store. I¡¯ll pay the 2 gold coins.¡±


    It seemed like Aaron was about to go on a long rant so I forcibly stopped him and urged him to begin the appraisal process.


    To be honest, 2 gold coin was hefty price but, knowing the abilities of Vendettatein was an absolute must for me as well.


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    And if you think of how many gold coins I had blown on my ability assessment, well, suddenly it doesn¡¯t seem that bad.


    I need the armour appraised as well so that¡¯ll be 4 gold coins total¡­¡­¡­¡­damn, I really will have to go all in on completing request to save up on funds before departing the city.


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    ¡°Thanks for your patronage! Alright, let me begin right away!¡±


    Aaron put the Vendettatein on top of the table, and began mumbling something with his hands hovering above the sword.


    I thought he¡¯d have some kind of special magnifying glass or something to look at the sword for appraising but, turns out it was a skill similar to whatever the priests used for Ability assessment.


    The jewel on the ring he wore began to shine and the entire room was covered in a bright white light for a moment.


    When the light dissipated, Aaron had moved his hands away and looks like the appraisal process was finished.


    ¡°is it done?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­yeah. There¡¯s no doubt about it, this is indeed the first hero¡¯s sword, the legendary Vendettatein!!¡±


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    His nostrils flaring from excitement, Aaron came close to me and proclaimed so.


    To be honest, I didn¡¯t care much for the authenticity of the sword and was more interested in finding out the sword¡¯s abilities though.


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    As long as the sword was strong enough to help in my objective, I didn¡¯t care whether it was real or fake.


    ¡°Good to hear that it¡¯s the real thing but, give me all the details you got from the appraisal. Surely you didn¡¯t take 2 gold coins just to tell me whether its fake or not right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush me! Why are you, the owner of this sword, not more excited!? This is a legendary sword whose tales have been passed down for generations here in Edestor!! Not to mention, being a possession of the first hero¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°Enough. Just tell me about its abilities already.¡±


    Goodness me this man likes to talk a lot.


    The sun might set if I let him ramble on and on so I pressed to get to the point.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..FINE! Firstly, the main characteristic of this sword is that it doesn¡¯t lose its sharpness no matter what.¡±


    ¡°is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°It was made from the materials taken from a legendary dragon after all, my appraisal tells me that this sword will never rust no matter what.¡±


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    I do know that there are ways to preserve swords against rusting by wrapping them in a thin membrane for protection but that method doesn¡¯t work on swords that are actively being used in battles.


    That is why every swordsman has to diligently maintain their sword regularly but, if this sword is immune to all that, then there¡¯d be no need for such maintenance.


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    From my point of view, that alone was a huge plus.


    ¡°A sword that doesn¡¯t dull or rust is one hell of feature alright.¡±


    ¡°Oh and we¡¯re not done yet! I can tell that the sharpness of Vendettatein is beyond normal! Among the countless swords that I have appraised, this is by far the best in that regard¡­¡­¡­and not just that, the blade also has an assortment of runes engraved upon it as well!¡±


    ¡°Runes? What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Think of them as words written while imbued with magic. It¡¯s an ancient technique now long abandoned! There are three runes engraved on Vendettatein, allowing it to switch between three different types of magic weapon!¡±


    I honestly can¡¯t keep up with all the technical lingo now.


    If I understood this all right¡­¡­¡­the flashing I saw when I pumped mana into the sword was because of these runes I assume?


    ¡°Are these runes similar to what we can find on golems and such?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-!! Ooh, you are not as stupid as you look! You¡¯re correct, as those things are also runes!¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    I see, so those markings were runes as well.


    Which means, when it comes to runes, I can definitely get some help from a certain someone who happens to be a golem maniac.


    I have a feeling he¡¯s going to lose his mind if I show him this sword, so I should probably keep it a secret though¡­¡­¡­¡­


    If I want to learn more about runes, I might have to go and meet the old golem guy for some lessons.

 CH 318

    Eidoskarna


    ¡°So, what are these three types of magic arms that can be used with runes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t know that much either! The best I can tell you is that depending on usage, there are three different abilities that can be drawn out from this sword!¡±


    ¡°So the most important part remains a mystery. Do you know how you¡¯re supposed to draw this power out?¡±


    ¡°I can tell that the runes will be activated by circulating mana into the sword but, I don¡¯t know you¡¯d change between the three different types unfortunately! I mean, I have never seen a weapon in my entire life that has three different runes engraved on it!¡±


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    The info I¡¯ve gotten is certainly nice but it¡¯s a bit disappointing that the most vital part is still shrouded in mystery.


    Well, I¡¯ll just have to figure that out myself I suppose.


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    ¡°To summarize, it¡¯s a runic sword with an otherworldly sharpness eh. I don¡¯t know if this was worth 2 gold coins but, I¡¯ll give a passing grade I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Hold up a minute. Don¡¯t finish the conversation on your own! I¡¯m not done telling everything yet! I haven¡¯t told you about the red jewel embedded in the middle of the sword have I?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­that is true. So, what¡¯s that there for?¡±


    ¡°That gem is called the [Vampire Jewel], it can greatly increase the conductivity of mana¡ª¡ª-and can also absorb stamina as well!¡±


    I sort of had a feeling that was the case when I had pumped the mana into the sword but¡­¡­¡­.


    I didn¡¯t realize it also leeched on stamina as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s the enemy that I cut with it that¡¯ll have their stamina leeched right?¡±


    ¡°Not quite! To be exact, anything that touches the jewel will have their stamina sucked out of them! Since the effect activates on touch, it¡¯s normally embedded in shields to be honest.¡±


    ¡°A bit lacking in compatibility with swords eh?¡±


    ¡°Well to be honest, there aren¡¯t a lot of these Vampire Jewels in circulation in the first place so it¡¯s difficult to state that this is the only right way to use it but¡­¡­¡­.. I certainly wouldn¡¯t have thought of attaching it to a sword!¡±


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    Aaron seemed to agree with my opinion. The vampire jewel was embedded near the guard of the sword.


    When cutting enemies, that part rarely comes into contact with them, so it¡¯ll only touch if I stab the sword all the way deep into a monster.


    Now if I use the sword to guard against enemies, then perhaps it¡¯ll have a more better use but¡­¡­¡­in my case, I prefer the Bors-style way of completely avoiding the attacks.


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    ¡°From what I am hearing, I think the jewel was embedded mostly for the mana conductivity part. It was probably necessary to fully use the engraved Runes.¡±


    ¡°if that was the case, rather than a Vampire Jewel, there were surely better alternatives for it! Oh well, what we can¡¯t find with mere appraisals, you¡¯ll simply have to figure out yourself with practice.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks for the help. By the way, hypothetically, if I were to sell this sword, how much will it go for?¡±


    ¡°Are you actually interested in selling!? At least 300 platinum coins!¡­¡­.no I¡¯ll pay 400 platinum coins to buy it off you!!¡±


    I only asked for curiosity¡¯s sake but, Aaron got overly excited because of that.


    As a professional appraiser, it seems he was maintaining his calm but, judging from the serious bid he made, I can tell that as the owner of the biggest store of Edestor, he would go above and beyond to have this in his possession.


    ¡°I only asked because I was curious, I have absolutely no intention of selling it. Sorry to get your hopes up like that.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­No, I apologize for suddenly losing my cool like that. Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me! I¡¯ll gladly buy it off you at the highest price!¡±


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    Once I am done with Klaus, I might actually sell it off.


    Having 400 platinum coins sounds like it¡¯d be so much useful  in more ways than one, especially my desire to free the slaves I saw in the capital¡­¡­¡­.having money at hand would go a long way in helping me with that.


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    Well, right now, I was concentrated solely on Klaus but I¡¯ll remember that as a potential choice to make in the future.


    ¡°If I change my mind, I¡¯ll be sure to come back to you. That aside, I have one more thing that I want appraised, do you mind?¡±


    ¡°Hm? As long as you¡¯re willing to pay another 2 gold coins, sure, why not!¡±


    ¡°I will pay, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s this armour set, appraise it for me.¡±


    I took vendettatein back, and handed over the armour instead.


    The sword took all the attention but this armour was also a possession of the first hero.


    I doubt it¡¯s some basic armour, so it¡¯s better if I have it properly appraised as well.


    ¡°Got it! Then let me get on it right away¡ª¡ª¡ª-!! Oi, where the hell did you find this armour!!?¡±


    The moment the appraisal ended, Aaron eyes widened in surprise as he questioned me.


    Is this reaction supposed to be a good thing or bad¡­¡­¡­..?


    Well, I doubt it¡¯s bad but let¡¯s hear what he has to say first.


    ¡°Same place as the Vendettatein. I think that armour is also an old possession of the first hero.¡±


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    ¡°So it really was!! This is actually a ¡®Named¡¯ armour set as well! It¡¯s called [Eidoskarna]. It increases the strength of the wearer depending on how much damage they have taken!!¡±


    As expected of the first hero¡¯s equipment.


    One hell of an effect to be attached to an armour set, I must say.


    ¡°So the lower the endurance of the wearer, the power their strength will increase? Am I hearing that right? Much simpler to understand than Vendettatein¡¯s effect at least.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all! It¡¯s efficiency as a normal armour set is also simply astounding!¡­¡­¡­Damn, I¡¯m so envious!!¡±


    I ended up laughing seeing Aaron fail at keeping his composure.


    Vendettatein was expected but even the armour set seems to have incredible abilities.


    From my point of view¡­¡­¡­.I think I¡¯ll use Vendettatein and have Ralf use the Eidoskarna.


    As the tank, Ralf will the one taking most of the damage, so having a tank that gets stronger the more he gets hit is a crazy strong ability to have.


    Part of me was also curious as to what would happen if I used [Suicidal Strike] while also equipped with Eidoskarna but, overall, I think giving it to Ralf is the best.

 CH 319

    Plans from here on after


    About 3 weeks had passed since the day I had the first hero¡¯s armaments appraised.


    During this time, we continued completing requests without rest and¡ª¡ªfinally, my left arm had fully healed as well.


    According to the healer who was in charge of me, normally a full recovery would take almost 3 months or so but, perhaps because I was constantly using [Self Regen], I had full healed my injury in just 3 weeks instead.


    In the meantime, we had saved enough money as well, and although it¡¯d be a lie to say that we had nothing left to do in Edestor,¡­¡­¡­regardless, we began our preparations to depart the city.


    ¡°The plaster¡¯s finally off eh! I got so used to seeing you with it that now it looks weird without it instead!¡±


    ¡°Surely you¡¯re joking. I only had it on for like 3 weeks.¡±


    ¡°Nah dude 3 weeks is more than enough to get used to something! Right, Esta?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bring me into this. But, I¡¯m happy you have fully healed!¡­¡­¡­so, it¡¯s finally time for us to get ready to leave Edestor huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ve saved up quite a lot, and there¡¯s nothing left to achieve here for now. What about you two?¡±


    During this period, they were mostly acting according to my personal needs so I wanted to know if they had anything they wanted to do while we were still in this city as well.


    I¡¯m sure Ralf probably has stuff to do in the Dungeon, and Esta at [Magic Cave].


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything like that to be honest. I would like to learn more under Phillip-san¡¯s tutelage but, that¡¯s not something that can be ¡®finished¡¯ in a couple of weeks anyway.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the same spot as Esta! Yeah, I¡¯d like to go dungeon diving again and there¡¯s still a lot I¡¯d like to learn from everyone in the [Moonlight Fangs] but, that¡¯s not¡¯s something that can be done at a short notice anyway so¡­¡­¡­..yeah, I don¡¯t have much left to do here either!¡±


    ¡°I see. In that case¡­¡­¡­..let us start preparing for our journey to the capital. I know its sudden but, there¡¯s no point wasting any more time either so I¡¯m thinking we depart in three days. Any problems?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m okay with that.¡±


    ¡°That is sudden but, yeah, no problems here either!¡±


    With both agreeing to it, we had settled on our official date of departure.


    Realzard, Oxter, and now Edestor. We travelled around a lot but finally we¡¯re heading to our final destination, the Royal Capital.


    To settle things, once and for all with the man that tried to take my life multiple times¡ª¡ªwith Klaus.


    Because he was given the job of [Sword God] I had no choice but to be extra careful and cautious about everything but, it¡¯s high time I ended this twisted sibling rivalry with my own hands.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Chris, what happened? You¡¯re making an awfully scary face.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I was just lost in thoughts for a bit.¡±


    Whenever I think of Klaus, my mood instantly darkens.


    I try not to show my dark thoughts in front of these two but, with the decisive battle fast approaching, I couldn¡¯t help it.


    Until I can directly exorcise these demons within me, I need to keep them sealed inside, and return the topic of our chat back to the preparations of our departure.


    .


    Afterwards, we decided on what all things we needed to buy for our journey and then talked about our route to the capital.


    In the end, we decided to first return to Realzard once and as for our shopping, we made lists for each of us on what to buy and we¡¯ll go about it separately.


    As for the monsters on the way, there wasn¡¯t much that could endanger us anymore so we simply chose the shortest, quickest route back.


    The shopping will be done tomorrow, so I split up from Ralf and Esta for now and headed towards the commercial district on my own.


    I had a rare dinner invitation that I had planned in advance, and of course, I had made reservations already as well.


    Heading towards my destination, I had arrived a bit early than the planned time but, my three guests seemed to be already here.


    ¡°Oh, Chris! Here, over here!¡±


    ¡°I was sure I came early but I guess I kept you waiting huh?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! We just came unnecessarily early as well that¡¯s all!¡±


    ¡°Yes. Bors was unusually excited for tonight as it was rare invitation from his ¡®disciple¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Oi, Rufus! Why you got to tell him all that man!!¡±


    Indeed, the people I had planned a dinner with tonight were none other than Bors and his party members.


    I had decided to invite them out right after coming back from the cave of Bahamut¡¯s exploration but due to my arm¡¯s injury, it got delayed until now.


    Well, to be honest, the bigger reason was that I didn¡¯t have the money to properly treat them back then as well though¡­¡­¡­


    But that problem was resolved with our last 3 weeks of work, and I was finally bale to invite them out.


    ¡°But there¡¯s no need to hide that is there? It¡¯d make me happy too after all.¡±


    ¡°Cuz it¡¯s bloody embarrassing that¡¯s why!!¡­¡­¡­.that aside, Ralf and Esta not with you today?¡±


    ¡°This was from me personally so I didn¡¯t bring them with me. Ralf did try to force himself in though.¡±


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    ¡°Should¡¯ve just brought them then! They haven¡¯t even met Rupert and she really wanted to meet your party members, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I owe them for helping Bors as well so I wanted to at least thank them at least!¡±


    ¡°See? Why not go back and call them now?¡±


    ¡°But I only have reservations for 4 people, so it¡¯d be difficult now. You can meet them some time later so for tonight, us four are enough.¡±


    Bors-san didn¡¯t stop complaining as he seemed to  really want to have dinner with those two again it seems.


    But I didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for the owner of [PekoPeko] so I ignored his complains and led those three inside the Steak specialist shop, the [PekoPeko].

 CH 320

    Dinner Party


    Near the adventurer guild, it looked like any normal small house from the outside.


    Bors-san brought us here on the first day, and I had been wanting to come here again ever since but¡­¡­..in the end, it wasn¡¯t until now that I got the chance to come here again.


    To save on costs, Esta tends to make our dinners and I didn¡¯t want to discredit her hard work which was part of the reason I never came here by myself.


    Well, the food Esta makes is great as well, but I am glad I got one last chance to come and eat here again before leaving.


    ¡­¡­¡­..well, when I put it like that, I feel bad not getting enough reservations to bring Ralf, Esta and Snow as well.


    Like Bors-san said, I really should have made sure to bring everyone but, I can always bring them again on the last day before leaving as well I suppose. Making a note in my head to do that, I stood in front of the store¡¯s entrance


    ¡°I¡¯m getting excited just standing near the entrance makes me excited! I skipped on lunch as well so I¡¯m extra hungry tonight!¡±


    ¡°This smell, is just incredible. Your mouth can¡¯t help but start watering just from getting a whiff of it.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten anything since my breakfast! You said this was your final thanks for us right? I¡¯ll be sure to eat aplenty then!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure, go ahead. I¡¯ve been helped a lot by all of you so don¡¯t hold back and eat to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    The scent of the meat coming from beyond the door alone was enough to get everyone fired up and start talking, as I finally pushed open the door and entered the place.


    As always, the insides were narrow, and this time we hadn¡¯t come when then place was closed so it was filled with other customers, although there exactly four seats still empty.


    ¡°Welco¡­¡­¡­oh, it¡¯s you Bors.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with the disappointed look! Aren¡¯t I an esteemed regular here!!¡±


    ¡°Oh shush. There are other customers as well so keep it down¡­¡­¡­..there, you can go and sit over there.¡±


    Urged by the owner, we sat down on the four seats near the counter.


    The iron plate used to fry the meat was right in front of us as always, and I was reminded of just how good the meat that was served straight from that plate was.


    Smelling the delicious scent of the meat coming from the other customers¡¯ plates, like Rupert, my stomach began to make a noise as well.


    ¡°So, what will you guys take today?¡±


    ¡°Wyvern stake for everyone. As for the portions¡­¡­¡­.you can ask each of them separately.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a full 500gm serving! I¡¯m starving!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a 300gm one then.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take 300gm as well. Rupert, what about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­¡­..make it 250gm for me!¡±


    ¡°Got it. Total 1350gm. Give me a moment to cut and weigh it, then I¡¯ll begin cooking.¡±


    With our order given, the owner went back inside to get the meat.


    Last time we didn¡¯t have such an exchange but apparently each customer can pick their own size of serving here.


    After a while, the owner returned with 4 plates of meat cut in different sizes.


    300gm seemed like a big serving already, but 500gm basically looked like a big lump of meat.


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll begin frying it. Be sure to eat it while its hot.¡±


    Saying that, he began frying the meat on the iron plate in front of everyone.


    Just like last time, the smell and sound of the meat frying and the juices bursting out of it assaulted my sense of hunger.


    I gulped down on my spit, and my eyes were fixated at the meat when¡­¡­¡­


    It was done cooking, and the owner swiftly moved and served it on to my plate to enjoy.


    ¡°It¡¯s done. Dig in.¡±


    ¡°Then Chris! I¡¯mma chow down on this!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Enjoy it to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the meal!¡±


    Giving our customary pre dinner greeting, we all stuffed our cheeks with the wyvern meat.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..this is genuinely amazing. Too good!


    If I had really died back in that cavern, I never would have been able to enjoy this taste again.


    I¡¯m glad I was still alive¡ª¡ª-it tasted so good it unironically made me feel this way.


    Bors-san, Rupert, and even the usually docile Rufus, were all gorging down on their portions of the meat.


    The serving quantity was bigger than what we got last time, and even normally, eating a whole stake took some time yet, because we were wolfing it down silently, before we knew it, all of us had finished our portions already.


    ¡°Man, that was incredible¡­¡­..!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I finished it so quickly. My mouth and tongue feel so happy.¡±


    ¡°What a blessed day! Chirs-kun, thank you so much!¡±


    ¡°no no, If anything, I apologize for only able to treat you with good food as thanks for everything you¡¯ve done for me. And once again, thank you guys for all your help since we came to Edestor. I mean it.¡±


    Getting a word of thanks from them, I too gave them my gratitude.


    Bors-san, especially, had been a tremendous help to me, and even went out of his way to befriend someone as asocial as myself.


    He even treated me to this very stake before as well, so simply treating him back doesn¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve done enough but¡­¡­¡­.


    I¡¯m glad I was at least able to do something to show my appreciation.


    ¡°That goes both way. It was quite the experience meeting and coming to know you, you know? I¡¯m humbled that you go out of your way to honour a mere platinum rank like myself as your teacher!¡±


    ¡°Well, I did most definitely mock you enough at the start when we met though.¡±


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    ¡°Well, that¡¯s part of what that made me interested in you in the first place! Good luck at capital as well! Well, I¡¯ll come see you once again on the day of your departure though!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks. You guys as well, keep working hard to promote from Platinum rank as well.¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s back to being a cheeky little shit again!¡±


    ¡°Well, I doubt Chris-kun ever learnt how to properly show respect to his elders huh!¡±


    ¡°Also, I don¡¯t like why and how Bors is the only one that gets the ¡®-san¡¯ suffix.¡±


    While chatting of such things, we finished our top class dinner at the [PekoPeko].

 CH 321

    Secret Store


    ¡°Haah¡­¡­¡­that was the best! Wyvern stake is always delicious but, getting treated to it by Chris made it taste even more delicious!¡±


    ¡°That really was delicious. I barely did anything to help you yet I got treated to such a high quality feast. Thank you for that!¡±


    ¡°Well, I feel like I did even less than Rupert. Still, thanks for treating me just for being Bors¡¯ friend.¡±


    ¡°No no, that¡¯s not true. Rupert helped me with selecting the best potions for a vital mission. And Rufus helped me greatly with the training. And even showed me the flying projectile slash attack.¡±


    The only reason I wasn¡¯t caught off guard by the Heracberg¡¯s slashing projectile in the Roza forest cave was because Rufus had already shown me something very similar during training.


    ¡°I feel like I just casually helped with the potion selection though¡­¡­¡­¡­..Hey Bors! Let¡¯s show Chris-kun to that one store we were talking about! I know they had told us to not bring any other people there but, since Chris is going to leave the city anyway, it should be fine right?¡±


    ¡°Eh? I don¡¯t know about that! We might get forbidden from coming again as well you know?¡±


    ¡°I think we should take him to the place as well. As thanks for the steaks.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Hm, well if both Rupert and Rufus want to, sure I guess! Chris, hey come with us! Let me introduce to one last speciality store for old times¡¯ sake!¡±


    ¡°Hm?? Don¡¯t talk vaguely and explain properly.¡±


    The talk suddenly went in a weird direction that I couldn¡¯t follow so I asked for an explanation¡­¡­¡­but Bors and the rest didn¡¯t bother with it and kept walking.


    Rupert said, that store or something, which store exactly is she talking about?


    From the flow of the conversation, it sounds like a suspicious place.


    ¡°This is the place! I¡¯ll go in first so wait here okay!¡±


    Leaving the [PekoPeko] that was close to the guild, the place Bors-san and the others had stopped was right in front of the Trader¡¯s Guild, on the same street.


    As you¡¯d expect of a place run by businessmen, the entrance was gaudy and lavish in its looks.


    Guilds other than the adventurer¡¯s guild don¡¯t really function at night so only the minimal light could be seen from inside here as well.


    There was even a [CLOSED] tag hung on the door as well so they were definitely done for the day but¡­¡­¡­Bors began to slowly twist and turn the doorknob.


    There must be some kind of secret to how it was meant to be turned as suddenly, I heard the sound of the lock getting unlocked and the door opened.


    Seeing him so casually walk inside the place, I had no choice but to look towards the other two who were waiting outside with me.


    ¡°He¡¯s not stealing something right?¡±


    ¡°No, no! we have a bit of a connection here that¡¯s all. Don¡¯t worry!¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Bors is probably doing some negotiations right now so just be patient.¡±


    ¡°But negotiations for what exactly? Just tell me already, now that we¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately you¡¯ll have to wait and see for yourself! Also, if the negotiations fail, we really wouldn¡¯t be able to tell you about it after all!¡±


    Looks like they plan to continue to keep their secrets.


    I guess asking any more was useless, so I decided to quietly wait¡­¡­¡­..and soon enough, the door opened and Bors-san came back.


    ¡°Man, they were bitching like crazy about it but in the end I got the okay! Chris, come inside!¡±


    ¡°Finally. Just what exactly is here?¡±


    Invited by Bors, I entered the Traders guild.


    The inside was dimly lit as I could tell from the outside, and only just the minimum amount of light needed was allowed.


    Walking through this dimly lit suspicious place, we stopped in front of a simple door.


    I had followed him inside but, this place looked no different from the usual but¡­¡­¡­.a part of the floor seemed like it was oddly out of place.


    ¡°Is there something under the floor?¡±


    ¡°As expected, you noticed it! That part of the floor can be moved to go deeper inside the place! A secret door of sorts!¡±


    A hidden room eh? That certainly tickles my fancy.


    Bors-san pulled up the floor shaped door, and then walked down the stairs that seemed to go down somewhere.


    I followed him down the stairs as well, and headed to whatever was underneath the Traders guild.


    Since it¡¯s a hidden door, I could already tell that whatever was here wasn¡¯t going to be very legal.


    Descending all the way down, there I saw¡­¡­¡­.a lively area with at least a couple dozen or more people bustling about.


    Some were playing with cards or dice, and judging from the large sums of money placed on the table¡ª¡ª-this must be a gambling den.


    ¡°The basement of the trader¡¯s guild is a gambling den? Wait, did you bring me here to gamble money?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! That¡¯s not our main objective! Come with me, our destination is to the left of here!¡±


    We walked through the bustling gambling area, and headed towards the left side.


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    Walking away from the feverish gambling den, what came into my view was large boxes and containers filled with all sorts of items.


    The contents were really all over the place, from furniture, to tools, weapons, everything.


    I didn¡¯t really see how this place was connected with the gambler¡¯s den.


    ¡°That¡¯s the place I want to show Chris today! The secret store of the trader¡¯s guild!¡±


    ¡°Secret Store?¡±


    ¡°Items that were left unsold, they buy it for cheap wholesale! Then they use these as prizes for winners at the gambling den! Of course, they¡¯ll sell things directly for money as well but, things here cost a lot cheaper than the outside so a lot of people gamble with the intent of buying something specific here!¡±


    ¡°There was something like that under the Trader¡¯s guild? I had never heard of it.¡±


    ¡°Well, because it¡¯s a taboo to reveal this place to others! It¡¯s illegal after all, so they desperately don¡¯t want to be found out!¡±


    So this is the store Bors-san and the others wanted to show me.


    Honestly, this was quite different from what I expected but¡­¡­¡­..it gave me the same feeling I got when I walked into [Shichifukuya] for the first time, and suddenly I was feeling pretty excited again.

 CH 322

    Bargain


    Buy low, sell cheap is what seems to be their policy but let¡¯s see how cheap they really are.


    Since their focus is on unsold goods, I wonder if there¡¯s anything worthwhile being sold here anyway.


    ¡°Locke! Like I asked before, sell us some of your goods!¡±


    ¡°Wow, you guys really came back so soon huh. I know I¡¯m the one that gave you guys the permission to come here, if somewhat reluctantly, so go ahead and look around, and tell me if you find something you fancy.¡±


    Bors-san went up to the man encamped in front of the mountain heap of these goods who looked like THE merchant here, and began talking.


    He had a plump physique but from his way of talking I could feel that he was quite intelligent, and seemed quite knowledgeable compared to someone like Bors-san.


    ¡°Locke-san, thank you very much! We¡¯ll be sure to take our time looking at these things!¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see Rupert-san has come with you as well today.¡±


    ¡°And Rufus as well!¡­¡­..hey, Rufus.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    Following Bors-san, Rupert and Rufus also gave their greetings¡­¡­.and then everyone turned to look at me.


    I was hoping one of them would introduce me and be done with it but, I guess I¡¯ll have to properly introduce myself.


    ¡°I was brought here by Bors-san, my name¡¯s Chris. I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Please, take your time looking around.¡±


    Alright. I have Locke¡¯s permission as well so let¡¯s start going through the goods shall we.


    All four of us stood side by side, and began the process of picking things up, observing, and then setting them back down.


    It seems the other three were also mostly doing this for my sake as they seemed to be looking for items that¡¯d suit me rather than themselves.


    ¡°Chris-kun! Hey, come here and look at this! Since you were so interested in potions, how about this one?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­..a reusable flask? You want to me to fill that with whatever potions I buy instead?¡±


    ¡°Not just that, but look, it¡¯s also got a straw which would make it easier to drink! Much faster than having to pull off the cork everytime before drinking! Sounds good no?¡±


    That does sound convenient but, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s good enough to spend money on it.


    If it was me alone, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have bought it, but after hearing the explanation from her, I¡¯m a bit more interested now.


    ¡°While it does sound interesting, I don¡¯t think I want it right now. That said, how much is it anyways?¡±


    ¡°one silver coin! And it comes with 30 straws as well!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.I guess I¡¯ll buy one then. That price is low enough to not matter even if it doesn¡¯t turn out to be as useful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked it! I¡¯ll leave it aside for later okay!¡±


    One silver coin is pretty cheap. Cheap enough to try something like this out at least.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.I see now though. The ¡®unsold goods¡¯ here are all items that are always on the ¡®sounds kinda useful but might not be¡¯ line.


    I have a feeling that if I don¡¯t pay attention I¡¯ll end up buying all sorts of stuff that¡¯ll rack up the final total price so, let me make sure to not get goaded into buying anything that I don¡¯t actually need just because it¡¯s cheap.


    .


    .


    2 hours later. I was in trance as I went through their entire stock of goods.


    Part of it was also the fact the other three were constantly finding new items for me to look at, but by the end I think I was able to go through half of the entire mountain of goods.


    ¡°Chris, you sure you¡¯re gonna buy all the items we kept aside for later? I¡¯ll go and have Locke calculate the total in that case!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll take it all.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Just wait here!¡±


    I think this is the first time I put this much effort into shopping in my entire life.


    Now that it was over, I was overcome with the same kind of listless sensation I get after defeating a strong enemy against whom I had been using my full concentration.


    ¡°Chris-kun, how was it? Did you like the store?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was genuinely amazing. Sorry for making you two work for me as well.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I kind of enjoy going through goods to find the really good items as well.¡±


    ¡°I know right! I had a lot of fun as well! Think of it as thanks for the steak as well, so I¡¯m glad you had fun too Chris-kun!¡±


    I¡¯m glad these two were still smiling as well.


    I had them waste 2 hours just purely for myself after all.


    ¡°Hey, he¡¯s done calculating! The total price is 5 gold coins! You sure, you can pay it? If you can¡¯t, I¡¯ll pay¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I have been doing nothing but requests for the past couple of days so have a lot saved up. It¡¯s stuff I¡¯m buying anyways, I¡¯ll pay it in full myself.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I see. I kinda wanted to treat you one last time but, I guess Chris is technically my senior when it comes to adventurer rank huh! I guess I¡¯ll spare you the junior treatment here!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy enough for your introduction to this shop. Seriously, thank you, all three of you.¡±


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    Giving my words of gratitude, I took out 5 gold coins from my bag, and handed it over to Bors-san.


    5 gold coins might seem like a pretty expensive price at a glance but, in all honesty, considering how much I have bought, this is still pretty cheap.


    In fact, I had bought so much that my bag was full to the brim, but let me make it very clear, I didn¡¯t buy anything that didn¡¯t seem genuinely useful and still it ended up this way.


    ¡­¡­¡­.well, I¡¯d be shocked if none of the items turned out to be a miss though.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s return now shall we! Sorry for making you stay with us till late night! But it was hella fun!¡±


    ¡°It really was such a fun day! Chris-kun, once again, thanks for the treat!¡±


    ¡°I had fun as well. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No, I should be the one to thank you three¡­¡­¡­¡­.once I¡¯m free again, I¡¯ll be sure to drop by Edestor again. Take care of me again, when that happens.¡±


    And thus, our dinner and the spontaneous shopping trip with Bors-san and friends finally ended.


    I feel like what I got back from them was worth a lot more than a couple of wyvern steaks but still, I¡¯m glad I was able to hang out with them one last time before leaving.


    As for the things I bought, well, I¡¯ll start checking them tomorrow.

 CH 323

    Rune


    Since it was already late at night by the time I came back yesterday, I had to force myself to wake up early morning because I had planned to go shopping today.


    And so, alongside Ralf, Esta and Snow, we went out shopping for our upcoming journey.


    Since we had already decided what all we wanted to buy beforehand, the three of us went around all the stores quickly and bought everything we wanted quite fast. And with that done, I had no more misgivings left towards our departure the day after tomorrow.


    Now then, I have some time left before the sun sets so what should I do?


    While I was pondering over it with arms crossed, Ralf called out to me from behind.


    ¡°Hey Chris! We get tomorrow all day to have fun in Edestor right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. One we leave Edestor, we¡¯re not going to have a lot of free time to play around after all.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯ll be our last to make some nice memories yeah?! I never been on a day-long sightseeing trip. I¡¯m kinda excited!¡±


    ¡°Our dinner will be Wyvern steaks at [PekoPeko]. But everything before that is still undecided so if there¡¯s something you want to do, be sure to think of it beforehand and we¡¯ll do it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Got it! I¡¯ll tell that to Esta as well since she¡¯s already gone back to the inn! You¡¯re still going to stay outside for a while right, Chirs?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I need to make a slight detour. Also, after returning, do me a favour and check on all the items I bought yesterday as well.¡±


    ¡°The things stored in that big bag you mean? Got it! I¡¯ll go through it all!¡±


    Ralf said so with a wide smile, and then basically skipped on his way back to [Gorush].


    Like Ralf said, tomorrow will be our last day in Edestor, so we¡¯re going to spend the entire day sightseeing through the city.


    Yesterday, I had come up with the idea when I decided to bring these two to PekoPeko as well, and both Ralf and Esta liked this idea a lot and quickly consented.


    Ever since coming to Edestor, we¡¯ve hardly had the time to just ¡®play around¡¯ so I thought it was a good idea to spend the last day making some nice memories.


    ¡­¡­¡­but, that¡¯s all for tomorrow. I need to decided what I want to do today.


    I know I said that to Ralf, but I haven¡¯t actually decided what I wanted to do with my free time.


    I had three candidates. First was to make a trip to the great forest of Roza.


    I won¡¯t be able to go tomorrow, so I was hoping to make one last trip there and give my thanks to the place that had given me so much.


    But in terms of time, I¡¯ll have to return as soon as I reach there, plus it wasn¡¯t really something I needed to do, and was mostly an emotional want so not really necessary.


    The second, was to go and meet the members of the [Moonlight Fangs] in the Dungeon Town.


    As for the reason, well, to gather more info on the equipment of the first hero.


    I imagine Scarletite adventurers probably know a lot more, and I was hoping to at least meet the [Sword Saint] of their party at least once. I figured he might know some things as well.


    And my last option was to go to [Magic Cave].


    This was also in regards to the First hero¡¯s equipment, and I was hoping to get some info on these ¡®Runes¡¯ that Aaron had told me about from the old man.


    Considering how the old man researches Golems for a living, surely he must be well versed with Runes so¡­¡­¡­.He might reveal the secrets of the Runes inscribed on the Vendettatein as well.


    After spending a couple of minutes in deep thought, I finally made my decision.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading to the old golem guy.¡±


    Going to the [Magic Cave] just seemed like the easiest choice.


    Muttering to myself, I made my way towards my destination.


    With familiar steps, I went inside the store, and reached the usual room where the old man is always working.


    The room was filled with smoke as always, so I knew he was still working inside.


    I knocked on his door and once the old man was ready, I entered the room.


    ¡°Well, well, if it isn¡¯t Chris. Came to say your farewells?¡±


    ¡°No, actually, I¡¯m here to ask you about something.¡±


    ¡°You want to learn something from me at this point? If you¡¯re here to ask for safe route to the capital, I¡¯m the wrong person to ask for advice.¡±


    ¡°Why would I come for just that¡­¡­¡­¡­.I wanted to learn more about Runes from you actually.¡±


    The moment I said the word ¡®rune¡¯, the old man¡¯s eyes changed instantly.


    This is obviously this man¡¯s speciality, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯s always pent up from not being able to talk to anyone about it¡­¡­¡­..ad judging from his reaction, I have a feeling the old man is going to give me a long explanation about anything I ask.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Why did you suddenly get so interested in Runes?¡±


    ¡°Ah so you do know a lot about them eh? The reason I wanted to know about runes is because I recently found a weapon that has Runes engraved on it. I can¡¯t seem to figure out how they work so I wanted to learn more.¡±


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    ¡°A weapon with runes eh¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­very well. Show me this weapon that has runes, and I will gladly explain everything about it.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I look forward to the explanation.¡±


    I pulled Vendettatein out of its sheathe, and handed it over to the old man.


    I had planned on showing him the sword regardless, but I hope he can really help with understanding the sword¡¯s abilities as well.


    ¡°Swords are not my speciality, but I can tell this is a really high quality sword. Even I can tell that much.¡ª¡ª-!! Oh there really are runes engraved on it! And this rock, is it a Vampire Jewel? I see! Now  that¡¯s an interesting mechanism!!¡±


    He continued to mutter to himself, and began to heat up and get excited the more he observed the sword.


    Since he¡¯s mostly talking to himself, I can¡¯t really gain much from what he¡¯s muttering, so I guess I just have to wait for him to calm down.

 CH 324

    The Power Within


    The old man was in such high spirits from observing the sword that you¡¯d forget he was an elderly man.


    After fully observing it to his satisfaction, I spoke up as soon as it seemed like he had calmed down a bit.


    ¡°Hey old man. You done observing?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..this sword is absolutely incredible! Sell it to me!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but that¡¯s not gonna happen. I went through a lot of effort to get it, and I intend to use it myself. Also, I already got an offer of 400 platinum coins for the sword, so if you can match, if not surpass that offer, you¡¯re out of luck. I think that¡¯s a bit much even for you old man, right?¡±


    ¡°FOUR HUNDRED PLATINUM COINS YOU SAY!?!? Gnunununu¡­¡­¡­..!¡±


    I mean he owns this entire store, the [Magic Cave], that was a flourishing establishment so he¡¯s pretty rich himself but, it¡¯s just a small scale shop in comparison to [Relab Market], and I doubt he has more than Aaron.


    Regardless, I had no intentions of selling the sword right now anyway, but the old man was still grinding his teeth in frustration.


    ¡°Enough of that. Explain the runes to me now. I let you observe the sword to your heart¡¯s content didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I did promise you I suppose. Runes, to put it simply, are basically meant to replace the chant of a magic spell.¡±


    ¡°The same role as a magic chant? I¡¯m lost already.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s take [Fireball] as an example. ¡®One of the four gods of creation of the world. The light of judgement that illuminates the world and incinerates evil. I will illuminate the light on the path which is darker and redder than blood. Take my body as your own and show thy strength¡ª¡ª¡® you have to chant this to activate the spell. You do remember that much right?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, I can¡¯t do the abbreviated chants so I have to do the full chant everytime I use that spell after all.¡±


    ¡°That entire chant can be compressed into a singular Rune. Basically, if you were to flow mana into a sword with the rune of Fireball engraved on it, you¡¯ll be able to use fireball without the need to chant it.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­..I see. That was nice and easy to understand explanation.


    That¡¯s why when I poured mana into the Vendettatein, it glowed red and felt like it had transformed into a completely different sword.


    ¡°So on this sword, there are multiple Runes engraved that can activate some kind of magic to put it simply?¡±


    ¡°Not quite. What I said was that it was ¡®replacement for the chant of a magic spell¡¯. It¡¯s not the magic itself. I know it sounds the same but it¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡­¡­I have feeling I won¡¯t understand even if I ask more. I know I was the one that asked but, let¡¯s just skip the explanation of the runes as a whole.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean! And here I was ready to spend the next hour to explain it all to you in such simple terms that even a baby could learn.¡±


    Yeah, I had a feeling it¡¯ll take way too much time and my instincts told me I still won¡¯t really get it so it¡¯s better I forget about it.


    I¡¯d rather just understand what the runes on Vendettatein do, and how I can use it. I don¡¯t need to learn the theory behind runes themselves.


    ¡°I apologize since I was the one asking but even I know my brain is not built for this, but I do instinctively know that this shit will fly over my head. And so, just tell me what the Runes on the sword do instead, you did figure that out right?¡±


    ¡°Who the hell do you think I am? Of course I did.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then please explain.¡±


    As expected of the old golem guy.


    I suppose he hasn¡¯t spent his life researching golems for nothing. His knowledge is nothing to laugh about.


    I quickly implored him to explain the runes engraved on Vendettatein.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve had it appraised already, you should know that this sword has three Runes engraved on it. The first one can be activated by simply pouring mana into the sword, and it¡¯s effect is that it simply increases the effectiveness and strength of the sword. The Vampire jewel increases mana conductivity, and depending on the mana poured into it, it can become a truly incredible sword.¡±


    ¡°I already know that one. When I tested pouring mana into it, the sword began to shine red, and I could tell its sharpness had greatly increased.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just the first rune however. The second rune activates when you pour evil energy into it, it activates the original effects of the materials used in making this sword. To be honest, it¡¯s hard for me to fully explain this one as well.¡±


    Suddenly the explanations became vague again.


    How does one pour ¡®evil energy¡¯ into a sword anyway? Also what is ¡®original effects of the material used for the sword¡¯ supposed to mean?


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to even mean? That made no sense.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure either¡­¡­¡­¡­but that¡¯s what the rune is supposedly meant to do. I can read what the rune does or say, but even I don¡¯t know what it means by evil energy or raw materials of the sword either.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­that¡¯s frustrating, but if you don¡¯t know, it can¡¯t be helped. What about the last one?¡±


    ¡°The last rune activates when life energy is poured into the sword. It allows you to absorb the stamina of the thing you cut and absorb it into yourself. A drain effect basically. This must be the rune that works with the Vampire jewel I imagine.¡±


    And now it wants me to pour life energy into it huh.


    I know how to pour mana into it but, how can I do so with life energy¡­¡­¡­¡­Ah!


    I think Aaron also talked about how the vampire jewel can drain the stamina of those that touch it, didn¡¯t he?


    Which means, I can probably use the vampire jewel to absorb my life energy which will in turn activate the Drain effect rune I think.


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    That explains why the jewel was located close to the guard of the sword, and it shows that everything about how this sword is made was extremely well thought out and calculated.


    A skill that can only be activated by my life energy being a Drain skill is something we¡¯ll have to see if it¡¯s worth it or not but, at least now I have a decent grasp on what all this sword can do.


    ¡°Thanks for the explanation. Runes overall may be beyond my comprehension but at least I know what the runes on Vendettatein do at least.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good enough I suppose. If you want to thank me for this, you can always give me the sword when you¡¯re done with it.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but like I said, that¡¯s not gonna happen. Ah but, I will thank you in some way or form for this in the future though.¡±


    Saying that to the old man, I left the [Magic Cave].


    I have made quite a lot of new discoveries, and found out a bit more about the hidden power held within Vendettatein.


    Part of me wanted to go straight to the northern plains to test the sword¡¯s effects but¡­¡­¡­


    I am already on minimal sleep so I was getting drowsy, and I wanted to be in perfect health to fully enjoy our tomorrow¡¯s holiday so I returned back to [Gorush].

 CH 325

    The Last Ability Assessment


    The day after our fun sightseeing trip, it was finally the day we depart Edestor.


    Yesterday, we had found many more new stores and places in the city so I was feeling a regretful about leaving the city now but¡­¡­¡­..


    To attain my goal and settle the matter once and for all, I must leave this place.


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    ¡°Ralf, Esta, hope neither of you are forgetting anything?¡±


    ¡°I finished my prep days beforehand so it¡¯s all good here!¡±


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    ¡°I am finished and packed as well. We can leave whenever you want.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡­¡­..then let¡¯s go.¡±


    With big amounts of luggage on our backs, we finally left the [Gorush] inn, that had served us so well during our long stay here, for the last time.


    We had only chosen this because of Snow as it was the only inn that allowed for pets but, it was quite comfortable and the owner of the place was nice.


    It was always a bit sad to leave a room that we had gotten so used to but, one day, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll come back.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, aren¡¯t Bors-san and others waiting for us at the exit of the city?¡­¡­..just like in Oxter, we are lucky to have friends that would see us off with smiles, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite right indeed. We owe a lot to Bors-san ever since we came here.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do recall you making fun of him quite a lot though Chris!¡±


    ¡°And now I talk to him very politely so it equals out in the end.¡±


    While having a chat, we began walking towards the exit of the city.


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    Not just Bors-san, a lot of people had helped us out here. There was mountain full of things that I alone would have been able to nothing about.


    Yesterday, we did go around greeting, and thanking all of them but, one day I¡¯d like to thank them all properly once more.


    At that moment, I suddenly recalled that I had failed to greet one other person.


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    It was the old sister that always did the ability assessment for me at the church.


    Well, I don¡¯t know if she qualifies similar to all the other people that I owed a debt to but, I did definitely cause problems for her with my attitude sometimes so leaving without saying anything would sit wrong with me personally.


    And at the same time, I suppose I should go and get one last assessment done as well.


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, sorry, I just remembered I forgot to do something.¡±


    ¡°What now?! Chris, you were constantly asking us if we had forgotten something but, instead you forgot something yourself? What is it!?¡±


    ¡°I just need to go and greet and say my farewells to someone. You two go ahead and wait for me at the exit. I¡¯ll quickly meet up later.¡±


    ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll go ahead then.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, didn¡¯t something similar happen every time we were about to leave a city!?¡±


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    I let Ralf and Esta go on ahead, and I turned back and made my way to the church.


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    Now that he mentioned it, this did happen both time in Realzard and Oxter as well huh?


    ¡­¡­¡­.and now that I think about it, the priest in Realzard also told me that the Cardinal had told people to look for me as well.


    I was a bit curious to know if he¡¯s alright having leaked that info to me, so when I go back, I¡¯d like to meet him again as well.


    While thinking of the handsome priest, I entered the church.


    Ignoring the praying townsfolk as always, I made my way to the inner room.


    It¡¯s early in the morning so no one was here, so I rung the bell and waited for the old sister to show up.


    ¡°Oh, how rare for you to show up so early in the morning. More consecutive assessments today  as well I imagine?¡±


    ¡°no, one will do today.¡±


    ¡°Well, now that really is a rarity! Did you finally understand that doing multiple assessments so quickly was meaningless?¡±


    ¡°Nothing like that. Also, that was never meaningless from the start¡­¡­¡­.but, today, I¡¯ll be leaving the city so I thought I should come and say my farewells and get one last assessment done to go with it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so. Well, I¡¯ll certainly miss you. You are most certainly a weirdo but, also interesting as well. So where are you heading next?¡±


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    Ah, so I am a definite weirdo in her head huh.


    Well, my actions certainly didn¡¯t help with it.


    ¡°Thanks for the all help sister. Also, I¡¯m heading to the capital next.¡±


    ¡°Hoh, the Royal capital eh! I suppose if you¡¯re looking for a good destination that¡¯s not Edestor while staying in the country, the capital is a great place as well eh¡­¡­¡­..also, since you came to greet me all this way, let me give you a nice piece of info since you are regular customer of ours.¡±


    ¡°A good piece of info? You too eh?¡±


    ¡°Me ¡®too¡¯? was there someone else that gave some info to you as well?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, a slip of my tongue. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Since I was thinking of the priest in Realzard, I ended up saying that.


    Giving an actual explanation would take way too long and I even might cause trouble for that priest so I urged her to continue and forget about what I had said.

 CH 326

    Words of Farewell


    Having left the church, I hurriedly made my way to the exit to not make those two wait any longer.


    Passing through the lively main street, when the city¡¯s exit came into my view¡ª¡ªI saw Ralf and the other happily talking to each other.


    Bors-san and his party was there of course, and also Trisha, the old golem guy, and even Vincent and Fecilia of the [Moonlight Fangs].


    I thought only Bors-san would have showed up but, looks like a lot more people were here to say goodbye.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. We ended up chatting a bit more than expected.¡±


    ¡°Chris, you¡¯re late! Well, I¡¯m glad we got to chat with everyone here though!¡±


    While hearing Ralf¡¯s honest opinion, I began to greet everyone one by one and say my goodbyes.


    All of the people here had been a huge help to me in one way or another.


    ¡°I thought we had already given our goodbyes but you still came to see us off Trisha.¡±


    ¡°Rupert invited me after all. Chris, you were my regular after all, I¡¯ll happily come to see you guys off.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thank you, I¡¯m happy you came all the way. Your potions helped me more than you could even imagine.¡±


    ¡°And I made a lot of money in return so don¡¯t worry about it. That aside, here, take this.¡±


    Saying that, Trisha handed me a bright yellow potion that I seen once before.


    ¡­¡­¡­.if I recall, this is the one that Trisha had given to Rupert when she was sick and is supposedly a strong nourishment potion.


    I think Shantell also gave me a similar one so I remember.


    ¡°You sure? Wasn¡¯t this really valuable?¡±


    ¡°like I said, you are a dear customer so consider this service. In return, when you come back to Edestor, just be sure to continue coming to my store.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll gladly accept. And yes, I¡¯ll be sure to come to you again.¡±


    Taking the potion from her, I gave a deep bow to thank her.


    Next was the old golem guy. I never thought he¡¯d leave his work room, that too to say his farewells.


    ¡°You came as well old man. Never thought you were the type.¡±


    ¡°I may not look it but I do care for my disciples you know¡­¡­¡­.ah, of course, I don¡¯t mean you but I¡¯m here for Esta¡¯s sake.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I figured that¡¯d be the case. But, you did also help me a lot. Especially with teaching me [Anti Magic]¡­¡­.Also, you helped me with learning more about the vendettatein as well.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Outside teaching you magic, everything I did was mostly to satiate my own curiosity first and foremost. I would have happily done so for any person, you¡¯re not special.¡±


    I don¡¯t think he¡¯s lying either.


    But, regardless of his reasons, the fact remains that he had helped me a lot.


    ¡°That may be the case but, I am still grateful for it all. If not for you old man, there¡¯d be so much I would have never learnt or understood.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re feeling thankful, I¡¯ll take it. Not a bad feeling to be thanked once in a while. But if you really want to thank me, be sure to come to me if you ever find any new information on golems or the like.¡±


    ¡°Sure. If I find something new, or make a new discovery, I¡¯ll tell you everything without any cost.¡±


    ¡°HO HO HO! Now that¡¯s what I like to hear.¡±


    We both laughed at our conversation, and then next I moved to greet the members of the [Moonlight Fang].


    Fecilia was one thing, I was reluctant to greet Vincent but I couldn¡¯t exactly ignore him either.


    ¡°You two came as well huh. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m mostly here for my beloved disciple Ralf to be honest. And I¡¯m done talking with him so if you don¡¯t mind I¡¯ll be going back now?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Sure, go ahead. Bye.¡±


    I suppressed my urge to retort harshly and calmly saw Vincent off who had supposedly come to say his goodbyes.


    Ralf was happily waving his arms to say goodbye but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do so.


    ¡­¡­¡­.Well, I should be happy that I didn¡¯t need to chat with him I guess.


    ¡°Chris, I apologize for Vincent¡¯s rudeness. He had finished his talk with Ralf beforehand and did actually wait here so I don¡¯t think he had any ill intentions, so please forgive him.¡±


    ¡°no, I didn¡¯t think it was anything that serious anyway¡­¡­¡­.besides, I don¡¯t care so don¡¯t worry. Him aside, I¡¯m glad you came to say goodbye as well. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Well, dare I say I don¡¯t have shallow relationship with you guys anymore after all. Thanks to meeting you Chris, I was given a great chance to revaluate myself, so coming to say farewell is the least I could do.¡±


    ¡°Same here, it was quite the experience we had together. Especially considering I had basically forced you to come with us, yet you had been great help in the great forest of Roza. ¡°


    Me and Fecilia had a strong handshake, and complimented each other.


    Recalling how we had met, I never thought we¡¯d end up having such a cordial relationship.


    ¡°I said this before as well but, when you come back to Edestor, let us go on an adventure again. If it¡¯s the Dungeon, I¡¯ll gladly escort you guys through it.¡±


    ¡°I look forward to it. I do want to go dungeon diving one day for sure so when that time comes, I¡¯ll be sure to call for you.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll happily join you guys.¡±


    Making a promise with Fecilia, I finally moved to the last group of people.


    From the beginning till the end, they had been so kind to us. It was of course, Bors-san and his party.


    ¡°Chris-kun, once again thank you for last time! That wyvern steak was amazing!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I hadn¡¯t been able to have such a good meal in a long time.¡±


    ¡°I should be the one thanking you two. You helped me a lot, and even showed me that secret store of the merchant¡¯s guild.¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t talk about it to other people though. We¡¯ll get banned from there too otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I haven¡¯t told anyone else about it.¡±


    ¡°Then, all good! When you¡¯re back, let¡¯s go shopping again! Next time we¡¯ll be the one to treat you to the wyvern steak!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to that¡­.I¡¯ll tell you right now, I¡¯m not one to be reserved.¡±


    While chatting with Rupert and Rufus, I looked towards Bors-san who seemed quiet and didn¡¯t take part in the conversation.


    His back was turned towards me and judging by the slight shake of his shoulders¡­¡­¡­.it seems he was crying.


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Bors-san. I¡¯d like to talk before leaving so please look this way.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Shush it! I zeem to habe caught a cold so my face izn¡¯t worth showing right now! If you have any business with me, just tell me like this!¡±


    ¡°In that case, allow me to say all I want to say. We have been constantly helped by ever since we came to Edestor. You called out to us even though we were starngers¡­¡­¡­..honestly, I was suspicious of you at first but, now I know you simply that kind. You even kept your cool with me even  though I was so rude with you¡­¡­¡­.well, your bragging was still annoying though.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­nuguhgu. Kuh, Gris, you always dalk just a bid too much!¡±


    ¡°I will never forget this debt I owe you for all your help. Bors-san, be safe and sound until I come back okay.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.gu,GRISS! You be safe as well! Don¡¯t you dare die or something like that okay!!¡±


    Unable to hold it back anymore, Bors-san turned towards me with tears gushing out, and tightly hugged me.


    I have never been hugged like this in my life. Not even by my parents. So I almost teared up as well but¡­¡­¡­I hated tearful partings so I held back on my tears.


    He was just a smelly old man but I knew that I¡¯d probably never forget this moment.


    ¡°Alright then, we¡¯re off. Everyone, please stay healthy.¡±


    While being seen off by many people, we left Edestor.


    I¡¯d be lying if I said I felt no regret leaving this place but, now that we had departed, I cannot turn back to look.


    To settle things with Klaus once and for all, we made our way to the Capital.


    Status as per the last assessment


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    [Chris]


    Suitable Job: Farmer


    Endurance: 30(+494)


    Strength: 25(+572)


    Stamina: 28(+367)


    Magic: 7(+210)


    Agility: 15(+357)


    Unique Skill : [Null Poison][Suicidal Strike][Hardening][Black Mist][Effect Spread ]


    Common Skills: [Increased Breeding Ability] [Skin Strengthen][Flesh Enhancement] [Fortification][War Dance] [Hearing Enhancement] [Cold Resistance] [Intimidating Presence] [Valour] [Hard Hit] [Heat control] [Pain Inhibitor] [Gale] [Strong Arm] [Life Perception] [Perception Enhancement] [Perception Range Enhancement] [Stealth] [Mad Warrior] [Iron Wall] [Colour Change] [Mental Attack Resistance] [Sticky String Operation] [Mana Sense] [Silent Steps][Self Regeneration] [Physical Ability Boost] [Ability Unleashed] [Mind Unleashed] [Leg Strength Enhancement] [Crimson Eyes][Wild Instinct][Team Morale Boost][Venom][Sound Wave Detection]

 CH 327

    A Familiar Place


    About a week had passed since we left Edestor.


    Just like all our journeys before, we walked towards the capital while going and stopping through various towns on the way¡ª¡ªand finally, we had reached the Capital, our goal, today.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a familiar sight eh! We¡¯ve really travelled across the entire country and finally come back to the capital! When I first saw the capital, I was completely overwhelmed but, now it just feels normal. I guess that¡¯s also a sign of our growth eh?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly true. When we came here before, I felt both nervous and afraid but, now I feel neither of those things¡­¡­¡­¡­of course, there is the impending battle with Klaus so I do feel a different kind of nervousness though.¡±


    ¡°You two don¡¯t need to get so worked up. If it gets too dangerous I have already decided to let you two run away first. As long as I can get to face Klaus one on one, there¡¯ll be no problems.¡±


    ¡°You say that but you know neither of us will ever run and leave you by yourself. Besides, don¡¯t they have a full party as well? It¡¯s kind hard to not get all worked up honestly.¡±


    He¡¯s right, the [Sword God] has a full party with him.


    If we have to face them, it is impossible to not get all fired up about it.


    ¡°I know I am the one who brought Klaus up but, let¡¯s not think too much about him all the time shall we? So what are our plans after reaching the city proper? Are you planning on entering the capital, and heading straight to Klaus to challenge him?¡±


    ¡°No, I know we are right in front of the capital but, I don¡¯t plan to enter the city itself just yet. First, I want to go to Realzard, and while setting up a base there, contact Charlotte first of all.¡±


    Information gathering always comes first.


    I don¡¯t want Klaus to know that I¡¯m in the capital just yet either, and besides, what¡¯s the point in getting the princess¡¯ cooperation if I don¡¯t use it?


    It¡¯s best if I move in secret.


    ¡°Oh! Then we¡¯re heading to Realzard first then! Man it¡¯s been a while. I wonder if the old man at [Shichifukya] is doing well still?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine. I too feel quite a lot nostalgia but it¡¯s not like we have been gone for many years or something.¡±


    ¡°If neither of you have any complaints, let¡¯s head straight to Realzard then.¡±


    ¡°None here! I¡¯m always ready to follow Chris wherever!¡±


    ¡°I have none either. I wanted to go to Realzard anyway so if anything, I¡¯m happy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear¡­¡­¡­..then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    While looking at the walls of the capital, we walked away from the capital and headed to Realzard together.


    As for acquaintances, I don¡¯t have many other than the old man and the handsome priest but, the city remains the first place I reached on my own, and it¡¯s not a joke to say that that¡¯s where my life truly began.


    While waiting on info on Klaus, I have a lot of things I want to do so I was kind of excited.


    .


    ¡°Hey, I can see it! It¡¯s the same old, Realzard!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.is it just me or does it feel smaller? I feel like I remember it being a bigger city.¡±


    ¡°We have actually visited some of the biggest cities in the country now so it must seem small in comparison. But, I still think it¡¯s quite a flourishing city even then you know?¡±


    ¡°Damn right! Don¡¯t you insult our birthplace okay!¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t really my intention, but sure.¡±


    These two have been high tension since reaching the capital but, I feel like it¡¯s gotten even higher after seeing Realzard again.


    It¡¯s the place of their dark pasts but it still is their birthplace. I guess they really are happy to see it once again.


    As for me, it just seems so much smaller than I remember.


    When I had reached here for the first time after hiding away in Peixa forest, the city seemed so much bigger than anything I had seen at that point.


    In my head it was as big as Edestor but, in reality it was honestly less than half the size of Edestor in size.


    Well, it¡¯s still quite bigger than Oxter though.


    ¡°He he he! Where should we go and visit first!? I want to go and pay everyone on the back streets a visit as well!¡±


    ¡°No, let¡¯s get an inn first and foremost. We have Snow with us as well, I want to find an Inn that allows for pets as well. And not [Shangri-La Hotel].¡±


    ¡°[Shangri-la hotel]! Now that¡¯s a name we haven¡¯t heard in a while. A part of me wants to go and visit that place as well I must say.¡±


    ¡°Naah, I¡¯d rather not! Though it was certainly better than the rundown house we were using before moving there!¡±


    ¡°I mean, that¡¯s only because we were all sharing a small room¡­¡­¡­¡­.[shangri-la hotel] wasn¡¯t a bad place per se. regardless, do you two know a place where we can keep pets as well?¡±


    The city was their home, so I asked them as they¡¯d obviously know better than me but, they both put their hands on their chin and fell into deep thought.


    I waited for a ¡®Aha!¡¯ moment from one of them, but alas my expectations were not met this time.


    ¡°Well, we aren¡¯t exactly well versed in inns and stuff! Was the [Dove Inn] also a no pet zone?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it was. As for a place other than [Dove Inn]¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°In the first place, anything outside the back streets was basically a different world for us. Neither me nor Esta would know much about that stuff!¡±


    ¡°Like Ralf said, we are pretty ignorant towards anything that isn¡¯t part of the back alleys, so we¡¯ll have no choice but to go around and search for a nice inn on the main street.¡±


    ¡°well, if you don¡¯t know that¡¯s fine too. We¡¯ll split up and have a look around then, okay?¡±


    With our first task in Realzard decided, we went through the entrance inspection.


    And finally¡ª¡ª-after a long, long time, stepped once again inside the place where it all began, Realzard.

 CH 328

    Revisit


    While walking through the main street, we split up and began looking for inn that fit our requirements.


    In the middle of that, I saw the church which made me want to pop in to say hi but¡­¡­¡­I can¡¯t have Ralf and Esta do all the work, while I get distracted so I too focused on looking for an inn.


    After the 4th time of asking, I finally found an Inn that allowed keeping pets.


    I decided to reunite with Esta and Ralf, and figure out which inn fully suits all our requirements.


    ¡°Oo, Chris! You¡¯re already at the rendezvous point!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I found one I liked pretty quickly. Did you find a place too Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Took going to like 10 different places but I did find one! I wonder how Esta did! She¡¯s looking around the back alleys predominantly so she might not have found one.¡±


    While we were chatting, about a couple minutes after Ralf had arrived, Esta and Snow also met up with us in front of the fountain, our meeting spot.


    From her grim expression and the sideways shake of her head, it seems she hadn¡¯t found one as Ralf expected.


    ¡°Looks like the back alleys were a no go eh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Most people who use the back alleys aren¡¯t likely to be pet owners in the first place, and the rooms that were available were really small so I got a no pretty much everywhere. Did you guys find some good ones, Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°I did. Costs 3 silver a night, but it comes with an attached toilet and bathroom, as well as complimentary breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Damn that¡¯s more expensive than even [Gorush]! I also found one on the guild street, with 1 silver a night for rent! But, toilets and baths were communal use, not attached!¡±


    Hm¡­¡­¡­honestly, it¡¯s a hard choice between the two.


    Back in the day, we¡¯d have no choice but to pick Ralf¡¯s one but, now we¡¯re pretty good with money and we can take up requests to make even more quickly as well.


    Rather than being economical, personal convenience had become more of a factor for us.


    ¡°I think we take the one that costs 3 silvers. What about you two?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I think I agree with you to be honest! Having an attached bath and toilet is always enticing! Yeah it¡¯s a bit pricy but, we can make 3 silver everyday pretty easily no?¡±


    ¡°I too would prefer to have our own bath. Although since coming back here, I have become more aware of how luxury dependant I feel like I have become and I am not fond of it¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    Well, it¡¯s hard to go back to living poorly after all.


    We worked ourselves to death to get strong enough to enjoy a better life. It¡¯s not a bad thing to spoil yourselves every once in a while.


    ¡°If you both agree, we¡¯ll take the inn on the main street. Let¡¯s not waste time, and get our new room asap.¡±


    ¡°Man, to think the day would come where I¡¯d rent a room on the main street¡­¡­..I know Esta, you were conflicted about it but, I¡¯m just happy to see how much we¡¯ve all grown!¡±


    I agreed with both Esta and Ralf¡¯s feelings to be honest.


    When we were living in Realzard before, at most we had thought of maybe moving to [Dove Inn]¡­¡­¡­when you think of it that way, you can really feel how far we all had come since then.


    While comparing ourselves to our pasts, we reached the inn I had picked on the main street, the [Moonflower].


    This was the high class inn that had spacious rooms and also allowed pets that I had found during my search.


    We quickly finished the paperwork at the reception and were guided to our rooms.


    The room we had was bigger than even the one in [Gorush], and even the bath was quite spacious.


    Snow had grown quite big as well now, so it was hard to bring him into the bath normally so this was great help.


    ¡°It¡¯s so spacious and nice. And we¡¯ll even get breakfast everyday right?¡±


    ¡°Looks like we can get comfy while we¡¯re in Realzard! I¡¯m tired from the journey as well so I just want to take a bath and rush to my bed!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you¡¯re going to sleep? I was thinking of going around the city though?¡±


    ¡°nah, I¡¯m not actually going to sleep, I just meant that¡¯s how I was feeling! I want to go around the city as wel!¡±


    We dropped our luggage in our rooms, and now finally we had some free time.


    I though Ralf was going to sleep from what he said but looks like he¡¯ll go outside as well.


    There¡¯s a lot of places we want to visit but¡­¡­¡­the first was definitely [Shichifukuya] after all.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of heading to [Shichifukuya] now, what about you two? I don¡¯t mind if you want to go in your own time but I think it¡¯s better we all go and meet the old man together.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll come too. I need to thank him for the magic staff once again, as well show that that I have been using  it properly even now to him as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll come too! The old man has helped us out a lot from the start so of course I want to meet him! Not to mention, I want to make sure he¡¯s still healthy as well like I said before!¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go together¡­¡­¡­.What about Snow?¡±


    I asked Snow, who was looking pretty sleepy already, and it seemed like it had totally run out energy by now.


    Since during our travels, Snow was always leading the way, scouting for enemies plus it¡¯s not like Snow has any attachment or memories towards Realzard anyway.


    If it wants to sleep, I¡¯ll let it take a good long rest.


    ¡°Looks like it wants to just sleep eh. Let us leave it here and go by ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I kinda wanted to introduce Snow to the old man as well but, I dunno if that store allows animals inside in the first place either!¡±


    ¡°Then, Snow can stay here. Us three will go out.¡±


    Leaving Snow in the room who was already curled up and gone to sleep, we left the [Moonflower] and headed towards the back alleys.


    It was a long awaited reunion with the old man of [Shichifukuya].


    It was not even an exaggeration to say that that man had completely changed my destiny. I was quite looking forward to seeing him again

 CH 329

    Benefactor


    It was the same old nostalgic back alley I remembered.


    I¡¯d constantly be going through the shops looking for good items for cheap.


    Compared to then, my equipment was of great quality, and now I even had the first hero¡¯s sword on my waist as well, so we were constantly getting eyes from our surroundings but, we continued walking straight towards [Shichifukya].


    ¡°Thank god! The shop¡¯s still where it always was!¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s as worn-out as it once was as well. I felt this way for Kevin-san¡¯s shop as well but [Shichifukuya] is quite frankly, in an even worse state.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s at the very edge of even the back alleys after all. It¡¯s probably been here for far longer than most of the back alleys.¡±


    While giving our impressions on the store after seeing it in a long while, we opened the door and went in.


    Even though it was noon, the interior were still dark, and the items on display were unorganized as always.


    It was dusty as well, which gave it a mysterious feel but, the nostalgia we felt trumped everything else and it made us relaxed just being in this place.


    From the looks of it, the old man wasn¡¯t here. Probably resting inside the store I imagine.


    ¡°Hey old man? You in here? It¡¯s me, Chris!¡±


    I shouted loudly enough that my voice would reach all the way inside, and when I said my name¡­¡­..


    From the inside, I heard the noise of something big falling to the ground. And I could tell with the sound of a walking stick tapping on that he was coming outside.


    ¡°Is it really Chris!? Oh and Ralf and Esta as well! You lot came back to Realzard!?¡±


    ¡°Sorry for showing up announced like this. But it¡¯s nice to see you¡¯re still doing well.¡±


    ¡°I was honestly worried you might have died while we were away you know?¡±


    ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m healthy and in tip top shape. That aside, what made you lot come back so suddenly? Is everything finally done then?¡±


    ¡°No, we made a stop here before heading to the capital that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. Well, regardless of your reasons, I¡¯m happy to see your faces once again.¡±


    He genuinely seemed to mean it as he showed a wide smile on his face.


    And I too was glad to see him still being his energetic self.


    ¡°Uncle, once again, thank you for giving me your magic staff.¡±


    ¡°As long as you are treating it with care, don¡¯t worry about it. Esta, mind showing me the staff for a minute?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s yours after all.¡±


    Esta quickly handed over the longstaff to the old man.


    The old man began to observe the staff like he was looking at his child, and nodded to himself a couple of times with a satisfied look.


    I never paid much attention to Esta¡¯s staff but, I could tell from his reaction that she had been using it with utmost care.


    Although there were small areas where the staff had taken damage, everyone could still tell that she had not been careless with its use.


    ¡°You really have been treating with love eh. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll make this staff very happy as well. I should be the one thanking you.¡±


    ¡°But of course. No need to thank me for it.¡±


    ¡°No no, if I had kept it with me, this staff perhaps would have never had the chance to function as a staff again. I really am thankful, truly.¡±


    ¡°No no, I should be the one thanking for giving me such an incredible staff¡­¡­.¡±


    It would seem Esta and the old man had become stuck in a cycle of thanking each other over and over.


    At first it was a very warm moment but now it felt like it had become a competition on who could say thanks more, which made me laugh out loud.


    ¡°if you¡¯re both happy, that¡¯s good enough no? That aside, I have something I want to give to the old man as well.¡±


    ¡°To me? Did you get me a souvenir?¡±


    ¡°Well, actually no, my bad for that.¡±


    Apologizing, I brought out a book from inside my bag.


    Of course it was¡ª¡ª-[The Botanist Otto¡¯s Exploration Records].


    The book that changed my destiny. My very own bible.


    ¡°Ooh, now that¡¯s a nostalgic book. I was really shocked when you actually bought this book.¡±


    ¡°No, if anything, I was the one who was surprised that you sold it to me on deferred payments.¡±


    ¡°I mean I have been working here for many years you know? I tend to be a good judge of a person¡¯s character. And as you can see, Chris you did properly pay me for it and even became a valued customer of mine, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    He¡¯s right that things ended this way but, back then it wouldn¡¯t have been a surprise even if I had run away with it.


    But well¡­¡­¡­thef act that he seemed to trust me even back then, really made me happy. There¡¯s no doubt about that.


    ¡°So, what do you want to do with that book? You¡¯re not gonna tell me to buy it back now that you have no use for it or something right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna make you pay for it, but I do want you to take it and put it back on display in the store again. I have no use for the book now, and who knows, maybe someone like me might show up here once again, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re giving it back for free, I have no reason to refuse but, you sure about that Chris?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Just be sure to put it on sale for the same price you sold it to me for.¡±


    A part of me wanted to keep it with me forever but, it would be waste for me to keep such an amazing book with me forever.


    While I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the same as the old man giving Esta her staff, I could only hope that one day that the book Otto wrote will be as useful to someone else like it was for me.


    ¡°Very well. If you say so Chris, I will put it back on display in this store.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I¡¯m glad I was able to do one of the main things I wanted to do in Realzard already.


    I feel like I had a weight lifted off my shoulder and so I decided to relax and have a long chat with the old man about all the things that happened since we left, as I take a look around the store.

 CH 330

    Info on the Priest


    At [Shichifukuya], we ended up chatting for a very long time with the old man.


    A lot had happened since we left Realzard, so I suppose it was only natural that that happened.


    It was already dark outside, so we stopped in the middle of our conversation and decided to go back after saying our goodbyes.


    ¡°We really ended up chatting for a long time. It was noon when we came but the sun has already set now.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to visit other stores as well but, not much to do now but to go back to the inn eh! I¡¯m tired from the long journey as well so I really wanna go to sleep quickly!¡±


    ¡°I agree with Ralf. Let¡¯s buy some ingredients on the way back though.¡±


    Both of them were already looking sleepy but I really wanted to visit the church before resting for the day.


    The sun was setting so there was a chance that the church was already closed but¡­¡­¡­I wanted to make sure that that handsome priest was still okay.


    ¡°You two, go on ahead and return before me will you? I really want to go visit one more place before returning.¡±


    ¡°Eh? At this time of day?¡­¡­¡­well, sure I guess, but what about your dinner Chris??¡±


    ¡°Just buy my share as well please. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll take too long so I¡¯ll be back pretty soon as well.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Then we¡¯ll just buy whatever we¡¯re getting for ourselves okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    With that, I separated from Ralf and Esta and went to the church on my own.


    The church was located in the middle of the main street, right in the most prime spot in all of Realzard.


    Unlike the church in Oxter that was built at the edges of the city, I still remember how sublime and divine the church here felt.


    I wondered if I should buy some gift as well but, it¡¯d be a waste if the church closed in the meanwhile so I decided to come emptyhanded today.


    ¡­¡­¡­.the lights still seem to be on inside but, I couldn¡¯t see a lot of people so maybe it really was closed already.


    But unlike normal stores, there was no [CLOSED] sign put outside a church, so maybe I can feign ignorance and enter regardless?


    I pushed at the door and it seemed to be unlocked still as it easily opened up.


    The interior of the church had a holy atmosphere as always, and even during the night, you feel the sacredness about the whole place.


    As expected, I suppose but inside the church, let alone devotees, I couldn¡¯t see any priests or sisters either.


    Now it started to feel like I was some thief sneaking in, so I figured it was better if I spoke up and called someone out to avoid any suspicion.


    ¡°Hello? Anyone still here?¡±


    I asked, in a pretty loud voice.


    My voice echoed around the quiet church, and then silence returned.


    Yeah, I guess I should come another day.


    Since I got no response, I decided to give up and turn around to leave but¡­¡­¡­.


    Right when I put my hands on the door, I could tell someone was coming towards me from an inner room.


    Looks like someone did hear my call.


    I stopped myself from leaving and waited as a single Sister appeared from inside the church.


    Part of me was hoping it would be the handsome priest himself but, I guess things never go that smoothly, do they?


    ¡°Did you perhaps come to pray? I¡¯m very sorry but, we are done for today. Please, come again another¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Ah no, that¡¯s not why I came here. I wanted to meet a priest that works here.¡±


    ¡°A priest that is your acquaintance?¡­¡­¡­..can you tell me their name?¡±


    Name¡­¡­¡­? now that I think about it, I never even asked his name did I?


    But even if I don¡¯t know his name, with his looks, surely she¡¯ll know who I¡¯m talking about if I describe him right?


    ¡°Sorry I forgot his name. but how do I say this¡­¡­¡­.is there a really handsome looking priest here, any idea?¡±


    ¡°You came to visit them but don¡¯t know their name¡­¡­¡­.? u,ummm a good looking priest you say¡ª¡ª-Ah, you must mean Graham-sama right!¡±


    The sister was looking at me suspiciously but, me saying ¡®handsome priest¡¯ did get a reaction from the sister.


    Since I never asked his name, I had no idea if that was the right person but¡­¡­.I¡¯m sure he¡¯s the one.


    ¡°Ah, it must be Graham. Is Priest Graham still in this church? If he is, can you perhaps call him for me?¡±


    ¡°My apologies. Graham-sama moved to the church in the capital about half a year ago. So he¡¯s not here anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that so¡­¡­¡­¡­I suppose nothing can be done in that case. Thanks for telling me.¡±


    Giving my thanks to the sister who had kindly helped me out, I quickly left the church.


    I thought he¡¯d still be here but, to think he was transferred to the capital.


    I was shocked to learn that even the church had the concept of ¡®transfers¡¯ but, knowing that he was moved to the capital only increased my worries.


    He had leaked the info that the church was looking for me after all, and if that got found out, Klaus might get his hands on him as well.


    I went out of my way to meet him, only to cause myself even more anxiety¡­¡­..


    But with nothing more left to do, I decided to go back to [Moonflower] and rest for the day.

 CH 331

    Debt


    Early next morning.


    Probably because we had all gone to sleep early, I felt really fresh with all my fatigue gone by the time I woke up.


    It was unfortunate that I wasn¡¯t able to meet the handsome priest but, we were already planning to head to the capital so we can just meet him there.


    Normally thinking, transfer from Realzard to the Capital is basically a promotion so I doubt he is in any immediate trouble.


    I chose not to dwell too much on it as nothing would come out of it and began thinking of what we¡¯ll do today.


    We could go around the back alleys again like the good old days, or maybe we could roam the main streets, something we could only dream of back in the day.


    Of course we could also go back to [Shichifukuya] to continue our talks¡­¡­..


    At that moment, I suddenly thought one more thing I really wanted to do.


    That¡¯s right, I had left Realzard without finishing one specific job.


    I was ambushed and had my life put it in danger by that thing¡ª¡ªthe bear-like monster.


    ¡­¡­¡­..I should go to Peixa forest and get my revenge on that thing now.


    It¡¯ll be the perfect way to tell just how much stronger I have gotten since then, plus this was a personal matter.


    I wanted to head to Peixa forest anyway, considering how much I owe to that place so I guess that¡¯s my plans for today settled.


    ¡°Chris, you¡¯re up as well! What are you doing today? If you ain¡¯t got any plans, why not come hang out in the back alleys with us?¡±


    ¡°Sorry but, today I plan to head to Peixa forest. I owe a lot to that place plus I just thought of something I had left undone over there.¡±


    ¡°Eh, the forest again!? Well, I suppose that¡¯s very much like you eh!¡­¡­¡­Alright, we can go roam the back alleys tomorrow then, you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°Sorry about ruining your plans, but yeah, that works for me.¡±


    Saying that to Ralf, I left [moonflower] before those two.


    Now then, I could go straight to the forest but, if possible, I do want to look up info on that bear-like monster before that.


    Now that I have money, I could go to a info broker and get to know everything¡­¡­¡­but wait, then it won¡¯t be a direct comparison to last time would it.


    Instead, I¡¯ll head to the guild and try and just figure out that thing¡¯s name, and nothing more.


    .


    .


    After doing everything I wanted in Realzard, I left the city and went straight to Peixa forest.


    On top of a little info gathering, I also did some shopping so by the time I reached the forest, it was already past noon but, well, if I can¡¯t run into it today, I¡¯ll just come again another day¡­¡­.


    Since I have already made a promise for tomrrow with Ralf, I wanted to quickly find that bear-like monster¡ª¡ª-I mean, Duke Urus.


    By the way, I heard that bear-like monster¡¯s name from an old soldier in the guild.


    Apparently, the rumours that no man or monster ever went to Peixa forest because of the existence of this Duke Urus have existed for a very long time now.


    Of course, I had no idea such rumours even existed when I was constantly going to Peixa forest¡­¡­.


    But it made sense why there really weren¡¯t many monsters in that forest when compared to the others I have visited.


    These facts only gave more credence to the old soldier¡¯s words, and it made sense that this bear like monster was the root of these rumours.


    While thinking about the DukeUrus, I stood in front of the Peixa forest and looked up to fully appreciate the sea of trees spread in front of me.


    ¡°¡­¡­how nostalgic. So much has happened that my memories of this place seem like they happened so long ago but, now that I am right in front of this place, it¡¯s all coming back to me so clearly.¡±


    Muttering to myself, I closed my eyes and recalled the first time I came to Peixa forest.


    The smell of nature tickled my nose, and that helped my recollect all my experiences in this place much more vividly.


    Unlike the time I was just a [Farmer], I had become incomparably stronger now, but still my heartbeat rose and my hands began to shiver.


    I lost everything during the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing], abandoned by my parents, I was almost killed as I ran here with nothing to my name¡­¡­¡­.but now, I was back. Stronger than ever before.


    The bitter memories of those days, were washed away by the happy memories I made until now thanks to all the dear friends I had created during my journey¡ª¡ªand soon my heartbeat calmed down again and so did my shivering hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine now¡­¡­¡­.Alright, first, let¡¯s go and pay back my debt to the Duke Urus, shall we?¡±


    My lips rose into a smirk, as I proclaimed to no one but myself.


    The first task on the agenda was my rematch with Duke Urus.


    And then came¡­¡­..Klaus, who¡¯s enjoying life in capital unaware of what¡¯s about to come to him.


    Although I would have loved to talk about many things with him, we never had a relationship where we¡¯d talk to each other.


    Ours was a relationship so twisted at this point that it won¡¯t be strange if we both lunged straight at each other¡¯s throat the moment we saw each other. So much so that it¡¯ll be hard to believe for anyone that the same blood runs through our veins.


    ¡ª¡ªbut, I chose to forget about Klaus for now, and focused entirely on the Duke Urus.


    Once I was mentally in perfect condition, I took my first step into the Peixa forest after a long while away.

 CH 332

    A Familiar Forest


    Peixa forest had not changed much since the last time I was here. A familiar peaceful, and quiet scenery extended ahead of me.


    With my memory as my crutch, I passed by the pond I had regularly used, and continued walking deeper until the trees became thicker, and the area became dark like it was night already.


    And on top of this darkness, was the odd silence that enveloped this forest.


    Coming here after a long gap, I was once again overwhelmed by just how utterly odd this forest and its ambiance was.


    Looking inside the gap between the two rocks that I often used as my base, it was once again covered in moss, and the disgusting bugs that lived in that moss.


    Thinking back, I really was incredible back then in how I managed to eat these things, even if it was to survive.


    ¡­¡­¡­..now then, that¡¯s enough of sightseeing mode for now, and time to start looking for that Duke Urus seriously.


    Since this forest was mostly safe other than the Duke itself, I finally activated my Detection skills that I hadn¡¯t needed to use until now.


    I activated all of them at full strength, and began to seriously search for this monster.


    The first place I went to was the spot where I first encountered it.


    Since I had no other info, I had no choice but to go around and look for it on foot but, bears are often famous for being vengeful and they don¡¯t forget or let go of the prey they set their sights on once.


    Of course, it was unknown whether the Duke Urus also possessed the same behavioural patterns as a normal bear but, if that really was the case then¡­¡­..


    As I continued to walk into the Peixa forest, there¡¯s a good chance that monster itself would sense me and rush towards me instead.


    There¡¯s a chance that the place I was attacked in was part of its territory as well so it was optimal to roam around the area where that attack had happened while using my detection skills.


    While using the utmost caution, I continued to boldly walk through the Peixa forest¡ª¡ªand finally reached the spot where I first met the Duke Urus.


    Since entering the forest, I had not encountered even a single monster on my way here, and in fact I didn¡¯t even detect a single monster with my skills either.


    It was to the point where you¡¯d begin to wonder if the monster even existed but, it was a hard and cold fact that I was attacked right here, in this place.


    Stopping there, I waited for some time for the Duke urus to hopefully come to me but I sensed nothing still.


    ¡­¡­¡­if I recall, I did feel an intense pressure and presence strong enough to send shivers down my spine, right before it attacked me, didn¡¯t I?


    Was it a skill that the Duke used or was that simply my sixth sense warning me? I had no idea but I think it was important to specifically look for that presence.


    I could start searching right away, but before that I want to wait just a little more an see if maybe it shows up.


    It was so quiet that only the sound of leaves rustling with the wind could be heard, yet I continued to simply stand there, waiting, for a whole 2 hours.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­even after all this time, not a single creature, not even a small animal was detected by my skills, so it seems unlikely that I¡¯ll run into it by waiting here.


    Just when I grew impatient of waiting, and was about to move to continue my search¡ª¡ª-my whole body felt a chill run through.


    I could never forget this feeling. It was the same as when I first ran into the Duke urus.


    If I can still feel this even after getting so much stronger, it was likely that this was indeed a skill that the bear had.


    While making this observation,. I turned my focus towards the Duke Urus who I could sense was rushing towards me with immense speed.


    It was quite faster than I expected. Judging by the size of its body and its speed, I think this monster would be a platinum rank subjugation I think.


    It really was a miracle that I was able to drive it back off when I first met him huh.


    And finally¡ª¡ª-the figure of the Duke Ursu rushing towards me came into my direct view.


    I could see orange coloured patterns glowing on its jet black body, and it even possessed what looked like a lion¡¯s mane that swayed with the wind.


    Last time, I had no composure or room for error so I couldn¡¯t carefully observe its body but, damn, it¡¯s a pretty cool looking monster huh.


    In the first place, I wasn¡¯t sure if this really was the same exact Duke Urus that I fought last time but although it seemed a size bigger than last time, overall it looked quite similar to the one in my memory.


    The only way I could find out if this really was the exact same monster would be by checking the inside of its upper jaw that I had stabbed and wounded by putting my own arm on the line¡­¡­..


    But that was impossible to do unless it opened its mouth wide right near my face.


    ¡°Well, in either case, I have to defeat it before anything.¡±


    As I muttered to myself, I pointed my sword towards the Duke Urus.


    By the way, I wasn¡¯t using the Vendettatein but instead holding an ordinary iron sword I randomly bought while I was info gathering,.


    Of course I could cut it down with Vendettatein but, this was a test of strength for myself so I decided to use a normal iron sword instead.


    And on top, I was planning to not use any skills, and fight it in my raw state.


    Unlike last time, the Duke who had run at me stopped a distance away and then began to slowly gauge my abilities from afar.


    ¡­¡­¡­..I can¡¯t check the wound on its upper jaw like this but, I have feeling this is the same one.


    It¡¯s eyes were glaring at me in a way that wasn¡¯t aimed at any normal human. And not to mention it was being exceptionally cautious towards me.


    Unlike last time where it got hurt due to being careless, it wanted to go all out against me from the start and kill me¡ª¡ª¡ªI could feel such a strong will emanating from the Duke Urus.


    That fight was a bitter experience for me I guess, it was even worse for the Duke.


    I was still only holding my sword in a stance but¡­¡­¡­.almost as if we could read each other¡¯s thoughts, the fight had already begun through a conversation made through bloodlust.

 CH 333

    A Conclusion


    As I stand here facing it directly with my sword in hand, I can confidently tell that I am overwhelmingly stronger than the beast.


    Compared to last time where I was shivering with fear and could do nothing but run away, even I was shocked to see how much I had grown.


    As we continued to glare at each other, the first one to make a move was the Dukeurus.


    I dodged the monster¡¯s charge with zero motion, so it rotated its bulky arm to slash at me.


    I matched my sword to the claws of the monster to guard against the attack.


    Since the claws itself were quite dangerous, just swinging its arms around would have made for quite a dangerous situation for me but¡­¡­¡­


    Even without using any of my skills, I was still able to completely guard against the DukeUrus¡¯ attack.


    It continued to launch attacks at me with crazy beast-like patterns but, as I had originally sensed, it was simply not a match for me anymore.


    Having directly taken on its attacks multiple times now, I could definitively tell the difference between our strengths, and there was no point in needlessly prolonging the fight any longer.


    Even though I had continued to perfectly block all its attacks, it once again launched its claws at me so I matched my sword against it¡ª¡ªand this time I countered by swinging my sword directly at it.


    I had swung down the sword with nothing but raw strength behind it, no real technique, to push it back but, my sword cut through its steel-like sharp claws like they were made of paper, and went on with the momentum and chopped its entire arm off.


    With a dull sound, the Duke Urus¡¯ arm fell to the ground, and after a short pause, a shrill painful scream resounded inside the forest.


    The fountain of blood splashed at the nearby trees, painting them red, and having lost its one arm, the monster lost its balance and fell to ground, and begun to crawl instead.


    I was being quite cautious at first but in the end, all it took was one strike.


    An attack I had launched just to deflect its attack ended up being a fatal blow instead.


    ¡°If you want to blame something, blame yourself for not killing the weak me back then.¡±


    I muttered basically to myself, and then quickly chopped its head off to make it not suffer any longer.


    I had sworn to come back and beat it back when I had run away from the Peixa forest but, the conclusion to that had come in a pretty anti-climactic fashion. I didn¡¯t even feel good about it.


    But with this I have been able to finally bring a conclusion to one unfinished quest of mine, and now I¡¯m basically done with everything I wanted to achieve in Realzard.


    Now I just need to wait for contact from Charlotte, and rest in Realzard in the meantime.


    ¡­¡­¡­.now then, as for the Duke Urus¡¯ body, it¡¯d be a pain but I should take it back.


    I could incinerate it right here and now but, I came all this way to kill it.


    Might as well get a use out of it, especially considering I killed it for my own self-satisfaction. Else it¡¯d leave a bad taste in my mouth.


    I quickly began to work on the corpse, skinning its fur, and gathering any part of it that could be used as a material. Of course, I couldn¡¯t find any use for most of its flesh so I did burn that much at least.


    I mean, I could eaten it as well but most of its body was tough muscles which doesn¡¯t make for tasty food anyway.


    By the way, I did check its chopped head to make sure that it did in fact have the wound I gave it on its upper jaw.


    There were no doubts about it anymore, this was indeed the Duke Urus that attacked me, and thus left with no regrets, I decided to leave the Peixa forest.


    .


    .


    Taking care of the corpse had taken some time so by the time I returned to Relaard, it was already late at night, and the streets were basically devoid of people walking around.


    But, since I was able to make it back within then same day, I should be able to keep my promise with Ralf tomorrow as well.


    While yawning, I began to walk towards [moonflower] when suddenly, I felt like I heard footsteps approaching me from behind.


    I mean I was inside a city so, even though it was late night, it won¡¯t be too weird if people were still walking around but¡­¡­


    I only heard a few steps, and then the sound and presence both disappeared.


    ¡ª¡ªHuh, I wonder if I am being tailed by someone?


    In my head I recalled the time I first met Esta, when she tried to mug me in broad daylight.


    But for a mere robber, this person was a bit too good at hiding their presence, and by the fact that I only heard their footsteps just once, I could tell they were pretty skilled.


    I could quickly rush to [moonflower] and I¡¯ll probably be safe but just in case, I decided to investigate this properly.


    I activated [perception enhancement][life presence sense][mana sense][perception range enhancement][hearing enhancement], these 5 skills and then tried detecting for enemies within Realzard and¡ª¡ª-as expected, there was someone hiding a little distance away from me.


    What made me most curious was that both their life presence and mana were pretty high.


    I for sure thought that they were someone only strong in stealth but, now I felt like they were someone who were actually not someone who were good at stealth but were instead using their other abilities to make this work.


    The first person that came to mind was of course Klaus¡¯s assassin but, I just reached this city. There¡¯s no way I was detected this quickly.


    ¡­¡­¡­.no, maybe they were already lying in wait for me to come here perhaps?


    In that case, Klaus might be more vigilant of me than I had imagined.


    But, that doesn¡¯t seem like a very Klaus like thing to do either.


    ¡­¡­¡­.well, no matter how much I think about it, I won¡¯t figure it out like this.


    Well, time to grab him and make him talk I guess eh.

 CH 334

    Tailing


    I really am unlucky to be getting tailed on the day I spent an entire day out in the Peixa forest and had to fight the Duke Urus.


    It was already so late at night that I was really sleepy and knowing that my opponent was also skilled, it¡¯s better if I quickly grab them before the situation escalates.


    Since I used my detection skills while I continued to leisurely walk, I don¡¯t think I made it obvious that I had noticed that I was getting tailed.


    Which should give me the element of surprise over the person tailing me, so I should drag them into the back alleys first. A place I know like back of my palm.


    While pretending to be completely unaware, I walked from the main street into the back alleys.


    I wondered if they would hesitate over coming to the back alleys but¡­¡­.they showed no hesitation and continued to follow me.


    When I reached the rundown house that Esta and Ralf once used as their base, I stopped¡ª¡ªmade a 180 degree turn on the spot and instantly charged towards the person tailing me.


    [Flesh Enhancement][Physical ability boost][leg strength enhancement][Gale]


    I activated these skills instantaneously and closed the distance in a flash, giving no chance for the person to run away. And it ended with me standing right in front of them and directly facing the person.


    Under the moonlight I caught the figure of the person tailing me but because they were dressed in a black robe and hood, I couldn¡¯t see their face.


    ¡°Mind explaining why you have been following me?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Tch, what the hell, you noticed me.¡±


    It was slightly muffled, deep voice of a man.


    His voice reminded me of Carlo so I figured the man underneath was also probably a rough looking man.


    ¡°I asked, what do you want from me. Answer me.¡±


    ¡°I was asked by my boss to gather info on you. You¡¯re Klaus-sama¡¯s older brother Chris, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    So he really was someone related to Klaus huh.


    So was this ¡®boss¡¯ Klaus, and he was here to gather info on me on his orders¡ª¡ª-I assume.


    He told me his purpose quite honestly without even me needing to do anything but, now that I know he¡¯s Klaus¡¯ subordinate, I¡¯m not gonna let him get away from me either.


    ¡°Interesting. I¡¯d like to hear a lot more about this.¡±


    ¡°I have nothing more to tell you¡­¡­¡­.or are you going to try and force it out of me?¡±


    ¡°That was the plan yeah? Man, do I have to say everything out loud for you guys to understand me?¡±


    ¡°Ahahaha! Good joke coming from a fucking [Farmer]! Well, if you¡¯re gonna try me go ahead. I might as well get info out of you instead.¡±


    Saying that, the black robed man pulled out a dagger from his inner pocket.


    Well it¡¯s to my advantage if he¡¯s gonna fight me and not run away to be honest.


    This is my first time fighting a dagger user but, fighting in close quarters is my speciality. I¡¯ll do well against weapons with short range I think.


    As for my weapon¡­¡­¡­.the iron sword will do I guess.


    I don¡¯t want to use Vendettatein, that I¡¯m still getting used to using, and accidentally kill him before I get info out of him.


    As I drew the iron sword from my waist, our battle began.


    The first one to make a move was the robed man.


    With a strange dance like way of stepping forward, he closed the distance between us with incredible speed.


    His movements were nimble but his speed wasn¡¯t really something I¡¯d have difficulty dealing with.


    I was thinking of swinging down my sword against him to match his attack but¡­¡­.suddenly, the image of the robed man flickered and blurred oddly.


    It wasn¡¯t because our surroundings were dark, so it was probably something the robed man was doing?


    I suddenly felt a bad premonition towards attacking the robed man like this, so I quickly changed my course of action.


    I activated [Sticky String Manipulation] along with [Hardening], and launched a wide ranging attack in front of me from all of my fingers.


    The hardened strings struck the robed man and¡ª¡ªin that instant, the robed man¡¯s figure disappeared like mist.


    And the moment he disappeared, the robed man appeared, diagonally to the right of me instead.


    He was aiming straight at my neck, but because I had fired the strings in a wide range, one of them went straight at him as well and made him unable to continue his attack.


    What I just witnessed¡­¡­..was that a shadow clone?


    The robed man charging at me was a phantom, and the real body was the one that appeared after words.


    And his real body completely disappears while the phantom is still active as well. What a troublesome technique. It has to be a Skill.


    The problem is not knowing when he switches with the phantom version but, I think that strange dance like steps he made were probably designed to distract me I think.


    ¡°I had heard you were a [Farmer] but I guess you can fight a bit after all, and you have some kind of weird skill as well¡­¡­¡­¡­.Did Klaus-sama lie to us?¡±


    He seemed to be talking quite nonchalantly still, which meant he hadn¡¯t fully used his strength.


    My instincts had let me switch to using [Sticky String manipulation] to attack at the right time but, if I had tried to attack with my sword, I might have genuinely been in danger.


    ¡­¡­¡­honestly, I was looking down on him a bit due to his life presence and mana but from here on out, it¡¯s time to get serious and use my full strength it seems.

 CH 335

    Oddity


    Now that I know how the shadow clones work, I¡¯m not afraid of it.


    I can just close in the distance faster and corner him to the point where he doesn¡¯t even have the time to use the skill at all.


    I now also understood that this man chose a dagger as his weapon precisely to stop his opponents from approaching too close to him.


    I once again activated [Leg Strength enhancement] and [Gale] and charged in towards the robed man.


    Not just the shadow clones, his own technique was also quite good, as he was able to react against my horizontal slash aimed at his upper body and blocked it with his dagger¡ª¡ªhowever just blocking my attack took everything from him as he had no margin or scope to counter back.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªUohh!? Your attack¡¯s fast as well. Shit, this is¡­¡­¡­nothing like what we¡¯d heard!!¡±


    I one-sidedly continued to overwhelm with my attacks, and the robed man desperately continued to deflect with his dagger. Just then, I decided to activate [Black Mist] on top.


    It was already the dark in the back alleys at night but, now it was completely enveloped in pitch black darkness.


    For a second, I heard a pathetic cry that leaked from the robed man who was suddenly surrounded in darkness.


    I already got his position from that little noise even without using any skill but still, there was no harm in being cautious so I activated [Sound wave detection].


    Once I knew the robed man¡¯s position perfectly, I quickly circled behind him and made a deep slash at his both feet.


    My first clean kill using Black Mist with the right timing.


    The robed man had no way of reacting to it and I could tell that he fell limp to the ground from the sound of his body falling.


    I had slashed both his legs to make him unable to move but just in case, I used [Sticky String Manipulation] and [Hardening] to completely restrain his body by wrapping him up and then carried him inside the run down base that Ralf and Esta once used back in the day.


    I put the man down on a chair and then began my prep to interrogate him properly.


    There should be no problems even if he makes some noise in a place like this so I can be a little bit more forceful as well.


    ¡°now then, there¡¯s a lot I want to hear from you. So get ready to talk okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Shit. How could I have let down my guard like that. Or rather, this isn¡¯t anything like what we had heard at all! Are you really that Klaus-sama¡¯s older brother!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember giving you the right to question me. If you want to live, obediently answer my questions. Who ordered you to tail me? Was it Klaus?¡±


    ¡°hehehe, as if Klaus-sama would directly talk to someone like me¡­¡­¡­sorry, but the threat of death won¡¯t work on us. Now then, it¡¯s time for me to go.¡±


    The moment the hooded man muttered that, he seemed to have done something to himself as suddenly he clutched his neck in pain¡­¡­¡­.and before I could do anything to stop him or treat him, he died while still tied to the chair.


    How should I say this¡­¡­..he was a genuinely creepy man from start till the end.


    I never planned on letting him live so I don¡¯t really care that he died but, it hurts that I failed to get any real info from him.


    It made all my work be for nothing but, I should at least put it in my head that I¡¯m being actively targeted now. I need to start taking action quickly or they¡¯ll take the initiative from me.


    Before I burned his corpse away, I did take his hood off to see who he was but of course, it¡¯s not like I¡¯d recognize him.


    If there was something that caught my eye, it would be the tattoo of a double headed snake on the bottom of his neck. Outside of that, it was just a normal looking man.


    I should at least remember that tattoo and then ask about it at the info broker in the capital.


    After that, I carried the corpse of the hooded man outside the city without getting caught by anyone¡¯s eyes and then burned it to ashes with my [FireBall].


    By the time I was done, the sun had already begun to rise again, and I lamented how much time I had wasted because of that hooded man.


    After that, on my way back to [moonflower] I intentionally let myself look full of openings but, I didn¡¯t notice anyone else aiming for me or following me so I have to assume that hooded man was the only one in Realzard.


    Which means, that it¡¯s likely that it was just coincidence that he found me and it¡¯s not as if they know that I¡¯m currently in Realzard.


    It¡¯s good that my location is still a secret however, when the contact from this man is lost, it¡¯s very likely that they¡¯ll get suspicious.


    I think I have a week as a time limit. I need to quickly contact Charlotte in the capital.


    I wanted to rest a bit more in Realzard but, now the situation isn¡¯t one where I can relax anymore. I clicked my tongue in displeasure as I returned to my room in [Moonflower].


    The lights in the room were still on, as I looked at both Ralf and Esta who were already awake.


    The sun had only begun to rise just now so I thought they¡¯d still be asleep but if they¡¯re up, that works for me too.


    ¡°Chris! You¡¯re way too late! We were worried!¡±


    ¡°My bad. I had someone attack me in the city.¡±


    ¡°Eh? An attack? Was it a pursuer from Klaus?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Almost certainly. He definitely was an assassin sent by Klaus. I really want to get things going now so sorry, but today¡¯s back street tour will have to wait unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Yeah man! With the situation being what it is, I get it! So what¡¯s the plan now?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..First, let me tell you everything in detail. Then I¡¯ll tell you two what to do.¡±


    And so I sat down and told Ralf and Esta of everything that had taken place in order.


    And then, I told them both to head to the capital and find a way to make contact with Charlotte or Mielle.

 CH 336

    Informants


    ¡°I see. Looks like your face is known now so me and Esta have to go and contact either the princess or Mielle right?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. There is a chance that they know about you two as well so it can get dangerous. You two still willing to take this task?¡±


    ¡°Of course we are. Kind of reminds me of a similar situation back then.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.yeah, I did send you two to the capital in a similar situation didn¡¯t I? how nostalgic.¡±


    ¡°it was something even us who were powerless could do properly! This time as well, we¡¯ll accomplish our tasks properly! But still, how the hell are we going to contact the princess, let alone find her?¡±


    That is the biggest problem.


    We had failed to settle on a suitable method to contact each other when they left Edestor.


    You¡¯d think the princess of the country wouldn¡¯t be hard to find but it¡¯s because she is the princess that we had to be extra careful with how we meet with her.


    It might best to find Mielle instead and have her be our intermediary.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to meet the princess directly either. So search for Mielle instead. And then have her contact Charlotte instead.¡±


    ¡°So we just need to find Mielle-san. Understood. I guess we¡¯ll have to use the information broker once again.¡±


    ¡°Just be sure to not catch any unwanted attention. I know it¡¯s a troublesome task but I¡¯m counting on you both.¡±


    ¡°Just leave it to us! We¡¯ll have it done perfectly before you know it!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯ll be the one doing most of the work, Ralf, you¡¯re not going to be doing much are you?¡±


    Esta spoke with venom but, Ralf seemed quite enthusiastic which was always good to see.


    Leaving the matter of making an appointment with Charlotte to these two, I need to focus on what I can do in Realzard.


    I can¡¯t do anything much in the open but, I still have things I can do.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.but, before all that, I need to get a good night¡¯s sleep. Everything comes after that.


    .


    .


    A few minutes after our talk, I saw off Ralf, Esta and Snow leaving towards the capital and then I went to get some much needed sleep.


    By the time I woke up, the sun was already setting again. It seems I slept for a solid half day straight.


    It¡¯s a bit late, but I should start doing the things I can do while in this city.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­first, I too should go and collect some info.


    I had already asked Esta for the location of the info broker that was in the back streets of Realzard, so I plan to head there and investigate the man that had tried to kill me last night.


    I was sure he was the same as Carlo, a man from the underworld so it seems I need to investigate not just Klaus, but also the people surrounding him.


    It was extremely uncanny how quickly that man chose to kill himself the moment he was caught considering how skilled he was, plus there¡¯s also the words he left me with that made me curious.


    ¡°As if Klaus-sama would directly give orders to someone like me.¡±


    His words imply that the hooded man and Klaus don¡¯t have a direct connection.


    The first thing that came to my mind was [The Maginicks]. Perhaps he was a member of the organization that was led by Carlo.


    There is always a chance that he wasn¡¯t looking for me under Klaus¡¯ orders and was instead looking for Carlo, their leader, and accidentally happened to find me instead.


    With that possibility in mind, I made my way to the info broker.


    While being extremely cautious of my surroundings, I reached a store called [Eldaze].


    Upfront, they were a special set meal shop but if you make a specific order, they¡¯ll lead you to the informant here.


    The store seemed quite bustling with a bunch of customers here, and it looked like any other ordinary eatery but¡­¡­¡­


    I got the info from Esta so there should be no mistake.


    ¡°Hello, and welcome! Please take a seat wherever you like!¡±


    Hearing that as soon as I entered the store, I went and sat down on the wide table, second in line from the back.


    This seat was also specific. You had to sit here on this specific spot by yourself.


    I felt it was bit too roundabout but, I suppose informants like to be very cautious for a reason.


    Waiting for a while after sitting there, the old lady who was an employee in the store and had originally greeted me, walked towards me to take my order.


    ¡­¡­¡­.now, I just need to make sure to not get my order wrong.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your water. Dear customer, what would you like today?¡±


    ¡°Daily special set B, with less rice. No salad.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..And what for dessert?¡±


    ¡°The chef¡¯s recommendation.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Let me go and ask what his recommendation is so please wait here.¡±


    I think I got that right and she was going back to let the informant know.


    Now I wonder if this informant will come to me, or will I be led somewhere else.


    Since I didn¡¯t hear any further details, I had no idea what happens next.


    Like the employee had said, I waited for their side to take an action when¡­¡­¡­


    After about 10mins or so, the employee came back with the meal in her hand to serve me.


    Meat, with stir fried vegetables, little rice. Coupled with egg soup but no salad.


    As for the dessert, it was the chef¡¯s recommendation I assume, a colourful assortment of cut fruits on top of yogurt.


    Did I¡­¡­¡­mess up the secret phrase?


    If I ask the employee she¡¯d probably feign ignorance anyway, and if I don¡¯t want to get banished from here, it¡¯s better if I just quietly eat it and return for now.


    I wonder what I messed up. While I was reflecting on it as I ate, a person came out from inside the store and suddenly decided to sit down on the seat opposite of me.


    I was about to tell him off, but he was wearing a hat big enough that it would hide his eyes which was very obviously suspicious¡ª¡ª¨Cand I quickly realized that this guy was probably the informant I was looking for.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking for info I heard. The fees is four silver. If that¡¯s okay with ya, I¡¯ll talk about whatever you wanna know?¡±


    ¡°money¡¯s not an issue. We talk here? There¡¯s people around.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind changing places if you want to. But that¡¯ll cost more, and I won¡¯t go anywhere too far from here.¡±


    He really was the informant it seems, although for someone who had set up such an intricate method to meet him, he seemed quite careless now.


    I really didn¡¯t want to pay more than needed, but I didn¡¯t want to risk anyone here noticing or finding me either.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I guess there¡¯s no point in being stingy here so I¡¯ll just ask for a change of location.

 CH 337

    The Robed Man¡¯s Identity


    But speaking of changing locations, where should I move to¡­¡­.


    Of course, the safest option would be my room in [moonflower].


    No one could hear us there and safety was guaranteed but, I really don¡¯t want to let some random informant inside my room.


    Not to mention, I don¡¯t want to give the info of where I live to an informant of all people either. So I¡¯ll avoid that.


    Which leaves [Shichifukuya] as another option but I don¡¯t want to cause problems to the old man either.


    Tch. If you¡¯re an informant you should have a good place of your own dammit. I wanted to complain but nothing could be done about it now.


    ¡°Have you picked a spot?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..yeah, I just decided. Follow me.¡±


    I quickly shoved all the remaining food inside my mouth and then washed it down with the egg soup. Getting up from my seat, I first paid the meal¡¯s worth before leaving.


    As for the place we¡¯re heading to, I¡¯m thinking of using the abandoned house that Esta and Ralf used once again.


    That place was pretty much the only option left to me to be honest.


    Yesterday  a person had died there, and there should still be the blood stains on the ground from the wounds I gave him.


    I wanted to avoid that place since I hadn¡¯t had the chance to properly ¡®clean¡¯ the place up after it all but¡­¡­..i really don¡¯t have much of a choice left right now.


    As long as I don¡¯t take him to the room that man died in, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have any problems.


    ¡°Ohh, we¡¯re gonna use this rundown house as a place to talk?¡±


    ¡°Any issues? Any place should be fine as long as I pay right?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I have no issues with this place but I am a bit worried about trespassing though. I doubt you own this house, do you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No one has used this place for years. And in the off chance some soldiers see us, you can put all the blame on me.¡±


    ¡°In that case, this works for me too.¡±


    Having convinced the informant, I gave a quick look around to make sure it was safe and then I entered the place.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I didn¡¯t realize it yesterday but I could sense that someone had died here recently still.


    That said, it wasn¡¯t like there was a bad stench or anything but more like one could tell that a strong person had died here, or something like that.


    Of course, any person that had been in regular contact with death would instantly feel it but¡­¡­¡­judging by the informants reaction, he¡¯s not one of those people.


    ¡°Damn, this place is quite rundown huh. You sure it¡¯s okay to talk here?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Just take a seat somewhere, or we can talk standing up as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I don¡¯t wanna get dirty so I¡¯ll keep standing if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Giving him a side-glance, I pulled a small stool nearby and sat down.


    I didn¡¯t care about getting a bit dirty and I won¡¯t be able to calm myself if I continued to stand.


    ¡°First, let me pay you upfront for the info. Including the payment for moving you here, will 1 gold coin do?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well aren¡¯t you some bigshot eh? For one gold coin, I¡¯ll give you two questions worth of info. Of course, that is assuming I actually know whatever you want to know that is. Just don¡¯t get mad at me if I fail to answer okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure. First of all, do you know of a person who has a symbol of twin snakes tattooed on them. Does that ring a bell?¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what counted as ¡®one question¡¯ so I went straight to the point.


    If he does know, then it¡¯ll be all worth it.And if doesn¡¯t¡­¡­¡­well, we can stop and I¡¯ll just go back.


    ¡°A man with a tattoo of a two headed snake? Of course I know of it. Is it okay if I take that as your first question?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Tell me everything you know.¡±


    ¡°Alright. The double headed snake tattoo is a sign used by the members of [Under Eye] a hoodlum group of the capital. They¡¯re quite famous so most people that live in the capital know of them. To the point that some even get that tattoo to impersonate them¡­¡­¡­well, if you get found out, you get instantly killed for  pretending to be one of them though.¡±


    So it wasn¡¯t [The Maginicks] but [Under Eye] instead.¡­¡­¡­.now that I recall, wasn¡¯t [Under Eye]¡¯s leader part of Klaus party as well, right?


    Remembering that, it made a lot more sense that the robed man was an [Under Eye] member.


    I had completely forgotten but Mielle did warn me to be careful of [Under eye].


    ¡°So this double headed snake tattoo is their mark of recognition then.¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re planning to become one of them, I¡¯d highly advise against it. They are a group of a select few that are all completely heinous in nature. In fact, these days the rumours around them have gotten even worse.¡±


    ¡°And what kind of rumours are those?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I was considering making this your second question but, ah well, consider this a freebie. Since it¡¯s a pretty well known rumour at this point.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for that I guess. So, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Apparently they are going around outright murdering people. According to the rumours, they are connected to the [Sword God] himself, and anyone who gets in his way gets eliminated by the members of [Under Eye]. They¡¯ve even sent their members to the cities around the capital, and in fact, some have even seen one here in Realzard as well.¡±


    That certainly is one hell of an info. I mean I literally fought one of them so it¡¯s basically not just a rumour at this point.


    But considering all the info, it does seem like him finding me was more of a coincidence rather than them knowing exactly where I was.


    ¡­¡­¡­if he was the only person deployed to Realzard, then I really was simply just really unlucky to be found out like that it seems.

 CH 338

    Under Eye


    If they are eliminating those who are hindering Klaus, it¡¯s probably to make it easier for him to move around.


    According to what Mielle told me, ever since adding the leader of [Under Eye] to his party, Klaus had received quite a lot of animosity from the King, so this is him probably trying to brute force the matter into his own favour.


    I think it¡¯s safe to assume from the fact that he¡¯s been sending assassins after me, his own blood brother, that Klaus too feels no hesitation over killing people that could get in his way.


    I didn¡¯t even feel that much surprised from hearing that he was doing so without hesitation.


    ¡°They really seem like a dangerous bunch huh. The members of this [Under eye] that is.¡±


    ¡°The [sword god] freely using them seems like a lot more dangerous to me though.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.but if such rumours are going around, has there not been any outcry from the populace? I mean, isn¡¯t the [Sword god] supposed to be a hero candidate? I don¡¯t think many people will like a hero that is in bed with a underground organization that threatens the city.¡±


    ¡°The common people don¡¯t about it, and neither do they care much. That said, the name [Sword God] alone isn¡¯t just famous in this country but it has even reached the neighbouring countries. So the reality is that even our kingdom don¡¯t want these rumours to become truly widespread. They did try to pressure him to stop behind the scenes but, that too was quickly shut down by the secret maneuvering of [Under Eye] as well.¡±


    The scale of this all seemed a bit too big for me. I had no idea why Klaus was going this far. What did he want to achieve by doing all this?


    ¡°So is there any info on what this [Sword God] is hoping to achieve in the end?¡±


    ¡°No one really knows. I heard that he had gone and cleared the Edestor Dungeon as well, so I do think he still is doing his duties as a Hero properly, probably? These days, the movements of the Demon Army have also become more active, or so I have heard¡ª¡ª-ah but, now¡¯s not the time for gossip. Go ahead, ask your second question.¡±


    The Demon Army huh. A word that is hard to ignore so I wanted to dig deeper into that as well but¡­¡­.


    I didn¡¯t have the time to be distracted by other things. I need to dig up more info on this [Under Eye].


    ¡°For my second piece of info, I¡¯d like to hear more on [Under Eye]. You said that only a select few were allowed to become a member, right? So do you know of their names, any recognizable characteristics etc.?¡±


    ¡°Man, you are a weirdo for wanting to know so much about [Under Eye]. Sorry but there¡¯s almost no info on their members. All that¡¯s known is about their leader, and 2 of their 4 main executives. If that¡¯s alright with you, I¡¯ll take that as your second question, okay?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead. Talk.¡±


    The way they carried themselves, plus that shadow clone ability.


    I assumed he was part of the top brass but, I need to check if he even was someone that people knew about. I need to remember any of these characteristics and make sure I am ready if I run into one of them.


    It would seem that if I plan on fighting Klaus, they¡¯re an organization I¡¯ll have to face sooner or later.


    ¡°Alright then. Let me start with the leader. The man is called Milworc. Like I told before, he¡¯s part of the [Sword God]¡¯s party, and he doesn¡¯t even try to hide himself or his background.¡±


    ¡°I have heard of him before as well. Is he really that famous?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that the people who don¡¯t know about him are less than those who do. He¡¯s always dressed in a suspicious manner, plus the right half of his face is horribly scarred¡ª¡ªhe looks like a deviant even at a glance.¡±


    ¡°But, he¡¯s talented enough to keep up with even the [Sword God] though, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what they say apparently. I¡¯ve never seen them fight myself but once, when he moved as the leader of [Under Eye], he single-handedly destroyed a thief group called [Shadow Gamble] or so the rumours say¡­¡­..if not for the heavy wound to the right side of his face, some say that he might have been as strong, if not stronger than even the [Sword God].¡±


    Looks like what Mielle told me back in Edestor was true after all.


    Damn, if I knew things would end up like this, I¡¯d have asked a bit more in detail back then.


    ¡°I see. I got an idea on this Milworc guy. Tell me about the 2 executives that you know about.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not much known about them I¡¯ll be honest. One of them is giant guy called Prowse. In terms of pure brute strength, he¡¯s said to be number one in the entire capital.¡±


    ¡°With a title like that, and you said he had a big body right? Surely he must stand out in the city then.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably why we have the info we do. He¡¯s only involved in battles, and is second in fame to Milworc.¡±


    Number one in the capital means he¡¯s stronger than even Carlo.


    Even though he had only one arm, Carlo was still the person with the strongest physical strength amongst the people I have met. And this guy was supposedly stronger.


    Looks like he wasn¡¯t kidding when he said that they only recruit the most elite to their ranks.


    ¡°The other we know about is a woman called Prudence. She¡¯s the only female in all of [Under Eye] and is also an executive which made her quite famous. But that¡¯s all the info on her that¡¯s available though I have heard that she¡¯s extremely beautiful as well.¡±


    ¡°A woman that¡¯s an executive of a criminal organization? I don¡¯t care about her beauty but it¡¯s clear, she¡¯s someone you don¡¯t want to get involved with ever.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CAnd, that¡¯s about all I have for info on them. Was that satisfactory enough for you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Worth the gold coin I paid at least.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s good to hear. If you want I can always sell more info to you if interested, so come seek me whenever needed.¡±


    Saying that, he waved goodbye and left the abandoned building.


    The black hooded guy I faced was not included in any of the info I had heard but still, I got some good info regardless.


    I didn¡¯t have too high expectations considering it was just some info broker living in the back alleys of Realzard but this ended up being quite satisfactory.


    Now then, it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯ll find any other clear leads on that black robed man so I should find something else to do while wait for those two and Snow to return.

 CH 339

    Connecting Info


    4 days had passed since the day I met the info broker.


    Since I couldn¡¯t do anything that could make me stand out, I was left with not much to do in Realzard. So the most I did was basically shopping to make sure we were ready enough and could leave the city whenever needed instantly.


    I could have gone and secluded myself in Peixa forest as well but, well, there¡¯s not much I¡¯d gain there either in the time it¡¯d take for those two and Snow to come back to Realzard.


    Today as well, I was thinking of walking around the city to try and see if I could spot any suspicious people, when¡­


    The door of the room opened, and Snow energetically ran towards me and jumped at me.


    ¡°Chris, you were in the room huh! We¡¯re back!¡±


    ¡°Welcome back. Did you guys manage to meet Charlotte?¡±


    While getting my face licked by Snow, I asked Ralf and Esta who were smiling.


    They came back faster than I had expected, so I have to assume they had succeeded.


    ¡°Yeah we did! We met both Mielle and Charlotte!¡±


    ¡°Allow me to explain in detail. When we went to the informant we visited in the capital from last time, apparently Mielle-san had already made arrangements there as, as soon as we asked, the informant sent a message and we were able to meet quite quickly.¡±


    Esta sighed at Ralf¡¯s dumb and simple explanation and instead properly explained how things had gone.


    As for the informant she was talking about¡­¡­¡­¡­it must be that guy who talked like a woman that we met last time.


    It was that same informant that had told Mielle about me which led to her attacking me when I was returning so they must have worked things out between them I assume.


    Mielle did nothing but complain whenever I asked something of her but, on the contrary she does do her job properly regardless.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you guys were able to come back so quickly. Looks like things worked out pretty well¡­¡­..So, what did Charlotte say?¡±


    ¡°She said to stay on standby in Realzard for some time. Apparently this organization called [Under Eye] is snooping around for you so she can¡¯t safely guide us in the capital right now.¡±


    ¡°[Under Eye] is snooping around for me? Are you certain those are the words she used?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Do you know of this organization Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, while you two and Snow were away, I went and contacted the informant here you had told me about Esta, and got some good info on the guy that attacked me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, could it be the guy who attacked you was¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he was almost certainly a member of [Under eye].¡±


    I thought it was a coincidence that he had found me here, but it looks like they actually are trying to actively search for me.


    Does that mean Klaus is that worried of my existence to the point that he¡¯d move an entire organization just to get to me?


    Well, he did even put in a search request through the Cardinal of the Church as well so it¡¯s not impossible but¡­¡­.


    This doesn¡¯t sound like the Klaus I know.


    ¡°Then, won¡¯t that mean they know we¡¯re in Realzard now!? Won¡¯t it be dangerous if we don¡¯t move from here? We were hoping to get the initiative on them but this will make us fall behind instead!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to make decision just yet. If they actually knew I was here, then they wouldn¡¯t have sent one guy to tail me. It¡¯s been five days since then, and I have been roaming around the city daily and yet, I haven¡¯t run into anyone else from [Under Eye] yet.¡±


    ¡°Which means¡­¡­.they are still searching for you Chris-san. You just happened to cross paths with them huh.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s the right assumption to take for now. According to the informant, [Under Eye] has only a few members. So we don¡¯t have to worry about getting overwhelmed by numbers anytime soon either. So I think, we¡¯ll follow Charlotte¡¯s instruction and stay on standby here in Realzard.¡±


    There¡¯s no doubt [Under Eye] is searching for me but, I don¡¯t think they know I¡¯m here yet.


    And even if they do find out and come after me, I just need to strike back and get rid of them.


    The only worry would be if Klaus himself showed up but, I¡¯m sure Charloote would find a way to let us know of that in advance if something like that was going to happen.


    ¡°You sure we¡¯ll be okay!? That said, it¡¯s not like we have anywhere else to go either¡­¡­¡­well, if the princess wants us to stay, I guess we do what she says eh?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any other option for us either. In the off chance Klaus found out about us, we will lose our element of surprise but, in that case, we just need to settle matters there and then and all will be good!¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. I want to keep myself hidden as much as I can but, let¡¯s not let it affect our daily life. Let¡¯s just make sure that we all stick together while I use my detection skills when outside, but other than that, we go on with our lives normally.¡±


    ¡°Alright! A normal life until a messenger from Charlotte arrives it is then! And speaking of which, remember our promise to go around the back alleys? Chris, you haven¡¯t forgotten it right?¡±


    With a grin, Ralf looked at me.


    Since I got attacked, the trip was postponed and I thought he had forgotten about it but¡­¡­..looks like Ralf really wants to go exploring through the back streets.


    I mean I was the one that said that we should live normally so I guess, we can finally do so while still maintaining a level of cautiousness.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten. Let¡¯s go tomorrow then, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! There¡¯s so many places I want to show Chris!¡±


    ¡°A trip through the back alleys eh, sounds nice. But, I¡¯d like to go around the main street as well.¡±


    ¡°Then we can do that the day after.¡±


    ¡°Heck yeah! Can¡¯t wait!¡­¡­..wait, why tomorrow? We could go today as well right?!¡±


    ¡°No need to be so impatient. Besides aren¡¯t you tired from your travels. Rest for the day.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not even tired! Hey hey, c¡¯mon, let¡¯s go today please!¡±


    I soothed down Ralf who couldn¡¯t even wait until tomorrow, and then I alone left to patrol the city once more today.


    Regardless, our plans for the near future are set so I should just enjoy this time fully, while being cautious of [Under Eye] of course.

 CH 340

    Back Alley Tour


    The next day after Ralf and the rest returned.


    As promised, today we had planned to go on a tour across the back alleys of Realzard.


    By the way, I didn¡¯t notice any suspicious people during my yesterday¡¯s patrol either, and the town seemed peaceful as always.


    But having killed the black robed man¡ª¡ª¨Cwell technically, I didn¡¯t kill him but, regardless, he did die so it was only a matter of time before more of [Under Eye] goons show up here in Realzard.


    I need to remain cautious constantly, but at the same time also enjoy today¡¯s walk through the back alleys.


    As for the route, I have left it all to Ralf and Esta.


    They seemed to have a bunch of stores they specifically wanted to visit, and these are well versed with the area so I have no problems following their lead.


    ¡°Hey Chris, let¡¯s hurry up and go! Both me and Esta are ready!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit too early? It¡¯s still early morning.¡±


    ¡°Well, you made us stay inside for the whole day after all! We did all our prep yesterday thanks to that, and there are a bunch of stores that open up even early morning!¡±


    ¡°Fine. Let me get ready so wait a bit.¡±


    Saying that to the impatient Ralf, I quickly freshened up and got ready to leave.


    I had the image that stores in the back alley would be the late opening type but, we¡¯ll see if there really are stores that open up early.


    Well, they don¡¯t have any reason to lie either so I¡¯m willing to believe them.


    Suppressing my yawning and finishing my preps, we walked to the back alleys with Ralf leading the way.


    ¡°Man, these streets sure are hard on the eyes during the morning huh. Everything¡¯s so dirty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, not exactly the kind of view you want to look at early in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Oi, stop badmouthing the place!¡­¡­¡­but yeah, shit¡¯s rough here.¡±


    Seeing the drunks lying about among the bags of trash, not even Ralf could defend the place too well.


    There was garbage strewn about everywhere, and it¡¯d be much nicer to be here at night when you can¡¯t notice everything but we walked through regardless, until Ralf stopped in front of a certain tent.


    ¡°is this our first stop?¡±


    ¡°Yep! It¡¯s a store by an old lady caled Maxim, and is actually only open during the early mornings!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe there really are stores like that. Hard to tell if the owner¡¯s a eager one or too lazy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I have come here as well Chris-san. Although, I had been in her care in the past as well.¡±


    While looking forward to what kind of place this store might be, we passed under the sheet and entered¡­¡­¡­..only to get hit by a really strong smell from inside the tent.


    This smell¡ª¡ªit¡¯s bread!


    ¡°Welcome¡­¡­¡­wait, is that you Ralf?¡±


    ¡°Granny Maxim, long time no see!¡±


    ¡°Well, now that¡¯s a rare sight! I thought for sure you¡¯d have gone and died somewhere! Good to see you still so energetic!¡±


    ¡°Likewise, nice to see still getting along just fine as well granny Maxim! And here, she¡¯s Esta! You remember her right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Aah! The little girl that sometimes came with Ralf right! You have changed so much I barely recognized you!¡±


    She seemed to have recalled Esta as she struck her palm from the realization.


    Speaking of, when I had first met them, Esta was not really the talkative type was she.


    She¡¯s become the most dependable member of us all but, I remember how quiet and docile she used to be.


    I wondered if it was because of her guilt of her thief days but perhaps, her personality was simply always like that.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you remember her! Also, this guy here is one of our comrades who we¡¯re travelling with right now, his name¡¯s Chris!¡±


    ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Well well, you look like you¡¯ve got a good head on your shoulders for a young kid.¡±


    ¡°We three and our pet are currently travelling around the country together! That¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t shown up these days!¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. Regardless, I¡¯m really happy to see you alive and well again Ralf. I mean, you were a regular customer of mine after all¡­¡­¡­even if all you bought was just bread crusts.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, you helped me a lot back then! I know this hardly counts as a thanks but today, I¡¯ll be buying lots like a proper customer today! You still have some left right?¡±


    ¡°Ralf¡¯s finally buying something other than bread crusts¡­¡­¡­.Ah of course, we have some left. Buy whatever catches your fancy.¡±


    There were all sorts of different breads displayed inside the store, and all of them were releasing a fresh appetizing smell.


    They weren¡¯t exactly elaborately decorated or nice to look at but, you could tell it was all delicately handmade which honestly made it look more attractive.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have the bread here for our breakfast alright! Chris, you too, pick whichever you like!¡±


    ¡°Everything looks quite tasty. I too only ever ate the bread crust from here so, I¡¯m kind of looking forward to it.¡±


    Watching them both happily look for the bread they wanted to eat, I too picked up one that seemed nice.


    And I also bought some of the bread crusts that Ralf and Esta used to buy¡­¡­..and with that our little shopping at granny Maxim¡¯s store was completed at Ralf¡¯s recommendation.


    After leaving the store, we found a place nearby to eat, and finished our breakfast while enjoying the bread that lived up to its looks.


    By the way, I tried the bread crusts that I had bought just to see what Ralf and Esta used to survive on, and let me tell you, it had no taste and was very stiff, and was not tasty at all¡­¡­..


    And yet, watching those two who looked so happy and satisfied as they ate the remainders of the bread crusts that I had left, really left a strong impression on me.

 CH 341

    Esta¡¯s Favourite


    ¡°Well that was a great first stop for the tour. The bread may not have been pretty to look at but it was certainly tasty to eat¡­¡­¡­.the bread crusts, not so much.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, those were definitely bad! It¡¯s been a while since I ate those but I don¡¯t think I could eat them again like I used to!¡±


    ¡°I agree. I was grateful to have even that to eat back then but, our tongues have become spoilt with quality of food we eat now it seems.¡±


    Then why did you guys look so happy¡ª¨Cis what I wanted to say but I decided not to.


    It¡¯d be too uncouth of me to do so, and I might make them unnecessarily conscious of It if they ever had to eat it again.


    ¡°So, where to next?¡±


    ¡°next, I¡¯d like to go to a place of my choice. It¡¯s a place I used quite a lot and I think you¡¯d like it a lot too Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Esta¡¯s recommendation eh? Well, I definitely trust you more than Ralf so I¡¯m kinda looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°Whaa!? Didn¡¯t you just say that you liked the bread store though!?¡±


    Following Esta¡¯s lead, we made our way to our next stop.


    It was not too far off from the bread store, and was also another tent.


    To be fair, most stores in the back alleys were set up inside tents, and the run down building of [Shichifukuya] might actually be one of the more profitable places in this area in that sense.


    I mean I did buy that book of Otto¡¯s travelling records and the grimoire. I¡¯m pretty sure I paid him enough to keep the store running for quite some time.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s us enter inside. I¡¯ll introduce you, Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you¡¯ve been here as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Many times in fact!¡±


    It was hard to tell what was inside the tent from outside, and there was no signboard either so you really had to enter the tent before you could even know what the store was for.


    Following Esta, we entered the tent and¡­¡­¡­the strong smell of plants entered my nose.


    Various containers with strange liquids were lined up on the shelf, and inside there was a woman in her thirties standing.


    She was quite the good looking woman, and didn¡¯t seem to match the overall image of the store itself.


    ¡°Shannon-san, long time no see. It¡¯s me, Esta.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.! Just when I was wondering who¡¯d come now, it was you Esta! It really has been a long time since we¡¯ve seen each other eh!¡±


    She hadn¡¯t instantly recognized her it seems as she was blankly staring at us but after Esta introduced herself, the person called Shannon quickly turned all smiles.


    These two must have been quite close as they happily shook both hands and were almost jumping as they greeted each other.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for having disappeared so suddenly. Have you been well?¡±


    ¡°Aah, of course! I¡¯ve been well as always! What about you Esta?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m in fact living a much better and healthier life than when I used to roam the back alleys.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. And behind you, that¡¯s Ralf right¡­¡­¡­and who¡¯s the other person?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Chris-san. I think I did tell you a little bit about him before I left didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Ooh! So that¡¯s the Chris I had heard so much of.¡±


    Apparently Esta had talked about me before to her, so she seemed to recognize my name.


    Although I had never heard anything about this from Esta so this is obviously my first time meeting her.


    ¡°Hello, the name¡¯s Chris.¡±


    ¡°I had heard much, but I see, so this is what you looks like. I¡¯m Shannon, I sell my very own hand made potions here in the back alley. I doubt we¡¯d interact much but still, nice to meet you.¡±


    Shaking hands with Shannon, I lightly greeted her.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­but still, this was a potion store huh.


    I had a feeling that might be the case after seeing the weird liquid bottles and the smell inside the store but, to be brutally honest, this doesn¡¯t look like a place I¡¯d use much.


    The colours of the potions on display were dark and muddy, and anyone could tell they were cheap and low quality.


    ¡°I have a question but, how exactly do you make these potions? I don¡¯t see any equipment around here so I couldn¡¯t help but feel curious.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I do everything by my hands. I use mortar for grinding, and wooden pestles to make these potions.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san! You¡¯re making a weird face but Shannon-san¡¯s potions are really good! Honestly speaking, they taste horrible and they are hard to swallow but the effects are genuinely very good. In comparison, they are not that expensive either.¡±


    Getting close to the suspicious looking potions, I checked their prices and saw that the medicinal salves were only 3 copper coins.


    And Liquid potion were 5 coppers, making it all really cheap, as she said.


    ¡°Can you really keep your business running with these prices? Knowing  how much making a proper potion takes, I don¡¯t see how you¡¯d stay above the red zone.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, they are not ¡®proper¡¯ potions. My husband does the herb gathering, and I make these by hand so we can really reduce the manufacturing costs.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Huh. handmade bread, and now handmade potions eh. I¡¯m starting to get a bit curious now. And they¡¯re cheap. Esta, recommend me some, I¡¯ll buy them.¡±


    Looking at the colour made me not want to use them but, if they are truly completely handmade and apparently have good effects, and cheap on top of that, I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t want to at least try them out once.


    ¡°Let¡¯s buy some then! This isn¡¯t really a ¡®recommendation¡¯ but, I have always had something I was interested in¡­¡­¡­in fact to buy that was precisely why I wanted to come here today.¡±


    ¡°Oh, something you wanted to buy from among my items? Are you perhaps thinking of this potion?¡±


    Shannon seemed to know what Esta was talking about as she began to rummage through her shelves and pulled out a bright green coloured potion, quite different from the usual muddy ones on display.


    It seemed like it was almost shining, and even I had my gaze stuck on it.


    ¡°What is it? That potion?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a potion made by using a rare type of herb called Ryst grass, a super all purpose herb apparently.¡ª¡ªdid I get that right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We happened to find some during gathering and so I made this potion out of it. Of course it¡¯s also a bit more costlier than the rest because of it so it¡¯s been lying here unsold, here in these back alleys though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been lying here unsold!? Doesn¡¯t that mean you made it a long time ago?? Hey Chris, you should check to make sure it¡¯s not gone bad before buying that shit man!!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, what stupid shit are you saying!? Of course, I had a preservation magic casted on this one just to make sure that it won¡¯t go bad.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, do you always to talk more than you need to Ralf!?¡­¡­¡­..Chris-san, what do you think? Will you buy it?¡±


    Honestly, I too thought of the same thing as Ralf, but thank god I didn¡¯t say it out loud.


    But still, a supposedly great potion that has been left unsold in a bargain bin back alley potion store eh¡­¡­¡­?


    If I wanted to buy a high quality potion, I¡¯d chose a main street store but, if Esta wants it, I guess there¡¯s no harm buying it.

 CH 342

    Handmade Potion


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll buy this potion. I wasn¡¯t too interested to be honest, but I don¡¯t usually see Esta make a selfish demand so might as well do what she asks.¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, thank you so much! And so, will you sell us the Ryst grass potion, Shannon-san?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯d be more than happy to sell it but¡­¡­¡­.are you really going to buy it? I have said this before but it¡¯s not cheap, and I can¡¯t give a lot of discount on this one either okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll pay the full price!¡±


    ¡°Well, if you go that far then sure, I¡¯ll sell it. The cost is one gold coin, I can give you a 10% discount at best!¡±


    I was a bit surprised hearing the one gold coin price.


    She had been saying that its ¡®expensive¡¯ so much that I was ready to pay like a platinum coin for it but¡­¡­.it¡¯s just a measly one gold coin.


    Perhaps my sense of money has gone crazy now, as now that I think about it, one gold coin is definitely a expensive item for something sold in the back alleys.


    But well, if it was just this much, she didn¡¯t even need to ask my permission to buy this stuff.


    ¡­¡­¡­.i mean, I burn a gold coin for every ability assessment like it¡¯s a joke after all.


    ¡°No worries, we¡¯ll pay the full one gold! Chris, it¡¯s fine right?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..To think that our Esta would become someone who could put out a full gold coin like it¡¯s nothing¡­I feel both happy but also kind a sad, what a complicated feeling.¡±


    We bought the Ryst grass potion as well a couple other cheap potions that Esta recommended from Shannon who was moved to tears, and finished our shopping here.


    It was like this at Ralf¡¯s recommended bread store as well but, in the end, I¡¯m quite enjoying going around these back alley tents.


    There¡¯s the excitement of not knowing what kind of place it¡¯s going to turn out to be until you actually enter the tent, and quality in the stores is honestly better than expected.


    Well, as for quality, that might be more because Esta and Ralf were leading the way and knew which ones were already good though.


    ¡°Esta, thank you for buying so much. Chris as well, sorry if I forced you into buying all this¡­¡­.Also, if you make Esta sad, I won¡¯t forgive you okay!?¡ª¡ªthat goes for you as well Ralf, staring blankly like that!¡±


    ¡°fueh!? Wait why did I get scolded!? Esta can be happy without my help you know!¡±


    He must have been bored out of his mind from the potions as Ralf was just sort of standing there staring into the space as he jumped up suddenly when he heard his name getting shouted by Shannon.


    ¡°Oh shush it! You two are dragging her around with you, you must take at least the minimum responsibility for the girl!¡±


    ¡°Shannon-san, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m already as happy as I could be! So don¡¯t worry and thank you for caring so much!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­you¡¯ve finally become able to show such a nice smile as well huh. I know these back alleys might be too dirty for you guys but do show up every once in a while okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course we will!¡±


    Esta gave a deep bow to Shannon and then we finally left the potion store.


    What the old man of [Shichifukuya] was for me, Shannon was probably to Esta.¡ª¡ªit¡¯s just my speculation, but from their conversation, that was the feeling I got.


    ¡°That was a nice store. Shannon seemed like a good person as well.¡±


    ¡°Shannon has always looked after me since long back. Back when we taking care of Ralf¡¯s injury, it was also Shannon-san so who lent us her help.¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, I did wonder how did Esta manage to help Ralf after he got thrown off the roof by his father considering Esta herself had only just escaped the orphanage but I guess it was Shannon lending you her potions that helped you guys huh.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. She¡¯s Ralf¡¯s saviour as well, yet he¡¯s like this and doesn¡¯t give her the respect she deserves!¡±


    ¡°I mean, why does she always have to be so mean to me? Even though she¡¯s always so sweet to you and spoils you!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because of your attitude of course¡­¡­¡­.but enough of that conversation. First of all, thank you for agreeing to my request to buy the Ryst grass potion Chris-san. I finally feel like I have been able to thank her properly at least a little with this.¡±


    As I thought, that was Esta¡¯s real intention.


    She could have told this to me in advance but, I get that it would not have felt the same to her in that case.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. One gold coin is not something you need to ask my permission for before using anyway. I did all the time after all.¡±


    ¡°For those assessments right!? Man, that always seemed like such a waste¡­¡­¡­.I mean I get why it can be kinda fun to see your strength showcased in numerial form but, one gold sounds so expensive for just that!¡±


    ¡°You two don¡¯t get your assessments done too often after all. In my case, I do need to check once more before I face Klaus though.¡±


    ¡°No no! like I said, what does that even help with?! I mean if you see a big growth then yeah it can feel nice but if you don¡¯t see an increase, I feel like it¡¯ll just make me depressed!¡±


    That¡¯s always what he says before he refuses to take the assessment.


    I feel like it provides a good point of reference to work with but, I can see why spending one whole gold coin just for that might seem like a waste to these guys.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


    ¡°if you hate it that much, I won¡¯t force you to do it. Anyways, let¡¯s go the next store, where to next?¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you had a place decided next right? I think we¡¯ll continue to alternate between our choices to keep things fun.¡±


    ¡°Yep, sounds good to me! Next one¡¯s pretty fun as well so look forward to it!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.if Ralf says that, I¡¯m already readying myself to be disappointed.¡±


    ¡°But why!? I am confident you know! Fine, I¡¯ll make you eat those words, I swear!!¡±


    And so, like that we headed to our next stop.


    The back alleys themselves weren¡¯t the only thing that were fun, I was also really enjoying seeing a different side of these two that I hadn¡¯t seen much as well.


    I didn¡¯t have much memories even at my hometown Dezir so I did feel a bit envious as well though¡­¡­¡­..but right now, I¡¯ll continue to enjoy our little tour.

 CH 343

    Discomfort


    After leaving Shannon¡¯s potion store, we went to another 6 more stores that these two recommended.


    All of them were fun, and the day really felt like it was well spent but¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s already this late!? There¡¯s still so many places I wanted to go though!¡±


    ¡°Seriously, the schedule we made yesterday for today had us visiting at least 6 more stores by this time.¡±


    ¡°This is all because granny Marissa kept on talking! I don¡¯t feel satisfied at all!¡±


    ¡°More than Marissa-san, wasn¡¯t it Gordon-san who just wouldn¡¯t let us go?¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­..and like this, these two were still not satisfied with their day it seems.


    I could let them argue like this but, since we hadn¡¯t eaten anything since the bread we ate for breakfast, I was really hungry now.


    I¡¯d like to head to a restaurant already.


    ¡°We can come again another day you two. That aside, let¡¯s go and get something to eat already, I¡¯m honestly starving.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you promise you¡¯ll come with us again then¡­¡­¡­I guess we can stop for now! And I am hungry as well! We skipped lunch because we were so focused on going everywhere!¡±


    ¡°To be fair, I did actually plan to visit a restaurant between the tour as well but, we never even got to that point. I think most eateries in the back alleys are already closed by this time, so let¡¯s go and find a place at the main street shall we?¡±


    Yeah, the main street stays open for a lot longer than the back alleys, so that¡¯s probably the right thing to do.


    Thinking that, I agreed with Esta¡¯s opinion but, a specific place came to mind so I figured I should suggest that as well.


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a place I wanted to visit actually, so can we go there?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Which one? As long as the food¡¯s tasty, I¡¯m okay anywhere!¡±


    ¡°The food is¡­¡­..well, it¡¯s normal I suppose. I was talking about the place where the info broker is that Esta had told me about.¡±


    ¡°Are you worried that he might have leaked info about you Chris-san? I don¡¯t mind going there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks for understanding. Ralf, you okay as well right?¡±


    ¡°Well, sure I guess! Besides we¡¯ll be roaming the main street tomorrow anyway, right?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s the plan. Just like the last day in Edestor, let¡¯s go around and see as many places as possible.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, then I¡¯m okay with this! The really good food can wait until tomorrow!¡±


    With both of their consent, we headed to the eatery plus informant¡¯s place that I visited a couple days ago.


    The daily special I ate was not bad either and if info on me has leaked, it¡¯d be from there so I can check that as well.


    It¡¯ll make for a good excuse to go check on him. So we quickly made our way to the place.


    Reaching the said destination, I pushed through the door with my hand and entered the place.


    There were normal customers there, and everything seemed the same as last time but¡­¡­..suddenly I was hit by this strong sense of discomfort.


    ¡°Ohh! This seems like a nice place! Got some good variety as well!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Esta, you feel it too?¡±


    ¡°Not sure but, I feel like the whole place froze the moment we entered in here.¡±


    ¡°Welcome! Please get seated wherever you want!¡±


    Ralf was looking at the menu completely unaware, meanwhile me and Esta stood behind and whispered to each other.


    It seems Esta did notice the strange atmosphere in here.


    I have used the informant here once so I wondered if the waitress would act differently but¡­¡­.


    While the store¡¯s atmosphere feels frozen, she seemed to be working the same as usual.


    But, the moment I activated all my detection skills, I noticed a couple things.


    I could always be overthinking it all, so let¡¯s just go and sit at a random place first and see how things unfold.


    ¡°Ralf, let¡¯s go and sit over there. Let¡¯s sit down and place the order.¡±


    ¡°Eh! The big table at the back seems nicer though?¡±


    ¡°This one¡¯s fine. We¡¯re just here to quickly eat, and I just happen to prefer seats near the exit.¡±


    I convinced Ralf who still really hadn¡¯t noticed anything, and sat down at a table that was close to the exit so we could quickly escape if needed.


    To make sure they  don¡¯t get too suspicious, I urged Esta to keep chatting normally with Ralf while I alone carefully began to investigate the interiors of the place.


    [Mana Sense] and [Life Sense] didn¡¯t show me anything, so I used [Hearing Enhancement] to try and pick out some info.


    I did get the feeling that customers all stiffened the moment they saw me but, it turns out they were just having their usual random gossip and nothing of importance.


    Next I tried to focus my hearing to the inner rooms of the store.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.he¡¯s here. That¡­¡­..is the man I spoke of. So please, help¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..it seems. The order¡­¡­¡­..this poison¡­¡­¡­..come. if you do¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    Even though it was deep inside the store, they were still whispering for whatever reason, so I only caught bits and pieces but, that conversation was anything but normal.


    It seems mine and Esta¡¯s instincts were correct.


    If there was no reaction from [Mana Sense] and [Life Sense], so they are probably not a battle oriented person but there¡¯s no doubt, there¡¯s a member of [Under Eye] in here.


    Since they supposedly only recruited very specific people, I thought they¡¯d all be skilled fighters but it seems the members are all very diverse in their skill sets.


    I don¡¯t how accurate the conversation I heard was but, since they were talking about putting poison in a meal, I should use that to my advantage to lure them out.


    But Klaus should know that my skill was [Null Poison] or at least [Poison Resistance] so I did wonder, why they¡¯d go with kind of strategy but¡­¡­¡­no choice but to go along with this for now.

 CH 344

    Luring Out


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­¡­..take the Fried Set! Chris, what about you?¡±


    ¡°Daily Set A.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the Stir-fried veggies Set then.¡±


    Once we had decided, we called the waitress to make our order.


    I didn¡¯t know how much poison they were going to put in it but, if I suddenly collapse dramatically, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get some kind of reaction from them.


    While continue to have some random chats with the two, I used hand signs to explain them what was about to happen.


    Ralf made a terribly shocked expression for a second but, since I had already told him that I was being targeted, he quickly understood the situation which was great.


    After we waited for a while since putting our orders in, sometime later, the dishes were done and they were brought out to us by the waitress.


    The moment the dishes arrived, I made Ralf go to the toilet and just me and Esta started our meals first.


    That said, only I was the one who actually ate the stuff meanwhile Esta only pretended to do so.


    It was unclear which of the dishes had poison in them so, I warned her against taking even a single bite and only I began to gorge down on my food.¡ª¨Cand after counting a full minute inside my head, I collapsed my in a grandiose fashion.


    I made myself fall down on the table with enough strength to make the table topple, and Esta who was beside me also made herself collapse into lifeless body showing no movement.


    Hearing the sound of us falling, the waitress quickly rushed to us looking all worried but¡­¡­..


    ¡°Dear customer, are you okay? If you are please say something!¡­¡­¡­.phew¡­..thank god, hey hurry up and call them! And tell them there¡¯s another one still in the toilet!¡±


    Unaware that we were only pretending, the waitress talked with other employees about something, and went inside to call ¡®someone¡¯ from the inside.


    Now then, let¡¯s see what kind of person shows up from inside the store.


    ¡°Are you sure they are already out cold? It was a poison that should have worked gradually but¡­¡­.damn, they really are out. And did you say another one went to the toilet right? You guys go and capture that one.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d let us go once we put the poison in! we are not strong enough to capture someone like that!¡±


    ¡°tch, fucking useless fools. Then go out and make sure that no else comes inside right now.¡±


    The man that came out from inside the store said that to the employees, and then crouched down near me to check my face.


    ¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s really just one of them. And as expected, this guy really is not that much stronger than a normal civilian.


    ¡°Is the poison actually working? Now then, what should we do about the guy in the toilet? Should I get Douglas Dyne to help? Ah but¡­¡­.our target is just this one guy though, better to just kidnap him and quickly escape. As for the girl, could probably sell her for a pretty sum too¡ª¨Chihihi, guess I¡¯ll take her too then.¡±


    After muttering some disgusting shit to himself, he reached his arms out to try and pick me up¡­¡­..so now¡¯s probably the time to strike.


    I wanted to drag out this Douglas Dyne guy as well but, I could simply interrogate him for more info I guess.


    Although there was the case with that black robed man from before, I wonder if he¡¯ll even talk or chose death again.


    ¡°Too bad, I was just acting buddy.¡±


    ¡°Wha, Eh!? SHIT! That bastard, he fucked up!?¡±


    Reverse grabbing the arm that was coming to grab me, I pushed him down on the ground and suppressed him.


    Since I kept my eyes close, this was the first time I actually saw his face properly but, just like the last guy, he was also clothed in full black robe.


    It really seems like the uniform for those [Under Eye] members.


    ¡°For a start, I¡¯ll be breaking your one arm okay?¡±


    Announcing it beforehand, I twisted his right arm that I had grabbed even further, and broke it without hesitation.


    A sharp scream of pain resounded inside the restaurant but, I pushed his face down into the ground to suppress the noise as much as possible.


    ¡°I can handle the rest so Esta, go and reunite with Ralf, and check for a safe passage out of here. We¡¯re dragging him to the abandoned house where you two used to live in.¡±


    ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll check for any other enemies and find a safe route straight to the dilapidated house.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    Making sure that Esta, who was quick on the uptake, had left outside, I smashed the guy¡¯s head a couple more times into the ground and this time decided to take precautions to make sure that he doesn¡¯t commit suicide.


    I crushed his nose, and while his mouth was open from the pain, I thrust my arm into it¡­¡­..and collected the poison pill that he had hidden by his back molar teeth.


    ¡°And now you can¡¯t kill yourself either¡ª¡ª¨Cah you can¡¯t even hear me can you?¡±


    I mean I knew he wasn¡¯t some strong warrior since I had sensed his lack of strength so, after my little beat down, his consciousness was already half gone.


    He really wasn¡¯t hiding his strength, he was just weak.


    The fact that even weak people could turn out to be members of their organization was quite a troublesome thing for me since I depended so much on my detection skills, but it¡¯s now one more thing I¡¯ll have to keep in my mind from here onwards.


    Even more so if they are lying in wait to ambush me at different places. Judging from how he was whispering even when inside the store, this guy was definitely sharp, no doubts about that.


    [Under Eye]¡¯s valuation inside my head increased by a level, as I quickly used [Sticky String] and [hardening] to completely restrain the guy.


    While his consciousness continued to float away, under Esta¡¯s guidance who had created a path for us, I was able to carry him to the abandoned house without getting seen by anyone, other than the restaurant¡¯s employees of course.

 CH 345

    Interrogation


    Even though I was in such good mood from our back alley tour, in the end it got ruined by this sudden ambush which made me really annoyed.


    All my joy and fun had disappeared, and my irritation towards this [Under Eye] had reached the maximum.


    I mean I did visit the restaurant/info broker wondering if something could have happened but, I didn¡¯t actually expect to suddenly face such a serious situation which made me even more angry.


    I took a deep breath to calm myself down, and then decided to focus on the task at hand for now.


    ¡°Chris, you were able to get him here without getting seen right! So are we three going to pull info out of him here?¡±


    ¡°No, Ralf, you are going to patrol around the area to make sure no one comes close to this place and check for any enemies. There¡¯s a high chance his friends might come to attack.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..yeah that makes sense! I kinda wanted to interrogate someone once too but, in this case, I guess I¡¯ll have to wait for another chance!¡±


    ¡°Chris-san, what should I do? Should I also patrol with him?¡±


    ¡°No, Esta, you go back to the restaurant and get info on what happened out of them. He spoke of a fellow member¡¯s name as well. They might be nearby.¡±


    Hearing the name called ¡°Douglas Dyne¡±, there was no doubt there was at least one more these bastards inside Realzard.


    From the way he talked, he must be a fighter type as well, so it¡¯s best if I get Esta to go and get more info from that restaurant¡¯s employees.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay with that. There¡¯s only a small chance but, who knows maybe the employee that actually put in the poison might know something more on them.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I¡¯ll leave that to you Esta.¡±


    ¡°Uggh, even Esta¡¯s off to gather info then! Man, if I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn¡¯t have let Snow rest back home. Would have really helped with the patrolling!¡±


    ¡°Stop complaining about everything. We need to be on guard asap, so hurry up and get to your job Ralf.¡±


    After making Ralf leave the house and get to his duties while he was complaining to Esta, I was finally alone with just the assailant.


    It¡¯s true that the jobs I gave them both were important but to be honest, I really just wanted to create this situation. Alone with him.


    As for the man in question¡­¡­¡­.his mouth was half open like an idiot and he was out cold, which irritated me even more, even though I¡¯m the one who knocked him out in the first place.


    I grabbed a bucket of water lying nearby that had been filled from the rain falling through the roof, and splashed it all on the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨Cbuwaah! Wh whaaa!? Wh, where am I¡­¡­..agh, Ughaaaaa! My arm, it hurts!!¡±


    ¡°Silence. Cry one more time, and I¡¯ll break your other arm too.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªfuu, fuu, Wh, where am I? Answer me.¡±


    ¡°You are in position to be questioning me. That¡¯s my job¡­¡­¡­if you don¡¯t answer my question, I¡¯ll break your other arm. If you still don¡¯t then I¡¯ll break your right leg next, then your left one. Then I¡¯ll start pulling your nails. One by one.¡±


    ¡°He, heehe¡­¡­..Y-you think I¡¯ll talk so easily? Don¡¯t underestimate [Under Eye]¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°unfortunately, the poison in the back of your teeth is already gone. So let me tell you this¡ª¡ªdon¡¯t expect you¡¯ll die so easily, okay?¡±


    I approached close to the man, and then broke his left arm just like the right as well.


    Last time, I ended up letting the black robed man kill himself so I didn¡¯t get any decent info in the end.


    But I won¡¯t fail twice. Any time he tries to disobey me, I¡¯ll give him so much pain until his heart breaks and he tells me everything I want.


    ¡°U, UAAAAAAHHH!! My AARRMMAAAAAAAAHH!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to not shout? I¡¯m not joking, your leg will be next.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.fuuu, haaah, fuuu, haa. Fi, fine. I¡¯ll talk, and I won¡¯t scream so please, just stop¡­¡±


    His forehead was sweating like crazy, and he was taking deep breaths as he desperately tried to endure the pain.


    He broke a lot easier than I thought but, as long as he talks, I don¡¯t really care.


    ¡°About time. First, tell me your name.¡±


    ¡°Pa- Pablo..¡±


    ¡°and why did you attack me?¡±


    ¡°Boss¡¯ orders¡­¡­.heehehee, th-there¡¯s already a 3 more [Under Eye] members hiding in the city. Yo-you can¡¯t escape¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°Didn¡¯t ask that, did I? Also, are you really trying to threaten me in this situation?¡±


    ¡°Wai, no!! I, I just wanted to tell you the info that there are three more members in the city that¡¯s all!¡±


    I know I said that this guy was sharp in the head, but I take that back.


    The fact that he still thinks that he¡¯ll somehow be fine is pissing me off way more than it should.


    ¡°Pablo, you¡¯re going to tell me everything you know. Like I said before, if you don¡¯t I start plucking out your nails and if I deem that you are lying to me, I¡¯ll still do it anyways.¡±


    ¡°Wh, Wha!?! How can you even tell if I¡¯m lying or¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Shut up. You¡¯ll be fine as long as you speak the truth, it¡¯s that simple.¡±


    After driving those words deep into his mind, I activated [Hearing Enhancement] skill.


    I know that a person¡¯s heartbeat will jump whenever they lie.


    I imagine members of [Under Eye] have gone through training to maintain their calm during such situations but, a person like him that tried to threaten me even after feeling so much pain won¡¯t be able to hide his emotions from me that easily.


    Besides, I can tell that Pablo is not a guy that¡¯s very good against pure pain.


    With this, my preparations to draw info out of him are complete, so now the interrogation can begin properly.

 CH 346

    Human


    While looking down on Pablo, who was drenched in sweat and wet with rain water, I began my questioning.


    ¡°Start talking about everything related to [Under eye]. First, who ordered the hit on me?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Boss. Milworc-san gave the order [Find Klaus-sama¡¯s older brother, Chris].¡±


    ¡°So a direct order really has been relayed. Is Klaus directly related to this order?¡±


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    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I really don¡¯t know about that. We just heard that it was an order from Milworc.¡±


    Judging from his heartbeat, Pablo wasn¡¯t lying here.


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    Looks like he really isn¡¯t aware if this order came directly from Klaus or not.


    ¡°In the first place, explain what kind of relation Klaus has with [Under Eye]. Considering you are using ¡®-sama¡¯ for him, I assume you are now his subordiantes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. Boss decided to join Klaus-sama¡¯s party, which made us work like his arms and legs but in truth, none of us except the Boss have met Klaus directly.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you are basically being used through Milworc¡¯s connection.¡±


    If Klaus isn¡¯t directly controlling them, it probably means that this order came from Milworc himself and not necessarily Klaus. I¡¯m confident of it.


    I was suspicious the moment they tried to poison me but, now I was convinced.


    In this case, if I play this well, I could kill this troublesome Milworc beforehand on his own by dragging him out.


    If I topple their head, the rest of [Under Eye] will lose their reason to serve Klaus, and Klaus¡¯ own forces will dwindle by quite a lot.


    ¡­¡­¡­But of course, there¡¯s also a chance that he might make a move and come directly for me to take revenge for killing this Milworc though.


    For the time being, let¡¯s change my current target to [Under Eye], specifically this Milworc, before Klaus.


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    ¡°Next, tell me about the members of [Under Eye]. Since you guys are supposedly few and handpicked, surely you know them all right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Only Milworc knows everyone. We don¡¯t get the full details from the Boss. And we have no idea about everyone else¡¯s abilities or even names.¡±


    I could hear his heartbeat rise.


    Since he was talking so smoothly, he must¡¯ve thought that his lie won¡¯t get caught. What a simplistic fool.


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    ¡°that¡¯s a lie. In the first place, I heard you talk about some Douglas Dyne¡­¡­.I did say I¡¯ll pull out a nail if you lie didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not lying I swear! Douglas Dyne is, well¡­¡­..it¡¯s like a codename!¡±


    I circled around to the back of Pablo who was desperately making excuses, and grabbed his right arm that was tied to the back and was hung limp from being broken.


    With the arm already broken, I wondered how much pain would he even feel if I pull out a nail now.


    With this simple question in mind, I let all of Pablo¡¯s excuses go from one ear and out of the other, while I grabbed one of his fingers, and then jammed a iron nail that I picked up from the ground in between his nail and the skin of his index finger.


    And the next instant,¡ª¡ªa piercing wailing scream came out of Pablo.


    The scream was much louder than I imagined, so I quickly  tore of a piece of his black robe and jammed it into his mouth.


    While breathing out of his nose, tears were rolling down out of his eyes and down his face.


    ¡°Even though I warned you so many times to not lie to me. Did you know that the point under the nails have a lot of nerves which makes the pain you feel there much stronger. It won¡¯t even make you lose consciousness because the pain is so sharp.¡±


    I explained the reasoning behind why he was feeling such intense pain but, it didn¡¯t seem like he was hearing me much right now.


    I can¡¯t really continue talking like this so, while it feels like waste, I should probably use a potion to heal him a little before I continue.


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    .


    ¡°You were screaming again when I pulled the iron nail out as well, but hey, I even healed you back, so you should be able to talk again right?¡±


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    ¡°¡­¡­..pl, please forgive me, ju, just let me die already!¡±


    ¡°if you tell me everything I want to know, I¡¯ll give you a nice peaceful death¡­¡­¡­.you guys were the ones who attacked me. Don¡¯t expect me to make it easy for you though. You should probably be able to tell now that I have healed you that I can do this a dozen more times, if not more.¡±


    It looked like his heart was finally broken, so I doubt he¡¯ll lie anymore, so I began asking about [Under Eye] once again.


    Just around when I was done interrogating him and getting all the info I could get out of him, I was about to end the interrogation when the door of the room was pushed open.


    Ralf entered the room looking very serious.


    ¡°Chris! Two more guys dressed in black robes like that guy just showed up! Looking just from afar, they seem pretty strong so I¡¯m confident it¡¯s them!¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m done here too so let¡¯s meet up with Esta and face them.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­We¡¯re really gonna fight them huh. I don¡¯t like fighting inside the city but, I guess can¡¯t get picky right now eh? So, what are we gonna do with that guy?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m going to kill him. I¡¯ve ripped him of any fighting spirit that may remain but, he knows about me, what I look like. There¡¯s no merit in letting him live.¡±


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    ¡°Got it! Part of me wants to stop you but, with the incident with Greath and then Carlo, I¡¯ve already made up my resolve! I won¡¯t let you carry this burden on your own¡­¡­..Let me do it!¡±


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t plan on handing my prey to others. Ralf, you go outside.¡±


    ¡°But! I too¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°I said, LEAVE!¡±


    I shouted at Ralf who suddenly said he wanted to kill the man, and pushed him out of the room.


    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m actually angry, it¡¯s just an act for Ralf.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    I know I¡¯m the one who dragged them into this but it¡¯s my own selfish desire of not wanting Ralf and Esta to cross that line.


    ¡°those that can easily kill humans aren¡¯t humans themselves.¡±


    I know that¡¯s a fact because I have felt it myself.


    Looking down at the ground, the man was still muttering and mumbling randomly, as I put my sword at his neck, and to make sure that at least it wasn¡¯t painful any longer¡ª¡ªI chopped his head off in a single slash.

 CH 347

    Guilt


    Chopping his head off, I stared down at his lifeless body.


    Even though this was a house that had lots of memories for Esta and Ralf, I had ended up killing 2 people in here now.


    Even if one of them was a suicide, Pablo was definitely all my doing.


    Before I deal with the corpse, I need to follow after Ralf as well, as I watched Pablo¡¯s blood stain the floor.


    Although unwillingly, I did end up shouting at Ralf which made me feel a bit guilty inside¡ª¨Cas I left the abandoned dilapidated house.


    When I did, Ralf and Esta were already waiting there in front of the door, and beyond them, the two black robed men were looking straight at us.


    While I had gotten a lot of info from Pablo, since they were hidden under their black hoods, I had no idea who these two actually were.


    And, like Ralf had said, these two were definitely strong fighters, I could clearly tell.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Chris, did you kill that man?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡­that aside, tell me about these two men in front of us.¡±


    There was an awkward mood between me and Ralf but, I quickly asked info on the two black robed men in front of us.


    ¡°Well, they just showed up suddenly so there¡¯s not much to tell really. And since I went to call Esta first, I wasn¡¯t able to observe them much either.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, I¡¯ll take those two on as the main attacker, you two, work as my support.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll get my magic ready.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..you¡¯re planning to do it alone again?¡±


    He muttered in volume just loud enough that I could hear but, I didn¡¯t answer as I began to walk towards the two men.


    They were quite the pair with the difference in size between them. One was almost as small as child while the other was a 2m tall gaint.


    But, as far as life presence goes, the small child-like one had more than the big guy.


    ¡°Yaa yaa! Looks like you have captured one of our comrades it seems eh! If possible can you give him back to us?¡±


    I was planning to lunge at them right away but, the small guy began to talk to me in a very cheerful voice.


    The voice seemed a bit high pitched like a young buy, and judging by his height, he really might be a young boy.


    ¡°Unfortunately that¡¯s impossible now. You guys were the ones who attacked me, why would I give him back for free?¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, who said it¡¯ll be for free!? If you give him back, we¡¯ll let you go alive this time! I mean, if you have a couple more days to live, that sounds nice no?¡±


    His way of talking seemed to have no tinge of enmity or evil.


    He really must believe in everything he was saying it seems, but all it did was reignite the rage inside me.


    ¡°You¡¯re fucking insane. And I¡¯m not the type to let people like you walk all over me¡­¡­¡­..Also, the guy you¡¯re asking for gave me all the info I needed so I killed him.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Then, the negotiations are a failure! You mocked my kindness as well, don¡¯t expect a painless death okay?¡±


    ¡°Not like I could ever satisfy your conditions anyway¡­¡­..but oh well, it¡¯s fine. The ones who¡¯ll die are you two.¡±


    The aura around the young buy changed suddenly¡ª¡ªand in the next instant, only the robe remained in my sights and the boy disappeared.


    Another shadow clone? I wondered but this time, he was just extremely fast.


    I quickly took a big backstep, increased my field of vision and searched for the young buy but¡ª¡ªI couldn¡¯t find him.


    Since it was pretty dark outside now as well so I considered activating [Crimson Eyes] but¡­¡­¡­


    I gave up on finding him with my eyes and instead closed my eyes and activated [Hearing Enhancement] and [Sound Wave Detection] skills.


    I used my ears to search for the boy, and heard the slight sound of the ground scraping from my right side.


    I could use sound to clearly detect enemies as well, which made it easier to follow enemies that my eyes can¡¯t follow.


    Now I just need to wait for him to come close, and the moment he did, I matched the boy¡¯s movements and swung down Vendettatein at him.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Wha!?! You can see me!?¡±


    The boy was able to turn his body mid air to try and avoid my swing while shouting, and while I didn¡¯t make a clean impact, I did scratch him lightly.


    But it really was a shallow scratch as it clearly hadn¡¯t dealt much damage.


    Since I already got all the info I wanted, I pulled out Vendettatein to simply kill quickly but¡­¡­ longsword¡¯s aren¡¯t a good match against super fast enemies.


    If I had stuck with my normal steel sword, I probably would have dealt a deeper wound.


    ¡°Dyne. This guy¡¯s got good eyes. I¡¯ll take him on so stand back.¡±


    ¡°eeh¡­¡­.Wood, you¡¯ll fight? After all I said, you¡¯re gonna make me look uncool!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bad match so give up. I¡¯ll let you have the killing blow so be patient.¡±


    ¡°Tche, fine. Promise, you won¡¯t kill him okay?!¡±


    The boy called Dyne fell back, and this time, the giant man called Wood started to come at me.


    Since I have Esta¡¯s magic as well so I could take them both on at the same time but, they seemed to be acting like quite the fair people as they were keeping it one on one.


    I signalled Esta behind me to not intervene, and decided to go along with their game.


    I don¡¯t have any reason to play along but, now I was quite curious to see how strong this Wood guy really is considering how confident he seemed about winning against me.


    Among the executives that Pablo had told me, Wood was not among them so he¡¯s probably just another normal member.


    If I were to lose against someone like that, I¡¯d never be able to beat Milworc or Klaus.


    If they are really going to come one by one like this, I had no reason to let go of this perfect chance to test my strength either.

 CH 348

    Two Enemies


    Wood was armed with a axe and shield.


    From his looks alone, I imagine he has a ¡®knight¡¯ type job similar to Ralf.


    In contrast to Dyne who was a fast speed attacker that rushed at me, he slowly shuffled his way over to me.


    It felt strange seeing the difference in their speed but, if he¡¯s slow, I could also take my time to prepare for him.


    On the other hand, if I had to face the fast enemy after I had faced Wood, it could have caught me off guard with the discrepancy maybe.


    While I was staring at Wood approach me and thinking about this stuff, we were already in the range of each other.


    But Wood didn¡¯t attack suddenly, and continued to walk close to me even after entering my range¡ª¨Cso I decided to launch the attack first.


    Against Dyne, my simple steel sword may have been the better choice but, against Wood, Vendettatein was definitely the better option.


    Since I was testing my strength, I didn¡¯t activate the Runes but I still swung my sword down with enough strength to knock him back.


    The feel of the impact was clean but Wood, who was waiting for me to strike, had used his shield to block my sword, and then quickly countered with his axe.


    Since I had just done a fullswing, I decided to avoid by taking a backstep to avoid the downward swing of his axe, and it cut through the air before striking the empty ground, when¡ª¨C


    With a explosive  sound, the ground got ripped apart, and the place I was standing at just before was covered in a cloud of dust.


    ¡°An explosion type weapon? Or was it a skill?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..I have no obligation to answer. But, I will say that your movement was pretty good.¡±


    Under the black robe, his white teeth were visible, so I knew he was smiling as he complimented me.


    While I certainly didn¡¯t use any of my skills or Runes, I did swing with force yet he had not faltered even a bit.


    His shield had completely blocked my attack, and if I had tried to take his attack on, I probably would have taken a fatal wound.


    Dyne¡¯s speed was amazing but, Wood¡¯s raw fighting ability is definitely higher.


    ¡­¡­¡­..we had only exchanged one attack each but I could tell he was at least as strong as Carlo.


    If this guy was just another member of their group, that would make them quite the fearsome organization. In any case, if I keep playing around, I really might lose to him.


    I activated my battle skills, and began to pour mana into Vendettatein.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..your aura has changed. You weren¡¯t using your full strength with your last attack huh?¡±


    ¡°I am not obliged to answer either. Try and at least last a couple minutes okay?¡±


    Throwing his own words back at him, this time, I began to walk towards him slowly.


    While staying careful of the attack from the axe, I moved my body left and right to make it unable for him to read my moves as I started my assault.


    Right now, my movements were mimicking the guy that used shadow clones and these steps as a feint.


    Of course, I could only recreate it to the degree I remember but, by activating [Gale][Stealth]and [Silent Steps] I can somewhat recreate the same effect as that man, to mask my movements.


    While mixing feints here and there to make sure Wood can¡¯t aim at me, I rushed in and then launched a horizontal slash at his legs.


    Although Wood did manage to somehow keep up with my movements and was able to shift his shield to block my attack in the last second, even if it came at the expense of breaking his balance¡­¡­¡­¡­.in the first place, the level of quality difference between my Vendettatein and his shield was too much.


    He put up his shield to try and deflect Vendettatein upwards but, the sword simply cut through the shield horizontally¡ª¡ª-and tore through both Wood¡¯s right hand and thigh.


    His right hand fell to the ground like a log, while still holding his shield, and while I didn¡¯t completely split his leg in half, his thigh must have been cut deep into its ligaments as his leg lost all strength and he crumbled to the floor.


    A single slash so strong, that it didn¡¯t require any extra strategy.


    This is my first time swinging the Vendettatein at a human but, I understood  why this was called a legendary weapon right away.


    This one sword was strong enough to turn the tide of battle in your favour.


    Since I ended up defeating him with Vendettatein¡¯s strength alone, it didn¡¯t make for a very good test of strength but¡­¡­¡­.I think he was still quite strong, as I dealt the killing blow on Wood.


    He had lost his right hand along with his shield and his left leg was unmoving.


    Still, he tried to desperately bring up his left arm and his weapon to try and attack me but, there was no way he¡¯d be faster than my own swing¡ª¡ª¨Cwhile ignoring the Dryne¡¯s scream coming from afar, I slashed Wood down from his left shoulder to his waist and cut him in two.


    Blood sprayed across the small back alley, and Dyne¡¯s scream resounded in the normally silent area.


    Dyne had already gotten rid of his robe, and now his full appearance was much clearer under the moonlight.


    His height and voice already made it clear, but still he had a very young looking face. Probably younger than even me and Esta.


    His hair was a vivid blonde, and had a pretty face. Quite unlike what you¡¯d expect from a member of [Under Eye].


    His emerald eyes were covered in his tears, and he seemed to be screaming something, Apparently grieving Wood¡¯s death it seemed.


    I must say ¡®crying¡¯ didn¡¯t seem like it fit an organisation like [Under Eye] and its members.


    ¡°How dare you¡­¡­¡­..HOW DARE YOU KILL WOOD!!!¡±


    ¡°Huh, so you guys get angry too after all. You came to kill me and now you¡¯re mad that you got killed? How absurd.¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!! What do you know about us!!¡±


    ¡°Nothing at all, and frankly, I don¡¯t want to know either. Enough chatter. If you want revenge, come and face me. Although¡­¡­¡­..I will kill you for that.¡±


    Against the crying Dyne, I provoked him with killing intent.


    Everything about these guys completely pisses me off.


    If someone was looking from the side, they¡¯d think I was the bad guy but, I didn¡¯t really give a shit about that stuff anyway.


    These [Under Eye] fuckers are the ones that came after my life.


    An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. An attempt to kill will be repaid back in full. That¡¯s my way.

 CH 349

    Lightning


    Enraged from Wood¡¯s death, Dyne roared as he ran towards me in a straight line.


    His movements were fast but this was slower than what he showed before. Looks like he¡¯s lost his cool from the anger.


    If Ralf, Esta or Snow had been killed, I¡¯d be like this as well so I¡¯m in no position to talk but still, to rush at me like this in such a situation is far too naive.


    I considered switching back to my iron sword but judging by Dyne¡¯s movements, I could handle him with Vendettatein I decided.


    Still holding the sword that cut Wood in two, I was focused on Dyne¡¯s movements when¡ª¡ªjust when he entered my range, his body seemed to change suddenly.


    It was if lightning began to course through his entire body, and all the hair on his body stood up.


    Feeling an ill omen at the sight of that, I once again chose to close my eyes and use my ears to locate his presence.


    The moment I activated [hearing enhancement], the sparkling sound of lightning came clearer to me, and I realized that the sound was no coming from right behind me instead, so I quickly turned and swung out of pure instinct.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-tch, you can still keep up with me! But if you touch me, it¡¯s all over anyway!!¡±


    Opening my eyes again, the lightning coursing through Dryne¡¯s body was also attached to the dagger he was holding, and was releasing an almost blinding light.


    I had no idea how it worked but, you could tell it was packed with high energy just from sight and without touching  so I hesitated for a second before fully committing to the swing of my sword but, if I kill him with a single blow, the damage I might take in return won¡¯t be that much anyway.


    I matched Dyne¡¯s movements who tried to stab that dagger straight at my abdomen, and swung down Vendettatein at him.


    The two blades clashed but, just like before, the quality difference between the two weapons showcased itself as the lightning dagger was smashed to pieces without much resistance.


    In that instant, a mind numbing shock ran through Vendettatein and hit my body, and my body went stiff from the electric shock but¡ª¡ª-I held through with just willpower and grit, and made sure the Vendettatein finished its full swing.


    The left arm that was holding the dagger got instantly ripped apart from his body as my slash went through even further from his chest to his abdomen and then I completely crushed him underneath my own falling body from the shock.


    That was a fatal wound but I don¡¯t know if it killed or not.


    I could feel the wet sensation of blood underneath me, and I wanted to quickly move from this position as he might attack me while I¡¯m still in range.


    I activated [Pain inhibition] to forcefully suppress the pain, as I unsteadily stood back up.


    The pain may be gone but the numbness from the shock was still there, which left me feeling a really odd sensation.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.but all that aside, I need to see how Dyne was.


    Checking his body that had been crushed under my own, I saw that the slash had made it all the way to his heart and he was already dead on the spot.


    It didn¡¯t feel like I cut that deep but his body was so small so I actually had made it much deeper than I thought.


    Pablo¡¯s blood, Wood¡¯s blood, and now Dyne¡¯s, who I had even fallen on top of, smeared my entire body leaving me stained in red. It was as if I had become a demon but, I was also tired enough that I didn¡¯t feel like thinking about it.


    My body didn¡¯t seem to be moving like I hoped it would, and I really wanted to just fall over and go to sleep but¡­¡­..


    I forced my body to move and slowly made my way to Ralf and Esta who were waiting for me in the back.


    ¡°A complete victory wasn¡¯t it. You barely even had to clash swords with them and just crushed them instantly.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­no, it was a lot closer than it looked. Sorry for making you two just stand and watch just because of my own selfishness.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡­¡­.No, well, I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t a bit sad that you didn¡¯t rely on us at all.¡±


    First Ralf, and now Esta was also looking at me with a sad expression as she muttered those words. Ralf wasn¡¯t his energetic shouting shelf either so the whole place seemed to freeze in place.


    ¡°I did something bad to Ralf too. But as long as possible, I¡¯d like to be the one who kills the members of [Under Eye]. I hope you two understand why.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize man! Nether me nor Esta are mad at you or anything okay!!¡±


    Saying that, Ralf came close to me as he yelled at me.


    I feel like his words contradict his actions but¡­¡­¡­ it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get what Ralf is trying to say either.


    ¡°yeah, no, you seem pretty mad at me though.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..let us continue this conversation somewhere else shall we? We should first focus on taking care of these corpses, otherwise it¡¯ll become a huge incident come next morning.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Can I ask you two to help me?¡±


    ¡°Cleaning corpses doesn¡¯t make very enthusiastic but¡­¡­¡­guess I can¡¯t be selfish huh! I¡¯m only doing this because it¡¯s your request Chris!¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I want to change out of these clothes first though. Can you go and get spare clothes from the inn for me?¡±


    ¡°Hey, now you¡¯re just using me as your errand boy!?¡±


    ¡°I mean look at me. Forget returning to the inn, I can¡¯t even walk back while I¡¯m like this. So please, do that for me.¡±


    ¡°Fine fine! But once everything¡¯s done, we¡¯re gonna have a talk alright!?¡±


    Saying that, Ralf went back to [Moonflower].


    Meanwhile, I carried the two corpses inside the dilapidated house, and silently began to clean up the bloodstains alongside Esta.

 CH 350

    First time Drinking


    By the time all the cleanup was done, and we returned back to the inn, it was already dawn.


    Honestly, I was completely exhausted but, Ralf and Esta didn¡¯t seem like they were in the mood to sleep as there was large amount of food and drinks on top of the table.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask again just in case, but are you two sure you don¡¯t want to sleep and get some rest first?¡±


    ¡°Not happening! I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tired Chris but, until we¡¯re done talking, we¡¯re not gonna let you sleep either!¡±


    ¡°I apologize as well Chris-san, but I am of the same opinion as him. We can all go to sleep once we¡¯re done talking.¡±


    Not just Ralf but even Esta seemed adamant about this.


    In the end, we never really got to properly have dinner so I¡¯d be lying if I said that I wasn¡¯t hungry but¡­¡­.more than that, I¡¯m sleepy as hell too though.


    Tired both physically and mentally, and I was emotionally not in the place to be having a chat with anyone right now but, Esta and Ralf were both seemingly refusing to give tonight.


    Suppressing my yawns, I resolved myself to get this over with.


    ¡°Fine. Well, I too was thinking it¡¯s about time we had a serious talk about things so we might as well do it before sleeping¡­¡­¡­we can eat while we talk though right?¡±


    ¡°Of course! That¡¯s precisely why we have all this stuff on the table right now anyway! And just for today¡­¡­¡­I even brought some alcohol!¡±


    Considering the time, most normal shops are closed so I don¡¯t know where he got this from but, there was indeed a cask of alcohol lying beside the table.


    As for alcohol, anyone who had received the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing] was allowed to legally drink but, we never really had the leeway with money to spend it on something like alcohol so none of us had gotten drunk before.


    Especially in Ralf¡¯s case, he had had to deal with a drunk abusive dad so I had the image of him hating it but¡­¡­


    He seemed to have already moved past that stuff, and was in the mood to try some alcohol tonight.


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯m not going to drink okay?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not allowed! What¡¯s the point if I¡¯m the only one getting drunk? At least for today, both you and Esta are joining me!¡±


    ¡°Eh? Me too??¡±


    ¡°Of course you too! I¡¯m the one who hates alcohol the most here! If I¡¯m drinking so are both of you! Otherwise it won¡¯t make any sense!¡±


    ¡°Then simply don¡¯t drink, in the first place? It doesn¡¯t seem like any of us are interested in it.¡±


    ¡°Agh enough arguing! C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll pour so let¡¯s drink!¡±


    Ralf forcefully poured alcohol for us both, and the three cups were placed in front of us.


    Apparently, we¡¯re going to have a ¡®cheers!¡¯ before eating the food, and led by Ralf, we drank down our portions.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­yeah, this shit fucking sucks as I thought.


    The strange bitterness seemed to be getting rejected by my body and my throat struggled to pass it through easily.


    Not just me, these two also had a similar experience as they were both making grimacing expressions as they looked at each other.


    But, Ralf was not the type to back down, especially when he suggested something, so he finished gulping down the contents of his cup and then urged us to do the same.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªSo bad. Why do I have to drink this garbage damn it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I thought it sucked but I drunk it anyway too! I heard that it¡¯s easier to say what¡¯s on your mind when you¡¯re drunk! That¡¯s why I decided that today was the day to try drinking this stuff!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I will admit, my head¡¯s already swaying to the sides. I wonder if it¡¯s because we drunk it all down so quickly?¡±


    ¡°Yeah my body feels hotter as well! I guess it was worth forcing ourselves to drink it then!¡±


    These two seemed to be saying this, but my body showed absolutely no change whatsoever.


    Now it¡¯d be awkward if I was the only one not getting drunk, so while unwilling, I still poured out another cup and forced it down my throat but¡­¡­¡­.besides the torture to my tastebuds, my body didn¡¯t seem to show any change.


    ¡°Ooh, now you¡¯re getting into it eh!? Chris, did you suddenly awaken to the taste of alcohol or something?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not it. Unlike you two, I don¡¯t feel any different so I figured I¡¯ll down another cup to see if it works.¡±


    ¡°So, how do you feel now? Does your head or body feel lighter or something like that yet?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­nah, honestly, I don¡¯t feel any different. I wonder if my [Null Poison] skill makes it so that I can¡¯t get drunk or something.¡±


    If you were to think of Alcohol as also a poison to the body, it won¡¯t be strange if it¡¯s effects got completely nullified by my skill.


    If nothing¡¯s gonna happen no matter how much I drink, there¡¯s no point in forcing myself to drink something this bitter and horrible in taste.


    ¡°Is that even possible? And here I thought we¡¯d all get drunk together but in the end, you won¡¯t even get drunk Chris!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can control it so it can¡¯t be helped. You two can enjoy it without me.¡±


    ¡°If Chris-san isn¡¯t drinking, why should I force myself to drink this¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey no! at least the two of us will drink Esta! I mean, I spent money on this shit!¡±


    Seeing these two force themselves to drink more, just so it wasn¡¯t a waste of money, I decided to start eating my food in the meanwhile.


    I did eat some of the poisoned meal back at that restaurant but, I was still so hungry that I needed to get food inside me before I could have this chat with them.

 CH 351

    True Thoughts


    I had filled my stomach to the brim and it seemed like Ralf and Esta were almost done as well.


    We hadn¡¯t talked much until now but, Ralf suddenly started the conversation.


    ¡°Chris, let¡¯s start our little talk shall we!? Right now, I feel like I¡¯ll be able to say out all my thoughts right now!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re acting like you are normally hesitant in speaking your mind. So, what exactly do you want to talk about? You¡¯re the one who brought this up Ralf, so it¡¯s your responsibility to lead this conversation.¡±


    ¡°yeah yeah I know! First of all¡­¡­..I need to talk about you and me Chris! You¡¯re not gonna tell me that you¡¯ve forgotten the incident in the abandoned house right!?¡±


    He¡¯s probably talking about how I didn¡¯t let him kill Pablo.


    Even though I didn¡¯t mean to, I did end up shouting at him, so that really must have stuck with Ralf.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten. You want to know why I shouted at you right?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, that was part of it but¡­¡­more than that, I want to know why you didn¡¯t let me do it! In the end, just like always, you ended up solving every problem yourself Chris! Even in Edestor, you were mostly acting solo and doing your own thing! If I¡¯m really that unreliable to you, I want you to say it to my face!¡±


    I think it¡¯s partly because he¡¯s drunk but, Ralf¡¯s voice was louder than usual as he said that.


    ¡­¡­¡­.well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t trust him or anything like that. I simply don¡¯t want either of them to cross this line.


    As for the thing in Edestor, The Cave of Bahamut was a special case and normally, I only act alone when the situation requires killing a human being.


    Other than that, he always has my full trust but, honestly I don¡¯t know how to properly put it in words and explain this all to him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you Ralf. The fact that we sleep under the same roof is proof of how much I trust you.¡±


    ¡°Then why won¡¯t you ever let me handle anything of importance? If you don¡¯t tell me properly, I¡¯ll keep getting frustrated over it inside my mind forever!¡±


    ¡°But I do give you important responsibilities though. I mean, didn¡¯t I literally just ask you to go to the capital and contact Charlotte for me, that was important and something I couldn¡¯t have done easily.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I was worried over whether I should interject or not but, Chris-san, that was most certainly not an important responsibility per se.¡±


    I was trying to convince Ralf but, I didn¡¯t expect Esta to refute me here as well.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Esta, are you of the same opinion as Ralf as well then?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s slightly different for me but, I do think that you have a habit of never letting either of us handle important or rather, dangerous tasks. Of course, I understand that part of is that either of us are not as strong as you and are still lacking in many ways but, I do wish you¡¯d trust us a bit more.¡±


    ¡°I have said this before but I do trust you two.¡±


    ¡°Then, you should let us¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°I trust you but, I don¡¯t want either of you to cross the line of no return¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll be brutally honest, but this is at best, my own selfishness talking here. I still think that I have dragged both of you into something that doesn¡¯t really involve either of you, so this is my way of drawing that line myself.¡±


    Yes. I did make them promise me that they¡¯d help me get revenge on Klaus but, me back then and me as of now think quite differently at an emotional level.


    I had only brought these two under my wing because I felt they¡¯d be useful to my goals, and I was ready to make them do whatever I needed of them but, Ralf and Esta have already done a lot more than I had expected of them.


    That¡¯s why, I needed to draw this line, to make sure that I don¡¯t put their lives in danger for my own personal sake and don¡¯t make them commit the sins I have.


    ¡°But we chose to help you knowing full well what all it would entail from the start! In the first place, wasn¡¯t the reason you made this party was to defeat Klaus? Both me and Esta have made our resolves already so don¡¯t try and push us away now after all this time with this ¡®line¡¯ bullshit!¡±


    ¡°Like I said, that¡¯s just my way of¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°And we¡¯re saying we don¡¯t need that damn consideration of yours! I have already entrusted my everything to you Chris! And I hope you¡¯d do the same with us! That is if you really trust us!¡±


    Bending forward over the table, and coming as close to me as possile, Ralf shouted at me.


    ¡­¡­¡­.this is difficult and I don¡¯t know how to reply to that.


    ¡°I am of the same opinion as Ralf. We are far from you in terms of skill Chris-san, we know that, but we¡¯re still desperately working hard to reach you. We¡¯re tired of constantly getting protected by you¡­¡­¡­when we had to wait outside the cave of Bahamut, I really, strongly came to that conclusion.¡±


    A heated Ralf, and a calm and frank statement from Esta.


    I always thought that I had selfishly dragged these two into my personal affairs but, it seems they never saw it like that.


    ¡ª¡ªthen, I suppose I should stop acting so reserved as well perhaps.


    I won¡¯t lie, I did actively try to keep them away from truly dangerous tasks but, I should let them fight on the front lines properly from here onwards.


    ¡°Very well. If you two are really okay with this, then I¡¯ll stop with my unnecessary consideration and drag you two straight into the face of danger alongside me¡­¡­¡­.And, I don¡¯t want to hear any complains even if you die because of it.¡±


    ¡°Damn right, leave it to us! We¡¯ll succeed at no matter what you throw at us, and beside, Death never scared me!¡±


    ¡°Agreed. We are not the type to die so easily in the first place so you don¡¯t need to worry and can depend on us whenever you so wish.¡±


    ¡°Fuh, how dependable indeed¡­¡­¡­.well but, I have a feeling things won¡¯t change so suddenly either. I feel like you two were with me whenever I was in great danger to be honest.¡±


    ¡°We were just there, yes. But it¡¯s only you who actually fights, just like today, or during the cave of Bahamut, or with Carlo, or Greath, or the Venom Pythons¡­¡­¡­.in the end, you just take it all upon yourself to finish things!¡±


    ¡°Exactly! But, now that you¡¯ve promised to trust us, we want to be put in the thick of the battles in the future as well, okay!?¡±


    Now that they say it like that, I did always fight by myself in the end huh.


    It was out of instinct, and perhaps I was unconsciously trying my best to keep them safe as my first priority I think.


    Thanks to the alcohol, I did get to see a rare sight of Esta being open and frank with her words as well, and the awkwardness between me and Ralf seems to have softened again as well.


    I guess, just for today, I¡¯ll have to give my thanks to the alcohol.

 CH 352

    Drawing the Line


    Both of them had seemed to calm down a bit, and it seemed they had regained their composure after drinking a glass of water.


    While I did promise them that I¡¯d depend more on them, I do need to make one thing clear to them both so I figured now was the chance, with them calmer again.


    ¡°Mind if I return back to the previous topic? I know I said that I will fully depend on you two from here on but there is one thing that will be the exception to this.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Eh? What is it?.¡ª¡ªugh, now I¡¯m feeling a bit queasy again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just the alcohol doing its thing. Your face is completely red as well. Probably shouldn¡¯t have gulped it down like that on your first attempt eh?¡±


    ¡°How did that shitty dad of mine handle so much of this shit so easily. Regardless, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever drink again¡­¡­¡­.that all aside, what was this ¡®exception¡¯ you were talking about!? You literally promised us otherwise though?¡±


    ¡°I did but, I still don¡¯t plan on making you two start killing people. That is one thing I won¡¯t budge on.¡±


    When I declared that, I could feel the mood freeze up again.


    ¡°Is there a reason behind that?¡±


    ¡°Reason? On the contrary, there should be no reason that would justify a human killing another human. The times being what they are, there¡¯s no doubt there¡¯d be many chances where you¡¯ll have to make the decision to kill or not but, there¡¯s no harm in choosing the path of not becoming a murdered¡­¡­¡­..Take this as a word of wisdom from someone that has killed quite a few at this point.¡±


    Even though most of the people I had killed were only due to self defence as they had tried to kill me first but, even then, their faces would come to haunt me in my dreams countless times.


    I keep drudging through this path for the sake of my revenge, or at least that¡¯s what I tell myself, but the sensation of cutting through a human body still remains strongly inside my mind.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­my only consolation is that the fact that I still see them as nightmares is proof that I still have some humanity left inside me.


    I can tell that recently my hesitation towards murder is slowly disappearing more and more.


    And that¡¯s why my only wish was for Ralf and Esta to not fall as far as I had.


    ¡°But that¡¯s exactly why I said that I don¡¯t want you to bear this burden alone. I said this before but, we three must share our burdens equally!¡±


    ¡°No, I will not yield in this one thing. This is my one condition that you must accept no matter what.¡±


    ¡°I will accept. When the moment truly comes, I know that I will hesitate, and that hesitation is proof that I know that it¡¯s not the right thing to do. And to be honest, I would like it if Chris-san didn¡¯t have to kill people either.¡±


    ¡°I wholeheartedly agree with you on the last part so don¡¯t worry. I only cross the line when there¡¯s literally no other choice.¡±


    Esta very quickly agreed with my condition.


    She was always against the act of killing and she herself still feels a strong distaste towards it which is a good thing.


    I know Ralf deep inside feels the same as Esta, so I hope he¡¯d also agree but¡­..


    ¡°I don¡¯t agree with this! In the first place, we were thieves, criminals! I¡¯m happy you¡¯re worried for me like that but, I was never the kind of good guy with uptight morals like that!¡±


    ¡°I know very well about your past record as thieves, I was almost a victim myself after all. But even then, I know very well that you two don¡¯t have the disposition of real criminals. You only succumbed to thievery because that was your only way to survive, and would have avoided it if there was a better way right?¡±


    I knew I had hit the mark as Ralf struggled to refute my claim.


    ¡°Trust me, I really do trust you with all of my heart Ralf. But this is something different, and I won¡¯t budge on my condition.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..FINE! But, if a situation arises where I need to cross that line, I will do so, so just keep that in your head!¡±


    ¡°Sure. That covers pretty much everything I wanted to say.¡±


    All three of us sighed greatly, and the tense atmosphere relaxed again.


    Unlike our usual chats, we were discussing a much heavier topic, so I felt more tired than usual after all was said and done.


    My fatigue was starting to catch up to me as well so I wanted to end the day and go to sleep but, there was one more thing to talk about actually.


    That was to decide our next course of action and to make a decision on what to do with [Under Eye].


    ¡°Ralf, we¡¯re done with your topic right? Then actually, there was something I wanted to discuss.¡±


    ¡°Eh? What is it Chris?¡±


    ¡°Nothing to do with ¡®us¡¯. I wanted to decide our next course of action¡­¡­¡­you two, what do you think we should do about [Under Eye] now?¡±


    ¡°I think we have no choice but to fight them. They¡¯ll be actively targeting us from now it seems.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Esta! Don¡¯t see any other way to handle it really!¡±


    Looks like they had already made their resolve, as they quickly gave their answers.


    In that case, I¡¯d rather attack them first rather than wait for them to come to us.


    ¡°I agree with you two. I¡¯m thinking we crush [Under Eye] before we get to Klaus. It¡¯s clear as day that they¡¯re going to keep getting in our way.¡±


    ¡°I agree but, do we have any info on where we might find them?¡±


    ¡°During my interrogation, I did find out that they are located somewhere in the black market of the capital. When Charlotte¡¯s messenger comes, we¡¯ll give the details to them as well, and directly target [Under Eye] first when we finally head to the capital.¡±


    ¡°No arguments here! Next time, I¡¯ll go all out and fight as well!¡±


    ¡°I believe that¡¯s the right decision as well. Then [Under Eye] is our next target.¡±


    ¡°Good to see you both agree¡­¡­¡­.from here on, you two are going to fight a lot as you wished, so better harden your resolves while you have the time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had that done for quite some time now dude! Leave it to us!¡±


    The three of us silently bumped fists, settling our next objective.


    We are still on standby until Charlotte¡¯s messenger comes but, as soon as she gets in contact¡ª¨CWe head to the capital and crush [Under Eye].

 CH 353

    Visit


    Approximately 3 days had passed since the day we fought the members of [Under Eye] in the back alleys of Realzard.


    In case you¡¯re wondering why I said ¡®approx 3 days¡¯ it¡¯s because, after our little ¡®talk¡¯ I slept like a log and now my sense of time is completely out of whack.


    Thanks to the alcohol, Ralf and Esta ended up sleeping as much as me as well and for the past three days, we have basically been cooped up inside our rooms.


    In the first place, thanks to the incident with [Under Eye] it¡¯s not like we can roam around the city casually anymore anyway so it may have been for the best.


    While I had somehow justified lazing around inside the room for almost 3 days, I was thinking of finally going out today when¡­¡­¡­the door of room was knocked on by someone.


    The first thing to come to mind was of course, a member of [Under Eye].


    Ralf and Esta, who were relaxing by the table seemed to have thought of the same thing as they quickly stood up and took position, ready to fight.


    While sending a hand sign to stay on guard to them, I decided to deal with our visitor.


    A sudden visitor hardly left a good image on my mind but, there was always a chance that it might a messenger from Charlotte so I need to be extra careful.


    I already messed up once with the old man of [Shichifukuya] back then so I wasn¡¯t going to suddenly attack them before checking on who they were.


    ¡°Who is it at this time of the day? I don¡¯t remember making an appointment with anyone?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.please open. It¡¯s me Mielle.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªMielle? I don¡¯t recall knowing such a name.¡±


    Hearing Mielle¡¯s name, I was about to open the door but I stopped myself because there¡¯s always a chance that someone¡¯s tricking me.


    I dropped the tone of my voice, and decided to have a little conversation across the door.


    ¡°That voice, it¡¯s you right Chris. This to and fro is a pain so just open the door already.¡±


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°To run an errand for that dumb princess obviously! Or rather, aren¡¯t you guys the one that called me??¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­.yeah that¡¯s the real Mielle alright.


    Both her way of talking and peculiar phrases like ¡®dumb princess¡¯ left no room for doubt so I decided to open the door.


    ¡°Oh so in the end, you did open the door normally, and lo and behold, it is Chris! What the hell was that for!?¡±


    ¡°Just get inside quickly. I¡¯ll explain everything as we share info.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Did you get dragged into something troublesome again? Don¡¯t forget I¡¯m just a messenger okay? Please don¡¯t drag me into whatever shit you are stuck in now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try but I think it¡¯s already too late for that.¡±


    Having a quick chat at the door, I let Mielle inside our room.


    This was a secret mission so she was using her disguise to make her face look like a different woman¡¯s, and was also wearing a black robe, albeit a different kind from those of [Under Eye].


    ¡°Hm? Who is that person?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just Mielle. She¡¯s using her magic to disguise her face.¡±


    ¡°Really? Maybe it¡¯s someone else actually pretending to be her¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Ralf, your instincts are indeed great.¡ª¨Cbehold, I¡¯m not Mielle, but in fact I am¡­¡­¡±


    I stopped her dumb playacting with a quick head chop, and made her sit on a chair so we can start talking.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the point. If you were sent by Charlotte, you must have some message right? Tell me.¡±


    ¡°I came all the way from the capital, at least pour me a tea or something first geez.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, we have no tea here¡­¡­Ah, we do have some alcohol left, will you drink that?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Or rather, I didn¡¯t think you three were the drinking type.¡±


    ¡°Well, things happened. If you can¡¯t drink that, we don¡¯t have anything else to serve unfortunately.¡±


    Here I thought I had found a way to get rid of the remaining alcohol but alas, she refused my offer.


    The cask still had more than half remaining, and those two have no plans of drinking anymore after all.


    Well, worst case, we¡¯ll gift it to the old man of [Shichifukuya] I guess.


    ¡°Both are horrible choices. Well whatever, I don¡¯t care in that case. Let us talk.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, continue.¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s two messages from the dumb princess. The first is that its better if you don¡¯t come to the capital right now. Like I told before, but in the capital [Under Eye] has been extremely active. And this time, they are apparently looking for you Chris so you should stay in hiding until things calm down a bit.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s the other message?¡±


    ¡°When you want to contact her from your side, you should get in touch through a shop called [Lemon Kid]. We could still use the informant from before, but there¡¯s a high chance that it might get tracked by someone else so this one¡¯s better.¡±


    I see. So it basically just another instruction to stay on standby then.


    ¡­¡­..but, in the last couple of days, our own thoughts have greatly changed in the meantime.


    They have already found out that I¡¯m in Realzard, and now I plan on crushing [Under Eye] in its entirety alongside Klaus.


    I feel bad considering she came all the way to tell me this but, I¡¯m planning on heading back with Mielle and sneak into the capital.


    ¡°The second message, I¡¯ll keep in mind.¡ª¡ª-but, the situation has greatly changed so we¡¯re going to come back with you and enter the capital Mielle.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..wha? did you even hear what I said?¡±


    ¡°We have already been attacked multiple times now. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to head straight in and crush [Under Eye] directly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered, but you really are crazy you know! Not just Klaus, you want to turn all of [Under Eye] into your enemy?¡±


    ¡°They are the ones aiming for my life. That¡¯s the situation so we¡¯ll be coming with you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.no matter how much I object to it, you¡¯ve already made your decision haven¡¯t you? Then I won¡¯t bother wasting my time and energy on it.¡±


    She seemed to be partly giving up, but I did get her consent to travel with her.


    Once we¡¯re in the capital, I¡¯ll contact Charlotte, and in the meantime crush [Under Eye].


    And once that¡¯s done, without wasting any more time, I¡¯ll directly challenge Klaus to our decisive battle next.


    My heart began to beat faster and my throat dried up just thinking about the events that are about to go down in the capital, as the three of us looked at each other and nodded.

 CH 354

    The Royal Capital, Round Two


    After giving a quick farewell to the old man at [Shichifukya], we quickly left Realzard alongside Mielle.


    To be honest, I wanted to have a longer chat at a more sentimental level but, if we survive everything in the capital, we should be back in Realzard within half a month.


    I only kept the farewells light because I made a promise to myself that I¡¯ll return back alive and safe.


    By the way, in case you¡¯re curious about Snow, we decided it was impossible to bring it to the capital since we were trying to avoid attention and act stealthily.


    Instead, I had it stay in Peixa forest and am planning to call it back once [Under Eye] has been defeated.


    Considering it can¡¯t actually speak our language, it won¡¯t be strange if it thought that we were abandoning it but, somehow, Snow always seem to get whatever orders I gave it, and even this time, it seemed like it understood that I was asking it to stay on standby inside the forest.


    I also headed to the forest alongside Snow, and was hoping it can enjoy the peace and quiet inside the forest for the relatively small time we were away.


    I had gotten it accustomed to Carlisle forest as well, plus I did prepare the minimum amount of food it will need so I¡¯m hoping it can continue to live without much problems.


    ¡°Snow, it¡¯s only for a while, but I hope you can stay alone in this forest. Once we¡¯re finished with our work, we¡¯ll quickly come to pick you back up okay?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!¡±


    And thus, after parting with Snow, I quickly returned back to Realzard, and from now, we¡¯ll have to move with utmost caution to avoid as many unnecessary battles as we can.


    Putting on ragged robe bought from the back alleys, we began on our way to the capital while hiding our appearances.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot more tense when you have to travel in the darkness of the night huh.¡±


    ¡°Well, we are being actively pursued so we have no choice. Would¡¯ve loved to enjoy the scenery but, alas we don¡¯t have that leeway right now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really weird to hide under this hood as well! And because we bought these from the back alley, they kinda smell whack too!¡±


    ¡°If we used new looking robes, it would also stand out so it can¡¯t be helped. Besides, this makes us look just the perfect amount of ragged to avoid catching anyone¡¯s eyes, right?¡±


    As we continued to chat like this and walk, it wasn¡¯t long before we made it to the royal capital once again.


    This is only my second time coming here, since Ralf¡¯s surgery.


    I had to keep myself hidden back then as well so I didn¡¯t exactly explore the city, thus leaving me with not much of an impression about the city itself.


    If I had to pick one good memory, it¡¯d be the breakfast we had in [Gilavar Hotel].


    ¡°We¡¯re entering from the front but it should be fine right?¡±


    ¡°I think so. There shouldn¡¯t be any issues during entry. That aside, do you have any idea of where we could stay, and make our hiding spot?¡±


    ¡°No idea. I¡¯ve been the capital for a while but, I¡¯m not exactly well versed with the city itself unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Well, this must not really be something Mielle was exactly preparing for was it?! If we hadn¡¯t dragged her into this mess, she wouldn¡¯t even be walking around with such a disguise even!¡±


    ¡°I mean, if you put it that way, yes¡­¡­..but still, so useless.¡±


    ¡°Chris, you really have to say one word too many huh! Just stop in some random inn and you won¡¯t get found jeez. That aside, first of all, I need to guide you to [Lemon Kid].¡±


    She says that but, being close to Klaus means being close to [Under Eye].


    I was hesitant about stopping in some normal inn but, if we can¡¯t find a good hiding spot, we¡¯ll have to settle for that.


    Half giving up, I decided to find a normal inn to stay in to start with, and entered the Capital following Mielle¡¯s lead.


    We passed through the entry inspection pretty easily, and then made a beeline towards the aforementioned [Lemon Kid] to make contact.


    ¡°Is this store, this [Lemon Kid]? Quite the location for it huh.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a jewellery shop as a front. And having the patronage of the princess herself, it¡¯s quite easy to make deals inside without any problems.¡±


    We were on the fifth floor of a certain building on the main street.


    There was no real sign or billboard for the place either, but it seemed like it was thriving quite well despite it all by the looks of it.


    Since it was around dawn when we reached the capital, the shop wasn¡¯t open yet but, Mielle brought out a key out of nowhere and unhesitatingly opened the door and entered the place and walked into the employee only area.


    There was another locked door beyond that place as well¡ª¡ªinside which, was a luxurious reception room.


    ¡°normally speaking, this is the place you¡¯d have to come to talk, don¡¯ forget that. And when coming here, be sure to come by yourself. I¡¯d prefer if Esta came, but you should be fine as well Chris.¡±


    ¡°Seems quite the secure place huh. I know the conditions and all but you sure, we can¡¯t just stay here for the night? No one could find us here after all.¡±


    ¡°Definitely impossible. If you promise to not leave the room at all, maybe you might get the permission but, even then, the place will begin to stink pretty soon so 9 times out of ten, you¡¯re gonna get a no.¡±


    I knew it¡¯d be a refusal but still, I had to ask.


    I guess , we really will have to find ourselves a inn.


    ¡°Any other questions? If there¡¯s anything you want me to tell the stupid princess, you might as well tell me now.¡±


    ¡°I just want as much info she has on [Under Eye]. If possible, ask to her to gather info if she doesn¡¯t have any. We¡¯re going to do our own intel gathering as well but still, the more info I can get the better.¡±


    ¡°Got it. I don¡¯t if that woman would actually agree to gathering info for you but I¡¯ll at least tell her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have any other questions. Do you two want Mielle to ask anything?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. We will simply follow what you say Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good too! Honestly, half of what¡¯s happening flies above my head anyway, so I¡¯d rather not stick my head into this shit!¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re good to go. For now, let¡¯s gather here again at midnight three days from now. I¡¯ll give my reports then.¡±


    ¡°Midnight, in three days eh. Got it. We¡¯ll be careful not to stand out and get found in that time.¡±


    ¡°I said this before, but when coming here, be sure to come alone. Alright then, I¡¯ll go back for now.¡±


    ¡°Sure, thanks for being our guide.¡±


    Leaving [Lemon Kid] behind, we returned back to the main street and quickly parted ways with Mielle.


    Now then,¡­¡­¡­.first we need to find an inn. Let¡¯s find an inconspicuous place if possible.

 CH 355

    Inn Search


    I was hoping to find a inconspicuous inn but, our requirements were so specific that it was going to be hard to find a suitable place.


    I wondered if one the main street inns would actually be a better choice since no would expect it, or should I go the simple route and pick an inn at the outskirts of the city after all.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking where we should find an inn to hide at but, do you guys have any idea?¡±


    ¡°None whatsoever! In the first place, we¡¯ve been here only thrice after all!¡±


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    ¡°I must unfortunately agree. We only stayed in the inn at the black market, and the [Gilavar Hotel] when we came with you. The one in the black market seemed quite unpopular and empty but then again, [Under Eye] is entirely based in the black market as well, aren¡¯t they?¡±


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    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard at least. So we should avoid the black market¡­¡­¡­..but the problem is where else should we even begin to search for an inn then?¡±


    I asked them too but even they had no idea.


    It was still soon after dawn right now, but I wanted to find an inn to settle in before people begin to become active again .


    Standing in front of the [Lemon Kid] I folded my arms in deep thought, when suddenly a certain candidate popped up inside my head.


    It wasn¡¯t an inn but, maybe they¡¯ll be willing to help us?


    ¡°There¡¯s a place I¡¯d like to check. It¡¯s not an inn but it¡¯s worth a try.¡±


    ¡°Not an inn you say? I mean, I don¡¯t mind but what kind of place do you have in mind then?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an orphanage in the west district. It¡¯s a place the Sister in Edestor told me about so, maybe they¡¯ll help us if we introduce ourselves as that Sister¡¯s acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sounds fine to me. Even if the chances of them taking us in are low, they could still point us towards a good inn at the very least right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! You never really know how these things can work out sometimes!¡±


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    And with that, we decided to head towards the orphanage in the west district.


    The west district was mostly a residential area so, while the scale was completely different, it did remind me a little of Oxter.


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    As we began to look for this orphanage here, we finally found a large building built around the edge of the district, a little away from main houses.


    The building looked a bit similar to a church but, was closer to Oxter¡¯s church, not very holy in its presence.


    The sign in front quite literally said orphanage, so I was sure we were at the right place.


    ¡°This must be the place. Hey Esta, was the orphanage you were in as a child also like this?¡±


    ¡°No, this is place looks far more well off than the one I was in. I think I have talked about it a little before but, my orphanage was a really, really horrible place. Honestly, there is no resemblance to this place.¡±


    ¡°I only ever got a glance way back then as well but¡­¡­..that place was called an orphanage purely to get a subsidy from the government. All it really was a bunch of tents with children crammed inside of them! They fed them the minimum required, and the moment a buyer appeared, the kid was sold. The Realzard orphanage was a legit horrible place!¡±


    Recalling the past must have brought back some horrible memories, as Ralf clenched his fists in anger and spoke in a loud voice.


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    Esta looked calmer in comparison but, really, I never should have asked such a question.


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    ¡°Looks like it was a good thing that it was destroyed. Sorry for making you two recall some horrible memories.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about it. The past was the past, I am already over it. That aside, let us check and see if anyone¡¯s here or not.¡±


    Following after Esta who went in first, me and Ralf also entered the orphanage grounds.


    The place was just a building, they even had a proper garden, and while not too large, it was still big enough for children to play in.


    With the time being what it was, it won¡¯t be a surprise if the people here were all still sleeping, so we made sure to keep it very quiet while we looked for someone who was awake when¡­¡­..from the small shed built slightly to the side of the building, a bunch of sounds could be heard.


    With the sounds as our guide, we went closer to find an old lady washing and airing clothes over there.


    ¡°Oh? Guests at such an odd time?¡±


    ¡°Sorry for coming in so early. We were introduced to this place by a certain someone so decided to show up here.¡±


    ¡°A certain someone? And who could that be?¡±


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    ¡°Her name¡­¡­.actually I never asked huh. Well, she said that if we tell you that the [Sister from Edestor has sent you there], you¡¯ll understand. Anyone come to mind?¡±


    ¡°Edestor¡¯s Sister? I see, you¡¯re an acquaintance of Jeanvier¡­¡­¡­.that¡¯s very like her to not even tell her own name too. Come with me, I¡¯ll lead you inside.¡±


    Saying that, the old lady led us inside the building.


    I was prepared to get sent away as well but, looks like it actually worked.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    It¡¯s not like I was that close to her or anything but, regardless, I must give my gratitude to the old Sister for giving me a link to this place.


    While recalling the face of the old Sister, called Jeanvier, I thanked her inside my mind, as we were led to what seemed like the dining hall.


    There was huge table with a bunch of chairs lined up so I could tell that a bunch of kids often ate here. Getting her permission, we all sat down and finally began to talk about the main topic at hand.

 CH 356

    Orphanage


    She served us some steaming hot water, and after drinking that and warming our chilly bodies, I began to talk.


    ¡°To be honest, we are currently being pursued by some bad people and want a place to hide. Would you happen to have any leads or ideas of where we could stay?¡±


    Since I dropped that fact so out of nowhere, the old lady just looked at us stunned with her mouth agape for a second.


    Even if we had been introduced by the old Sister, I did doubt myself if that was the way to go but since we really don¡¯t have much info when it comes to the capital, I figured we might as well depend on what we have.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.well that was sudden. It¡¯s been a while since something shocked me this much. You said pursued, but who exactly are pursuing you?¡±


    ¡°Do you know of [Under Eye]? It¡¯s that organization that¡¯s hunting us.¡±


    ¡°of course I know of them. Those villains are infamous in the royal capital¡­¡­¡­.just what did you do to get those villains to target you?¡±


    ¡°hmm, well, ¡­¡­¡­we just happened to have a dispute with them.¡±


    If I told her everything, I¡¯d have to talk about Klaus as well so instead I glazed over it, signifying that it was not something I could say out loud.


    ¡°So you cannot tell me the reason.¡ª¡ª-is it? Well, if you fought [Under Eye] it means you guys are probably good people but, them being who they are, I¡¯d prefer not to get too involved either. I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°All we need is info on a good inn where we can lay low. We¡¯ll leave soon after, and we don¡¯t plan on causing any trouble to your orphanage either.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.very well. Since Jeanvier trusted you enough to send you here, I¡¯ll tell you a special place that¡¯s perfect to keep yourselves hidden.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. We are in your debt.¡±


    ¡°In the south region of this west district, look for a house with a red roof. By the way my name is Uzef, and if you tell the person inside that I sent you, they¡¯ll let you stay there.¡±


    ¡°Red roofed house to the south right? Thank you for your info. Once your problem is solved, we will definitely come back to repay this debt and give our thanks.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Just, make sure not to drag us into it okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I promise I won¡¯t.¡±


    Giving a full bow to Uzef, we left the Orphanage.


    A red roofed house to the south. I have no idea if this works or not but, hopefully they let us hide there.


    While feeling gratitude towards the Jeanvier and Uzef, we began walking south.


    .


    ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t that the house with the red roof?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like a inn, just looks like a normal house doesn¡¯t it? Well, I suppose that would certainly make for a better hiding spot but¡­¡­¡­will they really let three people hide there I wonder?¡±


    ¡°No idea but we have to try. If this one¡¯s a bust, we¡¯ll just take a normal inn and call it a day.¡±


    Unlike when we arrived here, now I could see people starting their days here and there, even if it was still quite early in the morning.


    Since this one seemed like a normal house, I felt a bit awkward to suddenly visit so early but, we don¡¯t really have the leeway to be very considerate of others right now, so I pressed the doorbell without hesitation.


    Ringing the bell a couple times, we waited for someone to show up from inside when¡­..


    The door opened, and a lightly dressed woman with dishevelled hair from just walking up, appeared.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Eh? um who might you people be?¡±


    ¡°We came here on the introduction of Uzef of the orphanage. Would you willing to let us in, for now?¡±


    ¡°Eh, so early in the morning?!¡­¡­¡­¡­ah but if it¡¯s an acquaintance of Uzef-san, I can¡¯t really refuse either. Can you wait just a minute please?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Saying that, the woman, who was probably the owner of the house quickly went back inside the house.


    And once her preparations were done, she came back, with her hair looking a lot more tidier than before.


    ¡°Apologies for the wait, please enter.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Pardon the intrusion.¡±


    Getting her permission, we entered inside the house.


    The insides looked a lot more spacious than what I imagined from the outside, and while not as big as the house we had in Oxter, it was definitely a spacious house with a lot of rooms.


    While making sure not to peek around into the rooms too much, we were led to the living room by the woman.


    ¡°So, what kind of request do you have for me? If Uzef-san sent you, ¡­¡­are you also look for those ingredients I imagine?¡±


    ¡°Ingredients? Sorry, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about but, we actually came here because we were hoping to find a place to stay in, and were told about your house.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? Here¡­¡­.as in you want to stay in my house?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Uzef said that you¡¯d be willing to keep us here in this house at least.¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­¡­¡­but three people is a bit..¡±


    She was quite clearly not happy about it, as the lady began to scratch her head while she began to ponder.


    I imagine she wanted to reject us instantly but, she really must owe Uzef a lot as she clearly still thinking about it.


    ¡°We¡¯ll pay you properly as well. And we only need to stay for two weeks at most. Please.¡±


    ¡°Please! We¡¯ll help you with work or anything else if you want as well!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..mumumu¡­¡­¡­.very well. Since it is a request from uzef-san as well, I will allow you to stay for two weeks. But no more than that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, we are in your debt.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much! You have really helped us out a lot with that!¡±


    She was clearly not happy but, we did manage to get a safe base inside the capital with this.


    For now, we need to make sure we don¡¯t cause her any problems and that we pay her properly and on time.


    ¡°I mostly use the inner room so, amongst the rooms you saw on the way to the living room, pick two and you can use those as you see fit.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll really lend us two rooms even?¡±


    ¡°Well, they are mostly just used as storage rooms after all¡­¡­¡­¡­Ah, speaking of, we haven¡¯t even introduced ourselves have we? My name is Isabelle. May I ask you three¡¯s names as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Chris.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Ralf!¡±


    ¡°My name is Esta. Isabelle-san, we¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    With our intros properly done, we all gave a proper bow to Isabelle.


    Afterwards, we dropped our luggage inside the rooms we chose, and had a breakfast together with Isabelle, chatting while hoping to increase our relations with her even if only a little.

 CH 357

    Covert Operations


    We properly explained to Isabelle the events that led to us deciding to stay at her place, and while she was shocked at hearing that we were getting pursued by [Under Eye], we did reach a proper understanding with her.


    Our biggest issue was finding a safe place to stay at, which had now been solved, but there¡¯s still things we have to do within the three days we have before meeting Mielle again.


    ¡°Chris! So what¡¯s next on our agenda? Or are we going to quietly stay inside for now?¡±


    ¡°No, in the next three days I want to gather as much info as we can. Although, not standing out remains very much our main objective.¡±


    ¡°But, isn¡¯t your face already known Chris-san? You should leave info gathering to me and Ralf. It¡¯d be safer.¡±


    Like Esta said, me going out to gather info came with a lot of risk.


    Well, but that¡¯s why we went out of our way to get a place to stay at Isabelle¡¯s house instead of a normal inn as well.


    When you consider it that way, it¡¯d be better if I stayed hidden inside the house and let these two gather info instead.


    That¡¯s the safest option but, this time I¡¯m really thinking I should go out to gather info as well.


    ¡°No, all three of us will go. You two can continue as you had been in the past. I¡¯ll take a slightly different approach instead.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°I planning to use my stealth skills and roam the streets of the city. I¡¯m not planning to go to any informants and buy info, I¡¯m planning to gain info from observing the city itself.¡±


    ¡°I see! I think that¡¯s not a bad idea either. Chris-san¡¯s stealth skills are really strong, plus this will also help you get a full layout of the city as well, so it¡¯s a win win.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really get it but, well, if Esta says it¡¯s a good idea, then it probably is!¡±


    To be honest, it was a pretty risky move but both of them seemed to agree with my idea¡­¡­¡­.well Ralf¡¯s just going with the flow in all honesty.


    ¡°alright then, let¡¯s get some rest, and then go out separately and gather some info. I¡¯ll leave getting info on [Under Eye] the normal way to both of you.¡±


    ¡°Please leave it to us. We¡¯ll make sure to not stand out and gather as much info as we can.¡±


    ¡°Chris, you be careful to not get found as well okay!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I won¡¯t mess this up so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    With our plans for the next 3 days set, we quickly went to our rooms to get some much needed sleep.


    The sun had fully risen but, we hadn¡¯t really rested ever since we decided to rush to the capital last night and besides, it¡¯d better for us to move in the darkness of the night anyway.


    Spreading the bedsheet on the floor, something I hadn¡¯t done in quite a while, I quickly fell asleep.


    .


    .


    I woke approximately 5 hours from when I went to sleep.


    The sky outside was already orange in colour, and the sun that had risen when I went to sleep had begun to set again.


    Honestly speaking, part of me wanted to sleep a bit more but¡­¡­..I forced my sluggish body to rise up and began to prepare to leave.


    I checked inside their rooms but Ralf and Esta were nowhere to be seen meaning they had already left to gather info.


    They should have been as tired as me but they were working extra hard for my sake which increased my level of gratitude towards them even more. I also put on a black robe to hide my face and then went out into the city.


    Now then, where should I start?


    If I wanted to gather info on [Under Eye], it¡¯d best to head to the black market but, one of my goals was also to get a proper feel for the layout of the city as a whole as well.


    Since I¡¯d have to roam the entire city sooner or later, I decided to start with the west district where I already was for tonight.


    I activated [Stealth][Silent Steps][Colour Change], and killed my presence as much as I could as I began to roam the streets.


    Since I don¡¯t know when and where these [Under Eye] members might attack me from, I activated my detection skills as well, and started to look around the west district while not attracting any attention to myself.


    I had already seen the road between Isabelle¡¯s home and the orphanage but, I also needed to explore the rest of the main residential area as well.


    There were really no stores or anything here, and the orphanage was really the only odd building out. It seemed like the place was entirely dedicated to houses alone.


    The people that passed by me were mostly returning from their day jobs, and while I saw a couple adventurers here and there, most of them looked like normal, upstanding adventurers rather than villainous ones.


    The roads were well maintained, and things like dangerous back alleys were basically non-existent here¡­¡­¡­.I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll find anything of note in this district honestly.


    After about an hour of exploration that was the conclusion I came to, that the west district of the capital was completely at peace.


    I¡¯ll spend just a little bit more time to fully learn the routes of this area, and then I should head to a different area.


    After another hour of exploration, I was completely done with learning the ins and outs of the west area.


    There were no places that could count as suspicious here, and with my exploration done and yet having gained absolutely no worthwhile info, I really felt like I had wasted my time


    But, I quickly reinvigorated myself and decided to head to a different area.


    The area from the gate of this city in the south to the centre was quite prosperous, and the further north you went, while the number of people in the streets decreased, the number of well dressed people seemed to increase.


    In the east of the city lay the black market so obviously, the public order was bad there, and so if I had to pick my next spot to explore, it¡¯d have to be the central area.


    But, I had spent enough time in the west area that now it was already quite dark outside.


    For night, there were still quite a lot of people out in the streets, so it was a pretty good time for me to hide in the crowd under the dim lights, and explore the most dangerous area of them all, the east district.


    I know heading to the central area would have been more efficient in terms of order but, I was going to pass straight through the main street and head right into the east district instead for tonight.


    It was mostly instinct that made me make this decision but regardless, I made my way to the east district, the area where [Under Eye] had their base.

 CH 358

    Welling Emotions


    Unlike the calm and cool west district, the main street was still very lively, but I passed through it and walked into the dangerous east district.


    I hadn¡¯t been here since I last came to heal Ralf¡¯s injury, plus my own outlook on things had changed quite a lot since then so I felt a surprisingly refreshing feeling when I entered this place.


    As like back then, at the entrance to the path to the black market, a bunch of thugs and hooligans were standing as guards, and unless you had some kind of connection, it was impossible to enter from the front.


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    Last time, we had been able to enter smoothly under Esta¡¯s guidance but, this time, I can¡¯t even talk to those people either.


    Leaving the black market aside for now, I could go around and check the other locations in the east district but¡­¡­.when you think about gathering info, the black market is the place to go.


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    While risky, I decided to go in regardless because in these 3 days I¡¯ll probably have to take risk sooner or later anyway.


    Searching for a place from where I could sneak in without getting seen, I waited for the guards to switch and used the opening to jump over the barricade and successfully trespass into the black market.


    The barricade was covered in barbed wires so my hand had a lot of small piercing wounds, but I did succeed in entering the place.


    I used [Pain Inhibition] and [Self Regen] together, and then ripped a piece of cloth from my robe to tie around it as a healing measure.


    I need to gather as much info as I could, and then retreat before someone notices me.


    I quickly mixed myself within the crowd with a nonchalant look and ventured deeper into the black market as I slowly observed this place once again after a long while.


    The last time I was here, the place was busy in the afternoon but as you¡¯d expect of a black market, the amount of people here at night was significantly more.


    The thing that caught my eye the most was once again the sight of multiple beast type demihumans, being made to work as labour with collars around their necks.


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    There was even a  store run by a beastman that dealt in selling these collared demi human slaves which hit me with a strange irritation inside my heart.


    I had no yet forgotten the emotions that I had felt the last time I saw this scene ¡ª¡ª-One day, I¡¯ll definitely release all the slaves captured here.


    I recalled the day I swore that oath to myself.


    Blood was rushing to my head, and I had to suppress my urge to just go berserk right here and now as I calmed myself and walked past the demi human slaves.


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    Right now, I was too busy with my own personal mess and had no time for others.


    But once I had destroyed [Under Eye] and gotten my revenge against Klaus¡­¡­..I will definitely do something about this black market as well.


    I kept repeating that to myself as I tried to focus more on gathering info at the black market.


    I passed by an area that was filled with tents like the Realzard back alleys, and reached an area with tall buildings built side by side.


    If my intuition was correct, [Under Eye]¡¯s base should be somewhere among these tall buildings as well.


    While being extra cautious of my surroundings, and fully activating my detection skills to try and find strong presences¡­¡­¡­..I sensed strong presences from three of the buildings in front of me.


    The building with the most number of strong presences came from the building to my front right, and the building with the single strongest presence came from the one on the left, a bit further inside.


    I hadn¡¯t been able to sense any presences until now so suddenly having multiple appear right in front of me left me a bit uncomfortable.


    There was a high chance that one of these three buildings was the base of [Under Eye], and there was even chance that all three belonged to them.


    Now then, the question is whether I actually try to enter one of these places or not.


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    Since I wasn¡¯t sure yet, I wanted to confirm the truth with my own eyes.


    But of course, actually entering any of these building came with a lot of risk, and any capable fighter will probably quickly sense my trespassing.


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    I could at least wait for Ralf and Esta to gather their share of info as well, so I think it¡¯d be smarter to just turn back for now but¡­¡­¡­


    After pondering over it for a while, I decided I was going to get closer and check them after all.


    I raised my caution level to the maximum, and decided I¡¯ll enter the left side building to the front, that didn¡¯t have any strong presence unlike the other two and then scope out the buildings to the opposite of that one from there.


    Also taking into consideration that someone might simply be suppressing their presence here, I carefully continued to climb through this building¡ª¡ªand then looked towards the building behind this one from here, where I had sensed the singular strong presence coming from.


    The presence I sensed were rough so I couldn¡¯t tell for sure, but I slowly narrowed the signal down to pin down the exact location where the presence was coming from.


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    Fully killing my own presence, I watched from the window patiently to see if I could get a glimpse of someone from here when suddenly, I caught sight of a woman with long white hair.


    For a second I thought I had mistaken the presence but it became clear very quickly that the source of the strong presence I felt was most definitely coming from that woman.

 CH 359

    Sneaking a Peek


    A bunch of men that seemed like her subordinates were following her, and were talking about something but¡­¡­.with them being an entire building away and the windows were closed so I couldn¡¯t really hear anything.


    Hoping to catch something, I activated [Hearing Enhancement] and [Sound wave detection] but it was still impossible to catch their conversation.


    I racked my brains to think of a way to get more info but, from the window I was on, the most I could get was the face of the person, and nothing more useful.


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    But even knowing that the source of the strong presence was this woman was still a pretty big piece of info.


    Within the info on [Under Eye] that I already have, I know that one of the executives is a woman named Prudence (T/N; previously translated as Blewdens. I only recently found out that the katakana used for Prudence is sometimes written this way, plus it¡¯s just a better name).


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    Judging by the exceptionally strong life presence I¡¯m sensing off her, there¡¯s a high chance that the woman I am looking at right now was that very Prudence.


    Since I couldn¡¯t clearly see her face from here even with [Crimson Eyes], I can¡¯t confirm if she really is as beautiful as they say which left me a bit irritated.


    The only characteristic of this Prudence I had heard was her exceptional beauty so if I had been able to see her face clearly, I would have been more confident at least.


    I could wait and watch until I get more info but, the building I had snuck into was certainly not some abandoned building either, and there were traces of people having used this place recently so I didn¡¯t want to linger here for too long.


    Ending my little sneak peek into that building here, I decide to look towards the right side building where I sensed the most numbers of strong presence instead.


    Since there was road in the middle of the two buildings, this time the distance was even larger so I couldn¡¯t really see anything inside.


    But still, just to get even a little bit more info, I tried to focus into the building and caught a glimpse of a similar black hooded man.


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    Their robe was designed to keep them hidden but, since I had already fought multiple of them, I had become used to noticing that robe now.


    There was no mistake, it was the same robe that members of [Under Eye] used.


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    For the next few minutes, I stuck to this window and continued to examine the building on the other side when, I saw another 3 more men, similarly dressed in black robes.


    While I couldn¡¯t get any detailed info but, there was no doubt that the building on the right was a base for [Under Eye].


    Probably, I have gotten as much info as I could here, so I should quickly leave the building and get away from here.


    If I can see them from here, they could see me from there as well.


    Without letting my guard down even a bit, I carefully left the building I had infiltrated.


    From there, I once again slipped into the crowds once again and then boldly left the black market through the front entrance.


    They check you when coming in but when leaving they didn¡¯t bother, and I of course already knew that much.


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    After leaving the black market, I returned to the main street to calm down for starters.


    The black market was quite lively but, the main street were even more crowded as I walked through the streets while pondering over my next course of action.


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    I was able to make up for the lack of info from the west district by gaining quite a lot from the black market so in all honesty, I could return back feeling satisfied for today.


    I wanted to carefully analyze what all I saw today in my head as well so I was tempted to quickly return but, there was still a lot of time left to gather even more info.


    All sorts of thoughts were running through my head but, first I decided to continue my info gathering.


    But I didn¡¯t want to put myself in any more danger for today so I decided to stick to the main street, mixed among the crowds, for the remainder of the time.


    I continued walking until the number of people around began to decrease and then decided to return back to Isabelle¡¯s place.


    I thought I had spent a lot of time gathering info but when I returned, Ralf and Esta had still not yet returned and only Isabelle was in her home.


    ¡°You were out walking for quite some time huh¡­¡­¡­.Um, you didn¡¯t get tracked by [Under Eye] or something like that right!?¡±


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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine. I wasn¡¯t followed on the way back. That aside, did the other two really didn¡¯t come back even once?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re the first to return Chris-kun. They¡¯re not yet back, you don¡¯t think they got captured or anything¡­¡­¡­right? Shouldn¡¯t you go out and look for them?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­No, going out now would be riskier. Besides, we¡¯d have gotten some message if they really had gotten caught.¡±


    ¡°Really? Aren¡¯t you guys being targeted by them? No offence, but you sounded quite cold hearted just then¡­¡­¡­¡±


    It¡¯s true, if you don¡¯t know anything about our relationship, I may come off as a bit heartless.


    But I trust those two, that¡¯s why I can stay composed like this.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


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    ¡°Even if they had messed up, at least one of them would have definitely been able to escape and come to me to inform me, so don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re probably fine. That aside, can I borrow your bath? I went to a lot of dirty places so I want to clean myself up.¡±


    ¡°Huh, is that how it is?¡­¡­¡­.as for the bath, please use it at your leisure. If anything, it¡¯d be more problematic for me if you didn¡¯t stay clean.¡±


    Borrowing a towel from Isabelle, I decided to enter the bath to clean myself.


    I don¡¯t need to worry about those two.


    I should focus on what I can do, and only think about gathering as much info as I can in the next three days.

 CH 360

    Info Sharing


    2 days had passed since we decided to split up and gather info.


    Not betraying my trust, the two did come back safely without causing trouble while gathering info, but in these past two days, I didn¡¯t really get much of a chance to talk to them either.


    Since my face is known, the amount if time I can move around is fairly limited, so I would often come back to Isabelle¡¯s home on time but¡­¡­..


    Ralf and Esta were mostly staying out in the city, and would only return back to sleep it seemed.


    I can¡¯t even imagine how they were even managing their fatigues, and honestly, when it comes to info gathering, I was really no match for them.


    As for me, after the first day of info I gained in the black market, most of my nights were mostly me sneaking around and exploring the city and nothing more.


    Tonight I¡¯ll finally get the chance to properly meet them and share info with each other before we go to meet Charlotte and Mielle tomorrow.


    Seeing all three of us together in our room after a bit of a gap, I could tell that they seemed quite satisfied from what they had achieved from their expressions.


    ¡°Man, I feel like it¡¯s been ages since I¡¯ve seen your face Chris.¡±


    ¡°I must agree. We were mostly outside due to work so we barely got to see you these last couple of days.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for making you work so hard like that. So? Learnt anything good?¡±


    Their expressions already gave away that they had been quite successful but still, I properly asked them just in case.


    Ralf grinned as if he was waiting for me to ask that, and cleanly gave me a thumbs up.


    ¡°Heck yeah we learnt a lot! Although I don¡¯t know if what we found out could be called ¡®critical info¡¯, but still I think you¡¯ll be very satisfied with everything we¡¯ve learnt!¡±


    ¡°I agree. Pretty much everything we got was from the proper informants in the city so that¡¯s my only regret but like he said, I think it was quite satisfactory.¡±


    What do they even by the ¡®proper informants¡¯? I had a feeling I wouldn¡¯t understand even if I asked so I urged them to tell me what they know.


    ¡°Then, can you two start first? I didn¡¯t learn much so I¡¯ll go afterwards.¡±


    ¡°Understood! Then allow me to explain¡ª¡ª-¡°


    ¡°No, you will not. Let me explain, as it will most certainly be easier to understand, okay?¡±


    ¡°But why!? I can get the chance to explain at least some times right!?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯d rather Esta explain it too.¡±


    I feel bad for him considering how cheerful he was but, Esta is just infinitely better than Ralf at explaining things concisely.


    To make sure our little meeting continues smoothly, I urged Esta to continue.


    ¡°Yes, of course¡­¡­¡­first of all, the place we went to start it all was an informant on the main street. They¡¯re the most popular info broker in the entire city so we were able to meet them quite quickly.¡±


    ¡°An informant, being ¡®famous¡¯? doesn¡¯t really sound very trustworthy but was it alright?¡±


    ¡°Since we can¡¯t use our usual info broker so we had no choice. Plus, what we asked there was nothing to do with [Under Eye] so even if they leak our info, we won¡¯t catch any attention.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! We only went there to ask info on other informants in the city instead! Get it? Using info brokers to find other info broker!¡±


    Ralf still found a timing to butt into the conversation but there was no need to waste time trying to soothe him so we continued talking as is.


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s the way to go if the informant is not very trustworthy.¡±


    ¡°Although we still could only find other proper informants but, at least they were still better than the most famous info broker in the city¡­¡­¡­.and so we asked about [Under Eye] from the second informant we found.¡±


    ¡°It was pretty hard selecting one you know! Since we learnt of way too many informants, both me and Esta had to directly meet them all first before deciding which one to finally use!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Alright, tell me what you found on [Under Eye].¡±


    Part of me was interested in hearing how they made the decision as it does sound like it¡¯d be a lot of work, but that¡¯d take too much time so I pressed to get to the point quickly.


    And then, Esta quickly began telling me all the info they had gotten on [Under Eye].


    As for the most important detail, that¡¯d be the names of all the executives of the organization.


    And they even found out more detailed info about their base as well.


    ¡°You guys really found out a lot. You were being modest so I didn¡¯t expect the info to be this good.¡±


    ¡°But I thought Chris-san already knew most of the names of the executives  so I figured we could at least match the info and confirm the validity of what you already knew.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that was a good decision. Most of it matches what all I already know and you even got the names of the ones I didn¡¯t know as well.¡±


    Ralf and Esta even got more info on those two, Douglas Dyne and Wood, the ones I killed in Realzard as well.


    While they were not executives, they were apparently considered some of the top class members of [Under Eye].


    Especially Wood was supposedly one of their oldest members and was quite famous for both his strength and knowledge.


    From my perspective, Douglas Dyne was a more troublesome opponent but, regardless, I got a good estimate on the strength of [Under Eye] from this info I think.

 CH 361

    Conformance


    Thanks to the info Ralf and Esta got as well, now I finally had info on all 4 executives.


    On top of the two I already knew Prowse and Prudence, there were also the monster user Bellfine and the Assassin Grisette.


    Bellfine was a rare monster user so they usually stayed away from the capital and were situated somewhere else apparently.


    Only appearing during big battles, they¡¯d bring a huge number of monsters with them to the battlefield.


    As for Grisette who was mostly focused on assassinations, there wasn¡¯t a lot of info, and the only thing that was known was that he was a former slave and a demi human.


    He killed his master who was the commander of the royal knights, and ran to [Under Eye]¡ª-or at least, that was the rumour that Esta had heard.


    Since I had made my goal to release all demi human slaves once my revenge on Klaus was settled, I was hoping I wouldn¡¯t have to face this guy but, if he chooses to become my enemy and attack us, I won¡¯t let my personal feelings hold me back.


    No matter how tragic their own past may be, and even if they had finally a found a place to be in at [Under Eye]¡­¡­¡­.as long as they name themselves as part of that organization, I will show no remorse nor hesitation against them.


    ¡°Oi Chris! You¡¯re making a scary face again!¡±


    ¡°No I am not. That aside, I want to match our info on [Under Eye]¡¯s base as well.¡±


    ¡°Like I said before, their base is located in a corner of the black market within a bunch of tall buildings. There¡¯s even info that people have seen suspicious looking people go in and out of a building that has a green flag hanging down on it but¡­¡­¡­to be honest, the reliability on this info is not very good. I asked around a lot but this was all I found.¡±


    Esta retold me all the info she had.


    The info she gave me didn¡¯t suddenly click in my head either but the building I saw the white haired woman in did have a green cloth hanging down from it, or at least I feel like I vaguely remember noticing something like that.


    But my memory was hazy at best so there¡¯s a chance that it was confirmation bias and my head was making things up purely because of what I heard from Esta¡­¡­..


    But if what I recall and Esta¡¯s info were indeed correct then the building I saw the white haired woman in was indeed [Under Eye]¡¯s base.


    ¡°Alright, let me tell you what all I found as well now. When I infiltrated inside the black market, I did find a place that seemed like [Under Eye]¡¯s base.¡±


    ¡°EH!? You, did you actually go to the black market even though you know you are being pursued!? No one saw you right!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I made sure that that didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°So? What was this base-like building you found? Was there something that matched the info I had perhaps?¡±


    As expected of Esta, she was always quick on the uptake.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I feel like I did see a green cloth hanging down from the building as well. But I didn¡¯t pay attention to it so my memory is hazy about it.¡±


    ¡°But, Chris, you still thought that this building was suspicious right? Then isn¡¯t that pretty much the same as what we found as well?!¡­¡­..that really must be the base!¡±


    ¡°I think so too. By the way, why exactly did you think that that place was [Under Eye]¡¯s base Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°Since I couldn¡¯t just roam around the black market nonchalantly, just like I search for strong monsters, I used my skills to look for strong presences and used those signals to lead me there.¡±


    ¡°I see. And from this building you sensed a really strong presence then?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, basically. By the way, there was another different building with a bunch of other very strong presences as well nearby.¡±


    ¡°This is only unconfirmed info, so I was thinking of avoiding saying it with confidence but¡­¡­¡­yeah, that totally sounds like their base.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Esta! There¡¯s no doubt that¡¯s the place!¡±


    Looks like these two agreed with my conclusion as well.


    Like Esta, I don¡¯t like turning assumptions into fact without basis but, when the info matches so much, it¡¯s hard to think otherwise.


    ¡°So you guys think so too huh. I had a feeling too the moment I heard your info.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any other info? If you could see this white haired woman inside, you must have gone pretty close right?¡±


    ¡°I was being very careful so I didn¡¯t get any other useful info. But, I did see a bunch of other black robed men, like the ones I fought in Realzard, in the building beside the one that I saw the white haired woman in as well.¡±


    ¡°That totally settles it then! You said you didn¡¯t get any good info but, the things you just told sounds pretty damn good info to me!¡±


    ¡°By the way, the white haired woman had the strongest life presence of them all. I think that¡¯s the executive called Prudence.¡±


    ¡°Well if that really is their base, it¡¯s likely that woman is indeed Prudence¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t just stay cooped up inside and did proper info gathering. We¡¯ll have a lot to talk about with the Princess as well now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You two did very well as well. Our meeting time tomorrow is at midnight. Until then, let¡¯s stay inside and properly rest our bodies.¡±


    ¡°You have my support on that idea! Phew, I feel like I can finally calm down and get some proper rest!¡±


    With all the info exchange finally done, we decided to take a long rest until tomorrow when we have to meet Charlotte.


    As for me, I¡¯d been getting a lot of rest anyway but, you never know what might happen from tomorrow.


    Depending on Charlotte¡¯s decision, we might even rush into their base there and then¡ª¡ªor at least there¡¯s a chance that something like that might happen so like these two, I¡¯m planning on getting full rest as well.

 CH 362

    Meeting


    The next day.


    We continued to laze around until the sun set but, once the sun did start setting we began our preparations and outfitted ourselves to leave the house at any moment¡¯s notice.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost time to leave, you guys ready?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am! I am ready to go whenever!¡±


    ¡°I am as well. We¡¯re even perfectly prepared to fight if the need arises.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s head to the [Lemon Kid], shall we?¡±


    With our preparations full complete, we headed out to the meeting spot, the place called [Lemon kid].


    Outside, the city had begun to go quiet, and you could hear the chirps of some kind of bird.


    We moved in the shadows to avoid standing out, and finally reached the jewellery shop the Mielle had shown us when we arrived to the capital.


    Of course, the lights in the store were not on, and it was completely quiet like there was no one in here.


    But, when I used [Mana Sense] and [Life Sense] to check, I could sense multiple readings from inside so they must have already reached here.


    ¡°Huh¡­¡­..did we come early? We don¡¯t even have the key so I guess we have to wait outside?¡±


    ¡°No, they are already inside, I can sense them. So it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Eh, really, you can sense them?¡­¡­¡­Esta, can you sense them as well?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have the ability to sense them either. But, Chris-san¡¯s detection skills have never failed us so he¡¯s probably right.¡±


    ¡°Man, Chris you really are as good as Snow at this huh! I¡¯m really jealous how you can get skills from monsters and such!¡±


    ¡°Oi, Ralf. Lower your volume. And quietly follow after me.¡±


    I quickly quieted Ralf down who suddenly started talking loudly again, getting all excited over something random, and silently began walking up the stairs to the store we saw last time.


    When I put my hand on the door knob, as expected, it wasn¡¯t locked anymore and the door easily opened.


    ¡°Damn, it really is unlocked. I guess they are here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s really Mielle and Charlotte but, I can tell that someone¡¯s waiting inside in the inner reception room.¡±


    From the level of mana, one of them has to be Mielle, but the other one I wasn¡¯t too sure about.


    It was more of a strong life presence so, it was probably that dumb knight, Gautier maybe¡­¡­.


    Well, I don¡¯t actually remember what his presence looked like so I¡¯ll have to confirm with my own eyes in the end.


    While being cautious and being ready to counter in case we get attacked, as soon as I put my hand on the door and entered the room¡ª¨C


    From the interior of the room, right beside the entrance, someone suddenly launched a slash right at me.


    The slash was intended to kill, and the spped at which the sword was swung down at me was not normal at all but, since I was already prepared for something like this before I even entered the room, I could easily handle this.


    I bent my body over, crouching like I was about to jump, and before the attacker¡¯s sword could reach me, I unleashed a foot swipe at him instead.


    Due to my sudden low attacked, his sword completely changed direction before it could even reach my body, and in that time, I grabbed the hand of the attacker and slammed them into the ground to suppress them.


    I grabbed the joint of his arm, and the moment I was about to cleanly break it in two, the man suddenly shouted in a loud voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s my loss! My name is Gilmour, Royal Knights, Vice commander of the 3rd squad! I yield, so please let me go!¡±


    ¡°Quite the selfish demand for a guy that tried to attack me, I must say. I don¡¯t even know if you really are the person you just claimed to be anyway, so sorry, but I¡¯ll be breaking your arm.¡±


    I already noticed that Mielle, and also Charlotte and Gautier were inside the room as well but, I was really irritated from getting attacked with genuine intent to kill, so as a threat¡ª¨C


    I pretended to actually get ready to break his arm when, Charlotte who was sitting on the sofa stood up and stopped me with an applause before speaking.


    ¡°Chris, I will apologise on his behalf for this rudeness, so won¡¯t you let him go for now?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..If you¡¯re already here, at least say something before attempting to kill someone.¡±


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know if it really is Chris and your group that¡¯s entering so we can¡¯t take risks. Just a precaution, I had tasked him to kill anyone who tries to enter the room.¡±


    She really is an insane princess.


    If I wasn¡¯t ready, I really would have been killed by this vice commander of 3rd squad Gilmour guy.


    ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t lost your edge yet. Hahaha, my body¡¯s getting all fired up to restart our little match from back then!¡±


    ¡°Uh, who are you again?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨CWhat!? Did you really forget my face¡­¡­..? You have some nerve. Fine, I¡¯ll make your body recall it the old fashioned way then!¡±


    Gautier was sounding all cocky which pissed me off so I pretended to not remember who he was, only for him to become an even more of an annoyance and try to attack me.


    Well, I didn¡¯t get to vent my frustration out properly on that Gilmour guy so might as well use Gautier as my sandbag instead I guess.


    I grabbed the sword of Gilmour¡¯s hand, and readied my blade to clash with Gautier¡¯s, but before they could meet, Charlotte interrupted us with her voice.


    ¡°Gautier, that¡¯s enough!¡­¡­¡­if you go on a rampage here, I really will show you no mercy.¡±


    ¡°M- My deepest apologies! Charlotte-sama!!¡±


    All the anger he was showing me instantly vaporized, as he quickly and cleanly knelt his head to the ground as an apology to his princess.


    I was taken aback a bit from the farce in front of me, but my irritation also blew away just from the stupidity of it all.


    ¡­¡­¡­I mean, I already knew they were inside this room from the start anyway. So let¡¯s just stop wasting time and get to the main point at hand.

 CH 363

    Test of Skill


    Ignoring Gautier whose head was still stuck to the floor, we went and sat down in front of the sofa Charlotte was sitting on.


    Standing behind the sofa Charlotte sat down, there was Mielle and two more people who I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Once again, my apologies for suddenly attacking you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother apologizing when you don¡¯t actually mean it.¡±


    ¡°Fine, then I¡¯ll retract the apology as you asked. You are right, I don¡¯t actually think badly of it. Not one bit.¡±


    Narrowing her eyes and clasping her hands, Charlotte spoke so.


    Her unapologetic attitude annoyed me but, if I knew she would be this flippant, maybe I should have taken the fake apology at least.


    ¡°But, I did have a legit reason to do so, so please don¡¯t get too angry with me.¡±


    ¡°For self-protection right? You¡¯d be in deep shit if it was Klaus¡¯ subordinate that had entered there after all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s part of it but¡­¡­¡­there was an even more important reason behind it.¡±


    Saying that, she pointed at the two unknown people standing behind her.


    ¡°I see. So it was a test of skill for whether I was really worth joining forces with, eh?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. Of course I explained to them again and again that your ability was not in doubt but, sometimes there are things that people won¡¯t believe until they actually see with their own eyes after all.¡±


    ¡°So, I¡¯m taking I passed?¡±


    I talked to the two people who were standing there quietly.


    They hadn¡¯t even greeted themselves, and I¡¯d prefer if they¡¯d at least tell me their names if they are going as far as to launch a surprise attack at me.


    ¡°My apologies for the late introduction. I am the commander of the 3rd squad of the royal knights, Alexandra is my name. seeing your little battle with Gilmour just now, there are no doubts in regards to your ability any more. Do forgive us for the rudeness shown.¡±


    The knight named Alexandra gave a proper bow at the waist as she gave her apologies.


    The room was dark and she was wearing a helmet but I could tell from her voice, that it was a woman.


    Alexandra then tapped the back of the person beside her, urging the knight to introduce himself as well.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.My name is Bruce. A fellow knight of the 3rd squad as well. And let me tell you, I have not acknowledged¡ª¡ª-OW!?¡±


    Before he could even finish the sentence, Alexandra who was bowing politely kicked him in the back and set him crashing.


    Since they were in knight armours, a large sound echoed inside the room. She must¡¯ve really kicked him hard.


    ¡°Well, if Asha says that, then it seems as there are no more issues in regards to your ability anymore.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. But, I¡¯ll say this advance, if something like this happens again, I won¡¯t stop like I did today.¡±


    ¡°I know. But all that aside, let¡¯s get to the main topic at hand shall we? If we keep chatting away, the sun will rise again before we know it.¡±


    Some way of saying it when she¡¯s the one who caused this nonsense in the first place, but yes, I¡¯d like to get to the point as well.


    I was a bit curious as to the nickname Asha she used for Alexandra but¡­¡­¡­before I begin talking, I¡¯d like to hear everything Charlotte has to tell me first.


    ¡°You can start first. I¡¯m sure Mielle already informed you on everything right? I¡¯d like to hear your answer as well.¡±


    ¡°Understood. First of all, as for the talk about crushing [Under Eye]¡­¡­..I agree with your suggestion. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s on Klaus¡¯ orders but they have been trying to keep tabs on my movements as well which is quite annoying, plus if we¡¯re after Klaus¡¯ head, then Milworc will certainly get in the way regardless, so this is unavoidable really.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you actually agreed. Guess I didn¡¯t have to waste time thinking up ways to convince you.¡±


    ¡°From my perspective, as long as Klaus disappears, I don¡¯t care about anything else, and I¡¯d prefer not to cause too big of a commotion so honestly speaking, I was against it. But I also understand that with the situation being what it is, this simply cannot be helped.¡±


    ¡°Well, your reasons don¡¯t matter as long as you¡¯re in favour of it. So, did you find any info on [Under Eye] like I asked?¡±


    ¡°Nope, not much. All we know is that their base somewhere in the black market, nothing more.¡±


    I was a bit surprised, I was expecting a bit more from Charlotte¡¯s side when it came to info on [Under Eye].


    Looks like it was the right decision to do our own info gathering in these last three days.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a disappointment.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately so. However, you can raise your expectations when it comes to the actual fighting. I have already negotiated with Father as well, and I have permission to lend you the entire 3rd squad led by Asha here, to face [Under Eye].¡±


    So that¡¯s why the commander and vice commander of the 3rd squad showed up here.


    Well, if Gilmour is the standard, I don¡¯t know how much I could really expect from them to be honest but¡­¡­..


    Having the royal knights with me will allow me to move more freely at least.


    I had already readied myself to live the life of a villain, the moment I decided to kill Klaus anyway.


    ¡°Well, having the knights with me will certainly help. I don¡¯t expect much in terms of actual strength but at least it¡¯ll give me an actual justification to attack [Under Eye] directly.¡±


    ¡°The hell you said! Just because you got one on the vice commander, doesn¡¯t mean you can act so cocky!¡±


    ¡°Even I know they won¡¯t be much of your help in the actual battle. I mean, I¡¯ve seen them in training. It¡¯s only these three here that will actually be able to hold their own against [Under Eye]. Which is why I brought them here.¡±


    ¡°Ueghh!? Even the Princess is saying such things¡­¡­¡­¡±


    It¡¯s good that Charlotte is actually a fighter herself so she has better understanding of such things.


    I don¡¯t know how many people they have in the 3rd squad but, knowing that only these three are actually worthwhile fighters is not very reassuring but¡­¡­..


    Well, from the very start, I intended to crush [Under Eye] by ourselves anyway.


    Having even just three more fighters will be a boost to our overall strength, and more than that, like I said, having legal justification to launch an attack is everything.


    But still¡­¡­..I¡¯m shocked to learn that this Bruce guy who¡¯s been yapping from the start is actually a decent fighter as well supposedly.

 CH 364

    Royal Knights


    Unlike Alexandra, he wasn¡¯t wearing a helmet but his face was quite the simple one. Reminded me of one those scummy adventurers.


    He could have passed as one of Greath¡¯s lackeys to be honest, so I really didn¡¯t expect him to actually be a half decent fighter supposedly.


    ¡°They¡¯re called Royal Knights, but it¡¯s not like only the cream of the crop are allowed to join or anything like that eh?¡±


    ¡°Although there is an entrance exam, so they¡¯re not complete pushovers but, compared to [Under Eye] they¡¯re definitely lacking in quality. Adventurers are obviously the most popular line of work, and those with strength and the need for quick money, quickly chose the path of a criminal. When you try to build a knight order, it¡¯s only natural that the quality will end up being fairly average.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..i feel like I just heard something I shouldn¡¯t!!¡±


    Even Bruce, after hearing Charlotte true opinion, had no choice but to obediently take a step back.


    ¡°Anyway, even having three more half decent fighters is still a big help. We were planning to fight with just us 3 at the start anyway¡­¡­¡­are you and Gautier going to fight as well, Charlotte?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately that¡¯s impossible for me. While I would love to take part personally, I¡¯m already busy making preparations to deal with Klaus. I can lend you Gautier if you want though¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Impossible. My place is beside Charlotte-sama at all times.¡±


    His head was still stuck to the ground but he still clearly gave his words of refusal.


    ¡°Well, in that case you can use Mielle as you see fit instead. She already has experience fighting with you guys after all.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? I have to take part too!?¡±


    ¡°This is an order. If you want to remain in my party¡­¡­¡­..you understand right?¡±


    She tried to refuse like Gautier but, after a not so subtle threat from Charlotte, Mielle began to falter.


    Since she was behind Charlotte, Mielle¡¯s ridiculous expression and glare was not seen by her, but from where I was sitting, it was quite clearly visible.


    ¡­¡­¡­I have a feeling this is how she is always treated and made to deal with miscellaneous chores all the time.


    I was starting to understand why Mielle always called her ¡®stupid princess¡¯ behind her back.


    ¡°And so, this is how we¡¯ll deal with [Under Eye]. Once we get a hold of their base¡¯s location, we can launch an attack at a moment¡¯s notice.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you at least did plan things ahead. That¡¯ll help. And also¡­¡­..as for [Under Eye]¡¯s base, actually I already have a pretty good idea of its location.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡­¡­..Wait, did you go look for it even though they are actively pursuing you?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. But, they never found or even saw me so don¡¯t worry but that won¡¯t be an issue.¡±


    Charlotte leaked a large exasperated sigh, and silently spoke.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.If you had been found, I would have had you killed myself. Avoid standing out at all costs. If you, the person who is vital to crushing Klaus, were to get captured, all the money and effort I have spent will also go to waste after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind, but I¡¯m not making any promises either.¡±


    ¡°Haah, you seriously have an annoying personality to deal with. You¡¯ll only increase the number of enemies you have if you stay like this you know?¡­¡­¡­¡­but anyway, so where this [Under Eye] base that you have found?¡±


    She sighed again and her expression was clearly strained as well but, even she probably realized that it was going to be useless trying to change me, so she left one last warning and then returned to the topic at hand.


    ¡°There¡¯s a place with bunch of tall buildings clustered together in the black market. It¡¯s hard to explain so I¡¯ll draw it on a map later.¡±


    ¡°Sure. If we already know the location, then we can launch the attack as quickly as possible. You guys are ready on your side as well I suppose?¡±


    ¡°We can head out to fight right now if need be.¡±


    ¡°Well we can¡¯t though, so that¡¯s a no. But, if you guys are ready then¡­¡­¡­the faster we execute this plan the better. How about we launch the attack, on noon the day after tomorrow?¡±


    Day after tomorrow at noon eh?


    Personally, I¡¯d prefer doing it at night rather than during the day but, then again, they are all much more likely to be cooped up inside the base during the day as well.


    It¡¯s hard to really predict how these things will go anyway so I don¡¯t see any reason to be against it.


    ¡°That works for us too. I probably don¡¯t need to say this but, don¡¯t talk to anyone else about this other than the people here in this room. We don¡¯t know where the information might leak from.¡±


    ¡°Of course I know that too. The announcement to the 3rd squad overall will only be done on the day of the assault itself as well. That¡¯s why, this information will remain known to only the people currently here until the day of the attack itself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. If the info still leaks, it¡¯ll be quite easy to find the perpetrator after all.¡±


    ¡°As long as you guys don¡¯t mess up, there¡¯s no chance of this info to leak so don¡¯t worry. Now then, let¡¯s end our little meeting here for now, shall we? Next we¡¯ll talk on the day of the assault itself. And if you succeed there, we¡¯ll finally start talking about how to deal with Klaus next.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll leave your side of work to you. Then¡­¡­..we¡¯ll see you the day after tomorrow.¡±


    Shaking hands with Charlotte who was sitting on the sofa, I got up and began to leave the room.


    Gautier, whose head was still knelt on the ground turned his neck slightly to glare at me but I pretended to not notice him, and then left the room.

 CH 365

    Pulsating Heartbeat


    Everything went smoother than expected for once which was a nice change of pace.


    Charlotte seemed to have made a move quickly as well, and had even managed to deploy an entire squad of Royal Knights to help with the assault on [Under Eye].


    I thought of this during our conversation as well but although the increase in strength may not be much, having a just cause to openly attack them is a lot more important.


    Although we didn¡¯t end up launching the attack right there and then, day after tomorrow was still very fast, and so we need to go back and properly get ready for the big day.


    ¡°Things seem to be progressing quite smoothly huh. Now that the plan is set in motion, it¡¯s a bit scary to think of but, I¡¯m also surprised by how much I am looking forward to battling [Under Eye] as well.¡±


    ¡°How rare that you¡¯d say something like that Esta.¡±


    After leaving [Lemon kid], as we were walking though the late nigh city streets, Esta suddenly muttered something like that.


    She didn¡¯t utter even a single word during the meeting so I was bit surprised that that was her first words to say after everything.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m getting all pumped up too! After hearing Chris and the Princess talk, I¡¯m finally getting that ¡®this is a decisive battle¡¯ feeling and¡­¡­.now¡¯s the time to really showcase the fruits of our hard work until now, no? My tension levels are rising high alright!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit frustrating to admit that I feel the same as Ralf but, I for the most part, I must agree with him. Finally, after running behind and chasing your back for so long, it feels like we can finally see your back now at least, Chris-san¡­¡­..Well, we¡¯re still far away from being able to stand by you and see your face though.¡±


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good thing or bad but, I could tell these two were really getting excited and pumped up.


    The battle is one the day after tomorrow, and that will be their first real test.


    Part of me was worried that they¡¯ll be tired when the time actually comes if they are already so high tension but¡­¡­¡­.


    I don¡¯t think I need to worry so much anymore. They have both matured enough to properly control their emotions now.


    ¡°Their base had what looked three different buildings, so I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be moving together on the day. Don¡¯t forget that okay?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Then all three of us will attack a different building then?¡­¡­¡­..you¡¯re right, if there¡¯s three buildings, we do need to attack them all at once. So it¡¯ll be one of us each to one building¡ª¡ªI hadn¡¯t thought of that!¡±


    ¡°Well not quite. I¡¯ll attack one building. Ralf and Esta, you¡¯ll take another. The third one we¡¯ll leave to the royal knights and Mielle I think. So while technically we¡¯re separating, it¡¯s more me who¡¯ll be on my own and you two will go as a group.¡±


    If I leave it these two, I can be confident that they¡¯ll take them down.


    I was obviously going to attack the building with the strongest individual life presence, and as long as I don¡¯t completely fuck up, I should be able to succeed as well but¡­¡­¡­the part that worries me is the royal knights side.


    Mielle being with them makes me a bit more confident but, they¡¯re still far from trustworthy.


    Like Ralf said at the start, I did consider the three of us each going to one building and taking a portion of the knights with us as well but, I don¡¯t think that would go too well.


    ¡°So it¡¯ll be just me and Ralf huh¡­¡­¡­Chris-san can probably handle it all by himself but, just the two of us is a bit¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say that you¡¯re worried now. Like you two said in Realzard, I¡¯m giving you this job as a sign of my trust towards you both. Isn¡¯t that what you two wanted? I am trusting you to succeed in your task okay?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª!! Of course we will! I ain¡¯t worried at all, me and Esta can definitely handle them by ourselves!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, I am fine with that too. We¡¯ll most certainly crush that [Under Eye] base just as you asked Chris-san.¡±


    Clenching their fists, the two boldly proclaimed so.


    ¡­¡­..yeah, I don¡¯t need to worry about these two anymore.


    The only doubtful ones are the royal knights now.


    Before the battle, I need to talk to Mielle, and discuss a couple of things with her beforehand.


    While thinking of such things, we returned back to Isabelle¡¯s home.


    .


    .


    2 days after the meeting.


    We finished all our shopping on the main street yesterday and retired to our beds early, so that we could wake up today in tip top condition.


    Within the next few hours, a hard and bloody battle was going to occur in the black market but, the sky was a serene clear blue as if it didn¡¯t care about any of this.


    ¡°You were already awake huh. Did you two sleep well yesterday?¡±


    ¡°yes, I was able to get some decent sleep somehow. Though I feel like half of it was just me laying there with my eyes closed  but regardless, I don¡¯t feel tired nor do I feel sleepy.¡±


    ¡°I slept like a log honestly! I am in perfect condition and ready for a fight!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s good to hear. Then, once the preparations are done¡­¡­..let¡¯s head together to the black market.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still morning, are we going to go there early?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know the assault is supposed to start at noon but, we don¡¯t know exactly when the royal knights squad will move. We should get to the area around the black market early and wait while hidden for the knights to arrive.¡±


    ¡°Oh boy, time to move then! Alright! I¡¯ll get ready asap!¡±


    Urging them both to start their final prep, I also decided to do the same.


    Since I had taken care of most things before sleeping, I just needed to change my outfit really¡­¡­¡­.and then, I took a deep breath.


    ¡ª¡ªAlright, let¡¯s head out.


    Leaving Isabelle¡¯s home, I began walking towards the black market alongside Ralf and Esta.

 CH 366

    Decisive Day


    Reaching right in front of the black market, we hid nearby and waited for the knights to arrive.


    The east street was mostly empty during the day, which made me relaxed knowing I didn¡¯t need to be overly cautious for now. Helped keep my nerves cool as well.


    ¡°¡­¡­..They¡¯re here. A large group of people is coming this way.¡±


    ¡°Eh, where? I don¡¯t see shit!¡±


    ¡°I just felt their presence, we¡¯ll see them soon enough. Just wait a couple of minutes and they¡¯ll be here.¡±


    I properly explained to Ralf who began to look around trying to see the knights, and then further hid ourselves until the knights were in plain sight.


    About 5 mins after I had sensed their presence.


    As expected, with Alexandra at the helm of the group, we saw the royal knights squad walking towards the black market.


    ¡°ooh, that¡¯s hell of a lot of knights! I wasn¡¯t even thinking about it but, isn¡¯t that close to like a hundred of them!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how many squads the Royal Knights have but, for just one squad to have this many is certainly a surprise. But, with numbers this big, there¡¯ll be zero chances of being covert about it, and any kind of ambush is completely out of the window.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t they just run away after seeing this many people? If they have already escaped by the time we reach them, all of this would have been for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Visibility won¡¯t be a problem this time of the day so if we leave about half of the squad at the entrance to block any runaways, it should be impossible to escape. Of course, if they have a different route to escape on the other side of the capital, we¡¯ll be completely out of luck.¡±


    Since I did infiltrate into the black market just a while back I know but, the black market was at the edge of the east district, the only entrance and exit into the area was here as far as I know.


    Even if they try to climb the spiked barricade like I did, if we have knights patrolling the area, they¡¯ll be caught quickly, and furthermore without a skill like [Pain Inhibition] like I do, it¡¯d be borderline impossible to climb the barricade safely in the first place.


    ¡°But man, if they escape out of the capital, won¡¯t that be better for us?! It¡¯ll mean that we¡¯ll have less disturbances during the clash with Klaus!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true as well I suppose. Personally speaking, I want to completely crush [under Eye] right here and now but, even if they were to run away, we¡¯ll still be closer to our main objective of striking at Klaus¡­¡­..now then, let¡¯s go and talk to Alexandra.¡±


    I walked up towards the knight squad marching uniformly and stood in front of Alexandra.


    Like Charlotte said, they had not told the squad any of the details until today and of course, they must not have been explained anything about me either as when we came out to stand in front of them, as if we were trying to stop them, the royal knights began to get noisy while staring at me.


    Noticing that, Alexandra promptly raised her hand as hand, and made a fist as a signal¡ª¡ª¨Cand instantly, the knights went pin drop silent.


    As expected of their commander, she does know how to lead a large squad alright.


    ¡°Chris-san, we¡¯ll be in your care for today.¡±


    ¡°Likewise. I don¡¯t want to suddenly order you guys around but¡­¡­..I do have a suggestion. Mind listening?¡±


    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t get cocky! The only one that can lead us royal knights is Alexan¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Bruce, shut up.¡±


    Bruce who was standing behind her alongside Gilmour tried to come up front to flaunt but, Alexandra instantly shut him down with a glare filled with killing intent.


    With a despondent look, he fell back again, although he did continue to glare at me while making sure that Alexandra didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡­¡­¡­.I am starting to genuinely doubt if this guy¡¯s actually supposed to be strong or not as everything he does or says screams ¡®scrub¡¯ and nothing more.


    ¡°I apologize on Bruce¡¯s behalf. So, what is your suggestion?¡±


    ¡°I want half the squad to guard the entrance. Both to block the escape route and to reduce our own numbers, as it¡¯d be a pain to lead this big of group inside.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that at all. That was my plan from the very start after all Chris-san.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then I suppose my advice was unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°No. with my position being what it is, it¡¯s rare for people to openly give me advice. I don¡¯t mind it one bit.¡±


    Saying that, Alexandra gave me a curt bow as a show of thanks.


    In my head, I had this extremely haughty and prideful image when it came to royal knights but Alexandra was unlike my imagination, and quite easy to talk to.


    ¡­¡­¡­well, the rest of the knights seemed to be much more like that as they all seemed to be quite irritated seeing me talk so casually with her.


    ¡°Then, let us rush inside and attack before they catch on to our plan. Mind if I ask you guys to lead the way until we reach [Under Eye]¡¯s base, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°As long as you are okay with it, I will but it¡¯ll be a bit more difficult that you think?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.?¡±


    At first I didn¡¯t understand why she said it¡¯ll be ¡®difficult¡¯ but as soon as Alexandra stood in front of the guards at the entrance of the black market, I understood what she meant.


    ¡°I am the commander of the 3rd squad of the Royal knights, Alexandra. We have come because we have heard that [Under Eye] has a base within the area. Let us pass.¡±


    ¡°Yeah that ain¡¯t gonna happen. Past here, is a lawless area. I don¡¯t give a shit if it¡¯s on the country¡¯s order or whatnot but, that¡¯s gonna be a no from me.¡±


    ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t know the commander of the 3rd squad was a woman. Heee, how about it? Now that you nothing better to do, why not hang out to play with us instead. Trust me, we¡¯ll make you feel real good.¡±


    Geha Geha. The men laughed in a vulgar manner as they began to encircle Alexandra.


    I thought they¡¯d have a bit more authority but as expected of people attached to the underworld, not even the royal knights got to enter without their permission.


    From what Alexandra said before,¡­¡­¡­I guess we¡¯re going to have to break through with force after all.

 CH 367

    Breaking In


    Alexandra made no further response to the guardsmen, and simply continued to glare at them.


    Until the signal came, I also didn¡¯t say anything, and just readied myself to move in a moment¡¯s notice.


    ¡°Aww, why did you go quiet? If you wanna play with us, I want to hear it with your mouth. Being a knight must be a hard job, when was the last time you actually played¡ª¡ª-¡°


    The moment one of the guardsmen put his hand around Alexandra shoulder.


    She grabbed the man¡¯s arm, and then hurled him into the ground while twisting it.


    The man¡¯s arm got twisted into a direction that was not natural, and the 2m tall man was very easily spun in the air and blasted away.


    As the men around the entrance began to shout and scream, I focused only on Alexandra¡¯s movement¡ª¡ªand the moment she gave the ¡®go¡¯ sign, I ran right past the men and infiltrated the black market.


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, follow me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! We¡¯re right behind ya!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Well that was a forceful way to do it.¡±


    Some of the other guards tried to run after us to catch us but, as soon as they showed their backs, the royal knights jumped on them from behind, and in matter of minutes the entrance to the black market had been subjugated without a single casualty.


    Hearing the commotion, more men began to gather at the entrance but, we left this place to the Royal knights to handle and headed straight towards the [Under Eye] base.


    Following after us, Alexandra and half her squad also burst in. Even with her squad being split, it was all done perfectly¡­¡­¡­


    No, even the squad getting split was part of her original plan as she had already told me, so it was better to say that she had left half the squad to handle the entrance.


    She made it look like a coincidental accident but, this was all according to Alexandra¡¯s plan.


    As expected of a commander of a Royal Knights squad, these kinds of diversion tactics were her bread and butter.


    While feeling impressed with her movements, we ran through the still pretty empty black market in a straight line towards the base.


    While I was being cautious to not go ahead to far in front from the royal knights, I was experienced with running through the dense forests at full speed meanwhile, Ralf and Esta were used to running through crowded cities as ex-thieves, so we three were exceptionally fast.


    While it felt a bit strange, we forced ourselves to move slower, and tried to match the speed of the royal knights instead. While leading the group, I finally led everyone to the area with the cluster of tall buildings that I had found before.


    As before, there were no guards or lookouts around the buildings, and it seemed even quieter than last time but¡­¡­.when I used my detection skills, I could very easily sense a bunch of strong presences inside the building.


    ¡°Chris-san, are [Under Eye] inside these buildings?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I used my detection skills again to check, and there¡¯s no doubt about it.¡±


    Then, I tried to sense for the strongest presence and this time, inside the building I saw the white haired woman, I sensed two different very strong presences.


    Not just Prudence, there was someone with the same level of presence inside with her.


    Was it another executive or had Charlotte pulled some string perfectly, and had gotten Milworc himself to be here in this moment?


    In either case, this was a golden opportunity.


    Also, this is a bit unrelated but¡­¡­¡­although I was doubting myself, in the building where I saw the white haired woman, the roof most certainly had a green coloured cloth hanging from it. Seeing that filled with both relief and confidence.


    ¡°Detection? How the hell would you know for sure that [Under Eye] is tin these buildings!?¡±


    ¡°I can tell. If you can¡¯t, then shut up and listen to what people say.¡±


    ¡°What did you just say to me!? I am a royal knight you know!? Just cause you¡¯re close with the princess doesn¡¯t mean some commoner can¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°BRUCE! We are in front of an enemy base. Enough with your nonsense¡­¡­¡­..I will not warn you again.¡±


    ¡°M- my deepest apologies ma¡¯am!¡±


    Alexandra¡¯s chilly voice sent shivers down Bruce¡¯s spine.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan? Princess Charlotte had ordered us to support you Chris-san so, we¡¯ll follow your strategy here.¡±


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll take the two buildings on the inner side. The royal knights will subjugate the building on the front right.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Just the three of you will attack two whole buildings by yourself?¡±


    ¡°In the first place, while your numbers are high, I¡¯m really only counting Alexandra you, and Gilmour¡­¡­¡­and I guess that Bruce guy as the only real combatants.¡±


    ¡°In that case¡­¡­¡­.very well. Us royal knights will subjugate the building on the front right as asked.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Ah, actually, Mind if I borrow just one of your people?¡­¡­¡­Mielle, just because you¡¯re hiding in the back of the squad doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t see you. You¡¯re coming with me to help.¡±


    Until now, she hadn¡¯t said anything and was trying her best to remain invisible hoping everyone will forget about her but of course, I didn¡¯t and called out to Mielle to come and help me.


    Her expression twisted from the realization that she had been caught but, she knew that there was no point in resisting so she obediently came out to the front.


    ¡°Why always me? I don¡¯t like all these desperate battle you know. Just let me stay on standby in the back dammit.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Charlotte tell you to help me? I more or less know your abilities so you won¡¯t at least get in my way. Which is why you¡¯re coming with me to help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll request you as well. If it¡¯s four people taking on two buildings, I¡¯ll feel a bit more relaxed as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Fine. But if you ask me to play vanguard, I won¡¯t do it even if I die okay?¡±


    With even Alexandra asking her to help, Mielle reluctantly agreed to come with me.


    With Mielle coming with me, I can use her help to deal with any unforeseen trouble that may occur.


    Now that the plan of action was set, all that¡¯s left is to attack and subjugate the [Under Eye] base.

 CH 368

    Splitting Up


    Splitting away from the royal knight squad led by Alexandra, we headed to the inner side buildings alongside Mielle.


    The building on the inner right had the least amount of presences, and there weren¡¯t many too strong presences either, making it the easiest to subjugate.


    I left that one to Ralf and Esta to handle, and meanwhile, me and Mielle headed to the building that had the green banner hanging from the top.


    ¡°Alright, then we split up here¡­¡­¡­¡­Don¡¯t you dare die on me alright?¡±


    ¡°Like hell we will! Besides, that¡¯s our line! I know that you specifically chose the building with the strongest people for yourself anyway right?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re both similar in danger. And I have said this before but if it feels like things are getting too dangerous, just run. And Esta, maintain your calm at all times.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. If I sense unmanageable danger, I¡¯ll personally drag Ralf away if I have to.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Then let¡¯s meet up once we¡¯re done with our work.¡±


    Exchanging words one last time, I saw those two off, and then we headed to the left side building.


    Firstly, I tried to hide near the entrance and check the situation inside but¡­¡­¡­


    I couldn¡¯t really sense if there were too many people moving about inside or not, and there was no way for me to know if they had noticed our attack already or if they were still unaware.


    ¡°Hey, when Ralf said that this building was probably the most dangerous one,¡­¡­.. was he saying the truth?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all dangerous, like I said. Also, stay quiet for now. I want to scout out the insides of the building.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me the truth then. If I know that we¡¯ll be facing strong enemies, I need to prepare in my own way as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.It is. I think there are at least two executives in this one.¡±


    ¡°Waaah, so he really was right. Why do I always seem to get the short end of the stick every single time I wonder?¡±


    When I told her the truth to stop her from annoying me, Mielle openly frowned and then sighed.


    Well, I do feel a bit bad for dragging her into this but, from the very start I planned to take this building on entirely by myself, so I don¡¯t plan on letting her face too much danger anyway.


    ¡°You can run if you feel like things are getting too dangerous for you. As I promised, I¡¯ll always be the vanguard¡­¡­¡­.or rather, I orig9inally planned to fight by myself anyway. You can just watch from a little far away, and just make sure that I don¡¯t get ambushed or attacked from behind.¡±


    ¡°Run away when it gets dangerous he says¡­¡­it¡¯s already pretty dangerous though¡­¡­¡­well, I¡¯ll say this in advance, don¡¯t expect anything from me when you¡¯re in active battle.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    I curtly replied to her prickly words, and then focused inside the building again.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­yeah, it doesn¡¯t seem like people are moving about in a rush or anything.


    Have they really not noticed? Or are they simply pretending not to?


    There was no point pondering over it any more so, while reminding myself to not get careless, I began my raid on the building.


    Since it was broad daylight outside right now, unlike last time, I didn¡¯t need to use [Crimson Eyes].


    It makes it pretty use for me to know where the enemies are but at the same time, it also makes it easier for enemies to notice me as well.


    While I was making sure to not accidentally run into anyone, it was still the first floor so it didn¡¯t seem like there was anyone here in the first place.


    While I could hear some small sounds from the upper floor, the building overall still felt pretty quiet and it didn¡¯t really feel like I was attacking them at all.


    I was expecting to be clashing swords by now, but since no one had noticed us, it ended up turning into a stealth mission instead.


    I warned Mielle to not make any loud footsteps, as we climbed to the next floor while talking with only hand signs.


    I had sensed a couple presences in the second floor but, the really strong ones were still on the upper floors so I decided to ignore these, and focused on going up instead.


    Should I bother getting rid of the scrubs, or should I go directly for the executives¡­¡­¡­.?


    I had been thinking about it even before I reached the building but, if they really hadn¡¯t noticed me, it¡¯s better if I can ambush the stronger enemies I decided.


    While being extra cautious, I decided to make my way to the person who had the strongest presence inside the building.


    I don¡¯t know if I am making the right decision or not but, well, if I get ambushed from behind because of this, it¡¯ll certainly turn out to be a bad decision¡ª¡ªkeeping that in mind, I finally reached the 5h floor, he place from where I could sense the strongest presence in all of black market coming from.


    While I had been sensing people, I hadn¡¯t actually run into anyone until now.


    Perhaps I just got lucky but, when they¡¯re being that defenceless, it¡¯s hard not to grow even more doubtful instead. That¡¯s just how I am.


    If it was Ralf, he¡¯d always take everything positively and would have burst into the room to attack by now but, I just wasn¡¯t that kind of person.


    I mean, I came all this way so quietly just to ambush them, it¡¯d be quite contradictory of me to just burst into from the door directly at this point but¡­¡­.


    ¡°Mielle. Blast that door with your magic.¡±


    ¡°Eh? You sure?¡±


    ¡°I can sense the strong presence from inside there but, I am getting a bad premonition for whatever reason.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really get what you¡¯re implying but, I just need to blast it with magic right¡­¡­¡­.seriously, you asked me to be so silent and cautious and now you want to me to blast magic. You really make no sense.¡±


    She seemed to be grumbling complaints, but still she began to pour and knead her mana¡ª¡ªand then blasted her magic at the door.


    ¡°[Hail Barrett]¡±


    A large block of ice was fired from Mielle¡¯s hand, and crashed into the door with tremendous speed and force.


    And after crashing into the door¡­¡­¡­the magic didn¡¯t stop its momentum and continued bursting into the room, when suddenly¡ª¡ª


    A sound of explosion far larger than the sound of her magic hitting the door echoed throughout the building.


    In a panic, we had quickly gone down a floor to avoid the explosion, which allowed to safely avoid it but¡­¡­..the place we were before had been burnt black and charred from the massive explosion.


    A cold sweat rand down my spine, as I turned to look at Mielle who was also equally stunned

 CH 369

    Explosion


    I was right in sensing danger but, I didn¡¯t expect the trap to be something this massive.


    Was the room rigged with an explosion, or did Mielle¡¯s [Hail Barrett] and the explosion combine to create this massive explosion?


    ¡­¡­¡­no, this is why I couldn¡¯t sense those presences moving around like normal. They really had set up bombs around the building.


    By leading the people inside by pretending to look defenceless, they were hoping to completely annihilate us with this bomb all at once probably.


    If I assume that no info had leaked, I was shocked at how quickly they had set this all up but with executives of [Under Eye] involved, it makes sense that they¡¯d at least be this capable.


    Regardless, feeling glad that we avoided it even if purely on gut instinct, I pulled myself together, and moved towards the room once again to face whoever was lying within that room.


    ¡°Eh, you¡¯re already moving again? My legs are still trembling a bit though.¡±


    ¡°if they run away, this will all be for nothing. If you can¡¯t follow, you can wait here. You¡¯ve already done what I needed you for anyway, Mielle.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­of course I¡¯ll come with. With this explosion, there¡¯s definitely going to be people coming this way. If I wait here alone, I¡¯ll have to face them all alone.¡±


    ¡°I suppoe you¡¯re right in that waiting might be more dangerous. Then, I¡¯ll leave the support to you. Keep an eye out for enemies that may come from behind as well.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Not that I expected anything else, but in the end I did get dragged into fighting after all huh.¡±


    Mielle was still complaining but, if she can joke about it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have to worry about her either.


    Climbing the stairs one again, we quickly headed to the room from before.


    The two strong presences that hadn¡¯t moved even a bit since we entered the building, had finally moved to the room of the explosion as well.


    Probably to make sure if the ¡®intruder¡¯ was dead or not¡ª¡ªor at least I assume so.


    ¡°hmm, there¡¯s so no corpse huh. You think he got completely annihilated by the explosion?¡±


    ¡°Well, that shit was a powerful bomb alright! I had tuned it such that if they were a platinum rank or above adventurer, they¡¯d survive just about!¡±


    As I had expected, inside the room, I could hear two voices confirming the situation.


    A polite woman¡¯s voice, and loud man¡¯s voice, that was changing tone high and low like a madman¡¯s.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Shit. He really is in this building after all.¡±


    ¡°You know who these two inside the room are?¡±


    Mielle muttered as if she recognized these two, so I asked her to explain.


    ¡°I mean they are literally right there in front of you so I don¡¯t really need to explain but, the man is the leader of [Under Eye] Milworc. I have only talked to him once but, that creepy voice could only be him.¡±


    And the woman could only be Prudence, since she¡¯s literally the only female member in [Under Eye].


    I was wondering why the woman was talking in such a polite and honorific manner as well so I did expect him to be their leader but¡­¡­¡­


    Mielle¡¯s words confirm that he is infact their leader.


    This was my greatest chance, but also a highly tough situation with Prudence, an executive, also there.


    I could also sense the members on the lower floors starting to move, probably planning to come this way, so we really didn¡¯t have a lot of time.


    The explosion from before, and now this stinging sensation and the pressure of the situation only fired me up even more.


    ¡°Why do you look so happy to know that the leader Milworc is here¡­¡­¡­? You¡¯re smiling like a madman you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just your imagination. Let¡¯s enter inside, and settle this quickly. The small fries are also coming soon.¡±


    We stopped our chatting there, and started to prepare ourselves to quickly rush in and start the battle.


    Part of me wanted to at least have a chat with Prudence and Milworc as well but, I had already decided to launch attack as soon as I enter.


    Giving a nod to Mielle, I unsheathed Vendettatein and rushed into  the room.


    Inside the room were two people. The white haired woman that I had seen from afar¡ª¡ªPrudence, and a man with a half completely ruined face¡ª¡ªMilworc.


    Prudence looked shocked from my sudden appearance but, Milworc, as if he expected me to show up and attack, opened his mouth wide and laughed crazily.


    Our eyes met, and seeing his eerie face properly almost made me stop in my tracks unconsciously.


    He was the type of guy you¡¯d instantly avoid if you accidentally saw him in the streets. But right now, my goal was to kill him.


    Marking down their locations inside my head, I activated [Hearing Enhancement] and [Sound Wave detection].


    And then, after getting ready to hear their positions¡ª¡ªI activated [Black mist].


    The smoke from the explosion was already still in the room, but now the jet black mist completely covered the room.


    This move of mine was almost a sure-kill against people who aren¡¯t prepared for it.


    In terms of life presence, Prudence was actually higher but, I knew that Milworc was the real danger.


    With my aim set at him, I swiftly moved through the black mist and circled behind him.


    And then swung Vendettatein with the intensity to chop his head off but¡ª¡ªas if he could totally see through my moves, he ducked down to dodge my attack, and not just that, he even countered back with his dagger as well.


    How could he so perfectly know my position even though I could only keep track of him through my hearing skills?


    His attack was so perfect that this question popped in my head as I dodged Milworc¡¯s attack, meanwhile Prudence quickly used Wind magic to deal with the black mist.


    The black mist was instantly blown away¡ª¡ª-and my sure-kill ambush strategy ended in complete failure.

 CH 370

    A Crazy Organization


    It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t think that the enemies could use magic too but, I didn¡¯t expect them to be this quick in dealing with it.


    ¡­¡­¡­or rather, it¡¯s really only Milworc that caught me by surprise by being able to see through the pitch black darkness of [Black Mist] and avoid my ambush.


    No wonder the rumours of him being more adept in battles than even Klaus had been going around.


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    Prudence turned out to be much more capable than I assumed as well, and while I was confident in being able to take them on by myself¡­¡­¡­¡­this might be a closer match up than originally expected.


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    I glared at Milworc who had easily dealt with my [Black Mist] but, his eyes, specifically his pupils, were completely unfocused and seemed to be staring into the distance instead of looking directly at me, which was quite unnerving to look at.


    It wasn¡¯t even that he was mocking me, I think he is genuinely completely insane but¡­¡­..getting looked down upon by a psycho on drugs really got under my nerves.


    ¡°Like Milworc-san said, you really did survive the explosion huh.¡±


    ¡°HYA HYA HYA HYAH! Told ya, didn¡¯t I!? ¡­¡­¡­he¡¯s pretty damn fast as well. Ain¡¯t no pushover, it seems eh?¡±


    ¡°I am quite interested in that smokescreen as well¡ª¡ª¨Ccould you tell me what kind of variety that move belonged to?¡±


    Without even looking at me, these two were having a chat with each other, after which Prudence suddenly threw a question at me.


    As the rumours said, she is certainly beautiful but¡­¡­..just like Milworc, there¡¯s an eerie aura about her as well.


    Her expression seemed to be completely frozen, and only her mouth seemed to come alive when she talked. It was more like looking at a sculpture talking instead.


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    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you guys quite easygoing, asking questions to a guy who¡¯s come to kill you.¡±


    ¡°fufufufu, aren¡¯t you the one that¡¯s easygoing? This is our territory after all? More of our comrades are going to come running from behind, and it¡¯s you who needs to be all worried.¡±


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    That¡¯s the reason behind their relaxed attitude eh?


    I could sense a bunch of presences heading towards us from the lower floors, so she was right in that I certainly didn¡¯t have the time to be playing around.


    But, I am also confident in being able to take these two down before their reinforcements can reach here, that¡¯s all.


    My ambush may have failed but, I just need to take them head on instead now.


    My first aim will be¡ª¡ª-the easier kill, Prudence.


    ¡°Prue, he¡¯s about to attack!! But don¡¯t go for the kill, and just endure for now,okay!?¡±


    ¡°I know. Leave it to me.¡±


    [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical Ability Boost][Ability Unleashed]


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    I activated my battle skills, and my enemies seemed to sense the change in atmosphere as well as Milworc quickly called out to Prudence to warn her.


    ¡­¡­¡­but, just because they can sense my attacks coming doesn¡¯t mean they can deal with it.


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    As soon as I took my first step to lunge towards Prudence, I further activated [Leg Strength Enhancement] and [Gale].


    She seemed to be wielding what seemed like a black whip but, like Milworc had ordered her, it was clear that she seemed to be entering a guarding stance instead.


    I could tell that she was putting all her concentration in her eyes to just keep up with my accelerated speed.To make her get even more focused on my movements, I began to use the strange step moves that I stole from the [Under Eye] member that used shadow clones, but right at that moment¡ª-


    ¡°Prue, that black thingy is coming again!¡±


    Milworc shouted out another warning in a hoarse voice, but I still used [Black Mist] regardless.


    Against enemies that have survived the black mist and know how it works, the effectiveness greatly decreases but, you just need a little bit more imagination to figure out even more new ways to use it.


    And of course, just because Prudence knew how to deal with the [Black Mist] doesn¡¯t mean she could instantly face it head on either.


    To make sure to kill Prudence in a single strike, I laid out layer upon layers of different plans and strategies, and would use everything to go for the kill.


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    As soon as the room turned black, I activated [Silent Steps] and [Stealth] once again to disappear into the darkness, and then I circled to her left and slashed at her from the side.


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    Of course, there was a chance she could also see through and deal with it like Milworc but, from the looks of it, Prudence didn¡¯t seem to know where I was at all.


    Furthermore, due to me using [Black Mist] she was probably trying to use her wind magic to blow it away like she did last time, as I could tell that mana was gathering in her arms.


    She was probably hoping to blow away the black mist, as well as launch an attack at me at the same time with the wind magic but¡ª¡ª-that was the worst option you could have taken against me.


    Prudence fired the magic in front of her, and just like last time, my [black mist] was instantly blown away but, I was already right beside her swinging the Vendettatein at her from the side.


    [Strong Arm] and [Hard Hit] activated as well¡­¡­¡­.and my strike hit her directly at the back of her neck, and I swung down the sword right to her waist, ripping her apart into two.


    She seemed to have also activated some kind of defensive magic as well but, against a strike from Vendettatein buffed with all my physical skills, no skill would have any chance and Prudence¡¯s body fell to the ground as blood splashed and sprayed all over the room.


    My eyes met with the dead Prudence¡¯s eyes but, even in her last moment, her expression remained unchanging like before.


    It was like she was monster rather than a human¡ª¡ªthe moment I thought that as I observed her body, Prudence¡¯s face crumbled, like a mask shattering into pieces.


    The beautiful face seemed to have melted away, and underneath it was a completely burnt skin, and an ugly face, quite contrary to the one she seemed to have attached over it.


    The guy who committed suicide instantly, Wood, Douglas Dyne, and now this Prudence.


    It seemed that [Under Eye], much more so than even those from [The Maginicks], was a congregation of people who couldn¡¯t find a home even in the underworld, and carried extremely dark pasts behind them.


    Seeing Prudence¡¯s real face revealed, and Milworc who seemed to be guffawing after seeing her corpse, I finally understood just what kind of twisted organization [Under Eye] really was.

 CH 371

    Milworc


    A big pool of blood spread under the corpse of Prudence after I cut her down.


    And, seeing that corpse, a howling laughter resounded inside the room.


    I could tell even at a first glance that those rumours about Milworc being completely insane were true after all but, seeing him laugh after seeing someone who should be his comrade killed in front of him, I finally understood the extent of utterly insane this man was.


    I should have lunged straight at him to kill him next, but my instincts told me otherwise, and I simply stood there watching him.


    ¡°kekekke,geh HAHAHAHAH! Man, aren¡¯t women fucking useless!? I made her my comrade cuz I thought she¡¯d at least be of some use but, she kicked the bucket the one time shit got serious!!¡­¡­¡­hey, don¡¯t you think so too?¡±


    Milworc laughed like crazy, and then suddenly he spoke that last question, but unlike a few seconds ago, his face turned completely serious, and his tone of voice and manner of speaking also changed into a more polite one at the end there.


    It didn¡¯t seem like something intentional, and felt more like it was a completely different person speaking to me suddenly.


    From his laughter I didn¡¯t really understand what was going on, and after seeing him almost switch personalities, I quickly glanced towards Mielle hoping for an explanation.


    But it seemed even Mielle seemed to not know much about this, and her face seemed completely pale as if she was trying her best to not vomit. Honestly it was the worst expression I had ever seen her make.


    I hoped to get some help from her after my head went into a mess seeing this guy, but I didn¡¯t really get any help from her. However, seeing a person even more bewildered than myself instead made me feel a bit more calmer again.


    Not exactly how I intended it but, in front of Milworc, who was clearly lacking a few screws in his head, I once again regained my calm after feeling completely baffled like before.


    ¡°¡­¡­..to be honest, I never really thought much about whether they¡¯re a man or a woman when fighting them. Besides, you¡¯ll be the next to die, so I don¡¯t really care whether you¡¯re a guy or a girl either.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t seem like we¡¯ll ever meet on the same page. Especially when you really think you can kill me here.¡±


    Seeing her expression, I don¡¯t think I can expect any assistance from Mielle here.


    It should 2 vs 1 now but, it ended up turning into a 1v1 in the end anyway.


    Since I was able to take down Prudence in just one strike, and the presences of the other members below were still far so, this battle will be decided by the most simple thing¡­¡­¡­¡­which one of us is simply stronger. It¡¯s a contest of pure strength.


    But it won¡¯t be long before his reinforcements are here, so I can¡¯t take this too slow.


    Just like with Prudence, I¡¯ll attack with the intent to kill with a single strike.


    With Vendettatein in hand, as I slowly began to close in the distance between us, Milworc threw away the dagger he was using before and pulled out a rapier-like thrusting sword from his waist.


    Unlike before, where his eyes seemed glazed over and staring into the distance, this time he was directly looking straight at me.


    Not just his tone or words, even his atmosphere and the way he carried his body, all had changed. It really was like he was a completely different person now.


    If I fight him assuming him to be the same person that dodged my [black mist] ambush, I will most certainly feel a dissonance with the person I was fighting now and end up losing instead.


    This was still Milworc but, I should fight with the assumption that he¡¯s basically a completely different person than the one I clashed blades with before.


    After a short pause as we stared at each other with our swords in hand, Milworc showed no signs of making the first move so I decided to do it instead.


    [Gale] and [Leg Strengthening Enhancement] were still active, as I rushed in directly from the front to strike.


    I couldn¡¯t help but try and imagine the person that dodged my attacks inside the [Black Mist] but, I forced myself to remove that version of him from my mind and instead decided to launch a more straightforward attack.


    No feints, no nothing. Just a simple, step in, and overhead slash.


    My attack was more designed to get a better look at how this Milworc would react but, Milworc just stood there while holding his rapier in a drawn bow like manner with his hands.


    I could tell he was getting ready to counter but, regardless, I didn¡¯t stop my move either.


    I was hoping to hold my sword from striking him till the very end to make him launch his counter first, dodge that and then¡ª¡ª-deliver a horizontal slash to cut him in two.


    I ran that move multiple times inside my head as I finally reached into the range where Vendettatein could strike.


    ¡­¡­¡­.but, even then, Milworc showed no signs of moving, and continued to just stand still with a light smile on his face.


    If that¡¯s the case, I guess I have to either go all in with the attack and see what happens, or get ready for the counter that follows once he blocks my attack, and see which one of us breaks first.


    To get a better look on my opponents movements and patterns, the latter was the better choice but, at the same time, if I get too close I¡¯ll reduce my own gap for dodging his attacks.


    I needed to push myself to the utmost limit to see through his full ability but¡ª¨Ceven after a I took another step forward while in Vendettatein¡¯s range, he still refused to show any signs of making a  move.


    Every single pore in my body was open, and it felt like time was flowing at an extremely slow pace, that¡¯s how concentrated I was. And yet, Milworc continued to stand there with a smile on his face.


    One more step. If I take one more step closer, he¡¯ll really have no gap to even counter me now.


    Deciding that in my mind, the moment I took the next step, I activated [Strong Arm] and [Hard Hit].


    I unleashed a diagonal slash buffed by my skills but¡ª¨CMilworc didn¡¯t step back and neither did he try to counter me, instead he just lunged forward with his entire body.


    Vendettatein was not a longsword that could be turned mid swing very easily.


    Because I let myself get so close to him, it ended up working against me as he took advantage of it instead.


    I forced myself to jump backwards, and then somehow managed to slash at Milworc who had lunged in right in front of me to stop him but¡­¡­..


    Milworc didn¡¯t attack me and instead, passed under my arms, by the side and behind me.


    My slash from Vendettatein chased his back, but it only cut through air, and he ended up completely getting behind me.


    Since I had forced myself to take this evasive action, the balance of my body was completely off, and I had no way of dealing with whatever attack came next.


    I had no other choice but to activate all my defensive skills, and resolve myself to endure the strike that was about to hit my defenceless back.

 CH 372

    Prodigy


    [Skin Strengthen][Iron Wall][Pain Inhibition]. And then [Hardening].


    I instantly activated all my defensive skills, and readied myself to withstand the attack at my back but¡ª¡ª¨Ceven after the gap of a moment, the attack never came.


    I wondered if Milworc simply found my reaction funny and intentionally didn¡¯t attack but, surely even he wouldn¡¯t have the time to play around in a battle to the death like this.


    I didn¡¯t know what was happening behind me but, before anything, I needed to get out of this spot and recollect myself.


    I made a front roll, and while on the ground I activated¡ª¡ª[leg strength enhancement] to kick the floor and create distance between us.


    Even within the few seconds that I initiated my escape, no further attack came, and once I confirmed that I was far away, I turned around to see Milworc on his knees holding down on the back of his head.


    Even after seeing him like this, I didn¡¯t understand what had happened but, I quickly looked around to check and¡­¡­..


    While still completely pale faced, I saw Mielle pointing both of her arms towards Milworc.


    From the scene in front of me, I could infer that Mielle had used magic to stop Milworc.


    I was ready to take the one hit but, I ended up getting saved by Mielle who I had removed from my calculations.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Oi oi, that ain¡¯t fair, is it!? Don¡¯t pour cold water on our one on one duel dammit!! You just ruined my chance to kill him there!!¡±


    Milworc¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and his courteous personality from before seemed to have changed out again.


    From the feel, it seemed like he had returned to his first personality but, this one still wasn¡¯t as completely deranged like the first one which made it all the more confusing and mysterious.


    ¡­¡­¡­.ah but, now¡¯s not the time to be hyperanalyzing Milworc¡¯s personality. Milworc¡¯s focus was now completely moved towards Mielle so I needed to move to protect her first.


    Right now, Milworc is right between me and Mielle so, I quickly moved to get between him and Mielle instead.


    ¡°I apologize for thinking you were too scared to even move. You really saved me there.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I don¡¯t need your apologies. Honestly, till the very last moment, I didn¡¯t plan on attacking either.¡±


    Is she saying that her body moved on her own then?


    Regardless, she saved me and that¡¯s a fact. Whatever the reason may have been, my apology remains sincere.


    ¡°Still, you have my thanks¡­¡­¡­.Can I count on you for support from here on?¡±


    ¡°NO WAY! It¡¯s one thing if it¡¯s to take out the members coming from below, but fighting Milworc is definitely not happening. I don¡¯t even need your apology so just please, beat that disgusting guy already!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, got it. I don¡¯t make the same mistake twice.¡±


    Boldly proclaiming that to Mielle, I once again took my stance with Vendettatein.


    In contrast, Milworc was still not looking at me and was instead glaring at Mielle behind me.


    His attitude of showing me that I wasn¡¯t even worth looking at for him certainly got on my nerves but, it¡¯s true that just now he had completely outplayed me and so I didn¡¯t really have the authority to feel irritated towards his actions.


    In the first place, I need to cool myself down and not get swallowed into his pace.


    I took a deep breath, and while Milworc hadn¡¯t picked up his weapon again, I used my brain to its fullest and ran the previous battle inside my head once again.


    Having gone face to face with him directly, I was very clearly made aware that Milworc was most certainly a true fighting prodigy.


    His movements to dodge my ambush inside the [Black Mist] was no fluke, and even in our battle of patience during his counter stance, he completely defeated me.


    Every single move he made came with the realization of just how much of a prodigy this guy was but, amongst it all, the thing that stood out the most was his almost inhuman mentality.


    The way he reacted inside the black mist was a revelation itself but, his ability to make these moves without and lack of composure or a single shred of hesitation was utterly strange.


    Of course that made him the perfect counter to someone like me but, seriously, the way he lunged in during the counter was also not something a sane person would do. I can¡¯t help but assume that he doesn¡¯t even feel any emotions when making these moves.


    He was a madman that didn¡¯t feel fear of pain or even death. That was the conclusion I came to after our short skirmish.


    Common sense wouldn¡¯t work on him, because he¡¯s a battle prodigy with a few screws loose in his head.


    On the other hand, I was just a mediocre [farmer] that only got this strong thanks to a bunch of plants.


    It wouldn¡¯t be strange to feel like there¡¯s no way of winning against him but, depending on how I fight, I can pull of crazy results.¡ª¡ªafter all, it¡¯s precisely to take down guys like him that I had been building up strength for all this time.


    From here on, I will treat him like he was Klaus himself, and use my absolute full strength to take down Milworc.

 CH 373

    Comrade Killer


    Once I was close enough to have him in Vendettatein¡¯s range again, he finally moved his gaze back to look at me again.


    And just when I thought that he¡¯d take the same stance as before with the rapier, he sheathed the sword and took a different stance with his bare fists.


    ¡°Right now, I want to kill the woman behind you a lot more than you! But if you¡¯re gonna get in my way, I¡¯ll have to kill¡ª¡ª¡°


    Before he could finish his sentence, one their members from below finally ran reached here and burst into the room from behind us.


    He was probably the closest to this room, so he ended up coming here first all by himself.


    I didn¡¯t want to get caught between the two here, so I decided to quickly turn and take care of this guys first but¡­¡­.


    It was Milworc who made a move before even I could.


    Milworc dashed around me, taking a slightly longer route, to the door, and then grabbed the member that had just arrived¡ª¡ª-and then slammed him into the ground.


    He was smacked head first into the ground with such great force that with dull bursting sound, his head cracked open, and his own blood completely soaked his black robe as he lay there lifeless.


    Unable to even understand what the hell just happened, I ended up frozen on the spot.


    Since my own attack had been interrupted, I lost my concentration for a moment, but I quickly shook my head and then quickly moved to position myself between Milworc and Mielle once again, and retook my sword stance.


    ¡°I literally just said that I hate people interfering in my fights, and still each and every one of these fucking idiots keep doing it anyway!¡­¡­¡­hey, don¡¯t you agree it¡¯s annoying too?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°What the hell, at least give me answer will ya? That¡¯s why, just let me get rid of the woman behind you first! I can¡¯t have a fun fight like this after all!¡±


    ¡°I suppose I should say this but, you¡¯re gonna have to kill me first before you can get to her.¡±


    It seemed like he accepted my warning at face value, as he began to crack his blood-soaked fingers menacingly as he began to walk directly towards me.


    ¡­¡­¡­.once again, I affirmed my belief that Klaus was equally fucking insane to take a madman like him into his party.


    No wonder the king was so against having a guy like this in the [Sword God]¡¯s party, and now it made sense why Charlotte was so ready to help me take down Klaus, after he went out of his way to disobey the king to have him in his party regardless of the warnings.


    They must have come to the conclusion that rather than protect the treasure of the country, the [Sword God]¡­¡­..letting [Under Eye], no, the poison called Milworc walk around freely was a much bigger and unforgivable problem for the country.


    I couldn¡¯t even imagine just what kind of person Klaus had become by now but, if he really was able to subdue this Milworc, he really must have become a monster himself as well.


    I was already feeling a bit gloom knowing that I have to face that very Klaus soon after in a deathmatch but, before all that I need to deal with Milworc in front of me first and foremost.


    ¡°Chris, you have to kill that man okay!? If you let him pass by, and kill me, I will never ever forgive you!!¡±


    Hearing Mielle¡¯s screams, who was obviously much more threatened by his words and actions, I simply gave a silent thumbs up in response.


    His utterly insane actions did sap my spirits a bit but, thanks to that I did get a quick look at how he fights with his bare hands as well.


    Dagger, then rapier, compared to those, I thought bare handed would be a much weaker fighting style but, just from his movements just now, I could tell that he just possessed enough raw strength to make it work.


    But, it wasn¡¯t that he was trained in some martial arts style or something like that. It was simply his natural-born ¡®raw strength¡¯ and nothing more.


    Judging from how he was able to break open that guy¡¯s head with a single move, it was cler that Milworc was excellent at using the full abilities of his body. He could draw strength from his entire body into his hand, and then release it all without even a little bit of waste.


    Honestly, using bare fists might be a more flexible fighting style for someone like him than use a rapier, plus judging from his movements, it was clear that this was definitely his strongest and preferred fighting style as well.


    I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll have a lot of different moves and attacks to launch at me now, so I have to use the lack of range of his barehanded attacks to my advantage.


    Once my method for fighting Milworc was decided, I began to fasten my steps towards him.


    The distance between us quickly shortened, and seeing Milworc take a stance with his fists¡ª¡ªI took the initiative and activated [Sticky string manipulation].


    A huge amount of strings burst out covering the room, and my first gambit had been set up.


    For a moment, Milworc looked cautiously at the sudden release of all the strings but, he quickly realized that it was nothing more than a string with strong adhesive properties so he decided to ignore it and continued walking towards me.


    Now, all I have to do is activate [Hardening] on the strings as soon as the battle starts and that alone will greatly limit his movements but¡­¡­¡­I still have more traps to set up.


    I activated [Effect Spread], and then began gathering [Venom] inside my mouth.


    It wasn¡¯t a very strong poison but it could still cause numbness and spasms, and could even cause breathing problems as well.


    The moment he enters my range, I can swallow the Venom and he¡¯ll have no choice but to get affected by it due to [Effect Spread] as well.


    My only worry was that I might affect Mielle as well but, if she happens to be within range, while I would feel sorry for her, but unfortunately she¡¯ll have to deal with it.


    Apologizing to Mielle inside my head, my second gambit was also set up to go.


    As for my last gambit, I was simply going to use [Black Mist] again even though he so easily dealt with it.


    The distance between us continued to shorten and then the moment he entered the range of [Effect Spread]¡ª¡ª¨CI activated [Black Mist].


    And once again, the entire room was covered in pitch black darkness instantly.

 CH 374

    Plan


    The moment the insides of the turned to complete darkness, I activated all my traps I had laid beforehand.


    First, I swallowed the [Venom] I had generated inside my mouth, next I used [Hardening] to solidify all the sticky strings that I had fired before.


    With this, the inside of the room should become a lot harder to move around in while covered in all the hardened strings and also the darkness from [Black Mist].


    And by swallowing the [Venom], Milworc¡¯s body should begin to gradually weaken so the more time I buy, the more the situation will turn to my advantage.


    ¡°This darkness again!? Doesn¡¯t seem like a normal skill though. What is it, some kind of smokescreen tool or some shit?¡±


    He must not even be thinking about how his voice gave away his location, as Milworc boldly shouted out loud.


    The reason why he thinks that it¡¯s not a skill is ¡­¡­.well, probably because I can activate them without actually saying it out loud.


    Once again I was glad that I learnt this technique from Alyazi-san. Whenever I fight a strong opponent, its usefulness becomes more and more apparent.


    But there was one thing I was curious about too. Milworc hadn¡¯t said out loud the name of any of his skills either.


    If I were to apply the same reasoning, that would imply that Milworc has not been using any skills in our fight until now but¡­¡­¡­.somehow, I don¡¯t feel like that¡¯s actually true.


    First, the way he reacted during the ambush in the darkness but then also during our counter stand-off, he clearly seemed like he had used some kind of acceleration skill to increase his movement speed.


    Of course, perhaps he¡¯s just that good at controlling the tempo of his body but, realistically speaking, it¡¯s more likely that Milworc was also capable of using skills without saying their names out loud like me.


    But in his case, it was probably not because he practiced really hard for it but instead, he seems like the guy that has the natural talent to learn that technique through pure instinct from the very start.


    That¡¯s why, I think he might believe that he¡¯s the only one capable of doing something like that, which explains his previous statement.


    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t just ignore me and say something will ya! You can hear me, can¡¯t you!?¡±


    Milworc continued to run his mouth but, has he really not realized what has changed inside the room yet?


    As for the [Venom], that too should start to show at least some kind of effect on his body by now.


    Or maybe he¡¯s so used to taking drugs etc., that he¡¯s not really that sensitive to changes in his physical condition maybe?


    That would be pretty annoying if that was the case but, then again, I shouldn¡¯t be wasting time worrying over things I can¡¯t figure out right now anyway.


    While smoothly moving through the hardened strings that I had laid around the room, I began to circle behind him.


    There¡¯s a chance that Milworc could outright see through this darkness as well but, to make sure if that really was the case as well¡­¡­¡­.I decided to strike one more time while using the darkness.


    While using [Stealth] and [Silent Steps], I quickly positioned myself behind him.


    Milworc was still looking towards where I originally was, and it didn¡¯t seem like he had noticed that I had moved behind him.


    Maintaining my stealthy movement, I re-entered within the range, and slashed at him but¡ª¨C


    ¡°It¡¯s useless no matter how many times you try! This trick ain¡¯t gonna work on me!!¡±


    As if he was waiting for it, he dodged my attack, and then countered instantly by launching a kick to my side.


    His timing was perfect, and if his kick had reached and hit me directly, it really would done some damage to me but¡­¡­


    Milworc¡¯s kick got stuck in the hardened strings inside the kick¡¯s trajectory, and never reached my body.


    Using that opening, I created some distance between us again, and went back to the position I was originally in, in front of Mielle, and then instructed her to help me.


    ¡°Mielle, use wind magic.¡±


    This one to-and-fro made it very clear that [Black Mist] had no effect on Milworc at all so I decided to get rid of it myself.


    I didn¡¯t understand the principle behind how he was doing it but, he could clearly see through this pitch black darkness in some way or other.


    And, if it¡¯s useless and Milworc, then the [Black Mist] will really only become an unnecessary hindrance to Mielle alone.


    Even my eyesight gets robbed by this so then realistically, it was only bringing disadvantages to our side.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fire it upwards, [Wind Ball].¡±


    Thanks to Mielle¡¯s wind magic, the [Black Mist] got blown away all the way to the ceiling and quickly dissipated.


    I had been thinking of this since the first ambush I made, but seriously, Milworc¡¯s turning out to be a really bad match-up for me personally.


    Not just his fighting style but, people who have the natural talent to move on pure instincts and power through everything tend to be really troublesome for my type of fighters.


    ¡°Oh, are you done using the darkness already!? Enough sneaking around, and face me head on already!¡±


    Milworc smiled like a young boy that was having fun.


    His right leg had a light cut from kicking the hardened string but, that wasn¡¯t really enough to do any real damage to him.


    And now that strings were revealed out in the open, he¡¯ll be able to avoid them easily anyway so, my [Venom] trick was the only one remaining but, it really didn¡¯t seem like it was having any effect on him either¡­¡­¡­


    If nothing works, then I really might have no choice but to fight him head on fair and square.


    Since I activated a bunch of skills at the same time, I¡¯ve used up quite a lot of stamina as well, and if even the poison isn¡¯t working then, I really have to finish the fight soon or it¡¯ll be me who¡¯ll start to be at a disadvantage instead.


    I do have plans for that as well, so if I can create an opening I could go for the kill but, seriously, this guy is not showing any safe way to rush in at him.


    Since we haven¡¯t even properly exchanged blows with each other so I haven¡¯t even had the chance to try and unleash a flurry of my strong attacks at him either.


    I have lived through a bunch of near-death battles, and I even killed a Bahamut-like monster in Edestor as well.


    My confidence was at an all time high so to a certain degree, I think I was looking down on Milworc a little bit¡­¡­¡­¡­.but this guy¡¯s strong. Really fucking strong.


    I was fighting him like I would against Klaus but, his raw talent allows him to bulldoze through everything I throw at him so now, I think I have no choice but to use my own raw strength to do the same back to him instead.


    Seeing him slowly but smoothly make his way past the hardened strings, and close up the distance between us, I hardened my resolve¡­¡­.


    And decided, that now was the time to throw all tricks and strategy out of the window and let myself go all in with just brute strength head on and crush him.

 CH 375

    Last Resort


    I had already given up on the venom working on him anymore, I decided to throw caution to wind and go all in without a care of how much stamina I consume.


    Now that I know that all my tricks and schemes were basically worthless against him, I narrowed my skills down to only the core physical ability increasing ones.


    [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical Ability Boost][Morale Boost][Strong Arm][Wild Instinct][Ability unleashed].


    Also, I had kept the increase from [Ability Unleashed] to a just 4% because the recoil was too strong but for the first time today, I increased it all the way to a full 10% instead.


    During the time I couldn¡¯t properly tune the level properly, I did use 10% a couple times before as well but, after I did learn tuning it, I mostly kept it at 4% so it had been a long time since I had gone with this max output.


    Using [Ability Unleashed] at this level provided the same amount of boost to me as the rest of my other physical skills combined. However the recoil that I felt was equally big as well.


    My basic stats were boosted as well, so even while using at max output, I was hoping that I¡¯d be able to bear it much more easily but, no matter how much I train, the ratio of increase remains the same and I just can¡¯t seem to get used to it properly.


    I also considered activating [Mad Warrior] but, to be honest, I¡¯d like to really avoid that one.


    I still barely remember what happened at the end of my fight with Bahamut, and I was worried of what I might do to Mielle behind me as well¡­¡­¡­..no, didn¡¯t I say that I wasn¡¯t going to hold back against him anymore?


    No matter what issue or problem I might cause to her or anyone else later doesn¡¯t matter because beating Milworc who was in front of me takes the utmost priority.


    ¡°Mielle. I¡¯m going to cause you a lot of problems maybe, but I¡¯ll counting on you to handle it however you want to.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Ha? What does that even¡ª¨C¡°


    Mielle shouted back at me, completely baffled by what I said but, before she could even finish her question, I activated it¡ª¡ª- [Mad Warrior].


    With a rush of extreme elation that coursed through my body, my brain was shook greatly as I was hit with a truly unpleasant feeling.


    I completely lost my consciousness during my fight with Bahamut but, this time I just barely managed to hold on to at least a shred of my personal self but¡­¡­¡­.


    My blood boiled, my skin danced, and ohhh it just felt so damn good.


    This time I didn¡¯t activate [Pain Inhibition] either, so there really was nothing holding back this incredible sensation.


    ¡°Hey, Chris! Why did you go quiet suddenly? And what did you mean just now!?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªShut the fuck up you dumb bitch! Right now, I¡¯m really getting in the mood so don¡¯t fucking spoil it!!¡±


    She looked at me in complete shock as I screamed in a high pitched voice at Mielle and showed her the middle finger.


    ¡­¡­¡­she was irritating, but her reaction was funny so I guess I¡¯ll forgive her for now.


    ¡°Bi-bitch¡­¡­.!? Ah, watch out behind you!¡±


    ¡°Where the hell are you looking while in the middle of fight you bastard! Looking away while fighting me is as good as accepting your death you know!?¡±


    Aiming for the opening while I had turned to look at Mielle, this another fucking idiot tried to attack me.


    This fucking guy really thought that he had caught me off guard, as he didn¡¯t even try any feints and lunged at me with a straightforward Jolt Blow like an idiot.


    I didn¡¯t even use my left hand that was holding my longsword, and just swung my right hand, with which I was flipping off Mielle, and punched Milworc straight in his dumb face.


    Compounded by the fact that I hadn¡¯t been able to land a clean hit on him until now, getting in a perfect counter straight into his face felt really damn good.


    Seeing his bloody mess of a nose as Milworc rolled back on the ground from the impact, really tickled my inner sadist.


    Should I sheathe Vendettatein back, and fight with my bare fists as well?


    There is nothing more satisfying and exhilarating than beating the shit out of a cocky bastard with your own two goddamn fists after all.


    ¡­¡­¡­.kukukuku, the corners of my lips rose unintentionally.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªbeen a while since someone almost knocked me out cold! You little bastard, you completely changed somehow, haven¡¯t ya!?¡±


    Licking the blood flowing out his nose like it tasted nice, Milworc got back up.


    His nose was a complete bloody mess, so much that even I was shocked to see how swollen his face looked even though I was the one who punched him in the first place¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°u, ukhu¡­¡­Pftthahahahah! Now that¡¯s one hell of a look eh!? Your nose is all red and blue but I think that ugly mug really suits you, honestly!¡±


    ¡°And your personality seems to have completely flipped from before as well! And here I thought acting all calm and cool was your fucking trademark, was it not?¡±


    ¡°Kukkuku, dang even your voice sounds funny as fuck with that nose. Honestly, my stomach¡¯s starting to hurt from just looking at that face.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Alright then? If ya really wanna die that much, I¡¯ll gladly fulfil your wish!!¡±


    Looks like I made him snap in anger, as he lunged towards me again.


    Looks like he¡¯s even forgotten about the strings I had spread around the room as well. If he¡¯s like this, I really don¡¯t even need to use Vendettatein anymore.


    Coming to that conclusion, I put the sword into its scabbard, and took a stance with my bare fists just like Milworc.


    This fucker put me through a lot of worries so it¡¯s totally fine if I give him a proper beating right?


    In the end, I¡¯m going to have to kill him anyway and besides, against a criminal scum that¡¯s committed various atrocities, I don¡¯t really need to show him any kind of mercy.


    I convinced the remnants of humanity still left in me¡ª¡ªand seeing Milworc rush towards me with a smile, I decided I was going to punch him and give him the most unimaginable level of pain possible till his very last moment.

 CH 376

    Madness


    Seeing Milworc rush at me with his eyes flashing like an animal, I calmly led him into an area where my strings were still stuck around.


    His stance implies that he¡¯s readying a kick from his right leg but, he could also throw his right punch if needed as well.


    On the other hand, if tries to use his left, I could very easily deal with it so I really only need to focus on his right limbs¡­¡­..


    And if he tries to punch with his right, the string near his flank will get in his way and stop him as well.


    So the only thing I needed to really be worried about was¡ª¡ª-his right kick.


    As expected, his right leg was launched at me furiously, but I took a step forward towards him to take that attack head on intentionally, but instead, caught his leg with my arm.


    I grabbed it tightly under my armpit to make sure he can¡¯t release tit from my hold, and then kicked back at the pivot of his leg.


    With a dull cracking sound of something breaking, Milworc¡¯s left knee bent in an unnatural direction.


    Still holding his left leg in my clutches, I could aim and break his right leg as well but, that¡¯d be too boring so I intentionally loosened my hold and let him escape.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-AH FUCK!! You could barely handle my moves until now, so what the fuck happened, what did you do!? You didn¡¯t use any skill either, so how the fuck did you get so strong suddenly!?!¡±


    ¡°You talk too much. Just come at me. I thought you loved fighting, right?¡±


    His eyes went bloodshot with rage but, his mind was completely off the rocker as well as judging by his expression he seemed to barely even feel the pain even after having his leg broken.


    I really wanted to see writhe in pain and agony before I killed him but, if he¡¯s like this, he might not feel fear even when at the edge of death.


    He was just angry as his pride as a strong warrior had been hurt, and he didn¡¯t seem to feel any other emotion besides that.


    Honestly, that would put a damper on my fun as well but, I guess I should focus instead on trying to steal his techniques and moves instead then. I mean, I am supposedly fighting a ¡®genius prodigy¡¯, aren¡¯t I?


    I removed all the strings I had placed in this area, and returned the room to its normal state.


    From here onwards, everything was purely for the sake of my own enjoyment. That was my sole reason of fighting Milworc now.


    ¡°With this, there¡¯s no more traps in this room anymore. Let¡¯s settle this head-on, fist-to-fist, alright?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll kill you. I¡¯m going to kill the shit out of you, you fucker!!¡±


    He seemed to pay no attention to his broken left leg as he unleashed a flurry of blows at me.


    Even if he can¡¯t feel the pain, his one leg wouldn¡¯t work properly, which should affect his momentum but, perhaps through raw fighting spirit or was he drawing out the last inch of his abilities¡ª¡ªhis barrage of attacks was still quite fast and intense.


    I thought he¡¯d use some basic bitch bookish techniques but through pure instinct and fighting sense, he managed to keep up and match me and mixed in some original techniques as well.


    Every single strike, every punch was filled with killing intent, and if I actually got hit with any of those, they¡¯d be fatal even to me I think.


    Unlike Bahamut who could use the advantages of its very species to overwhelm its opponents, a man to man fight was decided by fine margins and required actual tactics, and moment to moment reading of the opponents moves.


    From the big moves, to the smaller, finer actions, all of them made for some good reference for the future. And as I continued to dodge his attacks, I could tell that I was still learning, and improving with every second of this battle.


    I had already gotten rid of the idea of ending this fight quickly, and I continued to enjoy my fight with Milworc but¡­¡­..


    Suddenly my fun time was unfortunately brought to an end.


    ¡°Milworc-san! Are you okay!?¡±


    The members rushing up from below suddenly barged into the room.


    A bunch of members had actually already arrived a couple minutes ago but, after seeing the corpse of their friend at the door, they had stepped back again.


    They probably knew just from the state of that corpse that Milworc was the one who did it, and they didn¡¯t want to join their deceased friend and probably chose to stay outside but¡­¡­.


    Sensing that Milworc was starting to struggle against me, they finally decided to enter the room now.


    I was genuinely having fun, and I thought Milworc would kill them again for getting in our way but, as it turns out, he seemed to have changed his mind from before.


    He pulled out his rapier again, and quickly fell back, and began to bark orders at his subordinates.


    ¡°OI! Kill that man and woman! Attack them together and kill them without fail understand!!?¡±


    And here I thought he was a madman that loved fighting but I guess, I overestimated him.


    Just like that Carlo, he also only enjoys it when he¡¯s bullying those weaker than him.


    The top boss of villains always turn out to be losers like him, huh.


    Well, I already had my share of fun, and I was slowly starting to reach the limits of my stamina as well.


    I was already considering ending things, so I suppose this is just good timing for me as well.


    ¡°Oi, you dumb bitch! Hold those scrubs down for just 10 seconds will you!?¡±


    ¡°Can you stop talking to me like that please!?¡­¡­¡­.just 10 seconds right. As long as it¡¯s not Milworc, I can do that.¡±


    Giving orders to Mielle who had been carefully watching until now, I decided to focus on only killing Milworc now.


    There were only 10 seconds left but, if I wholeheartedly focus on killing him, it¡¯s not impossible for me right now.


    He was taking the counter-stance with the rapier like before but, with one of his legs broken, and a bunch of other wounds that had accumulated by now, his legs looked shaky.


    His crazy psycho mode was all out at first which certainly caused me some trouble at first as well, I will admit but¡­¡­.


    Seeing him now, desperately trying to find a way to run away from me, turns out, he was not that much different from the rest of those fucking scrubs in the end.


    ¡°¡ª¡ªOi!! The fuck are you guys doing!!? Hurry up and kill them!!¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the fun times. I learnt a lot today, really. And I did enjoy our battle. You were a decent enemy¡­¡­¡­¡­.but, there¡¯s only 10 more seconds of your life left now.¡±


    To try one last time to get a fearful response from him, I boldly proclaimed that but Milworc¡¯s expression still remained the same.


    I really, really wanted to kill him while seeing him cry, scream, and beg for his life but, if he won¡¯t fulfil my wish till the end, I¡¯ve already lost my interest in him.


    I opened my mouth open wide as a I loudly laughed, and then got ready to hunt Milworc who was trying to escape.

 CH 377

    Curtain Falls


    I unsheathed Vendettatein again that I hadn¡¯t been using, and took a stance with it while still in my current state.


    I wanted to put my hand on the Vampire Jewel to let it absorb my stamina and use that but, I didn¡¯t have a lot of stamina left anyway, so instead I had to go the mana route as always.


    I began pouring the mana stored inside my body into Vendettatein, as the blade began to shine in its usual blood red colour.


    Seriously, this ominous look that the sword had during this was something that made my heart race and I¡¯ll never get tired of looking at it.


    Now all that¡¯s left¡ª¡ªis to swing this sword at Milworc and the ¡®hunt¡¯ will soon be over.


    I suppressed my inner sadist that wanted to slowly corner him and push him to the edge, and instead I activated [Gale] as I instantly rushed towards Milworc.


    He was still holding the rapier in the same stance as before, drawn back like a bow to counter my attack at the right moment.


    But I could only laugh at his useless resistance as I approached closer¡ª¡ªand the moment I entered the range, I unleashed a slash at him.


    And sure enough, Milworc dodged my attacked and then took a step forward towards me, getting close and then fired an upwards thrust aimed at my stomach but¡­¡­..all of this was well within my predictions.


    I twisted my body to avoid a fatal blow from his rapier, and fired a fully powered kick at his own stomach instead.


    His bones broke and his flesh tore open.


    He must not have seen my frontal kick coming, as Milworc held on to his stomach in pain and lost his balance as he tried to take a couple steps backwards.


    Since he was at extremely close range, now he had basically returned back into Vendettatein¡¯s range instead so¡ª¡ª¨Cthis time I launched a diagonal slash to finally put an end to him.


    I swung my sword while laughing so maniacally, I was worried my cheeks might tear open, meanwhile, Milworc seemed to be in extreme panic and looked flustered as he tried to guard with his rapier but¡­¡­¡­


    A thin rapier could never hold itself against a swing from Vendettatein, and my sword ripped through his rapier with almost no resistance¡ª¡ªand then continued its trajectory and completely tore Milworc into two.


    By pumping mana into the Vendettatein as well, it¡¯s sharpness was even more enhanced so I barely even felt the sensation of the sword cutting through his body.


    There was no doubt that this was an exceptional weapon but honestly, the sword¡¯s so good that it can genuinely make its user worse if you were to use it too much. It makes things a bit too easy sometimes.


    As I stood over Milworc¡¯s half body that was still flapping its mouth but unable to make any real sound, I didn¡¯t really feel the same sense of exhilaration I felt when I finally killed Bahamut.


    I was really having fun in the middle of the fight but, when the finale¡¯s so poor, it retroactively makes the whole experience feel poor.


    Having already lost interest in Milworc, I turned away from him since I didn¡¯t have any reason to even look at him again, and instead stared at the members of [Under Eye] that had barged inside the room.


    Since the finale to our fight was so utterly shit, I decided I was going to use these guys as my distraction to uplift my mood.


    Since I had killed Milworc faster than even the 10 second limit I had given Mielle, she seemed to still be handling them quite easily.


    She must be pumping mana continuously to rapid fire one magic after another as it was hard to even see what was happening on that side of the room, and was filled with a bunch of different magic spells being activated.


    ¡°Oi, I¡¯m done here, so you can stand back now.¡±


    ¡°[Hail Cudgel]!¡ª¡ªwait what, you¡¯re done already!? Did you even need me to buy time?¡±


    ¡°Whatever, just stop with your magic barrage already, and leave the rest to me.¡±


    I made her stop using her magic spells, and waited for the cold and smoke from the spells to dissipate.


    Seeing their reactions, a bunch of their members had taken fatal damage but overall, they still seemed quite alive and kicking.


    I couldn¡¯t stop my laughter just thinking about how I¡¯ll get to go on a murderous rampage by killing over a dozen people but, whenever I¡¯m about to have fun like this, it was annoying how my own conscience would still try to get in the way and pour cold water over my enthusiasm.


    ¡ª¡ª-these fuckers are all criminals of the worst kind that don¡¯t deserve to live, and also, Ralf and Esta were still fighting in the other building.


    Arguing with my own conscience, I convinced myself as I took my stance with Vendettatein and got ready to rush into them.


    Hoping to at least enjoy a little bit of cutting through humans, I stopped pouring mana into the sword to return it to its normal form, and with that, I was finally ready.


    My conscience seemed to have given up and disappeared as well, and I was literally jumping in place out of excitement to go and cut them down¡ª¡ª¨Cand the moment my vision cleared, I activated [gale] and lunged into the crowd.


    First, I started with the guys that were already hurt badly by Mielle. Before they could even say anything, I killed them with a single swing of my sword.


    ¡­¡­¡­even though I had stopped the flow of mana and using the sword in its normal form, these scrubs were so weak that I still barely felt any sensation even after cutting through their bodies.


    Since Mielle¡¯s barrage had already rendered them unable to fight, in a matter of seconds, I had already murdered every last one of them inside the room.


    I was hoping to fix my mood, but they were so fucking weak that I was left feeling even more disappointed than when I killed Milworc. Give me my excitement back damnit!


    I almost wanted to sigh out loud but, seeing the faces of the members that were still standing outside the room, my mood changed again.


    As the cold, dust and smoke finally settled completely, the scene of me standing in the middle of a dozen corpses as well as the torn up body of Milworc behind me became completely visible.


    The members were all eager to capture us since they had a huge advantage of numbers but now, their faces suddenly turned and twisted into that of clouded confusion and fear.


    ¡ª¡ª¨CNow THIS is what I had been waiting for!!


    Will they run? Or will they come into the room to fight me?


    But I didn¡¯t even let them choose, as I instantly rushed towards them, and began chopping their heads off one by one. Seeing their vanguard fall like that, the members behind them instantly turned to run away.


    But the guys who were at the complete back couldn¡¯t see properly and didn¡¯t understand what was happening, so it turned into a huge pandemonium between people trying to run back down and people who wanted to rush inside the room.


    Just seeing the chaos had my body trembling with happiness, as I once again began to hunt the remnant survivors of [Under Eye].

 CH 378

    Extermination


    Since their leader Milworc was still alive at that point, all the members that were in this building had gathered right beside the room, so it really didn¡¯t take much effort for me to annihilate the remaining members.


    Thanks to them all falling into panic, they barely even fought back, and I was able to enjoy a truly one-sided slaughter.


    Since members of [Under Eye] were supposedly handpicked and were all above a certain level of strength, [Life Presence detect] was really useful in chasing them down¡ª¡ªand right now, I had cornered the last remaining member inside this building, with his back to the wall.


    Having lost the strength in his knees, he slumped down on to the ground, and was looking at me as if he was staring at a demon or something and was desperately trying to look for a way to run but, with his back to the wall, he really didn¡¯t have any route to escape.


    Their trademark black hood was mostly off now, and his pathetic scared look was out in the open for me to see.


    ¡°Pl-please¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll do anything, so please don¡¯t kill me!¡±


    ¡°Not happening. How many people have you guys killed that said the same thing to you?¡±


    ¡°hi hiiiiiiiiiii!!¡±


    Showing me his back, he tried to jump out of the window as a last resort but, I quickly stabbed him from behind before he could do that.


    His desperate struggle and the attempt to run ended as his body went limp, and the sound of blood spurting out of his mouth came to my ears.


    His hand that was on the window slid down powerlessly, and finally the last member here had been gotten rid of.


    Milworc ended up being below my expectations but, thanks to the unnecessarily huge crowd of these scrubs, I was able to fully enjoy myself in the end.


    While feeling extremely satisfied and pleased with the result, I also realized that my stamina was really at its final stretch¡ª¨Cand I felt sad that this exhilarating feeling was unfortunately about to come to an end as well.


    While I was going through these mixed emotions, Mielle who had finally ran and caught up, called out to me.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.What a horrible mess. If you were to show this scene to someone, they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell which one is the real villain.¡±


    ¡°Silence, you dumb bitch. Don¡¯t ruin the moment with your chatter.¡±


    ¡°I know the I say the same shit about that dumb princess behind her back so I know I¡¯m in no position to talk but, can you at least try not to say such things straight to my face? If I wasn¡¯t so open-minded I would have open fired my magic at you, you know?¡±


    It was irritating how Mielle still thought she could actually threaten me like that.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.But well, you certainly are different from your usual self Chris. Right after you said, [I¡¯m going to cause you a lot of problems maybe, but I¡¯ll be counting on you], your personality suddenly did a complete 180.¡±


    ¡°Just stop talking will you? Do you want to get cut down as well?¡±


    ¡°But, looks like you haven¡¯t returned back to normal yet it seems huh. I wonder if it¡¯s close to something like a berserk or a confused state or something like that? In that case¡­¡­¡­¡±


    Ignoring me, she continued to mutter something to herself which was starting to irritate me even more.


    Kill her¡­¡­¡­.no, that would be too much but, I could give her a solid punch in the face at least right?


    Just as I thought of that, and was about to close in on her¡ª¡ª


    ¡°[Dispeliaric]¡±


    Mielle fired some kind of magic at me as soon as I began to walk close to her.


    I dodged it in a hurry, but she fired a three more of the same magic, and then fired four more balls of greenish magic that chased after me.


    I somehow managed to dodge the first few but she even predicted where I was going to move, and by the time I remembered that I had [Anti magic] as well,¡­¡­..it was already too late.


    The four balls hit me directly, and instantly my vision turned black and my consciousness flew.


    ¡°Ah, he collapsed! I guess the status healing magic really worked after all.¡±


    Within my fading consciousness, I heard Mielle say something like that, before I completely fell to sleep.


    ¡ª¡ª-and the next instant, I jumped back up awake again.


    I still remembered everything that happened after I activated [Mad Warrior], and I was hit with a wave of embarrassment realizing that Mielle had watched my entire rampage.


    Even if it mostly beyond my control in a sense, I did cause a lot of bother to Mielle for sure.


    ¡°Hm?¡­¡­¡­Wait, did your normal consciousness return already?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Yeah. Thanks to your help, I¡¯m back to normal. Apologies for all the troubles.¡±


    ¡°Well it was easy to heal, and it did save my life so I don¡¯t mind but¡­¡­..you should have at least told me beforehand as to how I should have returned you to normal, you know?¡±


    She says that, but the truth is, I didn¡¯t really have any idea how to do that either¡­¡­..


    The first time I used it, I still had a decent amount of control on myself, and the second time, I lost consciousness out of exhaustion and when I returned to sense I was back to normal.


    And during this third time, while I remained aware, I myself had no idea how to stop myself and honestly, I¡¯m a bit surprised that Mielle was able to cure me so easily.


    ¡°It¡¯s a side effect of a skill, so I didn¡¯t even know how to cure it in the first place. If anything, I¡¯m curious to know how you did it.¡±


    ¡°Eh, so you just went for it without any plan? I would prefer if you didn¡¯t use such a skill in that case but, well, I suppose even you couldn¡¯t be picky with Milworc as your opponent huh.¡±


    ¡°Since I lose control as you saw, I try not to use it in general but, like you said, I didn¡¯t have much of a choice here¡­¡­¡­¡­..regardless, my apologies for your troubles once again.¡±


    ¡°I mean I did get annoyed at being called a dumb bitch over and over again but well, if you were doing it all unconsciously, I guess I can¡¯t complain much. You looked like you were completely insane,  so was it something close to being horribly drunk or something I assume?¡±


    Now that she put it that way, perhaps that was a good analogy.


    Not that I have ever gotten drunk but, the symptoms were certainly close to that from what I could tell.


    Of course, the change in personality from [Mad Warrior] was far more extreme than anything alcohol could achieve.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad comparison I suppose. My memories are vague, and I just sort of faintly remember the things that happen as well.¡±


    ¡°Well, in that case I¡¯m glad you were able to return to normal. Is your body alright? If you are, then we should quickly leave and go support the other groups instead, right?¡±


    Hearing that, I suddenly recalled that Esta and Ralf were probably also fighting and I wanted to go check in on them.


    My entire body was hurting like crazy, and I felt too dull to properly move but¡­¡­.If I used [Pain Inhibition], I¡¯ll manage somehow.

 CH 379

    Worry


    Perhaps because I used both [Ability unleashed] and [Mad Warrior] without restraint, both the pain and fatigue my body was feeling was horrible but, I used [Pain Inhibition] to forcefully move my body.


    Compared to how it was when coming back from the Cave of Bahamut, right now, I was in the middle of the royal capital.


    Although the black market was not the safest of places, it¡¯ll take only a dozen or so minutes to be back inside the safety of the city and I certainly won¡¯t have to worry about monsters on the way either.


    When I thought of this that way, I was able to move my body again.


    ¡°Still, you sure are in a rough state. Your entire body is covered in blood and you stink as well. I¡¯ll be honest, I don¡¯t want to stay too close to you.¡±


    Hearing Mielle¡¯s harsh words, I looked at myself and it really was a horrendous sight to watch. I was literally covered in blood from head to toe.


    Even if they were all criminals of the worst kind, I think I really went overboard this time.


    Even if [Mad Warrior] robs me of my usual self, it does feel like it¡¯s taking some chains off of my usual personality as well, and this time, I properly remembered everything I did which made feel a bit scared of my own self.


    ¡°Damn, considering this all human blood, it certainly is a grim sight. Sorry I guess.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­I don¡¯t know how I feel about getting an apology for that.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, Mielle you sure you didn¡¯t feel any after effects to your body as well? I didn¡¯t say this but, when fighting Milworc I did try to spread poison in a designated area around me as well.¡±


    ¡°Eh, What the hell, are you joking!? Forget your bloody body, that¡¯s way more important!! Well, I don¡¯t really feel any difference in my body but, now that you say it, I might be feeling a little sluggish¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, you don¡¯t have to worry. The poison I spread was strong enough to cause numbness and spasms. Your sluggishness is just the fatigue in your body speaking.¡±


    I did try and be careful when using [Venom] but just in case, I¡¯d feel really bad if Mielle had also got caught up in it but¡­¡­¡­from the looks of it, [Effect Spread] didn¡¯t reach to her it seems.


    From just a glance, I don¡¯t see any major injuries on Mielle as well so she seems unhurt in both mind and body.


    ¡°Eh? Well, actually my body does¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother with the silly lies. Enough with the chatter and let¡¯s go outside. I¡¯m getting worried about the other places.¡±


    ¡°Well, certainly I am curious too. I knew that our building was going to be the toughest one before coming here but, the other buildings are still bases for [Under Eye] right? They¡¯re still going to be pretty dangerous no?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I think Ralf and Esta would be fine but, it won¡¯t surprise me if a bunch of royal knights got killed as well¡­¡­..in fact, just how strong is that Alexandra anyway?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much in detail either but, I have heard that it was the commander of the third squad that taught that dumb princess how to fight so she must be pretty damn strong herself as well, no?¡±


    Huh so Alexandra was actually Charlotte¡¯s teacher? No wonder Charlotte called her by a nickname.


    In that case, I shouldn¡¯t need to worry too much but¡­¡­..from the presence I felt, there was definitely an executive inside the building the royal knights attacked as well.


    In any case, I need to leave this building to go out and check.


    While avoiding stepping on the messed up corpses of the members on the floor, I made my way to the exit while desperately keeping my swaying body to move straight.


    I felt like we were inside here for quite some time, fighting against Milworc, so I wondered if I¡¯d see people already waiting outside but, when I left the building there were no enemies nor allies to be found outside.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Are we the first ones to come back out? It felt like we had spent quite some time inside though?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either but, if no one¡¯s here, then that has to be the case.¡±


    ¡°So, which building should we head to next? You were worried about the royal knights right, so maybe theirs?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. While I feel a little bad since I asked for their help, I don¡¯t actually give a shit about whatever happens to them. And while I¡¯m not as worried, we will still start with checking on Ralf and Esta first.¡±


    ¡°I had a feeling you¡¯d say that, but still, that was quite a blunt or rather, heartless way to put it¡­¡­¡­..look, from the sounds, I think the battle is still going on in the front building.¡±


    Like Mielle said, I must have sounded quite heartless there but, in my mind, there¡¯s a very clear order of importance when it comes to people.


    If I had to pick between saving a hundred royal knights and just one of Ralf or Esta, I¡¯ll pick Ralf or Esta every time without hesitation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t care. We check on Ralf and Esta first. If you¡¯re that worried Mielle, why don¡¯t you go ahead and help them out instead.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Umm¡­¡­¡­yeah no. Too dangerous for me.¡±


    Calling me heartless, and then seeing her choose the safer route herself made me smile wryly but, well, your own life should always take priority.


    And besides, when I was in trouble against Milworc, she did put herself on the line to save me at least, so I decided not to unnecessarily retort further and we entered the building Ralf and Esta went to.


    Even from outside, we could hear the sounds of battle from the front building but, from this one there were no big sounds coming out any more.


    It was almost too quiet which made me a little worried as well but, using [Life Presence Detect] I could tell that Ralf and Esta were still very much alive.


    And they seemed to have stuck by my instructions, as they had taken down every single member without killing a single one of them.


    ¡°No wonder you weren¡¯t that worried about them Chris, they¡¯ve subjugated the place pretty much perfectly huh? I can see a bunch of [Under Eye] members lying unconscious here and there which was probably Ralf and Esta¡¯s handiwork right?¡±


    ¡°I think so, yeah. From what I can sense, they are on the fourth floor so let¡¯s quickly go upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Man we¡¯ve been going up and down the stairs a lot today huh.¡±


    Ignoring Mielle who was grumbling complaints again, we ignored and walked past the unconscious members and quickly made our way to the two on the fourth floor.

 CH 380

    With Ease


    After climbing to the fourth floor, we finally began to hear some kind of sounds inside the building as well.


    But it was not the sounds of battle, but simply of someone doing something and nothing more.


    ¡°Someone inside that last room. It¡¯d be nice if it was Ralf or Esta, but it¡¯d be pretty bad if it¡¯s an enemy.¡±


    ¡°If it really is an enemy, Mielle, blast them with your magic. I want to save my stamina.¡±


    ¡°Eh, you can still fight if you put in a little more effort, no?¡­¡­..Well, Milworc¡¯s already done for and I still have lots of mana left so I guess I can at least handle the scrubs for you.¡±


    As we bantered and I declared my intent to not fight any more to Mielle, we approached closer to the room from where the noise was coming from.


    I could activate [Hearing Enhancement] to check what¡¯s going on inside but, I really was very low on stamina so I wanted to avoid using any skills for as much as possible.


    I had been acting as the vanguard until now but, this time I had Mielle take that position as we entered the room.


    I entered the room fully expecting to get assaulted by the enemy but¡ª¡ªwhat came to our view was the scene of Ralf restraining a member of [Under Eye] with rope.


    ¡°[Flame Bul¡ª]¡ª-Wait, Chris-san, is that you?¡±


    Hearing a magic spell being chanted, I looked to the side to see Esta hiding in the room¡¯s blind spot, and was readying her magic while being stuck close to the wall.


    Before she fired it, she noticed it was me thankfully, so she stopped midway but¡­¡­..I really didn¡¯t even sense her hiding there.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me. I got worried so I came to check on you guys but¡­¡­¡­¡­by the looks of it, the subjugation went very smoothly huh.¡±


    ¡°Well, we just now defeated the last remaining member that Ralf is tying up right there, and with that, this building is fully cleared.¡±


    ¡°Guess, I was worried for nothing then. Any injuries?¡±


    ¡°Ralf got hurt a little but, it¡¯s just a light one so nothing to worry about.¡ª¡ªor rather, us aside, I¡¯m more worried about your condition Chris-san¡­¡­¡­..you¡¯re covered in blood. Are you really okay?¡±


    ¡°No need to worry about me. I really pushed myself to the limit today so while I have a lot of muscular fatigue, I don¡¯t have a single wound on my body.¡±


    ¡°So all the blood is not yours eh¡­¡­¡­..that is worrying in and of itself but, regardless, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay Chris-san!¡±


    Her expression revealed her worry after seeing my blood soaked body but, when I told her I didn¡¯t have any injuries, she seemed a lot more relieved.


    Afterwards, Ralf was also finally done completely tying up the [Under Eye] member and came running towards us having noticed our presence.


    ¡°Chris! We finished our job perfectly here¡ª¡ªwait, what¡¯s up with your appearance!? No way, did you get hurt?¡±


    ¡°No I did not. I told Esta just now as well, but this is all from blood sprays from others.¡±


    ¡°I see! Then that¡¯s okay¡ª¡ª-NOT ACTUALLY THOUGH!¡­¡­¡­..just how many did you kill, man?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I don¡¯t know.¡±


    While I still had my memories, I had lost count on how many I had actually killed.


    Seeing Ralf and Esta take down the entire building without killing a single one, I almost felt a bit inferior to them.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?!¡­¡­¡­.but still, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not hurt at least! There weren¡¯t really too many strong enemies on our side, and we only need to restrain a few more, so you can go and help the royal knights instead!¡±


    The royal knights eh¡­¡­..


    It¡¯s true, there¡¯s not much else here for me to do and I understood that it was probably best for me to quickly go and aid them but, it didn¡¯t sit well with me that I had to go and help that Bruce guy and his ilk.


    But Alexandra was not a bad person, in fact she was very humble and polite with me.


    And she seemed to be quite close with Charlotte so, if Ralf says it¡¯s okay to leave, then I guess I really should go and help the royal knights now.


    ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll head to the building with the royal knights next. If something happens, you two should regroup with us there as well.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Once we¡¯re done restraining all of them, we¡¯ll head to that building as well.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be there in a jiffy, so don¡¯t worry about us ¡®kay!¡±


    These two must be feeling quite confident after subjugating the entire building by themselves, as Ralf spoke with a confident smile which only made me chuckle.


    These two definitely were a little anxious before the assault but I¡¯m glad they were able to build some confidence like this.


    Being seen off by them, me and Mielle decided to head to the front side building next.


    ¡°Hey, can I also stay here to help Ralf and Esta?¡±


    ¡°Already going back on what you said just a moment ago? My body is at its limit, so you¡¯re supposed to be my helper Mielle. Besides, if you help Alexandra, who knows, maybe Charlotte might value you a bit more as well, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn about that dumb princess¡¯ ¡®evaluation¡¯ or whatever. I always prioritize my own life first and foremost.¡±


    ¡°If a really dangerous enemy appears, I¡¯ll fight them so don¡¯t worry. Besides, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s anyone here that¡¯s more dangerous than Milworc right?¡±


    ¡°Well if there was one inside the capital, it¡¯d have to be Klaus himself and no one else.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t sense Klaus anywhere near so in that case, we are all good.¡±


    While chatting with Mielle, we began walking to the building that was being handled by the royal knights.


    The battle seemed to be still going on as we could hear the sounds of an intense battle going on even outside the building.


    The royal knights don¡¯t have anyone that¡¯s exceptionally powerful so  it¡¯s turned into an all out battle inside it seems, as the sounds were coming from all over the building.


    And as before, the strongest presence in this building was also coming from the top floor, and so was another presence that I think belonged to Alexandra.


    ¡°At the top floor there¡¯s someone with as strong of a presence as Prudence, as well as Alexandra.¡±


    ¡°I can hear a bunch of battles from here as well. I guess they¡¯re all still neck deep in battle huh.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Ralf and Esta that are just a bit too efficient and superior that¡¯s all. Normally, subjugating an entire building takes this much time so it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why was I not included in that list!? But anyway, what¡¯s our next move? Are we going to get rid of the scrubs first? Or are we going straight to the top to help Alexandra?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯re heading straight to support Alexandra. Honestly, I don¡¯t care whether the rest of the knights live or not.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..What an outrageous statement.¡±


    It¡¯s the truth, so I can¡¯t help it.


    With our course of action set, we ignored all the other battle sounds and made our way straight to the top floor.

 CH 381

    Fierce Battle


    The fight between the two groups must have been violent and intense as, on the way upstairs, we saw a large amount of corpses laying on the ground.


    I didn¡¯t count but, about 80% of them were royal knights and only 20% were [Under Eye] members so by the looks of it, they were getting pressed quite hard it seemed.


    I killed Prudence with just one strike, and outside Milworc, I didn¡¯t really struggle against any one of them so it was a bit hard for me to tell but, by the looks of it, the strength of every individual in [Under Eye] was certainly on the much higher side.


    Of course, there were a couple like Pablo among them as well that weren¡¯t fighters but, on an average, they were as strong as Platinum rank adventurers from what I could tell.


    There were even cases like Wood and Douglas Dyne who, while normal members, were definitely mithril class in terms of strength so you could tell just how high the quality level of this group was.


    In contrast, the royal knights were mostly silver rank and from the body count anyone could tell, they were basically trying to throw 4 people on one to try and beat them with sheer numbers.


    If their commander Alexandra were to fall, there¡¯s a high chance they¡¯ll completely collapse.


    While analyzing these things from observing the corpses on the way, me and Mielle finally reached the 4th floor from where we could sense the strong presence from.


    ¡°I can sense 2 strong presences inside. One should be Alexandra but, the other is most definitely an enemy.¡±


    ¡°Haah, they really are still fighting huh. And here I was hoping that they¡¯d have settled the matter by the time we reached here.¡±


    Her words gave away her hope to not fight but, even if the fight had been ¡®settled¡¯ we would have still needed to fight.


    Because, the presence that I believed was Alexandra, was slowly weakening as the battle progressed.


    ¡°Mielle you go in first. And the moment you see the enemy, fire magic at them.¡±


    ¡°Fine. If the enemy rushes at me, you¡¯ll have to fight okay, Chris?¡±


    ¡°Even before that, the moment you fire your magic, I¡¯ll also rush at them to attack.¡±


    Making a quick strategy, we entered the room where Alexandra was.


    Entering the room, the first thing that came into our view was the bloody bodies of Bruce and Gilmour collapsed on the ground.


    And then there was Alexandra, who was also covered in blood, but still somehow standing and fighting.


    The armour she wore was originally sparkling silver armour which is why the blood seeping out of it made the situation look very grim.


    And the person facing Alexandra was a strong muscular man, similar to Carlo.


    He only wore lightweight equipment so it as hard to not notice his bulging muscles that seemed lie they could burst out at any point.


    This guy must be the executive known as Prowse.


    His large stature, and the rumours of superhuman strength that was said to be no.1 in all of the capital seemed to match with our info, so it must be Prowse.


    ¡°[Hail Impulse]¡±


    Right when Prowse was about to punch the near-death Alexandra with his knuckle-worn fists, Mielle quickly fired her magic to assault him.


    The magic was a level above even compound magic, as the already compound Ice magic had been further imbued with lightning magic to create a truly complex compound spell.


    With immense speed, it attacked Prowse who noticed the magic coming at him just in time to guard, but even then, he was launched backwards from the impact.


    Sometimes I forget because she¡¯s always getting bossed around, and is always complaining but, she really is a [Sage] and her magic power was in a whole different level than normal magicians.


    Realizing just how dangerous it would have been if she had stayed by Klaus¡¯ side, I complimented my past self for effectively ruining their relationship successfully.


    While feeling impressed from seeing her magic, I also rushed in towards Prowse who had been blasted away.


    Since I was low on stamina, I needed to end the fight quickly or else I¡¯d be in danger too.


    I had only been using [Life Presence Detect] and [Pain Inhibition] to save as much stamina as I could but now, I instantly activated all my stronger skills.


    [Flesh Enhancement][War Dance][Physical Ability Boost][Ability Unleashed]


    As soon as I activated all my physical skills, I was hit by intense sensation of fatigue that almost made me lose my consciousness but¡­¡­.just for a moment I deactivated [Pain Inhibition] to force myself wide awake with the pain.


    ¡°FUCK that hurt!! More new enemies!? Alright, I¡¯ll kill ya bastards too!¡±


    Although Prowse had been blown away, his insanely thick arms had been able to guard him properly it seemed as he didn¡¯t look he had taken much damage.


    Glaring at me as he saw me rush at him from behind his crossed-guarding arms, he boldly proclaimed that in a cocky rough voice.


    Looks like the rumours of him being the no.1 possessor of raw superhuman strength inside the entire capital were not a lie, as eve from a glance, I could tell that the balance of his body as well as his raw strength were both far bigger than even Carlo¡¯s.


    But, unlike Carlo who only had one arm, Prowse had the muscle mass split between his two arms, so Carlo would have definitely had the better singular arm strength I think.


    I felt confident making such specific power measurements.


    I suppressed my fatigue and analyzed him calmly, and seeing Prowse release his guard and take a stance with both his arms to fight, I darted directly even closer to him.


    I will not make the same mistake I made with Milworc again.


    I re-visualized the way I killed Prudence in a single strike, and came close to him to the absolute limit¡ª¡ªand then activated [Black Mist].


    The instant the room was covered in the darkness, I activated [Silent Steps] and [Stealth] and slipped into the pitch black darkness of the mist.


    ¡°What the hell is this darkness!!?¡±


    Since I had activated [Hearing enhancement] and [Sound Wave Detect] to get a hold of Prowse¡¯s location, I could tell that he was wildly swinging his arms inside the darkness.


    As expected of a superhuman strength fighter, just the wind pressure generated by his swings alone was starting to slowly blow the [Black Mist] away, so I quickly circled to his back while making sure I stayed undetected and¡ª¡ª-


    From behind Prowse who was still swinging his arms around, I activated [Strong Arm] and [Hard Hit] and unleashed my one single strike.

 CH 382

    Prowse


    My attack from behind was a proper clean hit.


    But the moment my sword touched his back, he dodge rolled in front to avoid getting cut into two.


    Still, the wound I gave him was deep, so it¡¯s unlikely he¡¯d be able to move properly.


    Even within the [Black Mist], I of course still knew exactly where Prowse was so I was about to continue my pursuit and launch the next attack but¡­¡­..


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    ¡®[Heavy Suction Ball]¡±


    Prowse deeply sucked in the air, along with the black mist itself, and then fired something similar to [Wind Ball].


    Wind type magic were usually hard to see but, since he had sucked in the black mist, the ball of wind he fired was a lot easy to notice, and I was able to easily avoid it.


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    But, it did succeed at removing the black mist from the room and I could clearly see the enraged figure of Prowse glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.


    Judging by the large amounts of blood dripping down from his back, the damage I gave him was quite big but, if his expression is anything to go by, he hadn¡¯t lost his fighting spirit yet.


    ¡°¡­¡­..You dare mock me by using a surprise attack like that!! I¡¯l smash you down to a bloody pulp you bastard!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m shocked. You¡¯re still capable of talking shit huh.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re dead. I¡¯m going to definitely kill youu!!¡±


    He removed his knuckles and instead took a bear-like stance with his arm spread out wide.


    I could go for another ambush by using [Black Mist] again but, by the looks of it, I could probably take him on easily upfront now as well.


    Holding the Vendettatein in my usual stance, I began pouring mana into it.


    The runes on the sword activated, and the blade began to shine in a bright red colour once again.


    Perhaps due to the wound on his back as well, Prowse didn¡¯t move even a single bit, and simply stood there with his arms spread wide and his eyes completely closed, waiting for me to come close to him instead.


    The safest way to take him down right now would be to use the combo of [Sticky strings] and [Hardening] to attack him from afar, and force Prowse to move but¡­..


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    There is the matter of my remaining stamina, so I wanted to avoid an attrition based fight as well.


    I¡¯ll charge at him head-on, and as long as I cut him down before his attack reaches me, it¡¯ll be okay.


    I slowly began to approach closer to Prowse who remained still, and the moment I reached the designated spot, I lunged in with full force¡ª¡ªand activated [Leg Strength Enhancement] and [Gale].


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    ¡°[Domain][Vajra].¡±


    At the same time I activated my skills, Prowse also seemed to activate his own skills as well as a globe-shaped aura spread around Prowse.


    For a second I became vigilant, and hesitated over whether I should stop my attack or not but¡­¡­.in the end, I decided to go all the way through with my attack.


    Putting my full strength into my forward leg, I blasted in towards Prowse.


    The moment I entered his spherical aura, Prowse eyes opened in a flash, and he swung his right arm to grab me.


    Perhaps due to the effect of the aura, Prowse movements were exceptionally fast, and he grabbed my shoulder first.


    ¡ª¡ªbut, I didn¡¯t even pay it any heed, and continued the swing of my sword.


    To try and guard against my slash, he brought down his free left arm to protect against it but, unfortunately for him, the sword I had was no normal sword, it was the one and only Vendettatein.


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    His left arm was thick like a log, and his muscles were hard as metal but¡­¡­.as if I was cutting through butter, my sword chopped Prowse¡¯s left arm off and with the continued momentum, the sword ran through down from his left shoulder all the way to his right waist and tore it open.


    Unlike the slash on his back, this time his body itself had been split in two completely, so his upper body fell to the front, while his lower half fell backwards and a fountain of blood exploded.


    Of course, I was completely drenched in his blood since I was right in front of him, but I was already painted in blood so I didn¡¯t really care much about it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Y-you¡­¡­¡­¡­who, are you?¡±


    ¡°I am¡ª¡ª¨Cah, what¡¯s the point in answering now?¡±


    I figured I might as well answer his question in his dying moments but, by the time he finished his question, the strength in the arm that was grabbing my shoulder disappeared, so I stopped mid reply.


    As expected of an executive, he was certainly strong but, after Milworc, he felt a bit, lukewarm at best.


    But, if he hadn¡¯t tried to grab me and had launched a strike at me instead, he would have dealt some good damage to me as well. Not to mention, his [Domain] skill made me very, very curious as well.


    I really wished I could have used the executives and Milworc as fodder for the Ongneer plant but unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t do that without standing out like a madman. Besides, it¡¯s not like I had an Ongneer plant nearby anyway.


    I consoled myself by assuming that it was probably a unique skill anyway so I couldn¡¯t get it, and afterwards, I looked away from the now dead Prowse and headed towards Alexandra.


    Still wearing her bloodied armour, she was knelt on the ground, not moving much.


    Seeing her unmoving, I wondered if she had used up all her strength and died but, it seemed she was still breathing somehow.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Yes¡­¡­.Gilmour, thanks.¡±


    Hearing my question, she just about squeaked out a reply barely in a feeble volume. Also, she didn¡¯t even seem to register that she was talking to me, and she seemed like she¡¯d lose consciousness at any moment now.


    I suppose I should splash some potions on Alexandra and carry her outside, and then I guess I should also check if that Bruce guy and Gilmour were also alive or not.


    One of them tried to actually kill me, and the other always talked to me like a cocky shit.


    I honestly wouldn¡¯t give a damn if these two died but, just in case I did check up on them and¡­¡­.they were just about barely breathing still.


    While I didn¡¯t care for them, I haven¡¯t fall so far that I¡¯d let someone bleed to detah in front of me either so I guess I should carry all three of them outside.


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry these three outside¡­¡­¡­.Mielle, what about you?¡±


    ¡°Eh? I¡¯ll come with you¡ª¡ªah, what¡¯s with that look!?¡­¡­¡­Fine fine, I know. I¡¯ll go help arrest the remnants alright!¡±


    I didn¡¯t even say anything but, maybe she sensed something as Mielle shouted that in the end.


    Looks like Mielle still has lots of energy still left in her and there¡¯s no one really strong left among the enemies so she¡¯ll be fine.


    Ralf and Esta should be coming here pretty soon as well so with this, it won¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that the base of [Under Eye] has been completely crushed.


    The moment I thought that, I was hit with a sensation of strength leaving my body from relaxation but, while there has been no response, there are still 2 executives that never appeared here so I can¡¯t relax until we¡¯re completely out of here.


    I kept only my [Physical Ability Boost] skill active, and picked up the three near death royal knights, and while leaving Mielle behind to clean the rest up, I left the building with those three.


    (End of Volume 7)


    Afterword from the Author


    The next volume will be the final volume so I hope you will stick with me till the very end!


    (T/N: Just the final volume remains! Thank you for supporting this work and my translations. Hope you all can enjoy it till the very end. Volumes are usually 50-60 chapters, and I imagine the final volume will be the biggest so there¡¯s still lots to go but once again, thank you for all your support!)

 CH 383

    (Start of Volume 8)


    One Night Later


    About a day had passed since the complete annihilation of the [Under Eye] base.


    By the way, while I was carrying those three out of the building, I did regroup with Ralf and Esta again while they were on their way to help here.


    Ralf then headed further in to support Mielle, meanwhile Esta helped me carry these horribly wounded trio out to safety.


    And my memory cuts off at that point¡­¡­¡­perhaps the moment I felt the warm sunlight on my face again, my tension wires finally snapped and I too collapsed while still carrying Alexandra and Bruce.


    And right now, by the time I woke up, I was lying under an unfamiliar ceiling.


    It was my assumption that ¡®about a day had passed¡¯ as well and seeing how the morning sun was shining in through the window, and considering it was around noon when we destroyed the [Under Eye] base, I have to assume that I had slept the rest of the day and now it the morning of the next day.


    I still feel quite fatigued so I kind of wanted to continue sleeping in this fluffy bed but¡­¡­.


    Since I had no idea what had happened afterwards, I also wanted to go out and look for someone and get a better idea of the current situation.


    Forcing myself up from the bed, first I checked the room I was in.


    It was quite the spacious room, and there were six more beds, like the one I was lying on, lined up side by side.


    However no one else was using those beds, and I was the only one inside this room. I think I¡¯m probably in some kind of nap room.


    There was nothing else worth mentioning inside this room other than the beds, so I looked outside the window to get an idea of where I was and apparently, this was the third floor of some building.


    And judging from how I can see the main street below me, I was probably in a building located in the capital¡¯s best residential district.


    I thought of the [Lemon Kid] but, that place was a bit away from the main street, and it certainly didn¡¯t have any rooms as spacious as this one.


    Which means, there¡¯s only one other possibility left¡­¡­..this is probably the royal knights quarters.


    At the same timing that I recognized the place, the door of the room was opened and someone entered inside.


    Turning back to look who it was, the person who had entered the room was none other than Alexandra.


    ¡°Ah! Chris-san, you¡¯re finally awake! You completely refused to wake up even one bit so we were all worried but, good to see you¡¯re doing well.¡±


    ¡°Likewise, you seem o be doing well as well Alexandra¡­¡­¡­..we are in the royal knights quarters right? Thanks for lending it to me.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks! You saved our lives. If anything I¡¯m a bit embarrassed that this plain room is all we could give you.¡±


    Shaking her head to the side, Alexandra hung her head seemingly really feeling a bit ashamed.


    But still, she had been in such a horrible state but she was already looking energetic again and moving around normally.


    I seem to have slept a lot longer so I wondered if Bruce and Gilmour had also woken up already or not.


    ¡°Speaking of, are Bruce and Gilmour okay? And the rest of the knights also took some severe damage from what I recall, no?¡±


    ¡°Bruce and Gilmour are doing fine, all thanks to your help, Chris-san. They took some serious damage so they haven¡¯t regained consciousness yet but, their lives are not in danger. As for the rest of the knights¡­¡­..of the group that attacked the building, we lost 60% of them. As for the remaining 40%, about half of them are seriously wounded so yes, we did take some serious damage to our troops.¡±


    Looks like at least Bruce and Gilmour managed to live.


    As for the rest of the knights, well from the terrible situation I saw in there, it¡¯s honestly a miracle that even that many survived.


    They did leave half of their troops at the entrance of the black market as well so, I assume the casualties are around 30 or so.


    And even with another 10 or so seriously wounded, considering their opponents were [Under Eye], I honestly think they did pretty well limiting the damage as a whole.


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s unfortunate that over half those that entered the building died but, at least it¡¯s good to know that at least Bruce and Gilmour survived.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you, Chris-san. Once again, you have my utmost gratitude.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks. In the first, I¡¯m the one that asked for your help to take down [Under Eye]. If anything, I feel bad for dragging you all into this.¡±


    Seeing Alexandra bow her head so sincerely, I started feeling a bit guilty over it all and also gave bow in apology.


    I mean, I did head to Ralf and Esta first to confirm their safety and only afterwards did I go to help the knights. My personal priority list wasn¡¯t exactly kind to them.


    I haven¡¯t done anything that deserves their thanks by any means, and if anything I should really be apologizing.


    ¡°Ah, please raise your head! You are the one that saved us after all! ¨C ¨C O-oh right! Ralf-san and Esta-san were also very worried about you so let me go call them as well!¡±


    She seemed flustered from seeing me bow, so she found an excuse to quickly run out of the room to call Ralf and Esta instead.


    To be honest, I wanted to question her a bit more about what all happened since then and such but, she was already gone, so it can¡¯t be helped I guess.


    Well, she had gone to call Ralf and Esta so I guess I can ask them instead about what all happened after I lost consciousness.


    Until then¡­¡­..I don¡¯t exactly have much else to do so I guess I¡¯ll do some maintenance of Vendettatein that was leaning on the side of my bed while I wait.

 CH 384

    What Happened Afterwards


    Sitting back down on the bed, I continued to do maintenance on the Vendetattein while I waited, as a few minutes had passed since Alexandra left when the door of the room was swung open once again.


    ¡°Chris! You¡¯re finally up!¡±


    With a joyful voice, Ralf entered the room. Behind him Esta was also there.


    I figured they would have returned to Isabelle¡¯s home but, considering how fast they showed up, they were also probably staying here.


    ¡°Yeah. Sorry for making you two worry.¡±


    ¡°Nah, we weren¡¯t worried or anything! It¡¯s not like you had any injuries, and the old man healer also said that you just collapsed from exhaustion that¡¯s all after all!¡±


    ¡°But he also said that you did exert your muscles a bit too much and may have damaged them, so now that you¡¯re awake, do you feel anything wrong with your body?¡±


    ¡°I mean, yeah, my body does feel a bit sluggish but otherwise, I feel perfectly fine¡­¡­..Speaking of, just how long have I been asleep?¡±


    I just decided by myself that I had only slept for about a day but I did end up using both [Ability Unleashed] as well as [Mad Warrior], and then I even further forced myself to fight that executive, Prowse as well.


    And if we¡¯re going by past cases, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they told me that I had been sleeping for 3 days or something either.


    ¡°Nah, not much time has passed actually! You collapsed yesterday afternoon, and right now it¡¯s early morning of the next day!¡±


    ¡°Is that so. I had slept a lot longer when I was in Edestor, so I thought I may have slept a lot longer this time too but, good to hear that that¡¯s not the case this time.¡±


    ¡°Well, it may also be thanks to the skilled healer that Charlotte-san prepared for us. Apparently he is the royal family¡¯s personal healer and is known to be extremely skilled, or so I heard from Alexandra-san.¡±


    Huh, Charlotte even arranged for a good healer for us it seems.


    If he really was the royal family¡¯s personal healer, no wonder my recovery was also much faster.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to thank Charlotte for that afterwards¡­¡­¡­there¡¯s more I want to ask however, do you mind?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I assume you wanna know what happened after you went out cold?¡±


    ¡°Wow, a rare case where Ralf¡¯s guess is correct? Are you really the real one?¡±


    ¡°Hey, when am I not right huh!? Anyways, let me tell you¡ª¨C¡°


    And then, Ralf and Esta began to inform me on the events that followed after I fell asleep.


    Since I had taken down Milworc as well as two of their executives, they didn¡¯t have much problem subjugating the rest of buildings without much trouble.


    More than half of [Under Eye]¡¯s members had died, and those that were captured had been imprisoned by the royal knights and were currently being interrogated.


    I had already heard of the damages incurred by the knights from Alexandra, plus as I could see, Mielle, Ralf and Esta were all perfectly safe and sound.


    Since our side technically also had a bunch of deaths, we couldn¡¯t shout it from the rooftops but, it was very clear that this battle with [Under Eye] had ended with our complete victory.


    But it seemed that the damage caused by [Under eye] was larger than expected, as when they investigated the basements of the buildings, they also found multiple captured people as well as a bunch of corpses with their internal organs taken out, and in another building they even found large amounts of illegal drugs that they were smuggling inside the capital.


    ¡°I see. Looks like a lot things were found afterwards but, there wasn¡¯t any big incident per se.¡±


    ¡°All thanks to you putting your life on the line, Chris! Well, the knights that went to deal with the aftermath of whatever you did seemed to look very miserable though.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall much but, I did use that skill and went on a full rampage after all.  I feel sorry for the knights who had deal with the corpses but, I hope they realize that they all were alive only because of what I did there.¡±


    ¡°Well, thanks to everything that happened yesterday, the black market got blockaded entirely it seems but¡­¡­..today, it seems to be back to normal already again.¡±


    The battle that occurred was quite large scale and there were a lot of casualties, and yet, they had already returned to their daily lives.


    As expected of the lawless zone I suppose. I was honestly left feeling a bit impressed.


    ¡°Thanks for all the reports. I more or less have an idea of what all happened while I was asleep. Did Charlotte contact you to talk about what we¡¯ll be doing next?¡±


    ¡°Just that we¡¯ll talk again in three days at the [Lemon Kid] again. Until then, keep your heads down and don¡¯t attract attention¡ª¨Cis what she said.¡±


    ¡°Basically rest for the next 3 days eh? Well, that was the plan anyway. We¡¯ll take it easy until the next meeting. You guys must be tired as well right?¡±


    ¡°I mean yeah, but more than that, I¡¯m getting worried about Snow as well! I know Chris you can¡¯t move about right now so should I go and check up on the little guy?¡±


    Snow eh¡­¡­.


    I had ordered it to standby inside the Peixa forest, so I was a bit worried for it as well.


    And I was planning to bring Snow back once the [Under Eye] problem was resolved, so depending on how the meeting with Charlotte in 3 days goes, I¡¯ll go and get Snow back then.


    There is a 3 day gap right now but, right now I want to make sure that everything¡¯s okay first before doing anything hastily.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried too but I¡¯ll go to get Snow after the next meeting is done. Snow can wait another three days, right? After that we can bring it back.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..I guess, but I¡¯m still a bit worried. I know Snow¡¯s strong but it¡¯s also a bit too kind sometimes. I hope it¡¯s at least eating properly, right?¡±


    ¡°I left quite a lot of food for it so I think it¡¯ll be fine. Well, if you¡¯re really that worried Ralf I don¡¯t mind if you go and take a look, you know? I¡¯m too tired to for a trip though so I¡¯ll stay here though.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Then I¡¯ll go visit it by myself then! Esta, you can stay in the capital as well!¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll leave checking in on Snow to you Ralf. I¡¯ll prioritize recovering from my fatigue as well.¡±


    And just like that, having decided how to spend the next 3 days of break, we left the royal knights quarters and went back to Isabelle¡¯s house.

 CH 385

    Recovery


    After returning back to Isabelle¡¯s home, the next three days passed by in the blink of an eye.


    As for what we did in these last 3 days, well, quite literally nothing. I just lazed around on the bed rolling around, doing nothing and just chilling.


    It¡¯s been a while since I had the leeway to just live in such self-indulgence but, thanks to that, I was also able to make a full recovery as well.


    All the pain and fatigue had completely disappeared, and I could fight normally once again.


    Unlike when I had fought through the cave of Bahamut, I didn¡¯t have any major injuries in the first place which certainly helped but, I also think that the healer that Charlotte provided went a long way to fully heal me up.


    From the moment I woke up, I could feel my body was in tip-top shape plus, the speed with which my fatigue disappeared was also levels apart from the usual.


    Anyway, the point was that I was back to perfect health. And as for Ralf and Esta¡­¡­.


    These two didn¡¯t exactly have to push themselves to limit in the first place so, they had already recovered by the time we went back to Isabelle¡¯s home.


    And like Ralf had talked about when we were at the knight¡¯s quarters, he headed out again straight to the Peixa forest to check up on Snow, and meanwhile, Esta who remained with me in the capital, decided to get some shopping done in the meantime.


    By the way, since we had completely annihilated the [Under Eye] organization, there wasn¡¯t really a need for us to remain at Isabelle¡¯s place anymore but, I didn¡¯t have the willpower to make a move to a normal inn yet so we decided to extend the stay just a few days more.


    Depending on how the meeting with Charlotte tonight goes, I do plan finally saying goodbye to Isabelle¡¯s home but, we do need to prepare a large sum of money in that case as well.


    Lying face up on the bed, while I was in deep thought¡­¡­¡­suddenly, I heard the door of the house getting opened.


    Since Isabelle and Esta were already in the living room, I figured Ralf had probably finally returned.


    I strained my ears while still on the bed to listen, and as expected, Ralf¡¯s boisterous voice came clear to me.


    ¡°Oi, I¡¯m back! Has Chris healed up yet?¡±


    Energetically swinging open the door to my room, Ralf spoke with a wide smile.


    I was curious about Snow as well so I was hoping to ask all that but¡­¡­..judging by his mood, I could already tell that there were no problems and that Snow was doing fine.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve made a full recovery. It took you some time to come back huh. Considering the distance, I thought you¡¯d be back in a day, no?¡±


    ¡°Snow seemed to have missed us a lot so I stayed with him as long as I could! By the way, Snow¡¯s doing as well as you¡¯d expect! It even made a bunch of new friends and seemed to be relatively enjoying itself!¡±


    Good hear that Snow¡¯s been lively but¡­¡­¡­Friends?


    Peixa forest barely had any monsters, so I was confused over just what exactly did it befriend?


    Well, it did somehow enjoy its time with the squirrel in the Carlisle forest, so I assume it¡¯s probably made friends with a small animal or something.


    That, or perhaps because I hunted the Duke Urus, maybe the original ecosystem of the forest had crumbled completely causing other monsters and animals to come there.


    If it was the latter, I¡¯d feel a bit bad but, then again, a livelier forest filled with animals is a lot more natural I suppose, so maybe I didn¡¯t do a bad thing.


    ¡°Regardless, I¡¯m glad it¡¯s been doing well. Also, depending on how today¡¯s meeting goes, I¡¯ll go and get Snow back afterwards as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll also come with you again! I did promise it that I¡¯ll come to meet it again soon after all!¡±


    ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind either way. Esta¡¯s in the living room by the way, so give her the news as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh right! I probably should! I¡¯m sure she¡¯s also worried and is waiting to get the news!¡±


    Saying that, Ralf rushed out of the room and headed to Esta.


    Well, that¡¯s one of my worries taken care of so now, we just have to wait till it¡¯s night time.


    Deciding to sleep a little more just to make sure I was in perfect condition, I went back to sleep.


    Since then, I slept until it was dark outside, and once our prep was done, we made our way to [Lemon Kid] again at the allotted time.


    Having gotten used to it, we quickly entered the store and headed to secret room at the back.


    I could sense multiple presences from inside the room, and from what I could tell, it was the exact same people as last time.


    And just like last time, I could see that someone was waiting right beside the door, ready to launch an attack at me the moment I enter.


    Feeling annoyed that I have to deal with this shit again, I understood that it couldn¡¯t be helped¡­¡­.and the moment I entered, I unsheathed Vendettatein as well.


    And sure enough, as soon as I entered, the attack came but, if I know that its coming in advance, there¡¯s really no problem at all.


    I blocked the oncoming sword attack, and countered with a front kick into his solar plexus.


    The one who attacked this time was that dumb knight Gautier , and while he was twisting his body while holding down on his stomach from the pain, I made sure to not let that chance go and launched another high kick aimed at his chin.


    Enhanced with [Leg Strength Enhancement] and [Hard Hit], my kick made a clean impact with his chin, and his brains must have been shook from the impact as Gautier flopped unconscious face first on to the ground.


    I could tell that Charlotte would raise her voice to stop me, so I quickly executed this combo to bring him down instantly, which made me quite relieved.


    If he remained awake, he¡¯d continue to constantly stay annoying plus, I had a lot of residual anger towards Gautier still left within me so it felt quite nice to take it all out on him, and the final result was to my satisfaction.

 CH 386

    6-8 minutes 11.06.2023


    Discussion


    While I was feeling satisfied looking down on the unconscious Gautier on the floor, Charlotte sighed and then began to talk again.


    ¡°Sorry that it ended up like this again. This time I actually told them not to do this but Gautier was adamant that it was too dangerous and whatnot and decided to attack you himself.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I didn¡¯t even get a scratch and I got the chance to smack one into him for good after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask just in case but¡­¡­..you didn¡¯t kill him, right?¡±


    ¡°He turned out to be softer than I imagined so I¡¯m not sure but, I didn¡¯t use enough strength to kill him in the first place so I assume he¡¯ll wake up after a couple of hours or so.¡±


    ¡°Then, I guess we can leave him there. Now then, why don¡¯t you sit down.¡±


    As Charlotte asked, I ignored the collapsed Gautier and went and sat down on the sofa in front of her.


    Just like last time, the three royal knights of the third squad and Mielle were standing behind Charlotte.


    Alexandra gave a sincere bow, and while Bruce and Gilmour weren¡¯t bowing their head, their expression did look quite apologetic.


    Their bodies were still covered in bandages, and they had been made to come here while still far from fully healed it seems.


    And finally, Mielle, who I hadn¡¯t seen since we last parted inside that building¡­¡­..


    Wasn¡¯t even looking towards me, and was instead more focused on enjoying seeing the face-down fallen figure of Gautier instead.


    She really never changes huh¡­¡­.for better or worse.


    ¡°Firstly, allow me to give you my thanks. Not only did you take down Milworc and two of their executives, you even went out of your way to support the royal knights afterwards. I heard from Asha that you saved her life.¡±


    ¡°I said this to Alexandra as well but, I was the one who dragged them all into this mess. I just finished my side of things early so I figured why not go and support them as well, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Regardless of the reason, you have our gratitude. I never imagined things would turn out this well but, the plan to destroy [Under Eye] has been a great success. The fact that you actually killed Milworc is worth nothing but the highest amount of praise.¡±


    Honestly, getting praised this openly wasn¡¯t something I enjoyed.


    I would have an easier time dealing with it if she stuck to her usual backhanded compliments instead.


    ¡°I heard you sent out your family¡¯s personal healer as well for us, so like I said, I don¡¯t need this much thanks. Thanks to that, I have already fully recovered as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. That kind of support was pretty much all I could do this time around after all.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, it was so good, I kind of want to always come to them for healing if I get hurt in the future.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you ever work for the country, we¡¯ll gladly lend him to you again, you know?¡­¡­..What do you say? Have you considered quitting as an adventurer, and working for us, the royal family instead?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but that¡¯s not an option for me. I¡¯m only in this together until I have taken down Klaus. After that, I don¡¯t see myself working for the kingdom directly ever again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    To think I¡¯ll get an invitation like that. But I refused it instantly regardless.


    After that, I took a quick glance towards Gautier but he seemed to still be unconscious.


    If he was awake, rejecting a personal invitation from Charlotte in front of him would have surely made him throw a fit and cause even more problems after all.


    ¡°Let me get back to the topic at hand but, Charlotte did you incite Milworc to return to the base?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Sort of, but not quite right either.¡±


    Well that was a vague answer. I could only tilt my head in confusion.


    ¡°So it wasn¡¯t intentional on your part then?¡±


    ¡°I mean I did try and induce Milworc to return to their base but, in all honestly, it was just pure luck that he actually did so, is what I¡¯m saying basically.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, regardless it really helped me out. Thanks to that, I was able to destroy both Milworc and [Under Eye] in one fell swoop.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I was still only half-convinced until before, but after this whole ordeal I¡¯m not confident that I made the right choice in making an alliance with you Chris.¡±


    Likewise, having a influential backer like Charlotte has been a great help for me so I¡¯m glad I was able to make a her think the same.


    I suppose it really was the right decision to prioritize destroying [Under Eye] in that sense as well, as it further strengthened our alliance.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s get to the main topic shall we?¡­¡­¡­Where is Klaus right now?¡±


    As soon as I brought up the topic of Klaus, the calm atmosphere of the room suddenly tensed up.


    Especially, Ralf and Esta sitting beside me seemed to perk up a bit, and as if affected by it, Charlotte¡¯s side all also all tensed up as well.


    ¡°Klaus isn¡¯t in the royal capital right now. To be exact, 4 days ago¡ª¡ªmeaning, the day before our assault on the [Under Eye] base, he left the capital.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this about? I came to the capital chasing Klaus¡­¡­¡­.you lot didn¡¯t leak our info and let him run did you?¡±


    ¡°Calm down. Even if I had told him about you directly, do you really think Klaus would have run from you, Chris?¡±


    The sudden info made my brain go to extreme conclusions, and Charlotte gave back an anger0filled response to that but¡­¡­..the question only calmed me down.


    There¡¯s no way the guy that has been trying his utmost to capture me would run the moment he knew that I was in the capital.


    If anything, he would have rushed out to find and kill me instead, meaning the fact he left the capital in fact implies the opposite.


    ¡ª¡ªbut in that case, why did Klaus leave at such a timing?


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.yeah, he won¡¯t run. Apologies for losing my temper. So is it just a coincidence that he happened to leave now?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a coincidence. It would be a huge trouble if your duel happened in the middle of the capital. So to avoid that I requested father to send Klaus out on an expedition.¡ª¡ªmeaning, that place will also become the location for your decisive battle.¡±

 CH 387

    Ancient Ruins


    So basically, Charlotte had Klaus be sent away on an expedition just so I could find him without any hindrances.


    Certainly, the black market was one thing, but if we fought in the middle of the city, we could end up causing a lot of trouble to the commonfolk.


    And besides, I¡¯m sure Klaus has other people working for him like [Under Eye] within the capital as well, so in terms of making things efficient as well, sending Klaus away from the city was probably the better choice.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it was. So? Where exactly is this location of our decisive battle set to be?¡±


    ¡°An ancient ruin, known as [Foro Neem]. It¡¯s located about two days travel in the direction of the Empire from here.¡±


    ¡°Never even heard of the damn place¡­¡­¡­also, aren¡¯t ancient ruins an important place? Is it alright to start a battle there?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ve already taken that into consideration as well. While we have sent Klaus to [Foro Neem] under the pretence of doing an investigation, the reality is that the ruins have been already fully investigated a long time ago. The ruins connect to an underground area, that leads to giant arena.¡ª¡ª¨Cfufu, quite the fitting place for your duel, no?¡±


    Even if you say that, imagining a giant arena  doesn¡¯t exactly pop a vivid image in my head but, if they¡¯re calling it an arena specifically, I have to assume the place is well suited for battles.


    Looks like Charlotte really prepared the best possible stage for the finale.


    ¡°The Final battle in a giant arena eh?¡ª¨CMy thanks, looks like you really fulfilled your part of the deal. My heart¡¯s starting to race just thinking about it.¡±


    ¡°No need for your thanks. But in exchange, please finish off Klaus for good. That could be the best kind of thanks you could ever give me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I will. I promise you, Klaus will die by my hands¡­¡­¡­So, if he left 4 days ago, we should probably leave soon too right? If we dilly dally around, he might come back before we know it.¡±


    That was my biggest concern right now.


    There¡¯s a high chance something like that might happen. It¡¯ll be a pain if we missed each other again.


    ¡°In terms of time, you don¡¯t need to worry that much. [Foro Neem] is a genuinely massive ancient ruin, so it¡¯ll take a decent amount of time before investigations can be fully completed. Eve a [Sword God] can¡¯t finish it all in a matter of days¡­¡­¡­.But well, there can always be other unforeseen events, so you should depart within the next three days I think. I¡¯ll give you guys the map of [Foro Neem] as well, so you should be able to make it the arena at the end of the ruins very fast.¡±


    ¡°Three days eh¡­¡­¡­..That¡¯s fine by me. More than enough time to prepare. Be sure to give us maps for both the location of the ruins, as well as the inside of [Foro Neem] itself as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Also, I¡¯ll give you the info on his party members as well. So you¡¯re going to be here till morning alright?¡±


    ¡°That too? Well, well, if you¡¯re putting this much effort, I really can¡¯t lose now huh.¡±


    ¡°Just be sure to not get careless okay? I am fully aware of how strong you are Chris but, I still think that Klaus is still a level above you when it comes to pure power. Don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    She said that with a very serious expression.


    I worked all this time just to catch up to him so I already know that, and besides, I could never forget that single slash of light that almost took my life no matter what, so being careless was never going to be something I¡¯d do.


    Just a few days after [Heaven¡¯s Blessing], Klaus who knew nothing about real fighting still had been able to release that [Sacred Slash].


    Just recalling it sends shivers down my spine, and my memories aren¡¯t exaggerated either. That slash was genuinely deadly.


    Just the shockwave alone had destroyed the walls, and even then, the slash continued onwards and flew off into the horizon.


    Even after gaining countless new skills, I still can¡¯t replicate a feat like that, so me being careless against Klaus was an impossibility.


    He¡¯s a Sword God. And ironically, I think I¡¯m the one in this whole world that knows best just how deadly that title really can be.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not the type to make a foolish mistake like that. Iw ill use everything I have, all my strength¡ª¡ª-to kill Klaus.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..good. Then, I have nothing more to say. Alright, then let me talk about [Foro Neem] and Klaus¡¯ party members in that case.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    From there, Charlotte spoke about all sorts of detailed info until the sun had risen up again.


    Not just info on [Foro Neem], but also every single minute detail regarding Klaus and his party had been thoroughly collected for my sake. So much that even though I had never even met or seen them, I still felt like I could now recognize them on sight. That¡¯s how detailed her info was.


    Ralf and Esta were also earnestly listening, and thanks to this info, we¡¯ll be able to prepare countermeasures against them beforehand as well.


    Feeling gratitude towards Charlotte¡¯s hard work, I knew that we had to use the next three days very meaningfully before we finally head to [Foro Neem] as well.

 CH 388

    Dividing Work


    ¡°Thanks for all the info and the arrangements as well.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, don¡¯t worry about it. I am doing all this because I see the merits in doing so that¡¯s all. And besides, I had been unable to get much info on Milworc so that guy would have been a blind spot in our strategy. But you guys already got rid of that problem by yourselves beforehand, so in a way, it¡¯s your actions that has made my info so ¡®accurate¡¯ Chris.¡±


    She spoke so modestly, but Charlotte also played a part in sending Milworc my way in the first place.


    Of course, I was the one who actually beat him but that is not to say that Charlotte didn¡¯t deserve any credit for the results either.


    ¡°Regardless, you¡¯ve been a great help. And don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t disappoint you and will defeat Klaus no matter what.¡±


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t, I¡¯ll resent you for the rest of your life so you better.¡±


    I chuckled at her words, and then got up from the sofa.


    At the same time, I returned a curt bow to Alexandra who bowed to me again, and then began to leave the room when¡­¡­.


    I noticed Gautier who was still lying on the floor unconscious.


    ¡°Hey Charlotte, should I wake up Gautier?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask again but, he¡¯s not dead right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­..there, you can hear his breathing right?¡±


    ¡°Oh you¡¯re right. Then leave him be. I¡¯ll handle him on our side.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Well then, ¡ª¡ªin 3 days, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll actually be available to see you off in three days but, sure, see you then.¡±


    With our farewells done, we finally left [Lemon Kid].


    It was dark outside when we came here, but now the sun had begun to rise, and there were people already going about their daily work on the main street.


    ¡°Man that used up a lot of my brain power so I¡¯m feeling really sleepy, but, I¡¯m also feeling a bit worked up as well!¡±


    ¡°Same here¡­¡­¡­I guess we should get on with our work right away in that case. Our time¡¯s limited anyway.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Where do we start?¡±


    3 days wasn¡¯t that much time when you really think about it. We¡¯ll need to divide all the work and quickly get things done.


    But first of all¡­¡­.we need to look for a new inn to change from Isabelle¡¯s home, and then go and pick up snow.


    After talking to Charlotte I know that the matter with [Under Eye] has been completely taken care of.


    While Klaus is away from the capital, I have no need to be secretive either, so we can about and do everything without being worried about getting found out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s search for a new inn first. And then we go get Snow.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re going to get Snow already!¡­¡­.but, are we really going to be taking Snow with us to [Foro Neem] as well? Worse case, it might lose its life during the fights as well no?¡±


    ¡°Snow can understand what we say, so I¡¯ll try my best to properly explain the situation to it but¡­¡­.I won¡¯t force Snow to do anything it doesn¡¯t want to do. Part of me wants to leave it inside Peixa forest for even longer but, in the off chance we lose and die against Klaus without properly even talking to Snow one last time, we¡¯re going to get hated even in our afterlife by Snow.¡±


    ¡°I agree. If I was in Snow¡¯s position I would hate not being told such important things as well. Although even I do hope that Snow chooses to say inside the forest even after we tell it everything.¡±


    I know what Ralf wants to say but, honestly, inside my head, Ralf and Esta themselves are in the same spot for me.


    Now that I have decided to trust these two, I have to trust Snow the same way.


    ¡°Well yeah, I¡¯d be pretty mad if that happened to me as well, and I mean, we did get angry at Chris for something similar¡­¡­¡­We do need to properly explain everything to Snow after all.¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. Also, as for getting Snow, let¡¯s pick one of us to go there. Time¡¯s limited, and while I feel for Snow, it¡¯s not efficient to have 2, 3 people going all the way to the forest just to get Snow.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go again! I did promise it that I¡¯ll come meet Snow soon after all!¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I¡¯ll leave Snow to you Ralf. Be sure to bring it back safe and sound.¡±


    ¡°Understood! I¡¯ll leave right away and be back by the end of the day!¡±


    Ralf had been with Snow until yesterday, so he probably knows exactly where Snow is living inside the forest. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll bring Snow back very quickly.


    ¡°So what should I be doing then Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°Esta, I¡¯ll leave searching for the inn to you. [Gilavar Hotel] will do if they allow for monster pets.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll go check at [Gilavar Hotel] first. If that place is a no go, I¡¯ll go look for a hotel that meets our criteria then!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m counting on you. I¡¯ll focus on shopping, and analyzing all the info we have gained. Also¡­¡­there¡¯s someone I have to meet by myself so I¡¯ll go there as well.¡±


    Both of them tilted their heads in confusion not knowing who I was talking about. I could have taken the time to explain but, I doubt they even remember him anyway so I can leave that for later if something worth talking about actually happens.


    And thus, with all our next tasks set, first we returned to Isabelle¡¯s home. From there, Ralf quickly left to Peixa forest again, and Esta left for the main street to look for the inn.


    Left alone in Isabelle¡¯s home, I focused on packing all our stuff first, and then once I was done with our shopping, I decided to go and visit a certain handsome priest that had apparently been transferred to the capital.

 CH 389

    Words of Gratitude


    After clearing and cleaning up the room I had been using, I picked up all the packed luggage and then left the room.


    When I left the room, I saw Isabelle was waiting at the front door to see me off.


    ¡°It was only for a short time but you really helped us a lot. Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done. I won¡¯t forget this debt.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I too had fun becoming friends with Esta after all!¡±


    Speaking of which, Esta seemed to go on shopping trips with her every one in a while as well. And they would often be chatting with each other when they were home together as well.


    Since Esta mostly lives with us two guys, I imagine she too enjoyed being able to spend some time with a fellow woman I imagine.


    ¡°I should be thanking you for that as well, to be honest. Esta¡¯s the only girl in our party so I imagine she too enjoyed being able to make friends with you as well, Isabelle.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I did it to get any thanks but, as long as Esta really enjoyed my company, that makes me really happy as well! She, and you guys as well, can come visit me anytime you want.¡±


    ¡°Sure. If something happens, we just might come again to get your help¡­¡­¡­Also, this might not seem much but, here¡¯s the payment for the letting us live here.¡±


    ¡°Oh no no! I don¡¯t need something like that!¡±


    She shook both her head and her hands to the side but, her eyes were very clearly locked to the pouch in my hands.


    I wondered what kind of reaction she¡¯ll give if I actually did withdraw my hand but¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m not the type to tease my benefactors.


    I grabbed her hand, and then forced the money on to her.


    ¡°Eh!? I can¡¯t accept this!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m forcing it on to you anyway.¡±


    ¡°b-but, this is a bit too much money though!¡±


    ¡°You should learn to accept what you get with honesty. We are still high ranking adventurers, you know¡­¡­Ah well, if you really don¡¯t want it, I guess I can take it back then.¡±


    ¡°I-I d-don¡¯t need¡ª¡ªuugh, fine I¡¯ll take it! Chris-san, thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simply thanks for helping complete strangers like us. Treat yourselves to a good meal or something with that.¡±


    Saying that in the end, I bid farewell to Isabelle who was sincerely bowing her head, and then left the house for good.


    Now then, what should I do next?


    All the info analysis will have to wait until Esta finds and decides on our inn, so it¡¯s either shopping or going to the church¡­¡­¡­.


    No, should I finish my rounds for thanking all my benefactors first?


    Isabelle was of course the one that helped us the most here but, I do want to go and thank the old Uzef from the orphanage for introducing us to that place as well.


    Yeah, what¡¯s the correct order for finishing all this?


    I stood there in the middle of the road, pondering for a while and then once I had decided on the order, I decided in the end that I¡¯ll start with finishing all the shopping first after all.


    As for what I needed to buy, it as of course rations, items, and anything that we¡¯ll need on our journey to [Foro Neem]. Other than that, I also want to buy some battle items for our fight against Klaus.


    All that said, I had already hoarded up on a lot of items from our little shopping spree with Bors, so rations and basic items are the priority.


    Also, I want to see if I can buy some deadly poisonous drugs as well.


    There¡¯s always a chance that Milworc was simply an exceptional case but, it really seemed like [Venom] was really not very effective.


    So first I¡¯ll need to look for a drugstore or an alchemist¡¯s store to buy some poisons.


    With my first few objectives set, I found a drugstore called [Rakanka] on the main street.


    It seemed like a store mostly focused on selling healing items so I am not expecting much but¡­¡­


    A while back, Trisha from [Gaddfoura] told me that skilled healers often dealt with and used much stronger poisons than even an alchemist.


    As the saying goes, ¡°The dose makes the poison¡± and depending on usage, it wasn¡¯t rare for even poison to have beneficial usages apparently.


    And with that in mind, I came to this drugstore instead of an alchemist¡¯s store.


    Even though [Rakanka] was located on the main street, the store itself seemed quite modest.


    Yet, it also had this refined polished feeling about the place as well, and honestly, I trusted simple looking places more than the overtly gaudy and luxurious looking stores.


    The moment I entered the store, the smell of medicines rushed into my nostrils.


    Potions have a somewhat similar smell as well but, these smells had much more mixed together and smelled a lot closer to chemicals so I didn¡¯t like it much.


    It¡¯s hard to put it in words but, it made me feel like I was smelling artificial plants or something. That¡¯s the closest analogy I could give.


    The store itself seemed decently busy, but it wasn¡¯t crowded like some of the other stores on the main street, and for its size and location, it honestly felt a little empty if anything.


    The employees weren¡¯t moving about either, and were simply sitting at the counter as well. It seemed like they were only cashiers who managed the sales and purchases and nothing more.


    It didn¡¯t seem like they¡¯d be much help, but if I can¡¯t find anything useful after a round, I¡¯ll try asking them for help anyways.


    Deciding that, I began going through the numerous shelves with all sorts of medicines displayed upon them.


    From there, I went around the entire store from top to bottom, and after getting a cursory glance on pretty much everything that was on sale, I came to the conclusion that as expected, they didn¡¯t have any kind of poison displayed on sale openly.


    I mean, it feels obvious at this point but, now that I¡¯m finally here, I might as well go ask the clerks even if they don¡¯t seem very reliable.


    Choosing a moment right when the only other customer had paid their bills and left and there were no other customers in the store, I went and talked to the only remaining clerk on the floor that was currently attending to the cashier.

 CH 390

    Poison


    ¡°I wanted to ask something if that¡¯s alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes of course. How may I help?¡±


    ¡°Do you guys sell poison here as well?¡±


    When I inquired that from the clerk, they froze up with a stupefied face.


    I guess this must be the first time some customer has come to them to buy poison, so it¡¯s not the strangest reaction I suppose.


    ¡°PO.I.SON. You know, the thing that can harm bodies? That¡¯s what I¡¯m looking for.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..eh, um, we only sell medicines that help cure illnesses and injuries faster here and nothing more, we don¡¯t have¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°No no, we totally do have some here.¡±


    From behind the bewildered clerk who was trying their best to not show it on their face, a singular old man suddenly showed up.


    He seemed to be older than even the old golem guy but, he was also quite tanned, blonde and was wearing sunglasses¡ª¡ªwhile he was also wearing a doctor¡¯s white robe, the shirt within was quite gaudy and he was wearing shorts. He was quite the funky looking man I must say.


    ¡°Ah, Kalifa-san! You can¡¯t just come out here!¡±


    ¡°Stop being so noisy will ya? I only came out to correct you because you were lying to our customer here, you know?¡±


    ¡°If you really do have it on sale, then I¡¯d like some please. Of course I¡¯ll pay whatever price you want for it.¡±


    ¡°¡®Whatever price¡¯ eh? Very well, come on in inside for a bit kid.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t start complaining if we get sent another notice to stop our business okay!?¡±


    Ignoring the shouts of the clerk, the old man called Kalifa continued to walk inside the store and I quickly followed after him.


    Both his looks and words were screaming ¡®danger¡¯ but, if it¡¯s to get some real good poison, I¡¯m willing to take risks like these.


    ¡°There, take a seat. Don¡¯t expect any tea or something though alright?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need it either. Just sell me the poison I want.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will. Just wait here. I have a couple of varieties so wait here while I bring them out.¡±


    The old man called Kalifa seemed amused as he went to the shelves here, that had far more items and were far more cluttered than the shelves outside on display, and picked up a bunch of items and lined them up in front of me.


    Three drugs with different shapes and colours were put here, and just from the looks alone, I could tell, they were all really dangerous.


    ¡°These are the poisons I¡¯d recommend personally. Will you buy all three? Or should I explain them first?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need all three so do explain each of them first.¡±


    ¡°Got it. First one here, is the black, spiky one, it¡¯s called Black Freesia. Made from a really pretty but poisonous flower. Its effects won¡¯t be apparent straight away but, if you keep feeding this to someone for a week or so regularly, they¡¯ll quickly head towards an inevitable incurable death. And the poison will be undetectable even from the corpse, and considering its symptoms aren¡¯t suddenly apparent, this is the most popular product we have.¡±


    From first glance, I thought it¡¯d be a super fatal type but, turns out it was not exactly the kind I was currently looking for.


    It was clearly much better suited to assassinations, or stealth killings but, I was hoping to get a poison that showed instant and apparent effects.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite enticing but, it¡¯s not exactly what I want right now.¡±


    ¡°What, so you didn¡¯t want one for assassination? Alright then, I¡¯ll introduce the second one to you. This yellow star shaped drug can induce heavy hallucinations while also giving a lot of pleasure to the recipient. Just one use will have the person get completely and hopelessly addicted to it, and their body will start craving for a second trip very soon.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..Is it similar to the  illegal drug that those underground organizations have been trafficking?¡±


    ¡°Keh, this one ain¡¯t some cheap shit like those. This one is strong enough that the euphoria won¡¯t disappear even if your arm was cut off! But, you can only use it consecutively for about 3 times and not more. Go above that, and your heart will go pop and stop right there and then!¡±


    I was very interested in this one¡¯s effects but this was still not exactly what I was looking for either.


    Although I could use it in case I took a fatal blow to temporarily negate the damage and pain but, I already have [Pain Inhibition], plus it¡¯s not like poisons have any effect on me anyway.


    ¡°Sorry but this one¡¯s not quite what I¡¯m looking for either¡­¡­¡­Guess I have to put my hopes on the last one?¡±


    ¡°Well, these three are just the ones I personally recommended, there¡¯s a bunch of other poisons I still have back there. Alright, let me get to the last one. This red drug is nicknamed [Bloody tears], and is something I myself created through combination after combination of different drugs and is extremely powerful. It can cause extreme pain directly to the brain of the person that intakes it. The pain is bad that it¡¯ll make you want to pull your brain out and wash it with water and, there were people that pulled their own eyes out from the pain¡ª¡ªhence the nickname [Bloody tears].¡±


    Hearing just the explanation alone was one that could send shivers down my spine but, this kind of powerful poison was exactly what I was looking for.


    Judging by the size, I could easily keep it hidden behind my molars as well, and while I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to use it against Klaus, I still wanted to have this [bloody tears] on hand.


    ¡°Now this is the kind of thing I was looking for. Sell me these [Bloody Tears] then.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, you¡¯ll buy this! One bottle will do?¡±


    One bottle¡­¡­¡­..to be honest, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll use it more than once, and even by the largest estimate, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need more than 10 or so.


    A full bottle is bit much but, I¡¯ll decide after hearing the price.


    ¡°How much is one bottle? I don¡¯t need too many of these, so depending on the price, I might ask for a lesser quantity.¡±


    ¡°A single bottle is 5 gold coins. If you want less¡­¡­¡­how about, a half bottle then?¡±


    ¡°5 gold is a bit much. Just sell me 2 gold coins¡¯ worth instead.¡±


    ¡°mumumu, you said you¡¯ll pay whatever but you¡¯re kinda stingy huh.¡±


    He grumbled his complaints but Kalifa still properly sold me 2 gold coins worth of [Bloody tears].


    Honestly, my expectations when coming here were low but, this should perfectly cover my poison needs for now.

 CH 391

    Consideration


    Having obtained the [Bloody tears], I gave my thanks to Kalifa before leaving [Rakanka], and then went to a different store located a little away from the main street to some food and provisions.


    Most of it was to donate to the orphanage as a show of my thanks, and for us, I simply bought the bare minimum necessary for survival aka dried jerky and crackers.


    After that, I bought some melons for Snow as well, and then I made my way back to the west district and towards the orphanage.


    Since it was early morning the last time we came here, we only got to meet Uzef inside the orphanage but, right now it was afternoon so I could see a bunch of kids running around having fun.


    I didn¡¯t want to get surrounded by them and seen as someone suspicious so I activated [Stealth] and [Silent Steps] to enter the orphanage grounds, and looked for Uzef without getting detected by the kids.


    Since she was in the shed slightly away from the main building last time, I decided to check there first this time as well and, sure enough, Uzef was indeed there folding and picking up clothes.


    It¡¯d be a bit too rude for me to enter directly inside the without invitation so I¡¯m glad she was here outside.


    ¡°Uzef, do have a moment?¡±


    ¡°¡ª¨C!? Wh, what, oh, it¡¯s you, Jeanvier¡¯s acquaintance. Could you not surprise me like that!?¡±


    Since I had my skills still active, calling her name from behind her made her jump in place from shock.


    Seeing Uzef put a hand on her chest trying to calm her heart down, I felt a little apologetic.


    ¡°Sorry about that. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be this surprised.¡±


    ¡°I mean, you made absolutely no sound, I couldn¡¯t even feel anyone¡¯s presence either!¡­¡­.but all that aside, how can I help you today? Did Isabelle drive you lot out or something, and now you¡¯re looking for a new place to stay?¡±


    ¡°No. We have left Isabelle¡¯s place now but, that¡¯s because our problem has been solved so there¡¯s no need to worry any longer. I¡¯m here today to give my thanks for helping us out back then, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°thanks? I barely did anything though? You don¡¯t need to give anything.¡±


    Uzef really sounded uninterested as she said that but, I have already bought all this so it¡¯d be a waste so I¡¯d prefer if she did accept it all anyway.


    ¡°You may say that, but I have already bought a fair few things. It¡¯s better if you just take it rather than it all go to waste.¡±


    ¡°By that, do you mean that huge bag you¡¯re holding right now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s got a lot of food for everyone. I figured that¡¯d make the kids happy the most.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes¡­¡­¡­..there can never be enough food when raising a bunch of kids after all.¡±


    ¡°Then, by all means, take it. If it¡¯s a matter of feelings, you can think of it as a donation to the orphanage instead.¡±


    ¡°In that case, you have my thanks. We will accept it gladly.¡±


    That¡¯s good to hear.


    I handed over the bags to Uzef, and then began to quietly leave the place again when¡­..


    ¡°Oi, you little runts! We just got a whole bunch of nice food so come here and say thank you properly!¡±


    ¡°Wai, Hey!?¡±


    Uzef began to suddenly shout, and call all the kids that were playing in the frontyard.


    I tried to stop her but I was a second too late, and it would seem my attempt to stay inconspicuous had been made useless.


    While I was fretting over what to do, a big bunch of kids gathered up, and quickly surrounded me.


    ¡°Look, this person just brought a lot of food for everyone. C¡¯mon, quickly say your thanks properly.¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah, enjoy it.¡±


    A shrill sound of the kids saying thanks in unison attacked my ears, and I could only show a wry smile as I awkwardly replied.


    Uzef seemed to find that amusing as she chuckled, and suddenly as if recalling something, she seemed to make an apologetic face.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll really have to go all out today in the kitchen eh? Ah, but I can¡¯t carry these big bags myself so sorry, but can you help me carry it all to the kitchen?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..sure, I don¡¯t mind but, that¡¯s all I have to do right?¡±


    I inquired but she gave no further response. Regardless, I obediently carried the stuff to the kitchen.


    After that, for some reason, I was made to help with the cooking as well, and I also had to deal with the kids while I helped Uzef in the kitchen.


    And after all the cooking was done, I was also treated alongside the kids to the many dishes that she had made as we all had a late lunch together, and in the end, I ended up staying here for far longer than I had planned.


    ¡°In the end, I even ended up staying for lunch. Sorry for making you treat me as well. Even though I brought the ingredients for the kids, I ended up eating a part of it myself.¡±


    ¡°I was the one who invited you so don¡¯t apologize. The kids were all very happy and having fun as well, so if anything, I should be the one thanking you.¡±


    That¡¯s true. Seeing all the kids looks so happy from the food made me feel genuinely happy inside as well. It really was worth it bringing everything here after all. And honestly, Uzef¡¯s cooking was really good as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Even without the ¡®thanks¡¯ part,  I¡¯m glad I brought all this for the kids regardless.¡±


    ¡°fufufu, if you really feel that way, you can always come and donate more ingredients here.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡­..if I feel like it, I¡¯ll come again.¡±


    ¡°Then, we can have a meal together again as well. The kids would be very happy to play with you again as well, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    At an emotional level, I wanted to say I would definitely come back again but¡­¡­¡­


    The truth is, I don¡¯t know if I really will be able to come back alive from my battle with Klaus.


    But if I live, I will definitely come again with a whole bunch of food and ingredients again.


    Making a resolve to myself, I parted with the smiling Uzef, and then left the orphanage.

 CH 392

    Reunion after a Long While


    Since I ended up spending a lot more time than expected, the sun had already begun to set now.


    I had already decided to meet-up with Esta, who must have picked an inn by now, at the gates of the Capital at dusk so I quickly made my way to the church.


    I don¡¯t really have any reason to meet Graham, the handsome priest, in such a hurry but, he had helped me a lot and since I¡¯m in the area, I figured I should at least show my face at least once.


    To be honest, I wanted to meet Shantelle and Guild Vice chief as well but, Oxter was definitely a bit too far for a detour at this point.


    While reminiscing the people I met in Oxter, I returned back to the main street from the west district.


    The church of the capital was located in the prime area of the main street, close to the royal knight quarters where I had been taken to heal up.


    But this building was far, far larger and more grandiose than even the knight quarters. So much so that my eyes would get attracted to it everytime I passed by this area.


    Standing in front of said church, I looked up to take in the full view of the building¡­¡­..and then pushed open the giant doors and entered the place.


    I had been to various towns and cities and seen a lot of churches but, this one was quite unqieu even compared to all of them.


    Perhaps due to the purple stained glass, the inside of the building was slightly darker, and even though the sun was still out, the interior seemed exceptionally cool.


    I say dark, but that doesn¡¯t mean that the place was lacking in that divine atmosphere though. In fact, it was the opposite. Every wall and pillar had been emphatically adorned with gold ornaments making the entire place feel a lot more overwhelmingly grandiose.


    There were a bunch of people in here but perhaps because they were all deep in their prayers, even my light footsteps seemed to echo inside the complete silence of the church.


    While taking it all in and relishing this atmosphere, I decided to find someone to get info on Graham.


    ¡­¡­¡­that said, while I can see a couple sisters and priests here and there, they all seemed to quietly focused in their prayers so it¡¯s hard to suddenly talk up to them.


    I could see a room inside that seemed like it¡¯d be an ability assessment room, so maybe I should go there and simply ask whichever sister or priest comes up to talk.


    Having decided that, I walked as quietly as possible to not distract anyone or stand out, and entered the inner room.


    My guess was right, as I could see the crystal and a bell placed on the table.


    I sat down and rung the bell, and patiently waited for someone to show up.


    The room before this was incredible but, the assessment room was similar to all the other that I¡¯ve seen so far so it calmed me down a bit.


    While I relaxed on my chair for a while, the door on the inside finally opened and the person that came in was¡­¡­¡­to my shock, Graham himself.


    ¡°Oh my¡ª¡ªwell, long time no see. Do you remember me?¡±


    The moment he entered the room, he instantly recognized me as well and spoke up before I even had a chance too.


    I should be the one asking that considering he probably has to meet and see dozens if not hundreds of people everyday but, it would seem he clearly remembered me.


    ¡°Of course I do. In fact, I was looking for you. And it looks like you haven¡¯t forgotten about me either, Graham.¡±


    ¡°Of course I haven¡¯t. I have yet to meet anyone other than you who gets his assessment done multiple times consecutively like you do, Chris-san.¡±


    Saying that, Graham gently smiled.


    I was worried that he may have gotten in trouble due to leaking church info to me but, it didn¡¯t seem like he was troubled, and seemed to be doing fine which was huge relief.


    ¡°So¡­¡­.you said you were looking for me but, do you have some business with me specifically?¡±


    ¡°No, well, not exactly business per se. You had shown your concern for me right before I left Realzard, and so when I returned I thought I¡¯d drop by to meet you. The important info¡ª¨C¡°


    Right then, he showed a rare panicky look and quickly put his finger to his lips.


    ¡­¡­¡­.now that I think about it, he had told me that the Cardinal in the Capital was looking for me didn¡¯t he?


    I probably shouldn¡¯t be talking about this out loud in this place of all places.


    ¡°My bad, my bad. Not the best place to talk eh, can we switch locations? Of course if you¡¯re okay with it, Graham.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I do not mind at all. Ah, but you will have to wait until my shift is done, so it might get a little late. Will that be fine with you?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I have other business to deal with in the mean time so no worries.¡±


    ¡°Then, let us meet somewhere else and talk with ease. I have a feeling I¡¯ll be able to hear some interesting stuff so I¡¯m quite excited.¡±


    Looks like he¡¯s got good instincts, so I¡¯m probably going to get questioned in detailed it seemed.


    Well, I want to hear a lot of stuff about the capital and such from him as well, so I have a feeling we¡¯ll both get to hear a lot good stuff from each other.


    ¡°Then, let us meet again, at night. Know any good spots Graham? I don¡¯t much about this place so it¡¯ll be better if you picked a spot.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s this nice joint called [Ruan]. If you¡¯re okay with it Chris-san, how about we meet there?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m okay with it. Then let us reconvene there again.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll be looking forward to it¡­¡­¡­So, will you be getting your assessment done today as well?¡±


    An assessment eh? I only came here to find Graham so I don¡¯t really care about seeing my stats.


    Since leaving Edestor, all I have done is the battle with [Under Eye] so there¡¯s not really any scope of seeing any big change in my abilities.


    I do kinda want to check if the [Bloody tears] I bought have any effect but¡­¡­.


    Even if that was the case, I bought it specifically to use during my fight against Klaus anyway so there wasn¡¯t really any meaning to it.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ll pass this time. I just came here to find you, Graham.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s rare. The image in my head of you was Chris-san=Ability Assessment after all.¡±


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


    ¡°These days, I don¡¯t get my assessments done that much when compared to before. Anyways, I¡¯ll take my leave for now.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Let us meet again at night. I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, likewise.¡±


    And so, I parted with Graham for now, and left the church.


    I was glad that graham was doing perfectly fine, and above all I was happy he remembered me.


    While looking forward to our night chat, I headed to the capital gates where I was supposed to meet up with Esta and Ralf.

 CH 393

    Expressing Delight


    Reaching the gates of the capital, I saw Esta standing alone by herself.


    By the looks of it, it seems Ralf hasn¡¯t been able to come back with Snow just yet.


    ¡°Esta, did I keep you waiting long?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Chris-san. I haven¡¯t been waiting that long. In fact, I too only just arrived.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine then. What about the inn? Did you find a good one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, [Gilavar Hotel] was unfortunately no good but, I did find a really good place that also allows for monster pets.¡±


    ¡°As expected of Esta. So I guess we¡¯re just waiting on Ralf then?¡±


    ¡°It would seem so, considering I can¡¯t seem to see him anywhere near here. Considering the distance, I really thought he would have reached by now but¡­¡­¡±


    Right as I was talking to Esta¡ª¨Cfrom afar, a very familiar howl was heard.


    We both turned to look towards the direction of the howl, and sure enough, I could see Snow rush past the gates and running towards us.


    ¡°That¡¯s Snow right!?¡±


    ¡°And I can see Ralf despreately trying to keep up behind it as well. Looks like he made it just in time after all.¡±


    Snow rushed towards us with immense momentum and lunged at me without slowing down even a bit.


    I instantly activated [Fortification] and [Iron Wall] to catch it but, I really hope Snow would stop doing this, or at least lessen its strength when jumping if possible.


    ¡°Hey Snow, been doing well? Sorry for not being able to come see you.¡±


    ¡°Awuu!!¡±


    It kept on licking my face over and over so my face was completely wet from top to bottom now.


    It¡¯s soft and fluffy pure white fur hadn¡¯t changed one bit but, since it had been living inside the forest for all this time, the smell has certainly taken a turn for the worse, so I really wished it got off me now but¡­¡­.it continued licking me as if it could eat me up at any moment now.


    ¡°Snow, I get you¡¯re happy but please, calm down. I¡¯ve bought some melons for you as well.¡±


    Hearing the word ¡®melon¡¯ perked its ears, and it quickly stopped licking and sat down like an obedient pup.


    But it was panting with its tongue out, and it¡¯s tail was wagging and slamming the ground, meaning it was trying its best to go against its instincts just t listen to my orders it seems.


    ¡°Snow, have you been healthy? Let¡¯s take a bath together okay?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    Unlike with me, Snow was always a lot gentler when interacting with Esta. While still overjoyed, it would at most lick her hand and nothing more.


    ¡°Zee haa¡­¡­¡­Sn-snow, you¡¯re way too damn fast man! And, I told you not to suddenly sprint away as well! It¡¯s been running at this pace from the moment the capital came into our sights!¡±


    ¡°Looks like it really tired you out huh? Thanks for going to get it Ralf.¡±


    Ralf finally reached us and panting with his hands on his knees, so I gave him some words of gratitude.


    By the looks of it, Snow must have left Ralf behind and ran ahead, and from the point of view of normal people, it must¡¯ve looked like a monster running towards them with great speed.


    Thank god Ralf desperately kept up with its pace somehow.


    ¡°Ah, yeah. I mean I was the one who suggested to go so I don¡¯t need thanks though! That aside, let me take a breather for a while please! I¡¯m sweating all over and want a bath so bad!!¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s head to the inn asap. We have bought ingredients as well, so assuming we have an attached kitchen available at the inn, we can make some food as well.¡±


    ¡°It does! A kitchen, as well as a bath and toilet, it has it all.¡±


    ¡°As expected of Esta! You always know how to find the best places!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Lead the way.¡±


    And thus, after a rejoicing over meeting Snow again, we quickly decided to head to the inn Esta had picked out for us.


    Following after her, the place we reached was a building that was even bigger than [Gilavar Hotel].


    It¡¯s name was¡­¡­..[Sky Top], or so it was written.


    ¡°Is this our new inn!? You sure? It seems crazy expensive!¡±


    ¡°Fine by me. We have the money, and it¡¯s just three more days¡­¡­..actually only 2 days to be exact. Might as well splurge out in luxury before heading out for the decisive battle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true I guess¡­¡­.in that case, we really should enjoy a nice place to stay at eh!?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what Chris-san told me beforehand so I found the best place that also allowed for monsters pets in the entire capital. I¡¯ve already booked our room so allow me to guide you.¡±


    Esta took charge as we entered the inn but, right after entering alone, I could tell this place was not a normal inn at all.


    Just as how there are deep dark underground places like the Black Market, the upper, surface side is also equally over-the-top. I suppose that¡¯s the royal capital for you.


    The place was grandiose, in a different way to the church, and even a idiot like me could tell how much gold had been used in simply decorating this place.


    I almost felt bad for entering the place in such normal looking clothes but, we are paying for this place, so we continued to boldly make our way to our room.


    Our room was at the top, the fourth floor, and was supposedly the best room in the entire inn.


    And as expected of a place that allowed monster pets, every door was made to be specifically larger than usual. And judging by how afar ever room door was, I could already tell that the rooms themselves were massive as well.


    ¡°This is our room. Let me open it with the key.¡±


    ¡°Oh boy, now I¡¯m getting a bit excited!¡±


    Ralf was fidgeting as he waited for Esta to open the room, and seeing him Snow also began to wag its tail wildly, as if infected by his excitement.


    And to be honest, I was the same¡ª¡ª-and I too quickly followed Ralf and Snow inside who jumped inside the room as soon as it was opened.

 CH 394

    An Extravagant Room


    The room¡¯s spaciousness was undoubtedly the greatest among every room we had ever rented.


    And in terms of quality, while it may be a tad lower when compared to [Gilavar Hotel], it was still absolutely top class; something you¡¯d expect from a place located in the prime area of the royal capital itself.


    ¡°Hey Chris, look at this! You can gaze at the entire capital from the window!¡±


    Ralf, after entering the room, ran straight to the window and stuck his face to it as he looked down at the view of the entire capital spread before him.


    I also went beside him, and took a moment to enjoy the scenery.


    This kind of high vantage view was something I got from the window of the knights quarters as well but¡­¡­


    They seemed to have especially paid attention to what kind of view you should get from the room as well, as the view from here seemed a lot more scenic and quite different from the one I got before.


    I suppose it comes with the price of the rent, but this view alone made me quite satisfied with the decision to stay here.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, the capital is pretty alright but¡­¡­¡­Ralf, your stench is ruining it. Hurry up and go take a shower.¡±


    ¡°HEY! No need to drag me down to reality like this!¡­¡­.is it really that bad?¡±


    ¡°You reek of dirt and sweat. It¡¯s horrible. There¡¯s a reason why even Snow isn¡¯t coming close to you.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ªI¡¯m jumping into the shower right now! Sorry but I¡¯m calling first dibs on the bath!¡±


    His body smell was bothering me more than enjoying the view in front of me so I scolded him. As a result, Ralf quickly ran to the bathroom to fix the issue.


    I wanted to take a look at the bathroom as well but, I can enjoy it afterwards once Ralf is done.


    After that, I went around touring the living room, the bedrooms, the balcony and the kitchen one by one.


    Just looking around the place hyped me up, and it really lived up to a potentially last bit of luxurious indulgence.


    ¡°Chris-san, what do you think? Is the place satisfactory?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, more than that even. You should take it easy till the day of departure as well Esta.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll be sure to properly rest myself to get ready for the final battle¡­¡­..that aside, what are we doing for dinner? If we pay extra, the hotel will deliver it to the room as well apparently but, as long there¡¯s a kitchen, we could make it ourselves as well.¡±


    ¡°Might as well spend the money and enjoy their service no? cooking takes time and effort after all, right? Besides, I actually have some business later tonight as well so I¡¯ll be going out.¡±


    ¡°I personally don¡¯t really mind cooking but¡­¡­.I suppose if we¡¯re renting a place like this, might as well take full advantage of it eh. I still haven¡¯t forgotten the incredible breakfast we got at [Gilavar Hotel]! As for you going out, is it to meet the person you said you wanted to meet during the day?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I did manage to meet him, and made a promise to have dinner together. That¡¯s why, you, Ralf and Snow can enjoy your dinner together.¡±


    I wanted to enjoy the dinner here as well but, I still have tomorrow and the day after for that.


    I¡¯m sure the place Graham suggested is decent as well so, I can enjoy that for tonight.


    ¡°Very well, in that case I¡¯ll order meals for us two as well as Snow¡­¡­.And, I have been curious but, is the person you are meeting, a woman?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s a guy. It¡¯s the priest that was originally working in Realzard. Do you remember Esta? You too got your ability assessment done once right?¡±


    ¡°Ah so it was a guy! Thank god!¡­¡­..Ah but? I don¡¯t quite recall the person though. While I was curious about how this process work and was interested in seeing my numerical stats. I don¡¯t really remember the person who did it unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I suppose that¡¯s normal. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t bother explaining too much about him before.¡±


    ¡°I see. So that¡¯s how it was. It¡¯s been a while since you two last met right? Do enjoy your night out with the priest, in that case.¡±


    I had such a chat with Esta while we waited for Ralf to finish his bath, and lazed around in the room until night time.


    After Ralf was out, Snow was also smelling bad, so I took it into the bath as well, and by the time it was completely clean and I treated it to some melons, the sun had fully set.


    ¡°Huh, Chris, you going somewhere?¡±


    While I was prepping to head out to our meeting spot, Ralf, who was playing with Snow on the sofa, spoke to me.


    Oh yeah, I didn¡¯t explain it to Ralf.


    I could explain everything like I did with Esta but¡­¡­..that¡¯s way too much trouble.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out for some business. You guys enjoy the inn¡¯s dinner alright?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up with that?¡­¡­¡­..Wait, did you say this place serves dinner as well!? I¡¯ll be sure to enjoy your share too Chris! Right, Snow?¡±


    ¡°Awoo!¡±


    ¡°Tell me all about it when I¡¯m back.¡±

 CH 395

    Ruan


    I began asking around the city, and finally found this store called [Ruan] but¡­¡­


    The store was located right after the main street, a place from where you could clearly see the royal castle close by as well.


    Even when I went scouting while I was staying at Isabelle¡¯s place, I never actually went close to this area but to think, this is how I¡¯d end up coming here.


    All the people walking nearby seemed to be wearing expensive clothes and jewellery, and I clearly looked out of place as I was getting a bunch unpleasant looks here and there.


    Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I finally found [Ruan] and quickly entered inside.


    The place itself was quite cozy, but as expected of a restaurant located deep inside the capital, the interior was gorgeous.


    Because I came here wearing normal adventurer clothes, I was clearly standing out among my surroundings.


    Well, there¡¯s no point worrying about it now, and besides if I did get dragged into trouble, I could always use my strength to solve it¡ª¡ª-with that kind of mindset, I called the waitress.


    ¡°Got a minute? I had a meet-up planned with an acquaintance here but, what should I do?¡±


    ¡°is that so? Did they make a reservation beforehand?¡±


    A reservation¡­¡­.? Was this place completely pre-reservation based?


    I didn¡¯t hear anything but, I imagine Graham already knew of this.


    ¡°I assume he did. The person I¡¯m meeting is called Graham but, do you happen to have a table reserved in his name?¡±


    ¡°Graham-sama was it¡­¡­.? Um, Ah!¡±


    She must have recognized the name as the waitress suddenly spoke up in a loud voice.


    I was a bit confused but, she suddenly clasped her hands and completely changed her attitude.


    ¡°P-Please forgive my rude attitude from before! I-I didn¡¯t know that you were an acquaintance of the Crossland Family!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really think you were being rude but¡­¡­¡­also, did you say Crossland family?¡±


    ¡°N-no, you are much too kind! Graham-sama is already waiting inside, allow me to quickly escort you there.¡±


    ¡°Aah, Sure. Lead the way.¡±


    While bowing continuously, the waitress began to quickly guide me inside.


    I still didn¡¯t really get what was happening but, clearly Graham was involved in some way.


    Waitress said something about the Crossland family, so I guess he was actually the son of a really respectable family or something.


    But¡­¡­.I feel like I have heard the name Crossland somewhere before as well.


    I tried to rack my brains to remember but, in the end before I could, I was led into a luxurious private room within the restaurant.


    ¡°He¡¯s waiting inside here. Please enjoy.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the help.¡±


    I gave a quick thanks, and then entered the room.


    If I somehow recall that name, it must have something to do with Klaus one way or another.


    So I entered the room ready to get attacked at any point but, as I entered, there was only Graham inside the room which was accurate to what I saw when I used [Life Presence sense] beforehand anyway.


    He probably didn¡¯t even realize that I had my guard up as he looked at me with his usual refreshing smile.


    ¡°You came a lot earlier than I thought. There¡¯s still time before our promised meeting time you know?¡±


    ¡°Well, I never asked where this place was so I left a bit early just in case. And then I ended up finding it a bit earlier than expected that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right, I did forget to tell you the location huh. Sorry for the trouble caused by my own negligence.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I hardly had to work to find this place¡­¡­¡­that aside, the reception I just got from this restaurant has me curious. Graham, are you not a normal priest?¡±


    While Graham tried to start our talk with a usual nonchalant look, I went straight to it and quickly questioned his identity.


    Even if it was just him alone in this room, I was too curious to let my guard down at this point.


    Because I didn¡¯t use [Life Presence sense] when I met him at the church, I didn¡¯t realize it but, Graham¡¯s life presence was at par with Prudence¡ª¡ªno, maybe even higher than her.


    Seeing as how it was obviously much larger than what you¡¯d expect from a normal priest, it was clear he was not an ordinary nobody.


    ¡°Ah, so you noticed it after all. This restaurant is a place often visited by my father. And so, as his son, they act quite respectful to me as well.¡±


    ¡°And may I ask¡­¡­.who that father of yours might be?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not really something I try to hide. To be honest I wanted to leisurely talk about it all as we had our dinner but, if you¡¯re that cautious already, I should probably start there. My father is Edward Carol Crossland¡ª¡ªThe supreme commander of the Royal Knights.¡±


    Hearing the full name and designation, I finally reconnected the dots in my memory.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


    I heard a bunch of gossips about him in Realzard and there was even a bronze statue dedicated to him in Edestor.


    And lastly, just the other day, I saw that name in the knight quarters as well, so honestly, if anything I was surprised that the name didn¡¯t instantly come to my head considering how many times I have come across it here and there.


    ¡°I see. No wonder it sounded so recognisable. You were the son of the supreme commander of the royal knights huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Well, I never actually got the chance to properly introduce myself so it¡¯s not like I was trying to hide it or anything but¡­¡­..it still ended up that way, and for that I truly apologize.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to. There¡¯s a bunch I haven¡¯t told you too after all¡­¡­..but, why is the son of the commander working as a priest?¡±


    That was the first question that popped in my head.


    Seeing the strength of his life presence, it¡¯s not like he was lacking in ability either.


    With the kind of connections he might have, it¡¯d be easy to land a much better job than being a simple priest.

 CH 396

    True Identity


    ¡°The reason I became a priest is simple, the job I got from Heaven¡¯s Blessing was simply a [Priest] that¡¯s why. Before that happened, I was getting the basics of both swordsmanship and magic all beaten into me but, the moment I got [Priest] I gave up on all that very quickly.¡±


    ¡°So there was reason like that. Sorry if I made you recall something traumatic.¡±


    ¡°No, I have fully accepted my fate at this point so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Graham said that while laughing but, it won¡¯t be strange if he still had some frustrations boiling inside him.


    It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve seen or know everything about him, and his relationship with his family is completely different than my own but, because I had to go through something similar, I feel like I understood his feelings.


    I too was handed [Farmer] as a job but it¡¯s only thanks to [Null Poison] that I was able to gain strength that was exceptional even among adventurers.


    I was even blessed with incredible comrades like Ralf, Esta and Snow now so, if I could erase my past, I could live a very happy life from here onwards but¡­¡­..


    In the end, at my very root, at the core of my very being, the existence of my father and Klaus was still there. And no matter how much money I earn or how strong I may get, I could never forget it all.


    I imagine things were not quite as bad as myself for Graham but, I¡¯m sure that even he still have some bitterness left inside him.


    Even as he showed his usual refreshing smile, I could tell that somehow.


    ¡°Umm¡­..Can you please not try and probe into heart and true feelings like that?¡±


    ¡°My bad. I got a bit curious because your smile seemed a little fake.¡±


    ¡°Okay let¡¯s stop with such intense prying that I can¡¯t even talk back to it! Anyway, have I gained your trust now? I¡¯d like to start eating our dinner if possible. I haven¡¯t had anything since lunch so I¡¯m really starving now¡­¡­.¡±


    With those words, I heard Graham¡¯s stomach make a small growl.


    I suddenly felt a bit apologetic considering I didn¡¯t even sit down as we had this chat so, I quickly moved and sat down on the chair facing directly opposite from him.


    ¡°Sorry for wasting your time like that. I¡¯m hungry as well so let¡¯s quickly order.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. Let¡¯s do that please! I recommend the meat dishes from here, so are you okay with the same order as mine, Chris-san? Do tell me if there¡¯s something you can¡¯t eat.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m fine with the same order. Order as you wish. There¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t eat.¡±


    Soon after, graham made the order to the waitress, and in the time while our dishes arrived, I asked and heard a lot about Graham from him.


    While I was coming here, I was sure that this would be mostly me being interrogated by him but, to think that the positions would get flipped like this.


    But that¡¯s just how curious I was about the [Crossland] name, and after hearing that the royal knight¡¯s commander¡¯s son had pulled a non-combatant job during heaven¡¯s blessing, our similar circumstances made me even more interested in him.


    ¡°¡­¡­.And so, that¡¯s how I ended up working as a priest in Realzard. I really wanted to hear about what all Chris-san did after leaving the city but, it ended up me talking about my past instead.¡±


    ¡°I was curious so I asked, that¡¯s all. But, it was really an interesting story so I¡¯m glad I asked.¡±


    While obviously very different from Ralf or Esta, I could tell after hearing his story that he too had lived a very harsh life.


    In a way it was similar to myself in that¡ª¨Ceven now, he was still bound to his family¡¯s, the [Crossland] name. I could tell from all the stories I heard from him.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite curious about Chris-san¡¯s past as well but, there¡¯s also a lot of other things I wanted to talk about with you.¡ª¡ª¡ªbut, before that, it seems our dinner has finally arrived.¡±


    I didn¡¯t really hear the waitress¡¯ footsteps arrive but, like Graham said, after a moment¡¯s gap, our dishes were brought inside the room.


    Did he know from the smell? Or was it something to do with him being a regular here? I got curious again but¡­¡­..more than all that, the meat dish set in front of me looked absolutely amazing.


    In the middle of my dish was served a medium rare steak.


    A bunch vegetables and sauces garnished the dish, and even the smell and looks of the dish were highly enjoyable.


    I was honestly a bit worried that the quantity might not be enough but, according to Graham, there¡¯s a bunch more coming after this as well so I¡¯ll ignore that worry for now.


    ¡°This is Golden Fang made in poele. The sauce used is¡ª¨C


    ¡°Ah, you can skip the explanation¡­¡­.unless, Chris-san, are you perhaps interested in listening?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not like I¡¯d understand anything anyway.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Then please, enjoy your meals gentlemen.¡±


    I think even he understood that I wanted to quickly dig in, as Graham stopped her explanation in the middle.


    After confirming that the waitress had left after giving a curt bow, I picked up knife and fork, and carried this poele made dish or whatever into my mouth.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨CDelicious! Both the meat and sauce work together perfectly, it¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it as well. Not just the meat, but all the other dishes are very tasty as well so please, enjoy them to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    ¡°As expected of a place you recommended Graham. I¡¯m gonna enjoy the dinner tonight it seems.¡±


    We began to consume all the dishes one by one as they came, and finally with the dessert, I had had my fill of [Ruan]¡¯s dishes.


    I was intending to ask and talk about the things we weren¡¯t able to but, we were both so focused on the food that we didn¡¯t really talk much outside of how good the food was.


    It was a horrible waste of time in that regard but, the food itself was on par with the wyvern steak of [Pekopeko]. Absolutely top class.


    To have had the chance to enjoy such a perfect dinner before heading off to my decisive battle, Graham has nothing but my utmost gratitude for that.

 CH 397

    Prying Talk


    After feasting on the delicious assortment of dishes, and drinking the after meal coffee, I finally exhaled and took a breather.


    Part of me just wanted to bask in the aftertaste still left in my mouth but, since we were barely able to talk during the actual meal, I figured it¡¯s time we restarted our chat.


    ¡°The food was genuinely amazing. Everything was top quality.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you enjoyed it this much. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve come here as well to be honest but, I¡¯m glad they hadn¡¯t suddenly lost their touch in the meantime either.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking we¡¯d be continue talking while we ate but, it was so delicious that I didn¡¯t even consider distracting myself. If you don¡¯t mind staying here for a while longer, can we continue our chat while we drink our coffees?¡±


    ¡°I think they wouldn¡¯t mind even if we stayed a while longer since I¡¯m here, and it¡¯s not like I have any other business tonight or early tomorrow, so of course, I¡¯m perfectly okay with that. I wouldn¡¯t have minded even if we stopped here as I really enjoyed having dinner with you but¡­¡­.I did come here hoping to learn more about what all you had been doing since the last time we met so, if possible, I¡¯d love to chat a bit more.¡±


    Since Graham is okay with it as well, let¡¯s continue talking then.


    And besides, I had only heard his story till¡ª¨Cthe moment I met him in Realzard while he worked there as a priest so, I was curious of what all happened afterwards as well.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s have a light chat. Who wants to go first?¡±


    ¡°Well, I spoke a lot about myself before our dinner arrived so I¡¯d like you to go next Chris-san. I want to hear about what all adventures you experienced since leaving Realzard as well but¡­¡­..to be honest, there is one thing that has been on my mind for a very long time. Chris-san, why exactly did you have your assessment done so many times in quick succession?¡±


    I was wondering what he¡¯d ask but, to think I¡¯ll have to start from the very beginning huh.


    He must have been really curious about it as his eyes were glimmering with anticipation. I mean I did ask everything and anything about Graham¡¯s own past just now so, while I could avoid the topic, I think it¡¯s fine to tell him the truth in return as well.


    ¡°I had a feeling you¡¯d ask but, you¡¯re really starting there, eh.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it can I? If you were just some crazy madman it¡¯d make more sense but, you don¡¯t exactly give off that vibe Chris-san, so I have to assume that there was some very clear purpose behind it.¡±


    ¡°Well, that I certainly did. You did tell me a lot about yourself Graham so I suppose I can return the favour at least. The reason I did the assessment so many times is because I was trying to figure out the effects certain plants would have on my body after eating them.¡±


    When I said that, he could only tilt his head to the side with a confused look.


    Yeah, I think I didn¡¯t explain properly enough, so I further added on.


    ¡°This was a completely coincidental find but, I realized that certain plants had the ability to raise one¡¯s physical stats on consumption. So, by doing an assessment after eating them myself, I could figure out exactly what kind and how much of an increasing effect a certain plant could provide to me.¡±


    ¡°Plants that can increase your abilities you say¡­¡­.? And you mean that it¡¯s not a temporary one but a permanent increase instead?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that is indeed the case.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­¡­¡­.a revolutionary find?! If you were to gather a bunch of researchers to fully figure it all out, and then bring it to the market as a product, you¡¯ll be a billionaire in no time at all!¡±


    ¡°Not only would it be a major pain gathering said ¡®researchers¡¯, I also earn enough that I don¡¯t need that much more money. But more importantly than all that, there is one big disadvantage about these plants that make your idea  a pipe dream anyway.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..And that being?¡±


    ¡°Well, these plants, are actually fatally poisonous plants. That too, the stronger the ability raising effect, the stronger the toxicity of the poison that it comes with.¡±


    Hearing that, Graham, who leaned in over the table in excitement, fell back to his chair and fixed his posture with disappointment.


    ¡°Oh, is that so. Well, if these things are that poisonous, normal people won¡¯t¡ª¡ªin fact, no living being could handle it¡­¡­..and yet, how were you able to eat these things Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°Because of the skill I got from [Heaven¡¯s Blessing]. My job was simply [Farmer] but the skill I got was called [Null Poison] which allowed me to intake these fatally poisonous plants without any issue.¡±


    ¡°So there was such a trick behind it. That also explains why no one else had made this discovery until now. Only you, who possessed this skill and coincidentally ate such a poisonous plant happened to find this out. It really does sound like a miracle-esque series of coincidences, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    I probably shouldn¡¯t admit it but, yeah this really was a result of miracle after miracle lining up one after another that had led me to my current situation.


    If even one of these coincidences hadn¡¯t occurred, I would have spent my entire life as nothing but a simple [farmer].


    ¡°Now I finally understand why you had your ability assessment done so frequently now. I imagine it must have been awkward because people don¡¯t like talking about their skills or suitable job, but regardless, thank you for telling me all this to sate my curiosity.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like I held back on prying into your personal history either so now we¡¯re simply even.  That said, I will request you to not talk about this to other people though.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I understand. You need not worry, I won¡¯t talk about our little chat to anyone else¡­¡­..we ended up talking about a lot of things so let¡¯s get to the real topic I wanted to hear about. Can we finally get to talk about what all exactly happened after you left Realzard?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Allow me to go first then.¡±


    ¡°I had been curious about the assessments but this is what I¡¯ve really been waiting to hear, so I¡¯m really excited to hear it all.¡±


    And thus, while drinking coffee, me and Graham began to talk about what all happened in each of our lives after I had left Realzard.


    It may seem obvious but, of course my side of the story was much, much longer and took more time so I was the one mostly talking but¡­¡­..by the time it all ended, another 2 hours or so had passed.

 CH 398

    The Cardinal


    Since we had stayed for a lot longer than planned, we had called in another 3 cups of coffee as well as more dessert as well.


    We were able to talk at our leisure in a private room and the quality of both food and drinks was top class, so as far as places to have a long chat go, this was quite literally the best one imaginable.


    ¡°We ended up talking for a really long time huh. Thanks for going along with my sudden invite.¡±


    ¡°Oh the pleasure¡¯s all mine. Honestly, the stories you have told me are so dense and interesting, you could write a really good book about your adventures. I had fun listening.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Let¡¯s talk again if we get the chance.¡±


    ¡°By all means. Let us continue another fine day.¡±


    Doing a light handshake with each other, I was about to finish up my little dinner with graham but¡­..


    Graham didn¡¯t seem intent on letting my hand go and kept on holding on to it.


    ¡°What are you doing? Mind letting my hand go already?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I was hesitating over whether I should tell you about something or not, but now, I think I will tell you after all. Do you mind accompanying me just a little while longer?¡±


    His usual smile was gone as he stared directly at me with a serious look as he said that.


    I felt d¨¦j¨¤ vu seeing that¡ª¡ª¨Cit was the same as when he gave me that warning when I was about to leave Realzard.


    I did, if only lightly, talk about my younger brother Klaus, the [Sword God] to graham as well.


    There¡¯s a good chance he has some very important information so I didn¡¯t really have the option to refuse him.


    ¡°Of course, go ahead. I can¡¯t even begin to imagine what more you want to talk about so, speak.¡±


    I sat down on the chair once again, and urged Graham to continue taking.


    He folded his hands, and after a slight pause, finally began to start talking again.


    ¡°Ever since you told me that you were fighting against the [Sword God], it had been on my mind but, are you perhaps planning on heading to some Ancient ruins in the very near future?¡±


    I was wondering what he was going to bring up but, to think [Foro Neem] would come up; I ended up twitching out of surprise.


    I never brought this up to Graham even once, and I had only talked the bare minimum about Klaus to him as well.


    If he still somehow inferred that I¡¯d be heading to [Foro Neem] from just that much, does that mean our side of info has leaked already?


    ¡­¡­¡­..no, graham¡¯s father is the Leader of the Royal Knights, he must have heard it from there I imagine.


    Regardless, I need to ask further to get the full picture.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I do plan on heading there. How exactly did you know that Graham? Did you hear it from your father?¡±


    ¡°So it really was like that huh. No, it was not my father who told me about this. Do you recall what I told you when you left Realzard?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We just talked about it as well. That the Cardinal at the capital was searching for a man named Chris¡ª¡ªwas that it, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, exactly. You see, that very Cardinal had been making some very strange moves over the last couple of days. Apparently, he, alongside a bunch of his subordinate bishops also headed towards the ancient ruins as well recently.¡±


    This was info even Charlotte hadn¡¯t given me so I was shocked but, thinking carefully, it¡¯s not strange to assume that Klaus must have got a hint that this was all a trap as well.


    Our plan was built on the assumption that we had managed to lure him out completely unaware but, if this info is anything to go by, we might be the ones getting dragged into a trap instead.


    ¡°The Cardinal himself has gone out to the ancient ruins, you say eh? If that¡¯s true then¡­¡­..this is definitely a trap from Klaus.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a chance that even other people, outside of the church have also been gathered at the ruins as well so I think, you should give up on heading to the ruins for now.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the warning but, I don¡¯t exactly have the option of falling back this time around. Even if they expect me to come, this is still my best chance with him having far less people around him than usual.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.is that so. In that case, I won¡¯t speak any further. The cardinal is simply sucking up to the [Sword god] for more influence and power but, his abilities are the real deal as well so please, be very careful.¡±


    It was like this the last time as well but, I¡¯m glad he leaks this kind of info to me even while being a member of the church himself.


    I can tell he¡¯s genuinely worried for me as well, so I really can¡¯t die easily in the upcoming battle huh.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be extra careful¡­¡­.But, I was curious about one thing. Are people of the church generally capable of fighting? I understand you being a strong fighter being the son of the Royal Knight¡¯s commander and all but, what about the other priests and such? Aren¡¯t they basically non-combatants?¡±


    ¡°No no, that¡¯s not the case at all. I only got the [Priest] as my job but even then, my healing mana is exceptionally strong as well. This time, the group that went with the Cardinal are all [High Priests]. While yes, their brute fighting strength may be non-existent, but having a group of dedicated healers during a battle can be an overwhelming advantage and a problem for the opposite as well you know.¡±


    There was a lot of things that caught my attention in those sentences but¡­¡­.the thing that piqued my curiosity the most was the word, healing mana.


    I had only known about mana as fundamental concept, but I have never heard of this kind of sub-division for mana in and of itself ever before.


    I wanted to hear more about healing magic and the [High Priests] as well but before I get to that, I want to hear more about this healing mana thing.

 CH 399

    Healing Mana


    ¡°There¡¯s so much I want to ask but¡­¡­..first of all, can you explain what this healing mana is? I know what mana is of course but, I¡¯ve never heard of the term healing mana before. If you can tell me, that¡¯d be great.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right, healing mana is not a term that often comes up normally huh. It¡¯s the kind of info you won¡¯t get even during an ability assessment.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a brand new term for me. By the way, you can talk about this stuff right?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Chris-san, do you know that all mana has different kind of nature and properties? Normally, it¡¯s divided into the 4 elements of fire, water, wind and earth. And most people possess mana among these four types.¡±


    I do recall hearing about this stuff from the old golem guy when I was learning under him.


    I had affinity for fire element, and the old man was¡­¡­¡­I think, a water element type, if I recall correctly.


    Which means most of the mana inside my body was of fire type, and the other three types were very little.


    Of course, part of it was also my utter lack of talent when it comes to magic but, apparently this was the main reason why I could only use [Fire Ball] and not much else.


    On the other hand, the old man could use advanced magic of all 4 elements, as even with his affinity towards water, he still had a uniform amount of the other 3 elements as well.


    ¡°I have heard that stuff before yeah. Someone explained to me that I had an high affinity for the fire element and whatnot.¡±


    ¡°Then, this should make things easier to explain. Okay, so normally these 4 elements are what make up a person¡¯s mana but rarely, some people end up with mana that is quite different from the usual 4 elements. There are people who directly have mana formed of compund elements like lightning or ice, and someone that don¡¯t even have any element, making light or dark element instead¡­¡­..and among such rarities, there¡¯s also a healing element/attribute as well.¡±


    I see. His explanation was quite simple so I feel like understood it much better.


    Of course, it didn¡¯t matter much to someone like me with no talent for magic but, I still felt a bit excited just hearing about it all.


    ¡°Thanks for the explanation. You made it really easy to understand.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Anything else you want to know? I might as well explain anything else you might have doubts about.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, can you tell me about these [High Priests]? I might have to face them in the future it seems after all.¡±


    ¡°Of course. [High Priest] is one of those advanced jobs. There¡¯s not a lot of them, and there¡¯s some who end up working at the healer¡¯s guild or as adventurers as well but, in the church, they are instantly promoted to the rank of bishops, and so they normally work for the church.¡±


    From what I recall, the hierarchy at the church goes, Pope> Cardinal > Archbishop > Bishop > Priest > Deacon > Nun >Followers/believers. Like that.


    So simply getting the [High priest] job alone gets you to the top 10% of the church eh? I guess even in the church, the suitable job decided everything.


    Well, the [heaven¡¯s Blessing] was conducted by the church after all, this shouldn¡¯t really come as a surprise to anyone really.


    ¡°So it¡¯s close to what an adventurer would have with say [Sage] or [Fist King]?¡±


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s that high level. Closer to [Sorcerer] or [Magic Fencer] I¡¯d say¡­¡­..well, it¡¯s hard to really pinpoint this kind of comparison though. Regardless, just understand that it¡¯s an advanced rank job.¡±


    ¡°Alright, as for their abilities, is it safe to assume that they are pure healers and nothing more?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say so. They can use holy magic as far as attacking goes but, I don¡¯t think someone at your level will be troubled by it Chris-san. But when it comes to the Cardinal, even I don¡¯t know much. All I know is that his job is called the [Judge]. This is simply a rumour but I¡¯ve heard that he even killed a high ranking Demon in the past so, if the rumours are real, he has to be a fairly strong fighter as well.¡±


    This Cardinal has been trying to find since I was in Realzard as well.


    From what Graham tells me, he¡¯s the only one that is any real danger to me when it comes to battles.


    If the rumours of him killing a high ranking demon are true then, I don¡¯t want to fight him before I face Klaus. But, at the same time, I am also the type that really wants to return the favour of annoying me and causing me trouble for so long.


    ¡°I see. You really have given me a lot of info graham. This might be a bit late but, thank you for leaking all this info even though you are also a member of the church.¡±


    ¡°I imagine you have already realized this from my attitude but, while I may be a ¡®priest¡¯. I¡¯m not exactly some fervent believer of God so, think of this as me cheering for you from the back. I do have a grudge against god after all.¡±


    I feel like I just heard some blasphemous words but, I totally understood Graham¡¯s feelings as well.


    Even if I had been given the [Priest] job and had been made to work in the church instead of becoming an adventurer like now, I probably still would have kept a grudge towards god like Graham as well.


    ¡°The blasphemy aside, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get where you¡¯re coming from considering our circumstances so, if our situations were flipped, I probably would have done the same thing.¡±


    ¡°We may not seem very much like each other, but at our core, I suppose we do share some strong similarities eh¡­¡­¡­anyway, that¡¯s about all I have to tell you. Please, be careful at all costs. I¡¯d like to chat with you again like this one day.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll make sure to not waste all the info you gave me.¡ª¡ªAnd survive, no matter what.¡±


    I shook his hands firmly this time around, and then left [Ruan].


    I had been helped out by Graham once again. So that I can repay this favour as well, I needed to come back alive no matter what.


    Swearing that oath inside my heart, I walked through the night streets of the capital and returned to my inn.

 CH 400

    Strategy Meeting


    After my dinner with Graham, I quickly went to sleep.


    The next day, since the day of our departure was quickly approaching, I needed to quickly come up with our plan of action now with all the info from graham in mind as well.


    I had Ralf and Snow head out to do shopping, and meanwhile, I talked with Esta in our room to decide our plan.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­And that, was all the info I got last night. Now, we have to come up with our course of action with all this in mind.¡±


    ¡°if what all you said is true, we really can¡¯t just head there thoughtlessly anymore. If at least we could find out how many people they had gathered there, it¡¯d make making plans much easier but¡­¡­¡­I doubt even Charlotte-san could help us with that, right?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it too. Charlotte believes that they have successfully cornered him in the ancient ruins so there¡¯s a good chance she has no info regarding any of this. We¡¯ll need to figure it out on our own but, with no real ways to do so, it¡¯s borderline impossible to find out anything in just the remaining 2 days.¡±


    I know we said we were going to make a plan but, honestly, our hands were tied right now.


    Klaus had most certainly set up a web of traps at the capital, and we have no choice but to head into it all head on.


    ¡°There¡¯s not enough info to make a decent plan. Best we can do is¡ª¨Cmove cautiously with the pre-knowledge that church members are also going to be there and nothing more.¡±


    ¡°That may be that case after all. I did consider hiring adventurers to increase our manpower as well but, we don¡¯t exactly have that much money and besides, considering the task at hand, I just wouldn¡¯t feel comfortable bringing some random guy into our team at this point.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the idea, we¡¯re better off bringing the royal knights that helped us fight [Under Eye] instead.¡±


    ¡°True, they are indeed trustworthy¡­¡­but, we really only know the 3rd squad very well, and they are still recovering from the [Under Eye] assault. I don¡¯t think they have the leeway to help us out.¡±


    Alexandra was moving about normally but she had taken a lot of damage as well. I doubt we could take even her to battle.


    The only other two who are decent at fighting, Gilmour and Bruce, were also gravely injured like Alexandra as well.


    The rest of their squad were hurt badly too, so the 3rd squad was basically out of commission for now.


    Of course, we could ask any other squad for help but¡­¡­.in that case, they¡¯d be no different than some random adventurers at that point.


    ¡°To be fair, anyone who had gone through a harsh battle like that and still move around normally so soon afterwards would be an exceptional case¡­¡­¡­by that, I¡¯m talking about us, or rather you specifically, Chris-san. Speaking of, did you say this priest friend of yours father was the commander of the royal knights right? Would it be difficult to ask for their help?¡±


    I did consider that as well.


    Charlotte would probably cooperate as well, so together if we ask Graham¡¯s father for help, he might agree to it but¡­¡­.I didn¡¯t feel right asking graham for another favour like that.


    Especially because of our similar circumstances, I had a feeling Graham had a complicated relationship with his father as well and probably doesn¡¯t want to beg him for help.


    After all, if I was in his position, I¡¯d absolutely hate to do so. Graham¡¯s a kind, nice guy so if I requested it, he might agree to do so but, I¡¯d don¡¯t want to depend on him anymore than I already had.


    ¡°that could work but, I simply don¡¯t want to do that. It¡¯s not like we are that close friends or anything, plus he¡¯s already helped me more than enough already.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡­¡­in that case, it¡¯s going to be really tough to find anyone else to help us then.¡±


    ¡°So it would seem. We just have to think of way to handle it by ourselves.¡±


    We were back to where we started but, now that we¡¯re here, we just have to grit our teeth and push through it by ourselves.


    Afterwards, we came up with all sorts of plans and schemes, and although none of those were truly worthwhile in the end, time passed regardless.


    ¡°that¡¯s about all I can come up with¡­¡­¡­.well, it¡¯s barely a plan though. And basically what we normally do anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s not much we can do other than be extra careful than usual.¡±


    What we finally decided on was that we¡¯ll have Snow be the scout and detect enemies up front, and I¡¯ll also help with it.


    It really was quite literally what we always did anyway, and even without all this thinking, this would have ended as our method but¡­¡­..since we weren¡¯t able to come up with something special, just sticking to the tried and tested formula honestly made me calmer.


    ¡°It does hurt not being able to create a good plan especially when we know they¡¯re waiting for us to come.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s still the matter of pure feeling as well so I think having this chat was worth it in the end. Getting ambushed, and knowingly getting ambushed are still two vastly different things after all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s certainly true. We can use your skills to be extra vigilant as well Chris-san so I suppose you are right in that it was at least still worth talking about.¡±


    I had Ralf head out just so we could have a smoother discussion about making plans but, considering the final result, maybe I should have had Ralf stay here and join us as well.


    Ralf was an idiot but sometimes that idiocy allows him to come with some crazy shit as well.


    While pondering over such things, we continued to wait in our room for Ralf and Snow to return so we can talk about all this, as well as compile all our info together in general.

 CH 401

    Confirming Info


    An hour had passed since our ¡®strategy meeting¡¯.


    Ralf and Snow, having finished the shopping, finally returned home.


    ¡°Phew, we ended up really buying a lot of shit! Hey Chris, help me carry it all inside the room will ya!?¡±


    ¡°You really bought a lot huh. Was all of this really even necessary?¡±


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t know what might happen so I pretty much bought anything that caught my eye! This is our last chance to do some essential shopping after all, can¡¯t be stingy with money at this point, right?¡±


    ¡°While I agree, we still also have all the stuff that we bought in Edestor as well though. Too much luggage will actually make it harder for us to move around as well so in reality, we¡¯ll only be able to carry of all this stuff you know?¡±


    ¡°Well, too late now! Anyway, we can worry about that stuff later. Just help me carry this please!¡±


    While giving my frank opinion on the matter to Ralf who had bought a bit too much, I took half the bags from Ralf and carried it inside the room.


    By the way, Snow had a bunch of ball-like bags fastened around its body, making it look like some new kind of species as well.


    Taking those off to check what all he had bought for Snow, turns out, they were all big round melons and nothing more.


    Seeing them, Snow began to pant happily again so Ralf must have succumbed to Snow¡¯s coaxing and bought it all.


    Even though we¡¯re supposed to depart the day after tomorrow early in the morning, why the hell did he buy 5 of such big melons? Is what I¡¯d like to complain but¡­¡­


    Considering how there¡¯s a chance for all of us to lose our lives in the battle against Klaus, I guess I can¡¯t complain if that¡¯s what Snow wants to eat before such a tough battle.


    ¡°Snow, you want some right now?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    Howling happily at my question, I cut the melons into eatable slices and let it enjoy them.


    While Snow was energetically biting into the melon pieces, we should also finish up our discussion as well.


    ¡°Ralf, leave arranging the stuff for later. There¡¯s something we need to talk about.¡±


    ¡°Got it! Oh yeah, did you guys come up with a good strategy then?¡±


    ¡°No, in the end, we couldn¡¯t come up with anything that¡¯d qualify as a great plan.¡±


    ¡°The hell? Then what else do you want to talk about?!¡±


    ¡°We did decide on how we¡¯re going to act though, and I need to tell you everything we know about Klaus and his team once again as well. By the way, we¡¯ll go over all this once again tomorrow as well.¡±


    ¡°EH!? Why do we need to have the same talk multiple times!? In the first place, I already heard the info on Klaus and his team when you heard it from Charlotte as well. I still remember it all you know?¡±


    ¡°Stop complaining. I need you to have all the info in your head by heart, so that you can recall everything at a moment¡¯s notice during any situation without even needing to think. There is no disadvantage in preparing excessively either, understand?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I guess. With our enemy being who they are, I suppose you have a point!¡±


    I convinced Ralf, who wanted to rest after a long shopping session, and dragged him into our discussion.


    I made Ralf and Esta both sit down at the table right in front of me, and then I began giving my one-sided lecture.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s go over all the info we got from Charlotte once again. The first is the tank of Klaus¡¯ party, The [Holy Dragon Knight] Gill Drake the IVth. ¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s the one I¡¯ll probably I have to take on right? Don¡¯t worry, I still remember everything about this one!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good if do remember but we¡¯ll go over it all regardless. This Drake guy hails from a place called Conch Village, a remote region in the kingdom. He is the only son of two normal farmers, nothing special but, for some reason this guy, even at age 10, was already 180cm tall and weighed over 100kgs. So even from a small age, he was helping the village fight against any monsters that attacked them. And by the time he was 16, his height crossed the 2m mark and at the [Heaven¡¯s Blessing], he received the [Holy Dragon Knight] job and was invited to attend the royal academy at the capital. Both his abnormal physique as well as job were very quickly acknowledged and he was very quickly recruited by Klaus to become the tank of his party.¡±


    ¡°We both may come from shit backgrounds but in terms of natural talent, the difference is pretty big huh! 2m tall you say, man, is he bigger than even Carlo?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact info but, yeah, he¡¯s definitely bigger than Carlo.¡±


    Carlo himself was almost 2m tall himself but, a lot of it was his muscles and the pressure he released that made him seem bigger than he actually was. Since I actually carried his dead body on my shoulders, I know he wasn¡¯t actually 2m in height.


    Though, that Prowse guy that I fought recently was definitely taller than 2m but, from what all the info tells us, this Drake guy was probably bigger than even him.


    ¡°Man, facing a guy this massive, it¡¯s really hard to see myself winning huh!¡±


    ¡°If the size of one¡¯s body alone could decide the victor in a fight, there¡¯d be no point in even challenging¡­¡­¡­¡­..but don¡¯t worry, I am confident that you are stronger than even this [Holy Dragon Knight] Ralf.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Well that¡¯s a sudden compliment coming from you! I almost unconsciously teared up from happiness you know!¡±


    ¡°But it wasn¡¯t even meant to be a compliment. I was simply stating a fact¡­¡­¡­.continuing on, let me talk about Drake¡¯s fighting abilities. His fighting style is a rare one, where he dual wields shields in both hands, and that should make it very clear that he was completely defence focused fighter. But, he does carry a large sword on his back as well so, even if he fought with a normal style, he¡¯d still be stronger than most adventurers around.¡±


    ¡°As expected of the absolute elite that the kingdom gathers personally eh. If the [Sword God] Klaus was here, Drake could have been hailed as a hero himself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re certainly not wrong to think that way Esta. Also, according to Charlotte he has two skills. [Spirit of the Holy Dragon] and [Absolute Magic Guard]. The first one is a massive ability boosting skill, and the latter allows him to completely deflect any magic that may hit his shield when using that skill.¡±


    The [Spirit of the Holy Dragon] sounds a lot like and advanced version of my [Physical Ability Boost] or [Flesh Enhancement], and I guess [Absolute Magic Guard] is somewhat like my [Anti Magic]?


    From what all I heard from Charlotte it does seem like my[AntiMagic] was a lot more user friendly but well, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that a magic nullifying skill will be a pain to deal with.

 CH 402

    Party Member


    Since it¡¯s a an enemy on whom Esta¡¯s magic won¡¯t work, we have no choice but to depend on Ralf to somehow handle this Drake.


    Since they were both defence focused fighters, I have a feeling it¡¯ll be a very drawn out battle but¡­¡­.


    Just like I told Ralf himself, I am confident that Ralf will end up as the stronger one in the end.


    From here on, I need Ralf to focus entirely on Drake and build strategies against him so he can definitely win.


    ¡°More like those two are the only skills that are known right? Man, even the skills themselves show the difference in our jobs!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you have a bunch of great skills too though. [Divine Protection] and [Guardian¡¯s Roar] are both good¡­¡­¡­.especially [Divine Strike]. If you master using that skill, there really is no one you won¡¯t be able to defeat Ralf.¡±


    ¡°Yes, IF I master that skill that is! That¡¯s the biggest issue I have! Anyway, I more or less got everything about Drake! He¡¯s the one that I¡¯ll have to take on!¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s move on to the next person. This one is Klaus¡¯ party¡¯s rear guard, a [Necromancer]. The name is Earl Lowton Elphas. Unlike Drake, Elphas is a magic user that comes from an extremely famous noble house situated in the capital itself. Both his parents are famous magicians as well, and even his grandparents were one. Apparently the entire family is famous for producing great magicians in every generation.¡±


    Normally, the most famous magicians do tend to come from already great and famous households.


    Elphas was no exception to that as he was from a noble house that lived in the most posh district in the capital.


    My own family was technically a famous household in Dezir as well but, in the end, ours was just a countryside noble house and nothing more.


    Compared to the Elphas family, we wouldn¡¯t even be considered fit to compare with them.


    ¡°I wonder if he¡¯s similar to Mielle-san as well? Didn¡¯t she hail from a famous line of magicians as well?¡±


    ¡°Well according to Mielle herself, her own Etex family was nobler, more famous and stronger than the Elphas. But seeing the current situation, I have a feeling she was a tad bit biased and Elphas is clearly a head above her right now.¡±


    It¡¯s because she¡¯s been turned into a pawn of the princess that often acts alone, I can¡¯t help but see her as someone a bit weak.


    But, her ability was no joke as the [Sage] was almost as high rank of a job as a [Sword God].


    If I hadn¡¯t made up that letter, there¡¯s a good chance our enemy would have been Mielle and not Elphas.


    ¡°Which means, Mielle could have also been our enemy if it was up to Klaus eh?! Damn, I¡¯m glad that didn¡¯t happen! Maybe because we also adventured together but, I really don¡¯t want to have to fight and kill Mielle!¡±


    ¡°I feel like the premise of your fears is a bit odd but¡­¡­..well, I agree. Anyway, let¡¯s not digress. We were talking about Elphas.¡±


    If Mielle was our enemy, she wouldn¡¯t be adventuring with us in the first place so he¡¯d never even feel that way for her.


    But I don¡¯t want to waste time explaining all that to him so I quickly returned the talk to our main topic.


    ¡°As you¡¯d expect from a household full of magicians, Elphas had been learning magic since he was a small child, and by the time he was 5, he could already control mana perfectly. By the time he was 12, even before he has received heaven¡¯s blessing, he could use all kinds of basic level magic. A true prodigy, as they say. Living life on the rails laid out by his successful parents, his prodigious talent bloomed even further when at 16 he awoke to the job of a [Necromancer]. Even Charlotte called him a hard working genius.¡±


    ¡°He couldn¡¯t be more different from me huh. Someone who was always dealt a good hand in life¡ª¨Cam I wrong to call him that?¡±


    Esta was correct in calling him that.


    Born a winner, he even got handed and even stronger job on top of that, and then got invited to the [Sword God]¡¯s team as well. Someone who has never known defeat of any kind.


    ¡°I¡¯d say so. I doubt he even knows what the word defeat even means. A perfect human. He¡¯s sure to continue climbing the ladder of life beside the hero¡­¡­¡­if we didn¡¯t exist.¡±


    Yes, if we didn¡¯t exist.


    He is of course very strong, you don¡¯t keep winning if you¡¯re not but, it also means he¡¯s never faced true loss either.


    Esta and Elphas were basically as opposite as two people could be. And it¡¯s not wrong to say that Esta had mostly lost in her life until very recently.


    And yet, she continued to desperately struggle, fight for life, and gained strength step by step against all the odds. That¡¯s why I know, just how strong Esta actually is.


    ¡°If we didn¡¯t exist¡­¡­.you say?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Esta, you won¡¯t lose against a guy like that. You learned how to work hard in and of itself first, you skipped sleep to slowly get to the point where you are right now. I trust you to show him that same level of grit and willpower when fighting him.¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-fufu, you¡¯re right! I¡¯ve seen what true talent can achieve so I got a bit scared but¡­¡­.Chris-san, your words have me looking forward to our battle now. Let me show you the pride of a ¡®former¡¯ loser.¡±


    Esta¡¯s eyes glittered with confidence as she reassuringly proclaimed that.


    Once again, I realize that what a complete coincidence it was that I happened to run into two of the best comrades I could have found¡­¡­¡­¡­perhaps, I was the luckiest one of them all.

 CH 403

    Necromancer


    Having regained her confidence back, I began to tell Esta about Elphas¡¯ abilities in detail.


    Since both Charlotte and Mielle knew a lot about Elphas, we had a lot of detailed info on him.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about his abilities then. Elphas is a bit different from normal magicians in that his magic allows him to control the dead. Creating undeads like zombies and skeletons, and even the control of naturally occurring undead types is something he can do apparently.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a ability a villain would have huh! Rather than hero¡¯s party member, it feels like an ability the demon lord¡¯s subordinate would have!¡±


    ¡°And in fact, there¡¯s a lot dark stuff behind his exterior as well. Apparently, he¡¯s been going around digging up graves of nameless forgotten adventurers, and been raising them back to life as undead or so Mielle told me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that taboo? How is it allowed?¡±


    ¡°Well, I imagine Klaus was probably in favour of the idea so I guess anything goes when the hero allows it. I mean he had Milworc, [Under Eye]¡¯s leader in his party as well after all.¡±


    ¡°When you put it that way, suddenly, raising dead bodies doesn¡¯t even sound that farfetched in comparison anymore huh!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not ¡®farfetched¡¯ because it is a quite literal fact according to Mielle. They really are actually doing this stuff.¡±


    Other than that as well, apparently they were also experimenting reviving dead monsters as well or so Charlotte told me.


    The reason they challenged the Edestor dungeon was also not actually because they wanted to clear the dungeon itself but more because they wanted to turn the boss monster on the 50th floor into an undead under their control as well apparently¡­¡­.


    The reason why Charlotte, Gautier and Mielle went there was also to confirm that fact.


    The dungeon boss would revive periodically so they weren¡¯t able to confirm it in the end but, according to Charlotte, it won¡¯t be too strange if they actually had succeeded.


    According to Mielle, they were apparently doing something even far worse and were supposedly even experimenting on not just monsters but living humans as well which was why Milworc was recruited into their party.


    Of course, this was simply a hypothesis on Mielle¡¯s part with no real proof but, judging from the amount of bodies discovered in [Under Eye]¡¯s basement, she might not be that far off from the truth.


    ¡°A magic that allows you to control the dead sounds extremely powerful. I don¡¯t want to think about it but even one of us could get killed and get turned into a pawn of the enemy.¡±


    ¡°That is certainly something that can happen¡­¡­¡­.But, the real danger with Elphas is not even his ability to raise and control the undead. Like I said, he was able to use basic magic of all 4 base elements by the time he was 12. Considering the level of job he received, it won¡¯t be strange if he could now use advanced level magic of all 4 elements as well.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying he¡¯s super strong even without his undeads!? That¡¯s so unfair! And Esta¡¯s supposed to fight this guy?¡­¡­¡­¡­can you really win?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no point hesitating anymore so don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine. I won¡¯t lose no matter what. But, if either you Ralf or Chris-san were to die and get turned into an undead, I really won¡¯t be able to do anything more so please¡­¡­¡­.you two better not lose okay?¡±


    Showing a wide smile, Esta said so.


    Looks like I really don¡¯t need to worry about Esta anymore.


    ¡°I ain¡¯t gonna lose no matter what either! That¡¯s why, everything hinges on you Chris! After all, all this began with you as well!¡±


    ¡°Leaving you two and your cocky tone aside, don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t plan on losing any time soon¡­¡­..but, if any of us had the highest chances of losing, that certainly would be me I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Are you not confident Chris-san?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that. If I wasn¡¯t confident I wouldn¡¯t have come all this way to challenge Klaus in the first place. But, I¡¯m still simply lacking enough info on him.¡±


    Being a [Sword God] as he is, Klaus may be very famous compared to his fellow party members but, when it comes to actual data or info on his fighting abilities, there¡¯s not a lot out there.


    He¡¯s been intentionally very secretive about his abilities so even Charlotte didn¡¯t know much.


    He was too cautious and overtly watchful.


    He didn¡¯t let his status as a [Sword God] get to his head, and his innate shitty personality remained the same which was quite troublesome.


    ¡°But as his actual brother, surely you know him well enough right?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll talk about all that now as well. Since I already killed his third party member aka Milworc, we can skip his details and let¡¯s talk about our, no my main target. My younger brother Klaus. I don¡¯t plan on letting either of you fight him but still, you should still know as much as you can learn.¡±


    ¡°Of course! I have been working really hard to get strong enough to beat Klaus and then call myself the strongest adventurer alive! If I get the chance, sorry but I might take him down myself you know!¡±


    ¡°Sure sure, but let me have go at him first alright?¡±


    Saying that to Ralf who was overly eager about it all, I finally began to talk about the [Sword God] Klaus with the two.

 CH 404

    Quantity of Info


    ¡°I imagine you both already know this much but let¡¯s start from the beginning¡­¡­¡­Klaus Sparling. My younger brother and the man deemed the closest to being a ¡®hero¡¯ in our country, the [Sword God]. My father taught swordsmanship to pretty much everyone in our town but, Klaus was actually born a very frail child and would often remain sick so I don¡¯t think I ever even saw Klaus hold a sword properly for the majority of our childhood.¡±


    And the first time I did see him hold a sword, it was pointed directly at me.


    That scene of having a real blade aimed at you with the intent to kill¡­¡­..even if I settle the matter with Klaus, I think that scene will haunt my dreams for years to come.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me he still got given the [Sword God] job even though he had never even held a sword before! This Heaven¡¯s blessing is really incomprehensible huh.¡±


    ¡°And I, who had been made to train with the sword since childhood got given a [Farmer] job. I can only think of it as the God being whimsical and nothing more. Well, maybe it is based on the potential hidden inside the body rather than how much hard work you have put towards something though.¡±


    I thought I had moved on from my past but, recalling that day still makes me irritated to no end.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really understand the first time you told us this but, now that I think about it properly¡­¡­¡­.your situation at that point must have been completely insane huh Chris! Just imagining me sends me the shivers!¡±


    ¡°At that time, my world revolved around my father. Ironically, if he wasn¡¯t always so cold and shitty to me, I don¡¯t think I would have ever recovered from being abandoned afterwards.¡ª¡ª¨Cah but we digress, this is the time to talk about my past, we¡¯re talking about Klaus. Anyway, even though he had never properly held a sword until he was 16, within three days of awakening as a [Sword God] he instantly surpassed me in strength. Of course, I was still better in terms of actual technique and skill but, all that was basically useless in front of overwhelming amounts of raw strength. I learnt that harsh lesson the hard way on that day.¡±


    ¡°I did hear how he tried to kill you but, you guys actually clashed swords huh. We never got the full details so I thought he may have tried to attack you in your sleep or something.¡±


    ¡°yeah, it was no ambush or anything. He attacked me head on and tried to kill me. I only had a wooden sword and had no intention to kill him then but, he was already ready to kill me so there was that difference too but¡­¡­¡­I doubt that alone created that much of a gap.¡±


    Even if I had a real sword and had wanted to kill him, I probably would have lost anyway.


    After all, at that point in time, I had no way of dealing with [Sacred Slash]. Nothing could have saved me from that.


    ¡°10yrs of hard work surpassed in just 3 days! Damn, that must¡¯ve hurt.¡±


    ¡°Rather than feel hurt, I had already accepted my loss as a human being, so while I felt a lot hate for God, I didn¡¯t really feel hurt per se¡­¡­¡­.but we digress again. Anyway, if he grew so much in just 3 days, who knows how much he has exploded in strength by now. I know both of you also have a vague image of Klaus inside your head but it¡¯s better to assume he¡¯s at least twice as strong than that.¡±


    ¡°I had him already set up as the strongest person in the world in my head but, I still need to double his strength above that?¡±


    ¡°No harm in it, is there?¡±


    ¡°I suppose so. I mean he is younger twin. If I were to imagine him as a Chris that was also blessed with a great job¡­¡­¡­¡­.even the demon lord might run away from a monster like that no?¡±


    I feel like Ralf overestimates me a bit too much as well but, if that makes him more cautious of Klaus, maybe that¡¯s for the better.


    ¡°Yeah, you can think of him as a monster of that kind indeed. We don¡¯t even have that much info on his abilities either.¡±


    ¡°Do you personally know anything Chris? I mean you did clash swords with him once right?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, that was just 3 days after the [Heaven¡¯s blessing]. He was powerful even then but it was completely unstable back then. And the only skill I actually saw was his [Sacred Slash] skill and that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡­¡­¡­by the way, what kind of skill exactly is this [Sacred Slash]?¡±


    ¡°Remember the projectile slash that Heracberg used that we fought in the depths of the Roza great Forest? It¡¯s like that. Well, his is a lot more stronger than Heracberg¡¯s though.¡±


    ¡°Ah that one horned monster in the cave eh! I recall that attack being super strong but his skill is even many times stronger than that you say!?¡±


    ¡°He needed time to gather the energy and seemed to have a tough time moving after firing it though.¡±


    ¡°I see. So it¡¯s not just a high power skill with no deficiencies then.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right but, this info is also old info. There¡¯s a good chance he may have become capable of using them consecutively by now as well.¡±


    If I keep thinking like that, there¡¯d be no end it to but, if I have gotten much stronger than the last time I saw him, he has to have obviously grown a lot as well.


    I can¡¯t think of myself as someone special. The day I took Heaven¡¯s Blessing made sure to erase any thoughts like that.


    I am a ¡®loser¡¯ like Ralf and Esta as well, and so that I don¡¯t have to taste the same bitter experience ever again¡­¡­¡­I cannot be negligent with anything. Not even one bit. All I need to think about is how I kill Klaus.

 CH 405

    The Day of Departure


    Since I ended up chatting about my own past as well, the talk ended up going on for a longer time than I had expected but, that should cover all I have to talk about Klaus.


    When talking I realized even further but, there¡¯s really not a lot of info on Klaus compared to the other two.


    I really wanted to gather more info somehow but¡­¡­..the day of departure was the morning of the day after tomorrow so unfortunately, it¡¯d be difficult to make that happen.


    ¡°Anyway. That¡¯s all the info we have on Klaus. It might not be much and even as his real brother, I barely interacted with him so there¡¯s not much I can draw from the past either.¡±


    ¡°And after getting almost killed, you ran into the forest to hide which led to us meeting you finally eh!¡­¡­¡­. isn¡¯t it a bit too strange how, even though you¡¯re blood brothers, you guys have no history or episodes with each other outside of the one incident where he tried to kill you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess we never were normal siblings. It may be as you say Ralf, things were perhaps twisted from the very beginning for us two.¡±


    Not just us siblings, but our entire family may have been completely twisted at its core.


    I barely talked with my own mother, and while my father was always supervising me at every moment, we still never had a normal chat, at least I certainly can¡¯t recall one.


    All our conversations would be him ordering me to do something, and me doing said thing. Nothing more.


    ¡°I feel like none of this would have happened if you two had had proper quarrels and fight since childhood ironically. Honestly, I¡¯m starting to feel like the real problem lies in your parents. Not that I enjoy talking ill of someone else¡¯s folks though!¡±


    ¡°Rather than parents, it¡¯s mostly our father. I consider him the main problem as well but¡­¡­¡­even then, I still have to fight Klaus no matter what. Sorry to have you two go along with my problems.¡±


    ¡°We know that you can¡¯t stop anymore. And still we chose to come with you knowing all that so please, no need to apologize any further¡­¡­¡­.let us go and settle this, once and for all!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Stick with me till end okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I know I¡¯ve complained a lot in between stuff but, in the end both me and Esta are your allies first and foremost! Even if the world labels you a villain for what you¡¯re about to do, we¡¯re still not going to leave your side!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, thank you.¡±


    And thus, after giving my heartfelt gratitude to both of them, our last meeting before the departure came to a close.


    It was meant to be just a simple info confirmation meeting but in the end there, things became a bit strange however, being able to see their strong resolve first hand was also very reassuring for me.


    Now, all that¡¯s left is to rest our bodies completely all day tomorrow, and then get ready to depart the day after tomorrow.


    .


    .


    Early morning, two days later.


    Since we spent the entire yesterday just lazing around our luxurious room, I was able to head into the morning in perfect condition, with no fatigue accrued in my body.


    Ralf and Esta were already awake, and Ralf seemed to be playing around with Snow, while Esta was in the shower judging from the sound coming from the bathroom.


    ¡°You two awake already? Did you get proper sleep?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t say I slept like a log but, yeah it was a good sleep! You however seemed to really have slept like a log huh Chris!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be a long while before we¡¯ll get a chance to rest this comfortable after all. Did you two wake up at the same time?¡±


    ¡°Nah, me and Snow got up first. Esta only woke up like 10mins ago.¡±


    ¡°Which means Esta also got a good amount of sleep then. Let¡¯s wrap up the prep and quickly head out in that case.¡±


    ¡°Phew, finally eh? I know there¡¯s still ways to go but man, I¡¯m starting to feel the nerves.¡±


    ¡°Hold your nervousness at least until we get to the ancient ruins. According to Charlotte it¡¯ll take at least two days of walking until we get there. Well, if we raise our speed it¡¯ll take much shorter though.¡±


    While having such a chat, we began finishing up our travel prep.


    Most of the actual prep had already been done yesterday so, it was mostly changing clothes and making sure we weren¡¯t forgetting anything and by the time Esta came out of the shower, we were already done.


    Then, we waited for Esta to finish up her own packing as well, and then we quickly checked-out of the Inn.


    Anything we couldn¡¯t carry with us, we had already dropped at Isabelle¡¯s house yesterday so we headed straight towards to gates to leave.


    The dawn was still only breaking so there were very few people outside, and us three were mostly by ourselves as we walked down the main street.


    Since I had to stay mostly hidden inside the city, I still had the feeling of having not enjoyed the city enough but, I can always do that after the battle was done.


    Resolving myself once again to win against Klaus and return alive, we reached closer to the gates to exit the city when¡­¡­¡­.we saw a bunch of people already gathered there.


    It was Alexandra and Gautier, and even Charlotte who said that she might not be able to make it to see us off.


    And then, there was even a sleepy looking Mielle, and even graham who was standing a little away from them.


    I never even told him the details of when I¡¯d leave so I was not expecting to see him here at all but, I was still very thankful that he made the effort to come all the way.


    Let¡¯s say our farewells properly before heading out of the capital shall we?

 CH 406

    The Cross


    I let Ralf and Esta head towards Charlotte and the rest first as I alone made my way to Graham first who was standing by himself.


    ¡°Graham, did you really come here just to see me off?¡±


    ¡°Good morning. Yes, there was something I really wanted to give to you so here I am.¡±


    ¡°Did you now? But, I never told you when I was leaving though? How did you find out?¡±


    ¡°I did know the day you¡¯d be leaving, just not the time. But, I thought that if I came here to wait from early in the morning, I was bound to catch you at some point. And thankfully, since you happened to be leaving so early in the morning, I didn¡¯t even have to wait very long either.¡±


    Graham said that while laughing but, if I had happened to be leaving at night, just what was he going to do?


    Honestly, we had even thought of leaving late last night as well, so he could have ended up waiting for us even though we had already left.


    It was a bit terrifying to even think of that¡­¡­¡­..but, regardless, since the worst case didn¡¯t happen, I didn¡¯t see any point in pondering over it any further.


    ¡°That was quite the gamble you took there. Is this thing you want to give me really that important?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡­Well, whether it ends up being important or not depends more on you yourself Chris-san, but, I felt it was that important so I came. Allow me to hand it over right away.¡±


    Graham ruffled through the item holder on his waist and then pulled out a silver chain-like item.


    Was this a¡­¡­..necklace?


    It was a silver necklace with a small golden cross was attached at its pendant.


    ¡°Is that necklace the thing you want to give me?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I was hoping you¡¯d wear this on your journey.¡±


    ¡°I mean, you came all this way to give this to me so sure, I¡¯ll wear it but¡­¡­¡­why is this necklace so important?¡±


    ¡°Rather than the necklace, it¡¯s really this pendant cross that is important¡­¡­¡­.Since the clergy are oathsworn to not directly attack fellow human beings so this cross is given to anyone that reaches the Priest rank. It may look cheaply built but its effect are very much real. As long as you wear it, it will completely protect you against holy magic.¡±


    ¡°Just wearing it will block all attacks from the priests towards me? Are you sure you can hand me something this precious?¡±


    From what I can tell, this necklace belongs to Graham himself. Just lending it to me comes with a huge amount of risk I imagine.


    We both know that the Cardinal, a pawn of Klaus, is waiting for us to ambush us at [Foro Neem] so if he really is lending me this, it¡¯ll be a huge help for me but¡­¡­..I couldn¡¯t help but feel worried for Graham himself.


    ¡°It is fine, don¡¯t worry. Look, I have replica here so I won¡¯t get found out. As long you can return it back to me after the battle is done, all is good.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll gladly borrow this necklace from you. Really, thank you, for everything.¡±


    ¡°No need. It¡¯s something I¡¯m doing out of my own will so no need to feel too indebted to me.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say that, I can¡¯t help but feel that way you know. I know I asked this before, but seriously, why are you helping me so much?¡±


    I do think we became pretty close especially after our dinner and all but at the same time, I can¡¯t think of any reason why he¡¯d go this far just for my sake.


    When I asked his reasons out of curiosity, Graham simply hung his down, and refused to show me his expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing this just to help you Chris-san, I¡¯m doing this all for my own sake as well. Not just the Cardinal, but even a bunch of promising and talented bishops have gone with him right? If they all happened to disappear one day, it¡¯d make it a lot easier for me to get promoted don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..is that really your reason?¡±


    Since he said that in a voice much more low key than ever before, the bright atmosphere around us very quickly turned into something much darker.


    For a moment, I wasn¡¯t sure of how serious he was being so I asked that back but, when graham raised his head again, he showed a wide smile again making me feel a bit more relieved.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-just kidding. I¡¯ve said this before but I simply find you to be interesting Chris-san. Perhaps even before we had our proper chat, I think I sensed that there was something similar about us. The [Farmer] Chris, and the [Sword God] Klaus. If I had to pick who to cheer for, I¡¯ll always pick Chris-san. The Cardinal is also sticking with Klaus-san for his own benefits right, so what I¡¯m doing is basically the same.¡±


    When he puts it that way, it does sound more reasonable.


    The Cardinal has only been supporting Klaus openly for his own personal gains after all.


    If that¡¯s the case¡­¡­¡­..fine, I¡¯ll gladly borrow his help as well.


    ¡°That explanation is surprisingly satisfactory. I¡¯ll take what I can get as well in that case.¡±


    ¡°Good. Be sure to put an end to it all properly. I¡¯ll continue to cheer you on, even if from the shadows.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, once everything¡¯s settled, I¡¯ll come back again to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Do tell me all the stories when the time comes in that case. I¡¯ll wait for the reports of your victory.¡±


    I did a firm handshake with Graham, gave my thanks once again, and then saw him off as he headed back towards the church.


    After that, I quickly put on the cross pendant necklace, and then finally headed towards Charlotte and the others as well.

 CH 407

    The World Tree


    After parting with Graham, I also joined in with Ralf and the rest who seemed to be happily conversing with each other.


    ¡°Oh, Chris! Are you already done having your talk with that guy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why I came here of course.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall seeing him before but, was he perhaps an acquaintance of yours?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, from Realzard. So it¡¯s natural you might not know of him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡­.Although I feel like I have seen that guy before for some reason.¡±


    Charlotte of course had no way of knowing him but Gautier seemed like he had seen him in the past before.


    Well, Graham was the son of the royal knights commander so it¡¯s not too strange that they may have crossed paths before, although it doesn¡¯t seem like Graham¡¯s face is that well known considering his lineage.


    ¡°All that aside¡­¡­..you actually came to see us off. I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting it.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was early in the morning so I was able to make it. I¡¯m busy from morning till night but, waking up early morning did allow me to make just enough free time for this little trip.¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t here to see you lot off or anything though. I¡¯m just here as Charlotte-sama¡¯s escort. Don¡¯t misunderstand.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for making time for us even with your busy schedule. Also, you too Alexandra, thanks for coming. As for you Gautier¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m shocked you showed your face again after what I did to you last time.¡±


    ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY!? I was simply careless that time that¡¯s all! It was just a coincidence that I lost okay!? Fine, duel me one last time before you leave!¡±


    The last time we met I knocked him out at the [lemon kid] so when I slightly instigated him, his head instantly turned red like a tomato and Gautier flared up in a rage.


    For someone that always seemed ready to pick a fight with me, he sure has zero resistance against even the lightest banter huh.


    ¡°Gautier, be quiet already.¡±


    ¡°wha, Yes ma¡¯am! Lady Charlotte! My deepest apologies!¡±


    ¡°Sorry he¡¯s always like this. I always warn him but, he doesn¡¯t seem to learn no matter what.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Even if he did attack me, I can just knock him out again easily anyway.¡±


    ¡°What did you say!? Come on, I¡¯ll break you¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°GAUTIER!¡±


    Seeing him fall for the bait and get angry a second time in quick succession, she roared another warning, and this time he meekly moved backwards for good, feeling despondent and reflecting.


    I was also at fault for instigating him so I wouldn¡¯t have minded having a quick little bout with him to be honest.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to talk when you two meet huh. Why are you two constantly butting heads with each other?¡±


    ¡°Just a mismatch of personalities I¡¯d say. That aside, if you came all the way here, I assume you have something important to tell me?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Not really though?¡±


    After Graham, I figured Charlotte might have some reason as well to come see me but¡­¡­


    She blankly told me that there was no such reason in actuality.


    ¡°Is that so. Since you came all the way in person I thought there might be some important reason but I guess not.¡±


    ¡°No, I quite literally came just to see you lot off, nothing more. Even I understand the graveness of the task I have dropped on your shoulders¡­¡­¡­.Ah, though I do have something to give you for your quest.¡±


    Saying that, Charlotte pulled out three potion vials from inside her bag.


    The potions were a beautiful jade-like colour, and honestly I had never seen a potion this pretty but, judging by the colour I assume it¡¯s a healing potion.


    ¡°A healing potion I assume?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. But, it¡¯s not some normal potion. It¡¯s a top class one made from the leaves of the World Tree itself. I have prepared one for all three of you each so use them when you feel your life is really at the brink of death.¡±


    ¡°This is my first time seeing a potion made out of a leaf from the World tree. I have only heard rumours of it but, isn¡¯t the leaf of the world tree a legendary rare item that can supposedly even bring a person back from the dead?¡±


    ¡°It most certainly cannot bring you back if you really die however, it¡¯s healing capabilities are indeed so strong that rumours like that began to float. It¡¯s meant for use if you end up getting fatally wounded.¡±


    I guess reviving from the dead was a bit too much of an ask huh.


    Still, it¡¯s clear this was an incredible kind of potion so I¡¯ll gladly take it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to return them back without needing to use them but, if the worst case happens, I definitely won¡¯t hold back. Thanks for preparing three of these as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m giving them to you as a gift, you don¡¯t need to return them even if you don¡¯t use them. By the way, each one of them cost about¡ª¡ª¡°


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t tell me the price. It¡¯ll make it harder for me to use when the time comes.¡±


    I¡¯m the type that might hold back on using it even when in a pinch situation if I knew whatever the crazy price of this item was.


    I can imagine it probably cost dozens of platinum coins each but, in case it was even costlier than that, I really will hesitate over ever using it so I¡¯d prefer to not to hear this.


    ¡°Unlike Klaus, your mind¡¯s quite plebian huh. Anyway, that¡¯s all from me.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for not just coming here but also bringing such valuable items. I¡¯ll do my best to bring back the good news.¡±


    ¡°Just ¡®doing your best¡¯ is not enough. Defeat him. No matter what.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Sure, got it.¡±


    Although she said that with a smile, her eyes weren¡¯t smiling so even I had to pause before replying back.


    Afterwards, I shook hands with Charlotte and moved to talk to Alexandra who was quietly standing behind her.

 CH 408

    Light Talk


    Ignoring Gauiter who was standing in the middle, I walked towards Alexandra to talk.


    She was always very polite with me from the start but, ever since the incident with [Under Eye] she seemed to have become even more courteous with me it feels.


    Even now, she was bowing towards me and when she¡¯s being this modest, it¡¯s honestly a bit hard to just talk normally.


    ¡°Thanks for coming all the way to see us off. Normally those two are also with you but I guess I you came alone today huh Alexandra.¡±


    ¡°Gilmour and Bruce aren¡¯t doing too well with their injuries and all so I came by myself. Normally, I should have been coming with you to repay the favour from last time but¡­¡­..even I understand that I would only get in your way and be more of a hindrance than help if I came with you so, I¡¯ll stay here at the capital and pray for your success instead.¡±


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking for a while but, you don¡¯t need to always be this uptight you know. If our situations were reversed and Alexandra had beaten her enemy first, you¡¯d have come to my side to help me as well right? It just so happened that I finished up first so it ended with me coming to help you, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Even if so, the fact remains that you saved my life. Not just me, but even the lives of so many of the royal knights as well.¡±


    I tried to make her talk normally with me but, by the looks of it, it seems impossible for now.


    In that case, I should just happily accept her respect and gratitude and instead simply ask her to repay the favour when I come back in some way.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­If you are going that far, might as well give me a gift as thanks when I return to the capital. That¡¯ll make us even no?¡±


    ¡°Of course! If there¡¯s anything I can give just tell me, I¡¯ll gladly arrange it for you! Even if it happens to be a bit expensive, I¡¯ll use the collective funds of the third squad itself to make up so please don¡¯t hold back.¡±


    ¡°Just what kind of expensive thing do you expect me to ask of you¡­¡­..but sure. I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±


    Having made a promise with Alexandra for when I return, I shook hands with her¡ª¡ª-and then headed towards Mielle was standing even further in the back.


    Wearing her robe, and equipped with her usual staff, it was the same old Mielle in her normal outfit.


    I have good idea of her own ability as well, so I should probably try asking her to come with us.


    ¡°Mielle, you came to see us off as well? Or are you perhaps willing to come with us? Considering he fired you from his party, I¡¯m sure you have your own fair share of resentment towards Klaus as well right?¡±


    ¡°Like hell would I knowingly walk into the clutches of death with you! While I do indeed absolutely loathe Klaus, but I similarly hate you as well Chris!¡±


    I forgot she hated me enough that she tried to kill me, now that I think about it.


    After fighting together with her, I figured she had let go of her resentment towards me but, I guess I instead gained the resentment for constantly dragging her around forcefully instead.


    ¡°But you came here all equipped as well, I thought for sure you were planning on coming with us but¡­¡­..guess I was wrong. Also, I don¡¯t think I deserve getting hated as much Klaus you know. I fell it¡¯s quite unjustified.¡±


    ¡°HAAH!? YOU were the first one to trick and deceive me! And even after that, do you have any idea just how much of my time was wasted afterwards because of you!?¡±


    ¡°In regards to my letter, that was totally your own fault for attacking me. If you hadn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have needed to trick you either. It was the same in Edestor as well. Don¡¯t tell me your forgot that it was you who attacked me first.¡±


    When pressed back and cornered her like that, she seemed to be lost for a response as she simply continued to grumble gununuunder her breath¡­¡­¡­.but nothing more.


    ¡°See? You¡¯re the one who started everything Mielle. If anything, I should be thanked for not killing you when you attacked me the second time, and not only that, I even continued to treat you quite decently as well¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­c¡¯mon, say it, give your ¡®thanks¡¯ properly to me.¡±


    ¡°Guh,nunununuu¡­¡­¡­T-Thank you,¡­. very much.¡±


    Forcing her to thank me like that, Mielle¡¯s expression distorted as she glared at me again.


    Seeing her face and horrible expression, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh out instead though.


    ¡°Hah well, that¡¯s one hell of  face you¡¯re making. I can¡¯t really feel the thanks coming through properly alas.¡±


    ¡°Both you brothers have just the worst personality you know! God willing, I hope you kill each other!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I won¡¯t let that happen. I¡¯ll be the one that lives.¡±


    ¡°Then, at least beat the shit out of him properly as well. After that, I¡¯ll get my revenge match against you¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°You want a revenge match against me?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ll pass. If you actually defeat Klaus, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to beat you anyway. It pisses me off from the bottom of my heart but, I¡¯m not the type to pick battles I can¡¯t win either.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. And here I was thinking I¡¯d get you to make a weird face again after beating you.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut it! Aren¡¯t you running out of time yet? Enough teasing me and just be off on your way already!¡±


    ¡°I suppose I should. Thank you for coming to see off a guy you hate so much, by the way.¡±


    I reached out my right hand, and while still glaring me, Mielle did grab it and shake my hand properly as well.


    With that done, I had finally finished talking to everyone who came to see me off today.


    It was like this at both Oxter as well as Edestor but, I always feel happy to see all the different people who come to see us off on our journey.


    ¡°Alright then, we¡¯re off. I¡¯ll be sure to put an end to Klaus.¡±


    Giving these parting words to everyone, I gave a light bow to everyone and then¡ª¡ª¨Cwe departed the capital, towards [Foro Neem], the ancient ruins where Klaus awaits.

 CH 409

    Nearby Village


    Having departed from the capital, while relying on the map, we made our way towards [Foro Neem].


    I did consider renting out horses to try and preserve as much of our stamina as we could but, considering we could walk all day without rest, it was actually faster for us to walk so that plan was rejected.


    We began to move at an almost running pace, and while taking short breaks in the middle, we continued to move for the next 12 hours.


    Around the time the sun began to set, the location Charlotte had marked for us, a village called [Inoes] came into our view.


    ¡°Oh! I can see a village from here! Is that place where we¡¯re supposed to rest for tonight?¡±


    ¡°Judging by the map, that should be the [Inoes Village] so yes.¡±


    ¡°I thought we were moving quite fast but, it still took quite some time to get here huh. But if we¡¯re already at the village then the runs should be close by right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. [Foro Neem] is supposed to be about only an hour from here. Let¡¯s recover our stamina at the village, and then we¡¯ll head out to the ruins at the break of dawn tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°So Klaus is only an hour away from here huh!¡­¡­.finally, we¡¯re near the finish line eh?! Chris, you getting nervous yet?¡±


    Hearing Ralf¡¯s question, I tried putting my hand at my chest to sense my heartbeat but, surprisingly enough I didn¡¯t feel very nervous and my heart wasn¡¯t beating faster either.


    Perhaps in part because I had already made my resolve when leaving the capital but until I finally face him and see him directly, I don¡¯t think my emotions will waver much.


    ¡°Nah, not at all in fact. Honestly, even I feel a bit scared by how calm I feel.¡±


    ¡°Is that so! Damn, I¡¯m so nervous my chest hurts almost on the other hand!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it overcome you so much that you can¡¯t even sleep or something okay? That aside¡­¡­..let¡¯s go and start negotiating to stay the night at the village first. Snow¡¯s with us as well so, just in case if they reject us, we might have to stay the night outside.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, really not the night where you¡¯d want to have to sleep outside! Snow, you better be as obedient as possible okay!¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    Afterwards, after talking over how to best negotiate, we decided that it¡¯s best if Ralf went alone to talk first.


    A woman will probably make them less cautious so perhaps Esta would have been the better choice but¡­¡­¡­


    For whatever reason, Ralf had this natural ability to get along well with people very quickly so I thought he¡¯d be the best pick. By the way, I was never even in contention.


    After seeing off Ralf; me, Esta and Snow waited outside the village for about 30mins.


    It was taking a bit too long even for negotiations so I started to get worried that he may have gotten in some kind of trouble but just around that time, a seemingly happy looking Ralf came running back to us from the village.


    ¡°You sure took your time. No troubles I hope?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I just got too engrossed in chatting with everyone that I forgot the time! They¡¯ll let us stay by the way, so we can enter safely now!¡±


    ¡°Chatting, he says¡­¡­¡­I feel stupid for ever worrying. You properly explained about Snow as well right?¡±


    ¡°I did indeed! But it¡¯d be difficult to let it inside the houses as they¡¯re small so they asked if we can let it stay inside the stable instead! Snow, you okay with that?¡±


    Hearing Ralf¡¯s question, Snow seemed growl in a slightly dissatisfied manner but, I think even Snow understood that it was not something that could be helped so it did agree with the condition in the end.


    After all, it was just one night. Refusing the offer meant staying completely outside in the forest, so even the stable was a better option than that.


    Putting those two on the scales, I figure Snow took the nicer option.


    ¡°Alright then! Let¡¯s go inside! I¡¯ll guide you to the home of the person that¡¯ll let us stay over!¡±


    Following after Ralf, we made our way to our temporary resting place.


    They were apparently letting us have an unused house in its entirety for the night so it seems like we¡¯ll be able to sleep in a much better place than I originally imagined.


    The stable where Snow was supposed to rest was also filled with fluffy stacks of hay to sleep on, and they must be really comfortable as Snow quickly got cozy and went to sleep.


    As for our meals, I was planning on simply depending on the preserved food I had packed beforehand but, I supposed Ralf must not have been chatting for 30mins for nothing as he seemed to have gained quite the favour from the villagers¡­¡­..and somehow we ended up having dinner at the village elder¡¯s house.


    ¡°I feel like he¡¯s hardly that different from me and yet, how the hell do you get people to like you so much so quickly? Do you have some hidden skill or something?¡±


    ¡°In what world am I similar to you in any way!? I¡¯m energetic, you¡¯re always sullen! I¡¯m considerate, you¡¯re rude! The only thing we have in common is that neither of us use formal language when talking, and that¡¯s it!!¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, you¡¯re being unreasonable. Right, Est¡ª¨C¡°


    The moment I looked towards Esta to ask for her opinion, she instantly turned her head away.


    Even Esta who always backs me up is giving this reaction¡­¡­¡­I guess Ralf is right after all.


    I guess I¡¯ll have to learn how to be a bit more considerate to other in the future as well but, well, even I know that¡¯s never happening.


    We had a nice chat while having the dinner at the village elder¡¯s house, and we even got to hear some light news on Klaus and his party who had also gone through this village  awhile back.


    But they didn¡¯t interact much with him as they simply stayed inside one of the houses and there wasn¡¯t much else info to learn from him.


    Well, if he stayed in this village, at least I know for sure that he¡¯s definitely waiting inside [Foro Neem].


    Furthermore, the village elder also said that they we were staying in the same house that they stayed in¡­¡­..honestly, I¡¯d have preferred to have NOT known that.


    Making sure to not let it get to my head, we quickly went to sleep to get ready for tomorrow.

 CH 410

    Foro Neem


    Early morning, after staying the night at Ienos Village.


    After giving our thanks to the village elder for letting us stay, we quickly departed towards [Foro Neem].


    Going by the map, it was quite close from here, and should quickly come into our view within an hour or so.


    Charlotte said the area was as big as the capital itself, so I thought we¡¯d instantly notice it as soon as we get close but¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡°The map says it should be right here but, I don¡¯t see anything different.¡±


    ¡°You sure that map¡¯s right!? I don¡¯t see no giant ancient ruins anywhere!¡±


    ¡°I checked it as well but, this is indeed the correct place. If it really isn¡¯t here then that¡¯d mean the map is completely wrong.¡±


    For a moment I wondered if we had been fed false info but, that felt like a stretch at this point plus, from what we heard from the village elder, Klaus and his troupe also went in this direction as well.


    The people of [Ienos Village] didn¡¯t know of the name or existence of [Foro Neem] itself though so not getting the exact details from Charlotte was a miss on my part.


    I got all the details of the insides of the ruin but, for something that¡¯s supposedly as big as the capital, I really thought I¡¯d easily find it as long as I have a map.


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re at a dead end clearly! What now, do we go back to the capital?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. If we trust the map, it should be in this area. But, if we can¡¯t find it with our bare eyes then¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying it¡¯s¡ª¡ª¨Cinvisible, or something?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely out of the line of possibility but, it¡¯s more likely that it¡¯s simply¡­¡­¡­.below us.¡±


    When I pointed downwards, Ralf made a stupefied face as he tilted his head.


    ¡°Below¡­¡­¡­are you saying the entire thing is underground?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my guess, at least. There should be an entrance somewhere at least. I tried to search with my life presence detect skill but I don¡¯t see anything so let¡¯s split up and look for it.¡±


    ¡°Damn, if this entire giant things is underground, it must be incredible! I was nervous before, but now I¡¯m just getting excited instead!¡±


    All of split up and began to look for anything that may be the entrance.


    If the ruins are as big as they told me, I doubt it should be that hard to find so¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Hey Chris! Esta! I think I found it! Come here!¡±


    Just then, I heard Ralf shout that from afar.


    It¡¯s been at most 10mins since we started searching so I didn¡¯t expect to find it this quickly but, if this entrance is real then the ruins are indeed entirely underground.


    I quickly ran towards his voice and met up with Ralf who was standing in front of giant hold in the ground.


    ¡°Ralf, don¡¯t shout too loudly. I think we¡¯re fine since it¡¯s so open here but, Klaus is waiting for us inside, don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my bad. I was so excited to find it, I just instinctively shouted. But¡­¡­¡­.for just the entrance, ain¡¯t this a bit too big? It¡¯s sorta similar to the one we saw near Oxter in design but, in terms of size this is on a whole different level!¡±


    It was as Ralf said, this one completely dwarfed the ruins entrance we found near Oxter.


    There was a massive, perfectly square shaped hole that seemed to go deep underground here.


    The stairs seemed to be made of some high quality stone as well and it really stood out against the natural greenery surrounding it.


    ¡°They said that great duels used to take place deep inside this area! The princess said that a tournament to decide the strongest warrior in the country would be held inside this place, didn¡¯t she!? Perhaps this was a place that warriors of all kinds used to admire and were attracted to once upon a time?¡±


    Ralf muttered with sparkling eyes but, I¡¯m sure, it probably wasn¡¯t anything that glamorous.


    Judging by the structure, it must have taken a huge amount of money to build something like that so, rather than a place warriors admire, it was probably more of a amusement and entertainment spot for the rich.


    Even when looking at the map of the interior that was the feeling I got. A place where unsightly men gathered so that they could bet money and enjoy gladiator-esque battles to the death to satisfy their twisted desires and greed. I¡¯m confident that was what this place was actually like.


    An arena this big was made underground probably to keep it out of sight of the normal people. A classic camouflage.


    While I was cynically analyzing the place beside Ralf who had his head in the clouds, Esta and Snow also joined up with us after hearing Ralf¡¯s shout.


    ¡°It seems you have found the entrance. It really was entirely underground huh¡­¡­¡­I guess judging by the size of the entrance alone, it really must be massive inside. But, for an ancient ruin, it surprisingly hasn¡¯t been worn down as much as I had imagined.¡±


    ¡°Well, it collapsing would be the biggest worry after all. And considering its an arena first and foremost, it must have been built sturdy to be able to endure all the harsh battles that may occur inside. Well, it does take away my own worry of it collapsing so at least that¡¯s a plus.¡±


    ¡°I mean yeah, getting buried alive even after you beat Klaus would really be the dumbest way to die! I imagine Charlotte probably considered that in her plans as well when choosing this as the place.¡±


    ¡°I assume so. There¡¯s no chance of anybody seeing us no matter how crazy our fighting gets, and it being an ancient ruin probably made it easy to make an excuse to send him here as well. It really is the perfect location, like she said.¡±


    I once again gave my gratitude to Charlotte for making these arrangements for me, and then got ready to finally enter the ruins itself.


    I breathed in the fresh air deeply, exhaled, and then¡ª¡ª¨C


    ¡°Alright, Let¡¯s go in and face Klaus.¡±


    Saying that to Ralf, Esta and Snow, I took my first step inside [Foro Neem].

 CH 411

    Magic Circle


    The inside of [Foro Neem] was so quiet that you wouldn¡¯t believe that there were supposedly more people already inside, and only our footsteps echoed in the surroundings as we made our way in.


    After climbing down to the bottom of stairs under a heavy atmosphere, we reached a grand floor that spread across wide, and perhaps because people haven¡¯t been regularly visiting this place, the entire area had a very dungeon-like feel to it.


    ¡°The entrance alone was incredible but, the interior is just on a whole different level! They really dug up this big of an area under the ground to build this place huh!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine to appreciate the ruins but don¡¯t let your guard down either okay? Considering the candlesticks within the ruins seem lit up, we might run into them at any point from here onwards.¡±


    Right, the insides of the ruins were already so bright that you didn¡¯t even need to use [Fire] as a torch.


    That¡¯s because the candlesticks placed all over the ruins had been already lit up by someone long before we came here.


    It was clear proof that Klaus and his team were somewhere within these ruins, so I went closer to inspect one of these.


    ¡°Chris-san, learn anything from it?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say for sure. I was hoping to find out how long these have been burning from how much was remaining but it seems, they were lit up with magic instead.¡±


    ¡°Fire type magic. Allow me to check instead in that case?¡±


    ¡°Sure, go ahead. Maybe you can learn something from it Esta.¡±


    Exchanging places with me, she approached closer to the candlestick and then began to check the magical fire.


    While I continued to pray that she finds something, I began looking around in the meantime when¡­¡­


    ¡°I think more than a day has passed since these were ignited. I can¡¯t tell anything more exact than that however, but there¡¯s no doubt, these have been lit for quite some time now.¡±


    ¡°I mean, that¡¯s decent amount of info already. How can you tell?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can get a decent idea of such things from the flickering and the remaining mana¡­¡­¡­but, I can also tell that whoever lit these up was an accomplished magician. Probably that Elphas.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s someone that can create a flame that keeps on going for many days, yeah, I imagine it probably was Elphas in that case. Anyway, it¡¯s good to get even a vague idea of just how long they have already been inside this place.¡±


    After entering [Foro Neem] I still couldn¡¯t sense anyone with my [Life Presence Sense] so I already knew that they are not waiting around the entrance at the very least.


    But even if I knew that, it still doesn¡¯t hurt to have as much info as possible.


    ¡°Alright, from here onwards, we¡¯ll move with Snow as our vanguard. Snow, instantly tell us the moment you sense something okay?¡±


    ¡°Awoo!¡±


    Giving orders to Snow, we slowly began to make our way further inside [Foro Neem].


    The entire place was designed like a huge circle, and there were a huge amount of rooms all over the place.


    Our current location was supposedly the main floor so most of these rooms were probably used as guest rooms in the past.


    Charlotte had already told us that we didn¡¯t need to investigate these rooms that much for that very reason.


    We continued onwards in a straight line and saw a giant door that supposedly led directly to the spectator stands of the main arena but, to make sure that Klaus and his party had to spend a longer time in here, they had made sure that this door couldn¡¯t be opened from here.


    I do have the permission from Charlotte to destroy that door just in case but, to make sure we don¡¯t accidentally miss each other, I was planning to follow the exact same path they had gone through.


    With this entrance blocked, the only other way to get inside the arena was from the place where competitors would enter which was located much further inside so we needed to head deeper.


    And right now, Klaus and his party should be near the residential area, the place where the competitors would stay and investigating that place.


    Seeing the map, there was only one path connecting these areas so as long as we move through there, we should run into them no matter what.


    I feel like it was a bit too convenient how this massive place only had one path going between the two areas, as if it was designed specifically to help me corner Klaus but¡­¡­


    But perhaps the real reason was to make sure that the competitors couldn¡¯t escape [Foro Neem] so easily in actuality.


    I know it¡¯s a benefit for me so I probably shouldn¡¯t be complaining but seeing the intent behind its entire design, I once again realized just how steeped in the ugly darkness of this world this [Foro neem] place must have been in its heyday.


    While pondering such things, we continued moving through the main floor quietly and reached the giant door to the arena that we had set as our first landmark here.


    About 30 mins had passed since we had entered [Foro Neem].


    While we were certainly being cautious, we did have a map to guide us so we had taken no detours and yet so much time had passed just getting here. It once again made me realize just how massive this place truly was.


    ¡°Chris-san, this is the door right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It connects directly to the arena. We can destroy it in the case of emergency or so she said though.¡±


    ¡°Damn, the size alone is shocking but, the magic circle engraved on this thing looks even more incredible! Even I can tell that a lot of mana has been poured into it!¡±


    Ralf spoke that somewhat excitedly, and sure enough the giant magic circle really was exactly how he said.


    Probably, that is the seal keeping this door closed.


    ¡°It really does have a lot of mana embedded in it. I know Charlotte said we can destroy it but¡­¡­..judging by the circle, I doubt we could actually do something like that?¡±


    ¡°It is definitely impossible, I can confirm. Perhaps she said that because she knew that it was completely unbreakable?¡±


    The possibility of that was high.


    That would be very much like her to do something like this but, part of my personality also made me want to really smash this door open now because of that as well.


    Well, I doubt I could do it right now but, if I am able to safely defeat Klaus¡­¡­.it might be a fun challenge to smash this door open.

 CH 412

    Rough Environment


    For now, we ignored the giant door, and walked towards a much smaller door to our right instead.


    Behind this door lay a passage that went even further underground that led to the residential area of the competitors.


    To host as many fighters as possible so that they could keep fights going on all the time, the residential area was designed even more complex and bigger than the main floor, so in truth, we were really entering the real part of this ruins right now.


    I still was not getting any reaction from [Life Presence Sense] but, Snow had begun to act a little fidgety so there must be something waiting for us at the end of this path.


    ¡°Quite contrary to the overall gaudy look of the place, doesn¡¯t this door look a lot more basic and simple?¡±


    ¡°The area we were in was designed for the rich guests, but from here, we¡¯re going into the living quarters of the fighters. A place that doesn¡¯t need all the glamour and decoration.¡±


    ¡°The door itself feels like a gate into a different world¡­¡­..as if it was more like a jail instead. A metal door with no scratches feels really odd.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for impressions, let¡¯s just go inside already. I still can¡¯t sense Klaus or anyone else but judging from Snow¡¯s body language, there¡¯s a high chance we¡¯re about to run into something sooner or later. I know you two are already being very cautious but once again, prepare yourselves for whatever may come our way.¡±


    Giving one more warning to Ralf and Esta, I opened the heavy metal door in front of me.


    I did get the keys to this door from Charlotte already but, the door wasn¡¯t even locked and it easily opened while making a scratching sound against the floor.


    I had prepared myself to get attacked the moment I opened it but, behind the door was a dark and gloomy area and nothing more.


    Just as I about to breathe a small sigh of relief, Ralf behind me suddenly made a small yelp.


    ¡°Ch-Chris! Look, that door!¡±


    ¡°Door¡­¡­¡­?¡±


    I thought there was nothing wrong here but, looking back towards this door that Ralf was pointing at¡­¡­..


    There were stains of blood splatters across it, and marks of someone having desperately tried to open it till their last breath.


    It was the same door we had come in from but its look from the side of the main floor, and the one we saw from this side might as well be two different doors instead. The gruesomeness made me understand why even Ralf couldn¡¯t help but yelp like that.


    Also, I doubt this door had anything to do with Klaus and his party. This was probably like this from the days when [Foro Neem] was still active.


    Since it made my imagination run towards darker thoughts, I turned my eyes away because I didn¡¯t want anything else burdening my mind right now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. These marks have nothing t do with Klaus anyway.¡±


    ¡°Re-really? Although, it¡¯s hard not to think too much about this though.¡±


    ¡°Stray thoughts will only lead to horrible death in this situation, right? I imagine we¡¯ll see a lot more things like this from here onwards so let¡¯s keep our focus on Klaus and his party and nothing else.¡±


    Hearing Esta¡¯s words, Ralf nodded while still looking a bit hesitant.


    It really was gloomy corridor like path but the state of this place was a lot worse than I had imagined.


    Perhaps we really should have smashed open that big door and made it into the arena instead.


    Forcing myself to not think much about it, we continued further inside down the stone stairs with Snow at front.


    There was still no reaction to my skills but, after going down a couple more steps, it was my [Mana Sense] that caught a couple of readings first.


    But judging by the lack of reaction from [Life Presence Sense], it was probably a bunch of undeads I imagine.


    ¡­¡­¡­meaning, they must have been set up by Elphas to intercept us.


    And there weren¡¯t just a few of them either. They numbered in almost a couple dozen judging from what I could sense from here.


    Since I couldn¡¯t sense any life presences, they were probably being controlled from far away meaning, Elphas was capable of controlling even large amounts of undeads from a long range as well.


    I always knew that a [Necromancer] would be a big obstacle for us from the moment I heard of his abilities but, this is turning out to be a lot more troublesome than I had ever imagined.


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, I can sense a bunch of undeads at the end of these stairs. We¡¯ll need to eradicate them instantly so get ready.¡±


    ¡°Undeads? Does that mean Elphas is nearby as well?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t sense him. He¡¯s probably left these here to intercept us I imagine.¡±


    ¡°He even brought the cardinal with him right? He¡¯s being extremely cautious huh.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan? Esta was supposed to face Elphas so should we let her take care of the undeads?¡±


    ¡°No, if Elphas is not nearby, we¡¯ll all fight together and eradicate them as quickly as possible. Me and Snow ill charge in first and take down as many undeads nearby as possible. Esta, you¡¯ll take care of the ones afar, and Ralf, if you see one that seems extra dangerous, pull its attention and keep it busy.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll handle the ones away from here.


    ¡°Got it! I¡¯ll target anyone that smells of danger!¡±


    With our general plan set for what¡¯s to come, we took formation and began to go down the stairs again.


    And just as the end of the stairs came into view¡ª¨Cwe charged in before the undeads could even react.

 CH 413

    Undead


    Just like my mana sense had detected, the moment I got down the stairs, I saw a large bunch of undeads crawling about the area.


    Zombies, ghouls, skeleton knights, bone knights etc. all varieties of your basic undeads were gathered but, among them there were also a couple of rare undeads that I hadn¡¯t seen before.


    Most were humanoid in shape, which made them feel a bit different from normal monsters¡­¡­.no, they were straight up human beings that had been revived with the ability control corpses.


    Had he found and brought a bunch veteran warriors? Or had he revived them from the corpses of the competitors lying around here?


    Either case, I think those human corpses are going to be the toughest ones in this group.


    I let Snow had the scrub undeads and I moved towards these corpses to take them out instead.


    Esta was to take care of the ranged ones, and Ralf would target and distract the stronger individual units.


    I instantly activated [Mind Unleashed] and while launching orders towards Snow, I focused myself at the corpses heading towards me with their usual dull movements.


    I saw through the strength of my enemies in an instant, and began defeating them one by one with the least amount of effort required to try and save as much stamina as I could.


    For this fight, I decided to use only [Sticky String manipulation] and [Hardening].


    I did consider going all out without limiting my skills to try and end the battle as quickly as possible but, until I don¡¯t know how much reserves of forces they still have left, I shouldn¡¯t get impatient and focus on conserving my strength as much as possible.


    While avoiding the ghoul and skeleton knight that rushed at me win a straight line, I ran towards the former human that looked more like a troll.


    It¡¯s body was full of wounds, probably received during its original life, and it barely had any armour and was close to being mostly naked.


    But the hammer-like weapon in its head seemed like it was of high quality, and if I got hit even once by it, I would definitely take a lot of damage.


    It must have once been a warrior at this arena, there was no doubt but, what really had me curious was it¡¯s still remaining flesh.


    Normally, a person should have already rotten down to the bone by now but somehow it still had a lot of flesh remaining on it which was a concern but¡­¡­..now wasn¡¯t the time to be wondering about that.


    While analyzing the giant ex-human in front of me, I decided on how to take it down and then activated [Sticky strings].


    The strings launched from the fingertips of both of my hands and wrapped around both its feet tightly.


    It was a pretty basic attack plan but perhaps because it was already a corpse, it wasn¡¯t able to do anything against it, and paid no heed to the strings attached to its legs and continued to run towards me.


    If it¡¯s incapable of reacting to my plan, I wasn¡¯t going to lose.


    I used [Hardening] on the strings attached to its both legs and made them completely stiff.


    And, by pulling at those strings with strength¡ª¡ªI basically created a natural morning star.


    It was quite heavy as it was the body of a giant but, also thanks to that the strength behind it was equally strong.


    Since it¡¯d be impossible to make any delicate movements with this, I could only swing it around in circles but, considering the enemies around me, it should make for a strong weapon.


    It¡¯ll take too much time to take each of them one by one with a sword after all.


    Having turned the giant corpse into a makeshift weapon of my own, I ignored its groans as I began to swing it around on the group of enemies around me.


    It was indeed as strong as I had hoped but, the speed was slow and the range was limited.


    It would be useless against an actual human enemy, and even a slightly smart monster would be able to avoid it but, towards these undead who could only make simple movements, it was super effective.


    It crashed into a bunch of undeads and the entire upper body of the giant exploded and I was only left with the legs still stuck to my strings.


    Since it became unusable as a weapon, I deactivated [Sticky strings] and threw it to the side.


    The undeads around me all lay horribly dead again, like a scene from hell itself but, I could hear the sound of battles coming from further in as well so there were clearly still a lot more undeads left.


    Esta was rapid firing magic towards this group undeads coming from further within and Ralf was currently handling a bunch of giant undeads, similar to the one I turned into a weapon, at the same time.


    As for Snow, it had its entire body covered in some kind of ice armour and was ripping through the groups of undeads with it.


    It¡¯s speed was abnormal, and if I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d think that a giant block of ice was on a rampage or something.


    Since there were no undeads that could stop Snow whether it be in terms of offence or defence, I feel like I could leave Snow alone to do its own thing without any worry.


    Which means,¡­¡­..I should go give a helping hand to Ralf.


    Esta can focus on slowing down the horde, and once I had helped Ralf take down the giant corpses, I¡¯ll go back and help Esta clean up the rest.


    Well, as long as she can keep this up for a bit longer, I think Snow would probably get to helping her even before me I imagine.


    I turned my focus towards the former humans Ralf was fighting, and decided to deal with them first and foremost.


    ¡°Ralf, let¡¯s quickly finish them off.¡±


    ¡°I can handle like ten of these for a while you know! But if you wanna get rid of them right now, I¡¯m yours to command! What should I do!?¡±


    ¡°Just keep using [Roar of the Guardian] to keep their attention. I¡¯ll slice them to pieces in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it!? Sorry for taking the easy role I guess!¡±


    ¡°Enough banter, just get to it.¡±


    He was surrounded by the giant undeads but, he continued to act nonchalant, confident that he could take on even more than this easily.


    Perhaps I should have helped Esta first after all if he¡¯s this composed. But regardless, I linked up with Ralf and moved to take down the 6 human undeads.

 CH 414

    Monotonous Movements


    I did consider grabbing another one of the giant undeads from among the 6 here with [Sticky string manipulation] and making another makeshift morning star but, this time Ralf was also nearby and I needed him to keep them all gathered in this area.


    So I discarded that plan, and instead decided to cut them down one by one with my sword instead.


    Although there were 6 of them, they of course had zero coordination between them and were haphazardly attacking at Ralf so I used my strings to capture one of them from behind.


    I dragged it away from Ralf and brought it right in front of me and wanted to take it one 1on1 but¡­..


    Even when I dragged it near to me, it never even moved its eyes away from Ralf and began to walk back towards him to attack.


    I had been wondering since the moment I made that first one into the morning star but, these guys are really extremely simplistic in nature.


    Perhaps it was partly due to Ralf¡¯s skill becoming stronger as well but, more than that, I think Elphas¡¯ control ability is a bit too good.


    He¡¯s able to use so many undeads all at the same time, that too from a far away range but, as a price for that, he can¡¯t make them do any intricate movements.


    With sticky strings stuck to its back, the undead wasn¡¯t even able to move forward and yet it kept trying to move its legs towards Ralf regardless. Seeing that, I came to the previous conclusion.


    If they don¡¯t aggro towards me even after all this, then taking them all down really will be child¡¯s play. So I stopped wasting time and began slashing away at the 6 undeads.


    As expected of ex-warriors, I could tell they had a lot of brute strength, and I partly wished I could have fought them at their prime¡ª¡ªbut in a matter of moments, the undeads surrounding Ralf had been eviscerated by my.


    ¡°As expected of Chris! I had only gathered the ones with the strongest auras but you still defeated them all in a matter of seconds!?¡±


    He spoke with a smile, but his tone seemed like he was almost annoyed by it as well. I couldn¡¯t really tell.


    If anything, I was the one annoyed that these undeads didn¡¯t even notice me and were constantly locked on to Ralf.


    ¡°Enough with chatter, let¡¯s go and support Esta¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    I considered praising Ralf as well, but I had a feeling that was exactly what he was hoping to hear so I changed the topic and suggested heading out to support Esta but¡ª¡ª


    Looking towards her side, a bluish blur was rapidly rushing around the area and had already destroyed almost all of the undeads.


    ¡°So much for giving support eh!? Snow¡¯s running wild!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, looks like they¡¯ll be done by the time we get there. And here I thought I had been quick as well.¡±


    ¡°Snow had been doing nothing but rest in Peixa forest for so long after all, I guess it really wanted to let loose as well? I feel like it¡¯s rampaging a bit more than usual!¡±


    ¡°From the looks of it, that might actually be true. I can barely see the afterimages but I can tell it¡¯s really having fun right now.¡±


    Seeing Snow run riot, I continued having such a chat with Ralf as we casually made our way towards Esta.


    And by the time we reached her, Snow had already defeated all the undeads that were coming from the inner area.


    ¡°Chris-san, Ralf, good job. I¡¯m done here as well thanks to Snow.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we got a good glimpse of the finale. It really went crazy on them huh.¡±


    ¡°It was letting out its frustrations or something¡ª¡ªor at least that¡¯s what it felt like to me anyway. When it came charging from behind me and lunged at the undeads, for a moment even I was unable to recognize it.¡±


    ¡°I hope it didn¡¯t tire itself out too much though¡­¡­¡­.hey Snow, you still okay?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    The ice armour around its body had already dissipated away and Snow howled while panting happily as white mist came from its mouth.


    It really did run out of breath a bit but, it doesn¡¯t look like it has completely tired itself out either which was a relief.


    ¡°Looks like it still has plenty left in the tank. Good job.¡±


    ¡°And here I was hoping to show off, but Snow took away all the limelight! I¡¯ve always wondered but are we really sure that Snow¡¯s actually a Snow Panther!? It¡¯s starting to look really different from the normal ones no?¡±


    ¡°We did kill its parent. It has to be one.¡±


    I replied that to Ralf¡¯s question but in truth, even I felt that it might be something very different from a normal Snow Panther.


    Unlike the blue spotted fur of its parents, Snow¡¯s fur was silver-ish white entirely with no blemishes.


    When it was a child I thought the blue spots would appear when it grew up but, now that it has grown up a lot, it¡¯s still completely pure white.


    It¡¯s movement ability was ridiculous, and while it did use similar ice elemental attacks like its parent, both its effectiveness and power are on a whole different level.


    ¡­¡­..perhaps it was just an abnormal variety. I¡¯d believe that considering how different it seems from its parent.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡­¡­¡­.we did pick it up from its home ourselves. Snow has to be a Snow panther. Does that mean it got this strong because it spent time with us maybe?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say for sure. And while I am curious myself, now¡¯s not the time to be discussing all that. Let¡¯s head further inside. If we waste too much time, more of Elphas¡¯ undeads might show up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. There¡¯s still ways to go. Let¡¯s keep our chats to a minimum and make our way deeper in.¡±


    Leaving the investigations of Snow¡¯s true heritage for later, we turned our focus back to facing Klaus.


    We had only just entered the residential district and judging by the map, the road has a lots of twists and turns so we were still far off from the arena.


    No time to waste talking, we needed to keep moving or else we¡¯ll end up spending most of our time fighting these undeads.


    There¡¯s even chance that he brought some other people other than the Cardinal and his group as well so, we needed to hurry up. And so we picked up the pace and began walking faster to our destination once again.

 CH 415

    Maze


    After passing through the wide area that opened up after the stairs, we entered an area with narrow pathways spread around like a maze. And around these narrow pathways were a bunch of small houses packed around haphazardly with no sense of order.


    I imagine the competitors used to live in these narrow rooms, and would then head to the arena to put their lives on the line.


    As we continued to proceed down the path, the sizes of the rooms began to slowly increase, and by the end of it, each individual house seemed almost double the size of the ones at the start.


    I guess just like the adventurers now, achievements in the arena probably led to an increase in the ranks of the competitors and would get access to better rooms as a result.


    Not just the rooms itself, even the grade of the food given to them would get increased in quality from what I¡¯ve heard.


    Considering that¡­¡­¡­it means, the undead people we fought back then were probably the lowest rank warriors at the arena.


    Which means, the strength of the enemies we¡¯ll face will also increase the further we head inside, and the end lay Klaus and his party.


    It¡¯s almost funny how it feels like a traditional dungeon but, I didn¡¯t want to waste my stamina needlessly so I was planning to avoid as much fighting as possible.


    Thankfully, I had the full map of [Foro Neem] to quickly navigate through this maze like area.


    I can use [mana sense] to detect undeads and avoid any battles that weren¡¯t unavoidable from now on.


    ¡°Oi Chris! We¡¯re heading right again? It all looks the same here so are you sure we aren¡¯t going around in circles?¡±


    ¡°We are most certainly progressing forward so don¡¯t worry. Also, don¡¯t break my concentration. We don¡¯t know when we might get attacked by enemies.¡±


    About 30mins had passed since the battle in the previous area.


    To avoid most of the undeads that had been deployed here, we were zigzagging through the maze-like paths when Ralf made that complaint.


    It was indeed a dreary sight all around us that showed no signs of changing but, I could tell that the rooms were getting bigger and bigger so I knew for sure that we were surely making progress.


    Anyway, I really wanted to keep my concentration up as we may run into enemies at any point¡ª¡ª


    Just as my thoughts reached till there, Snow who was walking at the forefront suddenly stopped in its tracks.


    ¡°Snow, what happened!? Is something up ahead? Hey Chris, did you sense something as well?¡±


    ¡°No, my skills aren¡¯t showing any reaction yet. But¡­¡­.Snow¡¯s senses are never wrong so something must be coming up for sure.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s drop our pace a bit more and proceed carefully. We can¡¯t have them sense us first either.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. The moment I detect something as well, I¡¯ll tell you guys.¡±


    Snow didn¡¯t show any major reaction to any of the undeads we had run into until now so whatever was lying in wait ahead was something entirely different from those.


    With both [Life Presence Sense] and [Mana Sense] active, I slowly continued to proceed until I get a reaction and¡­¡­..after a while, finally I too sensed the thing that Snow had already detected.


    Until now, I had only been getting mana readings from the undeads but this time, I detected proper life presences as well.


    Which means, it wasn¡¯t undeads, but real alive human beings instead.


    ¡°Stop, both of you. I can finally sense whoever¡¯s waiting for us up ahead as well.¡±


    ¡°More undeads? Or is it finally Elphas himself!?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t if it¡¯s Elphas specifically or not but, it¡¯s certainly an actual human being. Not just undeads.¡±


    ¡°is that true? How many are there?¡±


    ¡°From what I can sense, about 6 of them. Though there might be other humans with weaker life presences there as well.¡±


    I can¡¯t sense any non-combatants since they had weaker presences.


    Especially with the case with Pablo, I was careful to not just depend on my [Life Presence Sense] alone to confirm any concrete info.


    ¡°6 of them, meaning is it Klaus, Elphas, Drake¡­¡­¡­plus the Cardinal and his subordinates maybe?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for certain but, none of them exceptionally strong life presences. So I doubt it¡¯s Klaus but, we can only know for sure when we see them with our own eyes.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan then? Should we stick to the formation we used when fighting the undeads?¡±


    ¡°If Klaus and his party are there, I take Klaus, Esta fights Elphas, and Ralf takes on Drake. If they aren¡¯t there, me and Ralf are going to play the tanks, Snow will be our main attacker, and Esta, you¡¯ll support Snow.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, using Snow as the main attacker now!? I mean, yeah it¡¯s assault back there really was incredible so it makes sense!¡±


    While I do agree with what he said, there¡¯s also the fact that I¡¯d like to preserve as much stamina as possible for us three until the main battle.


    With a quick plan set, we began heading down the pathways towards the presences we had sensed.


    The closer it got, the wider the roads began to get¡ª¡ªand the place these 6 presences were waiting seemed to be like a cafeteria, an eating area of sorts.


    A bunch of worn-out chairs were arranged in lines, and you could see what must have been a kitchen back in the day.


    And also¡­¡­in the centre of this cafeteria stood 4 men as if waiting to block our path.

 CH 416

    The Men Lying in Wait


    At the front of the group stood a well built middle aged man.


    Equipped with an orthodox sword and shield, but his pure silver armour was something I had seen before.


    ¡°Chris-san! That armour¡­¡­¡­.isn¡¯t that the royal knights armour? It¡¯s exactly like the one Alexandra-san wore.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the emblem of our country is visible as well, so they are definitely the royal knights.¡±


    ¡°They could have simply stolen the armour from the royal knights as well, right? Otherwise, it means that they are royal knights from a different squad then!¡±


    ¡°I assume so. And by the looks of it, he¡¯s also a squad commander at the same level as Alexandra.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that strange for the royal knights to be here but, he even made a commander into his pawn huh.


    The men behind him were probably the Cardinal and his subordinates that Graham had told me about.


    Their attire looked somewhat different from what graham wore but, the design seemed very similar plus you could see the pattern of the cross on them as well.


    The old man that looked the same age as the old golem guy must be the Cardinal and the men on both sides of him must be the bishops.


    One really strong vanguard and the three rear guard. It was a strange formation focused on one-man but, if Graham¡¯s info is correct, the three in the rear were also extremely talented men.


    If they plan on making the battle extend for longer period of time, it was a really troublesome party composition.


    ¡°well well, you¡¯re finally here. I was getting bored of waiting.¡±


    While scratching his head with his sword hand, the royal knight man started to walk towards us as he spoke up.


    He seemed careless, but I could see no openings.


    His attitude showed his confidence in his strength but¡­¡­¡­from my point of view, he was about the same strength as Alexandra, perhaps slightly stronger than her, but nothing more.


    ¡°Is that so? I guess you guys already knew we were going to show up here in that case.¡±


    ¡°Haah? Don¡¯t get what you¡¯re implying. We just got told that enemies would be appearing here so we waited here. I have no fucking idea who you guys even are.¡±


    ¡°We were told by Elphas-san that enemies have intruded into the area. And so we were ordered to take care of said enemies.¡±


    They didn¡¯t attack us suddenly, and even responded to me normally, both the royal knight and the Cardinal.


    I can¡¯t waste too much time so I wanted to get on with the battle but I¡¯d also like to get as much info as I can.


    ¡°So I guess the info hadn¡¯t leaked like I feared. You guys detected us coming here, and so you stayed here to wait for us. Does one of you guys have a really strong detection skill or something?¡±


    ¡°No, incorrect. Elphas-san can gain info from the undeads he controls that¡¯s all. He can also tell when one gets defeated and while it takes a lot of mana, he can even directly take over all the senses of an undead temporarily as well and control it like it¡¯s his own body.¡±


    The Cardinal very candidly answered to my queries.


    If that¡¯s true, Elphas¡¯ abilities could be a lot more troublesome than imagined.


    Even without my letter to sabotage Mielle, she might have gotten kicked out and replaced anyway¡­¡­?


    That¡¯s how good the skills and abilities of this guy seemed like to me at least.


    ¡°I see, and after sensing us, he gave you the order. Elphas seems to be a lot more talented than I thought¡­¡­..But, you sure you should be telling me all this info so easily?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You people will die here anyway, so consider it a gift for the dead.¡±


    ¡°That confident eh? Well, works for me¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°AAH! Enough with the damn chitchat!! I¡¯m getting all itchy just standing here doing nothing. Let¡¯s fucking fight it out already!!¡±


    Interjecting in between, the royal knight scratched his neck as he shouted that.


    For a moment I thought he was a rare calm time among the vanguards, but turns out, it¡¯s another damn hot head.


    ¡°You¡¯re a royal knight, that too commander class right? Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Not your fucking business, also I¡¯m the vice commander!¡±


    With those words, the vice commander suddenly dashed towards me.


    I even got his rank as well, so I was thinking of carefully analyzing him but, he didn¡¯t give me that time and instantly charged at me.


    I gave a quick signal to Ralf, and made him go up front to intercept the vice commander, and I got right behind him to provide support.


    Afterwards, I gave the sign to Snow to start attacking freely at which point, Snow put on an even fiercer looking ice armour with a bunch of spikes protruding out of it, and launched itself at the vice commander.


    ¡°3 vs 1 is not fair is it? I won¡¯t let you get away so easily, [Holy Ray].¡±


    Aimed at Snow, the Cardinal instantly launched his own magic at it.


    A projectile faster than even an arrow split the air, and the timing made it hard to block it but¡­¡­I stretched out my limbs somehow and blocked the [Holy Ray] with my own body.


    Graham told me that I should be able to completely block holy magic now but, I still resolved myself to take some damage but even after taking a direct hit, I felt no pain.


    I couldn¡¯t even tell if it actually hit my body so for a moment I wondered if maybe it wasn¡¯t even an attack magic but, seeing the shocked reaction of the Cardinal, the chances of that seem low.


    ¡°Why did it get nullified? It couldn¡¯t be, do you have a church¡¯s¡­¡­.?¡±


    I chose not to respond to his query, and gave order to Snow to continue its attack.


    I was still slightly doubtful but the cross pendant that graham gave me was totally the real deal.


    Now, Ralf could guard against the vice commander¡¯s attacks, and I could guard the cardinal¡¯s attack, completely nullifying their attacking force.


    I can¡¯t be spending too much time fighting these 4 so I¡¯ll have Snow and Esta put in the effort to quickly take care of them.

 CH 417

    Battle


    As Snow and the vice commander clashed, the battle quickly aggravated.


    Snow moved around at rapid speeds and kept attacking with the icicles protruding out its body but¡­¡­¡­as you¡¯d expect from a vice commander of the royal knights, unlike the undeads from before, he was able to block it all with his shield.


    ¡°[Roar of the Guardian]!¡±


    ¡°tch, damn you¡¯re annoying!!¡±


    But the moment he tried to counter attack back at Snowm Ralf used his skill and forcefully pulled his attention back to himself, and didn¡¯t allow him any chance to land an attack.


    His ability was indeed real but, in a 1v1 we obviously had the advantage in every field, it was clear.


    Which means there¡¯s only one thing I need to do.


    I need to completely nullify the support he was getting from the Cardinal and the Bishops.


    ¡°Esta, aim for the bishops first and attack them. Until those three get split up, I¡¯ll focus on blocking their attacks.


    ¡°Understood. Leave it to me.¡±


    While co-operating with Esta, I focused entirely on blocking all the holy and healing magic fired in this direction, completely nullifying the magic from those three.


    They weren¡¯t stupid of course, and they¡¯d mix in normal attack magic in between them to catch me off guard but, unfortunately for them, I had [Anti magic] to deal with that as well.


    On the other hand, Esta continued to rapid fire magic on to them thus completely sealing off the support from the Cardinal and the bishops.


    ¡°Y-you damn shitty priests! Hurry up and heal me!!¡±


    ¡°We are busy fighting here as well you know! Why don¡¯t you quickly take care of your enemy already!!¡±


    About only 5mins had passed since the start of the battle and the vice commander and the Cardinal were already having a verbal spat.


    The vice commander had yet to take a clear hit but Snow¡¯s ice attacks had slowly been robbing the heat from his body and making his body feel numb and dull with every passing moment making him panic. Meanwhile, one of the bishops got hit by Esta;s magic and had already gone down, and the Cardinal was starting to show his fear as he saw me slowly slide up towards him.


    Even though they were acting all haughty just a while ago, they were already in such a complete mess with their past confidence nowhere to be seen.


    To make sure they don¡¯t heal the vice commander, I had been acting as a tank but, with the situation as it was now, I could switch it up and rush into attacking them instead.


    Since one of the bishops had already collapsed, if I can take down the remaining bishop and the Cardinal, it will be our win.


    From the mana senses I could feel with my skill, I knew that there were more undeads nearby that hadn¡¯t yet joined the battle.


    So I wanted to quickly finish this fight, because these guys do have the ability to recover their health after all.


    ¡°Esta, we¡¯re gonna finish them now. Grab their attention with an advanced magic¡­¡­..I don¡¯t mind even if you defeat them.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll fire with the intent to put them down.¡±


    Quickly conversing with Esta, I activated some of the skills I had been preserving until now.


    After activating my physical ability boosting skills, I waited for Esta to fire her magic¡ª¨C


    ¡°[Twist Air Raid]¡±


    Esta fired two strong tornado like wind magic.


    The wind pressure for intense but she had it completely under her control as it first went high into the air, and then rushed down at the Cardinal and bishop with a thunderous roar.


    Because  the attack came from above, both of them looked up towards it, and using that as an opening, I instantly lunged in close to the Cardinal.


    Seeing my move, the vice commander tried to shout and warn him but, due to the loud roaring sound of the [Twist Air Raid], it never reached his ears.


    Both Cardinal and the bishop were desperately trying to use some kind of magic to defend against Esta¡¯s magic but, seeing their defenceless figures, I quickly slashed my Vendettatein at them.


    When my sword gouged into his body, he finally realized I was here but¡­¡­..it was already too late.


    With his back slashed by my sword, he lost focus on the defensive magic he was using, and as blood sprayed across the area, the [Twist Air Raid] crashed into him directly.


    I quickly dodged backwards to not get hit by the magic as well, and then turned to attack the bishop next but¡­¡­.


    The bishop was never able to stop Esta¡¯s magic in the first place as he was already lying flat face up on the ground, completely unconscious and foaming at the mouth.


    The Cardinal died instantly. And with the two bishops out of order, their rear guard had been decimated.


    All that remained was the vanguard, the vice commander but, he had already thrown his sword to the ground and was only desperately trying to defend against the attacks while his body shivered.


    But even with him focusing on just defending, his body kept getting duller and duller from the cold and more and more harder to move, and slowly but steadily, Snow¡¯s attacks were beginning to hit him as I could see blood stains appearing on his armour.


    He didn¡¯t even have the leisure to even check at the state of the cardinal and the bishops behind him, and was unfortunately stuck, endlessly waiting for support that was never going to come.


    The moment I thought of joining in and putting an end to his misery¡ª-


    One of the icicles protruding from Snow¡¯s body cut deeply into his abdomen, and he lost the strength in his legs, collapsing face up on the ground.


    With the past bravado nowhere to be seen, he was desperately begging for his life but his body had already gone so numb that words refused to come out of his moth.


    Since both Snow and Ralf stopped their attacks, I moved closer to deal the finishing blow.


    For a moment I hesitated over killing a vice commander of the royal knights but, since I have Charlotte¡¯s, the Princess¡¯ backing, I shouldn¡¯t get into any trouble.


    Looking down on the knight, I aimed Vendettatein at him.


    ¡°If you have any last words to be sent to the royal knights, I¡¯m willing to listen.¡±


    ¡°Pl-please, hel-p ¡ª¡ª¨C¡°


    I thought about asking for his final words but, all that came was more begging for his life so I simply thrust my sword into his heart.


    Since he was already at death¡¯s door, the moment the sword entered his body, he spewed blood and died.


    The noisy chaotic area had instantly been enveloped in silence.

 CH 418

    Overwhelming


    The two corpses lay unmoving on the ground, and the a little away from them, the two bishops were also almost at the verge of death.


    I hesitated over whether I should kill the bishops as well or not but, I figured I might as well let them live as witnesses for later.


    I imagine the cardinal dragged them here with him forcefully anyway so I imagine they¡¯ll instantly blabber all the info they have when pressed later.


    After tying them up with my [Sticky strings], and then using [Hardening] to completely constrain them, we decided to head further inside.


    ¡°Damn, that was a lot easier than I thought huh! I was totally expecting a royal knights vice commander to be a lot stronger but, honestly, that was kind of a letdown!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just a proof of how strong we have gotten. Well, Snow¡¯s also got a natural advantage against living things as well though. Close quarters fighters honestly can¡¯t win against it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, even I don¡¯t have the confidence of winning against Snow honestly! Getting hit by that cold damage even if you block the attack almost feels like cheating!¡±


    ¡°Ralf, you guarded against the vice commander¡¯s attacks as well right? How was it?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, disappointing! And I mean that! I felt this when taking on the [Under Eye] base as well to be honest, so maybe I really have gotten pretty strong like you said Chris!¡±


    ¡°I mean, I have been saying that for quite some time now for a reason. It¡¯s because I constantly have mock fights with you that I can say for certain.¡±


    No seriously, Ralf was ridiculously strong.


    When he¡¯s focused only on blocking, he can guard against my attacks even with all my skills active. And even when I use the combo of [Black Mist], [Sticky String manipulation] and [Hardening], he still finds a way to defend against it with ease.


    He had even figured out exactly what kind of range my [Effect Spread] had so I couldn¡¯t even get him with my poison.


    A lot of people have praised Ralf before as well but, when it comes to pure defending, he really is a one of a kind genius. I truly believe that.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t really feel that way though! Even in our mock battles, I only win like 30% of the time. Chris beats me with ease mostly so you sound more like you¡¯re bragging if anything!¡±


    ¡°Well, I am simply that strong as well, that¡¯s all. If anything, being able to win against 30% of the time is in fact something you should be able to brag about.¡±


    ¡°Chris you¡­¡­..man, your self-confidence really is unmatched huh! I always end up overthinking things so I can never be as convincing as you.¡±


    If I didn¡¯t have this level of self confidence, I¡¯d never be able to challenge Klaus.


    After chatting with Ralf as we continued moving forward, I turned towards Esta to talk.


    ¡°Esta, how did the battle feel? I thought that [Twist Air Raid] had quite the satisfying result but, what were your impressions?¡±


    ¡°It was nice to finally be able to release a high level magic in a real battle. And the feedback definitely felt really good as well.¡±


    ¡°Unlike Ralf, you are pretty confident in yourself huh. Even with me as tank, you did succeed I overwhelming them in a 1v3 magic battle after all.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. All three of them were veteran magic users as well, especially the Cardinal, he was really a extremely skilled magician in my opinion. I¡¯m glad I was able to test myself against such good opponents. Although I certainly had a bunch of advantages to my side though.¡±


    ¡°Also, just to be clear, it¡¯s not like I lost any confidence okay!? I¡¯m just not as overwhelmingly self-confident like you are Chris, that¡¯s all! I¡¯m fully ready to take on that Drake guy!¡±


    Hearing Ralf revise his statements made my chuckle a bit, as we continued walking further inside [Foro Neem] with a reinvigorated morale.


    If there was a point of worry, that would be the fact that the strength of the former humans revived by Elphas did indeed continue to get higher and higher as I expected.


    I was confident that we wouldn¡¯t lose against any of them but, they were just strong enough that I didn¡¯t want to waste any energy fighting them on the way either. So it¡¯d be vital to reduce the number of battles we get into from here onwards.


    Also, the maze like pathways had become a lot wider and open now, so it was getting hard to completely avoid them.


    It was also proof that we were getting close to the arena but, I still couldn¡¯t sense Klaus and his party so we still had ways to go.


    While carefully continuing to detect enemies alongside Snow, as we moved further, chasing after the backs of Klaus and his party, the design of the area also slowly began to change from the prison like structure to be more like the main floor again.


    Since the battle with the cardinal and the vice commander, we had gotten into a couple more battles with the undead and after about 30mins had passed with us moving forward, our surroundings finally began to look like a proper arena now.


    Until now, it seemed like the living quarters for the competitors would continue on forever and ever but, now we were able to see a bunch of waiting rooms and armouries here and there as well.


    And then there was also a place that was clearly designed as a dumping ground for the bodies of those that lost in the arena.


    ¡°I know it hasn¡¯t been used in ages and yet, why does it seems so ¡®fresh¡¯ still? I was kinda looking forward to seeing this arena before coming here but, damn this place feels like a horror show!¡±


    Seeing the processing area for the dead, Ralf muttered that but¡­¡­


    My attention had already moved to something else, because I sensed something similar to Klaus a little further ahead from us.


    It wasn¡¯t my skills that detected him, yet, I felt him, I knew he was close by.


    ¡°Why did you stop? Did you sense something?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Klaus is near. He¡¯s at the end of this pathway.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..finally huh. Snow seemed to have sensed something as well it seems.¡±


    It¡¯s fur was standing on its ends like before, and it seems Snow had detected Klaus and his party as well.


    I thought it¡¯d take a while longer before we ran into them but it looks like we¡¯ll be able to face them without needing to spend too much stamina on the way after all in the end.


    I hadn¡¯t been feeling nervous until now but, the moment I sensed Klaus, my entire body got goosebumps.


    But it was not from fear, it was the trembling that came from sheer excitement and anticipation.


    It feels like it took ages for me to get to this point, and yet it also feels like only a moment had passed.


    I smacked my arms to stop my shivers, and reinvigorated myself before proceeding forward again.


    After moving forward, I was able to properly sense Klaus and his party as well but¡­¡­..


    Judging by the reactions, it seems like they had split up in two groups.


    ¡°Ralf, Esta, stop again for a moment? The presences had split up in two directions, to the left and straight forward.¡±


    ¡°What? Does that mean they are moving separately?¡±


    ¡°I think so. From the left path, I can sense Elphas and a bunch of mana readings as well. And straight up ahead, I can sense Klaus and Drake.¡±


    ¡°I was sure they¡¯d stick with each other! So what now? Should we go and get rid of Elphas first?¡±


    Ralf made that suggestion but, I was not sure either.


    Was the right answer to take the numerical advantage? Or should we also split up in two groups and take them both on at the same time?


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Chris-san, can you let me handle Elphas? That was the plan from the start so I¡¯ll take the left route and defeat Elphas first.¡±


    Soon after Ralf¡¯s question, Esta quickly gave her opinion on the matter.


    I hesitated for a moment but, she¡¯s right, we did decided early on that Elphas would be Esta¡¯s to handle.


    Then I should trust her with it.


    ¡°Very well. I leave Elphas to you Esta. I¡¯m sure he has a bunch of undeads with him as well so take Snow with you. Let Snow handle the undeads, and in a 1v1 magic duel against Elphas, I¡¯m confident you can win.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡ª¡ª-when we meet again, let us meet with smiles.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you dare lose.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Allow me to show the so called elite, the spirit of us ¡®weeds¡¯ who crawled up from the bottom!¡±


    She hit her chest with pride, and then Esta moved on to the left path alongside Snow.


    Me and Ralf were the only ones left, so we continued forwards towards the arena where Klaus and Drake await.

 CH 419

    Necromancer


    *This is from Esta¡¯s POV*


    After parting from Chris-san and Ralf, I cautiously continued onwards on the left path towards Elphas.


    Surprisingly enough, I didn¡¯t feel very nervous at all. In fact, all I felt was excitement over being able to have an all out duel against Elphas, an elite that would surely become a famed one alongside the hero.


    Before I met Chris-san, I would have never even thought of things like this, and would have been too busy stealing just to survive¡ª¨Ca life as the lowest of low among humans. And yet Chris-san had pulled me up to this level. All I felt towards him was nothing but gratitude.


    And this was my biggest, and perhaps last chance to show my gratitude to him. This moment is what I had been training all this time for.


    ¡°Awoo!¡±


    As my fist clenched tighter and tighter, Snow howled which finally made me look up and forwards again¡­¡­.


    Suddenly, I was in a massive open space, like the arena itself.


    But this wasn¡¯t actually the main arena, and the ground was made up of earth and soil that¡¯d be easy to move around in, and a bunch of wooden dummies had been set up around the area.


    It was an extremely dreary looking area but, considering the open space and general structure of the room, this was probably like a training area for the competitors of the arena.


    Also, in the centre of it all stood a single woman.(T/N:wtf Elphas was a woman!? Damn this language and their non-gendered pronouns! Anyway, fixed from now I guess.)


    I had prepared a decent set of equipment for myself as well but, hers seemed like at least 2 levels above my own. It was splendorous looking robe, red in colour with gold decorations.


    In her hands was a long staff that seemed to be made with a bunch of branches intertwined with each other, and the tip of the staff was a strange object that looked sort of like an hourglass.


    Considering the rarity of the equipment she wore, this woman was probably Elphas.


    Even as I took a step further and fully entered the area, Elphas showed no signs of moving.


    Coming close enough and finally scrutinizing her face, it turned out to be quite contrary to her equipment in truth.


    Unlike my dull red hair, she had vivd rosy red hair but, half of it had turned white it seemed.


    It didn¡¯t seem like she had dyed it that way either, and it felt more like it had naturally gone white for whatever reason.


    She was from a respectable noble household so she was certainly good looking yet she seemed to have no expression on her face, making it impossible to read any emotion from her.


    Her complexion looked deathly pale, and there were deep dark circles under her eye that would honestly make one worry for her health.


    Honestly, I was worried that she wasn¡¯t in any state to be fighting but¡ª¡ª-Elphas silently, without speaking a single word, simply aimed her staff towards me without even showing any change in expression.


    ¡°Not even interested in having a chat first, and straight to battle?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­What¡¯s the point? You will die soon. [Animate Dead Abyss].¡±


    She muttered with a thin voice, and activated her magic instantly.


    The ground of the area began to tremble as three different looking undeads rose up from the ground slowly.


    ¡°Snow, can I leave these¡ª¡ª-¡°


    Just as Chris-san had ordered me, I was planning to let Snow handle the undeads and attack Elphas directly myself but¡­¡­.


    The moment I saw the undeads that rose from underground, I knew instantly that that plan was not going to work.


    The first one was a winged, four footed monster, three times the size of Snow¡ª¡ªUndead Melanchimaera.


    The second was the absolute worst kind of undead, said to have destroyed a country many years ago in the ancient past¡ª¡ªNoble Lich.


    And the third one¡­¡­¡­unlike the first 2, it was one that I didn¡¯t recognize and was just a normal human looking undead but, I could feel an overwhelming sense of danger from it.


    I was sure that one was the most dangerous of all the undead, and if I let Snow face it alone, Snow will certainly die.¡ª¡ªthat was the kind of overwhelming pressure it was releasing.


    While racking my brains over how to deal with this situation, Elphas seemed to care naught about my predicament of course as she continued to summon more undead soon after.


    This time it was mostly mid tier undeads that we had fought a bunch of on the way here but, with three extremely dangerous undeads already here, even just this kind of increase in their number spelled trouble for me.


    ¡°Snow, Snow, can you defeat those two but not the humanoid looking one for me?¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    For now, I ordered Snow to take on the two strong undeads except the especially dangerous looking one.


    When alive, a Melanchimaera was considered Mithril rank.


    Noble Lich was diamond rank normally but, I¡¯m confident if it¡¯s Snow, it can defeat even that.


    And the one I must face is the most dangerous humanoid undead as well as the mid tier scrubs.


    While carefully assessing the situation, I would have loved to slowly analyze their strength before fighting them but, of course, I didn¡¯t have such leeway right now.


    Chris-san who¡¯d always protect me is not here, and neither is Ralf.


    Snow will be fighting other monsters, so I need to face this all by myself.


    While rapidly running my brains to figure out the best way to deal with them, first I decided to start by firing a powerful magic at the strong human undead.


    It¡¯s body was entirely covered in black and you really couldn¡¯t see anything, and all you could see was the armour and sword it was equipped with.


    The armour looked very old, and parts of it seemed to be falling apart but, I could feel the same kind of strength from it as Ralf¡¯s [EidosKarna].


    The sword on the other hand seemed pretty normal but, regardless, it was clear that this human was once definitely a top class swordsman in his life.


    If I let it get close, I¡¯d have no chance of winning so I need to keep pushing it back with high power magic until it¡¯s defeated.


    ¡°[Meteor Flame].¡±


    A compound magic made of fire and earth element, [Meteor Flame].


    A magic where you launch of rock ball enveloped in flames at the enemy that deals both heavy impact as well as elemental damage. It was truly an efficient spell but¡ª¨C


    The human undead simply smashed the fast approaching burning rock with his bare fist and stopped it just like that.


    It didn¡¯t even seem to take damage from the flames either, and the fist that had smashed the rock seemed to be undamaged as well.


    It didn¡¯t seem to look in a hurry either, as it slowly and casually began to walk towards me. But that only made it look even more fearsome.


    Seeing that I was instantly reminded of Chris-san¡¯s words, ¡°Klaus and his party have been apparently digging up graves of old heroes and reviving their bodies as undead.¡±


    Probably, this human undead was once a hero too.


    Elemental damage didn¡¯t effect undeads much, and the physical impact was nullified very easily as well. I just didn¡¯t see how I was going to win this fight anymore.


    Should I give up on the former hero undead, and focus on directly defeating Elphas instead?


    For a moment, I also considered simply running around to try and dodge it as well but, I knew that I would still end up dying before I could take down Elphas even if I tried that.


    If it has ended up like this¡­¡­¡­I have no choice but to use my trump card.

 CH 420

    Trump Card


    I wanted to save this until directly fighting Elphas but, in truth, this ex-hero was more dangerous than Elphas herself.


    Having judged that, I decided to pull out my trump card, the ability I never used in battle until now.


    I had only used it in front of Phillip-san during training, and he had directly told me to not use that skill unless extremely necessary.


    He said that a normal person might straight up die if they used this skill but, behind his back, I continued to practice for the day I might have no choice but to use it.


    This dangerous skill was¡ª¡ª[Mana Rampage]


    Until Phillip-san taught me, I didn¡¯t even know how to activate this skill but when I activate this skill, I become capable of absorbing mana straight from the air surrounding me and make it my own.


    You might wonder where was the demerit in all that but, [Mana Rampage] was a skill that didn¡¯t stop or rather, couldn¡¯t be stopped no matter what until you had completely run out of mana.


    People who used this skill had died in the past as well from it so I guess that¡¯s one demerit as well, and perhaps that¡¯s why it was still a ¡®common skill¡¯ and not a unique one.


    Chris-san had also been practicing to be able to control his [Suicidal Strike] from completely exhausting him to unconsciousness but¡­¡­.in the end he too deemed it impossible to deactivate by yourself.


    And so I came to the conclusion that perhaps I could use it in tandem with my [Mana Regen] to make it work better.


    [Mana Regen] was a passive skill that was always active, which basically raised the rate at which my mana replenished.


    I had been practicing in secret hoping that perhaps I could control [Mana Regen] as well and perhaps find a way to save and stock up the mana it regenerates instead.


    I also got advice from Chris-san who can control and use multiple skills at the same time so after many, many days of practice, I was finally able to succeed in controlling [Mana Regen].


    After activating [Mana Rampage], after the skill deactivates when my mana runs out, I could sue all the mana that I had saved up with [Mana Regen] to replenish myself back to safety, finally allowing me to use [Mana Rampage] in a real battle.


    But as the word trump card implies, it really is a skill that can only be used as a last resort, as the amount mana that can be replenished was fairly limited, making any battle that may happen afterwards to be fairly complicated.


    And of course, by using the mana around me, the amount of mana that can be replenished gets diminished in the first place as well, so it was best to use against only the last remaining enemy but¡­¡­.


    Seeing the former hero undead casually walk towards me, I decided now was indeed the time to use it.


    I breathed in deeply, and then quietly muttered under my breath.


    ¡°[Mana Rampage].¡±


    As soon as the skill activated, the mana around began to swirl towards me, and I could feel great strength well up inside my body.


    It really feels like I could do anything right now but, I kept my cool and focused on taking down the ex-hero undead first and foremost.


    For starters, I tried using a basic magic to test things out.


    My fear from before had been blown away, and I was only focused on figuring out how to best defeat this undead.


    To first figure out the changes this rampaging mana causes to my spells, I needed to use a basic spell to critically analyzing the differences.


    ¡°[Stone Arrow]¡±


    I kneaded the overwhelming mana together, and then started chanting to launch the magic.


    Stone arrow would normally be about the size of my fist but, the one I was building in front of me right now was almost as big as the rock used in [Meteor Flame]¡ª-


    And then as soon as the chant was over, I fired it straight at the ex-hero undead.


    Just like last time, the undead swung his fist to smash the [Stone arrow] but, while he did smash it technically, he failed to fully kill the force behind it and a part of the stone arrow slammed into its head.


    It staggered slightly from the impact, and its legs finally stopped moving towards me.


    It barely did any damage I think but, what was more important was the fact that I had somehow hit him with a basic magic even though he had easily stopped my advanced magic before.


    Even now, the mana around was flowing inside me, and was getting collected within my body.


    Seeing the undead stop in its track, I saw it as a chance and began to prepare an advanced level magic.


    Even though it was completely under Elphas¡¯ control as an undead, it seemed like the experience of the corpse hadn¡¯t completely disappeared as it broke into a dash the moment I began to chant the advanced spell.


    It wanted to kill me before I could fire my magic¡ª¨Cfrom the fast movements of the undead rushing towards me, I could tell its intentions very clearly so I too calmly changed the spell I was planning to use.


    ¡°[Aero Ball]¡±


    I can¡¯t do no-chant advanced spell, so I switched to intermediate magic where I could do abbreviated chants, and then fired the magic at the oncoming undead.


    It held up the high quality shield it was equipped with to defend against my [Aero ball] but¡­¡­


    The size of my magic was more akin to a 4 meter wide strong ball of raging winds.


    Furthermore, it even enveloped the broken particles of the smashed [Meteor flame] and [stone arrow] within it as well, as a large amount of broken rock fragments also flew at it at a fast speed.


    I¡¯m sure the shield was designed to be able to defend against all sorts of attacks but, it was impossible to block an attack that came from all four sides.


    The giant [Aero ball] completely swallowed the undead, and the rock fragments turned into sharp blades in the raging winds, as they dealt multiple hits on the undead.


    By the time the [Aero Ball] passed through him, and I was able to check on it with my bare eyes, the undead had been chipped from all sides and was currently down on one knee.


    Part of its head had also been blown off but, being an undead and all, it was still able to move.


    ¡°If possible, I would have loved to fight you when you were alive. Rest in peace.¡ª¡ª[Electitonitrus]!¡±


    Talking to the unnamed hero, this time, I activated my advanced magic at him.


    A powerful thunderbolt hit his still slightly moving body directly, and then completely erased him with the thunderclap.


    He really was strong, and I would not have been able to beat him without my trump card.


    If he wasn¡¯t an undead, and was acually fully able to use his own brain, perhaps I wouldn¡¯t have won even after using [Mana rampage]¡­¡­..


    And that¡¯s why I said that I wanted to meet him when he was still alive.


    I felt a bit disgusted seeing a once proud warrior and hero raised from his death just to be made to fight even more for some other person¡¯s sake but, I suppressed my emotions to remain calm and turned my focus towards Elphas now.


    Most of the scrub undeads she had summoned had also been eviscerated alongside the magic I had fired at the ex-hero undead.


    My [Mana Rampage] had run out yet, so while I can still use these super powerful spells, I need to quickly put an end to her as well.


    I quickly made a side glance towards Snow to see it still fighting, and completely dominating the Melanchimaera while it continued to dodge the Noble Lich¡¯s magic attacks.


    With this pace, Snow will definitely beat those two for sure. So I can go all out against Elphas instead.


    A top elite, vs a former scrub.


    A fight that I simply could not afford to lose was about to begin.

 CH 421

    Elphas


    Even as the former hero undead was defeated with a thundering crash, Elpahs continued to summon more and more undeads without even a single fluctuation in her expression.


    It was hard to hell whether she was panicking but maintain her expression, or did she really still have everything under her control?


    I was lacking info so it was hard to tell but, all I can do right now is attack her directly.


    Before my [Mana Rampage] runs out, I need to get at least a good hit in.


    Just as I began to prepare my magic, having completed another round of [animate undead abyss], Elphas finally spoke up again.


    ¡°You¡¯re strong huh. You look the same age as me more or less so I should know of you, and yet I really can¡¯t recall ever meeting you. Perhaps it¡¯s too late, but may I ask your name?¡±


    I hesitated over whether I should bother replying but, we were about to enter a battle to the death.


    I felt awkward about firing a magic and ignoring her, so I quickly just spoke my name.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Esta.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I really haven¡¯t heard of you. Do you perhaps have a last name?¡±


    ¡°None. I¡¯m no noble, but was raised at an orphanage. And it¡¯s normal that you don¡¯t know of me, as today¡¯s the first time we have met.¡±


    ¡°I see, I asked a rude question it seems.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Now, I have people that are as close as family to me, and I have even managed to come close to you who was born and raised an Elite.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡­¡­..I feel a little envious of you. But, let me correct you, you have not come close to me, and you never will. When I said you will die soon, those words were not a lie.¡±


    She looked at me with cold eyes as she spoke, and then aimed the hourglass-like tip of her two handed staff at me.


    And with a quick chant, she fired an advanced magic [Flame Fronde].


    Whether it be her skill with quick chants even for advanced magic, or her way of kneading mana. Both were so brilliantly polished and refined, that I ended up fascinated just looking at her technique even though she was an enemy.


    The magic she was similar to [Meteor Flame], a compound magic of fire and earth. And as it rushed towards me¡ª¡ªI hurriedly quick chanted a intermediate magic and fired it back.


    ¡°[Hail Kugel].¡±


    I had fired it in a panic but, the block of ice was much larger than Elphas¡¯ magic as they crashed into each other at a high speed.


    The element affinity was the worst between these two spells so I was confident within my mind that her advanced magic would end up winning in the end but¡­..


    Perhaps because of [Mana Rampage], my ice magic easily crushed her {Flame Fronde].


    And furthermore, it continued its momentum and headed straight towards Elphas.


    She quickly casted [Clay Epitaph] to create a wall of earth to fully block my [Hail Kugel] this time but¡­¡­honestly, with just this interaction, I suddenly was confident of my victory now.


    ¡°You said I¡¯d never be able to catch up to you but, if you have a hidden trump card, now¡¯d be the time to use it you know? My next magic will kill you otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Esta, you really are very strong.¡ª¡ª-but the fact remains that I am still stronger.¡±


    Even after all this, her expression remained unchanging as always as she confidently replied back.


    My intermediate magic had won against Elphas¡¯ advanced one. And it took another spell to fully block my ice magic.


    Perhaps she was simply acting tough at this point but, seeing her expression and her attitude, I understood that that was not the case, but that only made me even more afraid.


    Feeling a bit unsettled, I decided I needed to quickly finish her off, so I began to prepare an advanced magic to end the duel when suddenly¡ª¡ª-


    Elpahs suddenly pulled out a dagger from within her robe, and then aimed it at me.


    ¡°A dagger¡­¡­.?¡±


    Unable to comprehend the unexpected situation, I ended up muttering that out loud.


    In a panic, I quickly refocused myself, the prepared to fire another magic towards Elphas who was supposedly going to somehow attack me with the dagger but¡ª¡ª


    The action Elphas took next really was something that I could have never predicted.


    She injected mana into the dagger, and then turned the edge of the knife in the exact opposite direction from me, and before I could do anything further, she stabbed it into her own heart.


    Unable to even comprehend just what was going on at this point, I was wondering if perhaps the dagger was some kind of magic item that could enhance the user¡¯s ability or something but¡­¡­


    Elphas simply crumbled to the ground as blood began to seep out of her chest, and her mouth, and her body began to spasm. And soon, all of it completely stopped.


    I didn¡¯t even need to go near to know that she had died.


    I was unable to hide my shock, but I could only assume that she decided to take her own life rather than die by my hands maybe?


    I forced this explanation inside my head, and was about to turn away from her when suddenly, something happened.


    A huge vortex of mana, so strong that you could see it with bare eyes began to gather above Elphas¡¯ dead body.


    The mana gradually turned into a large black clump, and then black strings, similar to Chris-san¡¯s [Sticky strings] came out of the lump and attached themselves on to Elphas¡¯ body.


    And then the dead corpse of Elphas, was slowly lifted up by those black strings, and then forced her mouth to say the chant of a specific spell.


    ¡°[Marionette Corpse]¡±

 CH 422

    Corpse Manipulation


    As soon as the name of the magic was chanted, mana began to return into the supposedly dead body of Elphas.


    At first I didn¡¯t understand just what was going on but, now having seen it all, I finally understood just what exactly Elphas had done.


    Just like how I stock up my mana with [Mana Regen], Elphas had also made a stock of her own mana before committing suicide.


    And as soon as she died, the mana was released, and autonomously activated that black clump-like magic that appeared.


    Meaning, Elphas had casted a unique magic on herself for manipulating a corpse, and then turned herself into a corpse.


    All her actions were completely and utterly insane, and regardless of what the end result of this battle is, the fact remains that she did in fact kill herself with that dagger.


    When the fight with me is over and her mana runs out, Elphas will never wake back up ever again.


    Seeing her take her own life without any hesitation all for the sake of winning¡ª¡ª-I was left amazed, both at her incredible resolve to go this far, and at her talent for magic that allowed her to cast such a crazy complicated spell.


    With said admiration also came the feeling of awe and fear but, I couldn¡¯t waste any time hesitating at this point.


    [Mana Rampage] would soon run out, and if I to face the now reawakened Elphas without it, I would have no chance of winning.


    I needed to end the battle fast so I decided to fire only the strongest advanced level magic I knew at her.


    My aim will be the black clump of mana floating above Elphas.


    ¡°[Burn Lightning]!¡±


    I kneaded mana with both hands, and unleashed a fire-lightning magic designed to incinerate everything in sight.


    A flash faster than the eye could follow rushed out and flew straight at the black clump floating above Elphas.


    Thanks to [Mana Rampage], it¡¯s intensity and strength was on a whole different level, and even Ralf would be unable to come out of this attack without any damage.


    As long as it has physical matter, this spell could blast it to smithereens for sure¡ª¡ªor at least I was confident of that but¡­¡­..


    ¡°[Soul Protect] [Gaia Armed].¡±


    With a rough raspy voice, she cast new spells,¡­¡­¡­no, Elphas mouth was forcefully made to chant those, would be the right way of saying it.


    A blue aura continued to surround Elphas herself, and then manipulated the earth to completely cover herself with rocks to protect herself against my [Burn lightning] with her own body on the line.


    Seeing Elphas move her own body in front to protect the black clump made me feel extremely unpleasant and I could only feel like the caster of the magic herself was being used as a mere pawn.


    Of course, taking [Burn Lightning] head on meant that her body was not going to come out unscathed, and she was blown back with force as soon as my spell landed going through both the rock armour as well as the blue aura.


    But she only flew so far before the black strings reached the limit of their length and her body jerked mid air and then fell to the ground.


    The black clump soon began to manipulate the strings again and her body was dragged back into her original position in no time, hanging in mid-air as if nothing had happened.


    She was already a corpse but the damage done to it was intense, as her joints were all bent in weird directions and parts of her body, flesh, and even her head were missing in places.


    Even if she was being moved by those strings, it didn¡¯t seem possible for her to even be manipulated properly anymore but¡­¡­..


    ¡°[Things Repair]¡±


    Elphas cast another magic, and the broken and torn off parts of her body began to mend themselves.


    But, it did not feel like ¡®healing¡¯, but closer to ¡®repairing¡¯ instead.


    Part of me wanted to just put Elphas to rest already although, her own ability was so strange that that I couldn¡¯t really figure out just how to deal with it.


    All her magic spells were ones I had never seen or even heard of before, plus her magic itself seemed to be acting like it had a mind of its own, and I had never heard of a magic that controls it¡¯s caster instead.


    I guess I really have to stick to my original plan of firing strong advanced magic and destroy her completely before she could repair herself.


    Having reached that conclusion after analyzing her, I began readying another advanced compound magic to fire at her.


    And thus began a battle between me who fired multiple advanced high power magic and Elphas, who used defensive magic to guard against those.


    Everytime she got battered, she¡¯d use [Things Repair] to mend herself, meanwhile I continued to fire more and more magic at Elphas who continued to defend the black clump with her own body on the line.


    I realy thought I¡¯d be able to push her back and break through at some point but, forget that, she to be getting better and faster as time went on and now she was even able to counter fire attack magic at me as well.


    And so, unable to deal her the finishing blow¡ª¡ªmy mana ran out, and [Mana Rampage] turned off.


    As I began to collapse, the mana I stocked up with [Mana Regen] was released into my body, giving me enough strength to at least normally move my body around, but now that my [Mana Rampage] was over, the situation was in a deadlock.


    The black clump floating above Elphas still seemed to have enough mana left, so now the situation was overturning against me, and I was at a huge disadvantage now.


    <<If you are reading this chapter at an aggregator site please go to https://shikkakutranslations.org/ or visit https://ko-fi.com/nerosk12/shop to support the translator and read ahead.>>


    The black clump slowly began to move Elphas¡¯ body forwards towards me, and I hurriedly retreated backwards as I racked my brains to think of something¡­¡­¡­but nothing came to mind.


    And finally having decided to put an end to me, Elphas began to cast another magic.


    ¡°[Sabre Star]¡±


    A sudden violent gust of sand blew directly towards me.


    Should I run, or should I force myself to activate [Mana Rampage] again to challenge her again?


    Not knowing what the right answer was, I simply stood there¡ª¡ª-when suddenly, Snow jumped right in front of me.

 CH 423

    Elite vs Scrub


    The oncoming gale of sand was very easily blocked by the icy breathe from Snow.


    After that, Snow began to run towards Elphas with tremendous speed, and thrust the icicle protruding from its forehead area straight at her.


    Snow¡¯s attack perfectly stabbed into her heart area, and any normal living being would have died there and then but¡­¡­..


    The opponent was already dead, and her heart had already been pierced by herself.


    Elphas pumped mana into both her hands and then blasted it at Snow who¡¯s head was still stuck in her chest.


    ¡°[Twin Grenade]¡±


    Catching Snow, she fired a fire type magic from point blank range at it.


    Since fire magic was exceptionally effective against Snow that excelled in the ice element, Snow ended up taking a lot of damage from the attack.


    The smoke from the explosion made it difficult for me to clearly see it but, I ran in anyway worried for Snow¡¯s safety.


    Seeing the impact of the spell, I wouldn¡¯t have been shocked to see Snow completely fainted at the very least but, I suddenly caught sight of Snow leaping through the air.


    It seems it had somehow managed to cancel its spiky ice armour just in time to avoid Elphas¡¯ attack.


    I was panicking but, I¡¯m glad it didn¡¯t get fatally wounded at least.


    ¡°Snow, you okay? Thank you for protecting me.¡±


    ¡°Aurf!!¡±


    While patting and thanking Snow as it came running back to me, I checked it body all over to make sure it wasn¡¯t injured anywhere.


    There were a bunch of scratches here and there but nothing too serious thankfully.


    ¡°Looks like you really did beat the Melanchimaera and the Noble Lich eh? Snow did its job properly, and even had to come protect me as well. I feel  a little pathetic.¡±


    I ended up letting out such miserable words, but Snow licked my hands as if to console me.


    ¡°Sorry, now¡¯s not the time to be lamenting in my own misery eh? I¡¯ll fight by myself from here. Snow, focus on recovering your stamina so that you can carry me afterwards when I collapse from exhaustion okay?


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Auu.¡±


    Snow seemed a little displeased upon hearing that instruction but, it did affirm with low growl. And so I walked forward, leaving my back to Snow¡ª¡ªand once again approached closer to Elphas.


    Perhaps it really would be better to just fight together but, since neither physical damage nor freezing damage have any effect on Elphas, Snow would have a rough time against her.


    In that case, I need to forget about everything else and use all my remaining strength to find a path to victory.


    Having decided to use [Mana Rampage] again with the little amount of mana that still remained within me, I challenged Elphas to our last duel.


    ¡°[Mana Rampage]¡±


    My second time using it today.


    In such a short time, Mana Regen would not have stocked up on a lot of mana so I needed to put an end to Elphas this time no matter what.


    And so the action I took was¡ª¡ª¨Csomewhat similar to what Elphas herself had done, an act of self-harm.


    ¡°[Rising Accelerate]¡±


    Embracing myself as I activated this magic, I slammed lightning magic into myself.


    A strong shock ran through my entire body, and the pain brought me extreme agony but¡­¡­.i bit down on my lips and endured the pain with sheer willpower.


    ¡ª¡ªcompared to what my life was, simply surviving day to day in the back streets, like I was slowly sinking in a swamp with no real goal in sight, this pain was quite literally nothing.


    Recalling my own past, and then recalling all that I experienced after meeting Chris-san, I ended up grinning.


    Yeah, I¡¯m getting used to the pain now.


    I stretched my arms, and my Achilles tendon, as I warmed up like I was exercising.


    From here on¡ª¡ªI will not even allow Elphas to do anything as I continue to blast her with attacks.


    [Rising Accelerate] was a magic that made lightning coarse through your entire body, and unlocked all the limiters inside it.


    Since this was a forceful method of doing so, it came with an unbearable amount of pain, and I never really had a reason to use it when Chris-san or Ralf were with me but, this was exctly the kind of moment it was made for.


    Running at a speed that would be unimaginable for me normally, I quickly rushed close to Elphas.


    Recalling how I used to commit thievery back in Realzard, I quickly lunged straight under her, and then unleashed the magic flowing through my body.


    ¡°[Lightning Bolt]¡±


    It was Fecilia-san¡¯s speciality magic, one that I had been practicing in secret ever since I saw her use it.


    Since I blasted at her from extremely close range, Elphas body was mostly burnt to a black crisp, and yet, she began to move to counter attack back.


    But before she could cast it, I fired another lightning bolt, completely disabling Elphas¡¯ body.


    Even after completely eviscerating it like this, I knew she would be restored to normal if I let her use [Things repair] so before that happened, I fired another high firepower magic at the black clump directly this time.


    I kicked the ground to leap up, and got close enough to not let that thing escape¡ª¡ªand then I began to chant the spell for my magic.


    Elphas had already recovered behind me and was preparing to cast a magic aimed at my back but, I paid it no heed and focused only on destroying the black clump.


    ¡°Two of the four gods that created this world. The light of judgement that shines upon this world and incinerates evil, and the breath of life that delivers love to this world. Redder than blood, faster than time, illuminate a path of light through the darkness. Let my body be the source of thy power¡ª- [Prominence Vortex]!!¡±


    The [Prominence Vortex] enhanced by my [Mana Rampage] reached maximum destructive strength and made a direct hit on the black clump.


    And at the same time, I felt a intense heat hit my own back but, once again, I ignored it and continued to blast my magic at the black clump.


    The black clump seemed to cry and wail in a tone that would probably remain in my head for the rest of my life, as the lightning flame fired by me that shone bright like the sun¡ª¡ª-completely evaporated it into nothingness.


    With relief came a sense of power completely leaving my body as well an intense amount of pain.


    My mana had completely run out, my stamina was gone, and I was in tatters after getting by the magic from behind.


    I wasn¡¯t even able to break my fall so I thought I really might die from the impact of the fall but¡­¡­what I felt in the end was just soft fluffy fur.


    ¡°Snow, thanks¡­..¡±


    I couldn¡¯t even see but I knew that Snow had supported me just in time so I spoke words of gratitude to let it know.


    I managed to somehow stand again, squeezing the last remaining shred of strength in my body as well as taking support on Snow, and then looked at Elphas.


    Thanks to [Things Repair] her body had been fully restored to its pristine beautiful form.


    But, like a puppet with its strings cut, her body simply collapsed to the floor, unable to move.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.perhaps if we had met under different circumstances, we could have been friends. It was quite tiring no? It was a good fight, really. But rest in peace now.¡±


    Her half white hair. Her unchanging expressions, and her unhesitating resolve when killing herself.


    Even I could tell that there was probably a lot going on with Elphas, things that she must have been constantly brooding over.


    After giving her some final words of thanks as appreciation after her death, I too collapsed on Snow¡¯s back and slipped into a deep slumber.

 CH 424

    Reunion


    (back to Chris POV)


    After parting with Esta, I made my way to the main arena alongside Ralf.


    I guess even Ralf was starting to feel a little nervous as he remained mostly quiet even though normally he couldn¡¯t stay silent for two seconds straight.


    And in truth, even me, having sensed Klaus with [Life Presence Sense] was starting to feel my heartbeat grow faster and faster.


    It had been a while since I had seen Klaus. Not since he tried to kill me back at home.


    He was my goal from the very start, and I was always keeping a track of his movements, it didn¡¯t really feel like too much time had passed but, I was also looking forward to seeing what kind of reaction he¡¯d have from seeing me.


    Walking through what seemed like an entrance for competitors, I entered an extremely wide open area that was brightly lit.


    In front of us was giant arena in the shape of an ellipse, so big that it was hard to believe that this was all still underground.


    There was a five meter wall before the seating area for the audience began, and there were a bunch of iron doors on there, with clear marks of people having tried to desperately escape this place.


    The floor seemed to be made of some kind of metal as well, and while it was clearly built to be extremely sturdy, you could still see a bunch of sharp marks made by weapons in the past.


    And within this arena were two people.


    One was a tall man, easily more than 2m in height, and he wasn¡¯t just tall but wide as well, and the pressure coming off of him was intense.


    Since I only had verbal info so I wasn¡¯t certain but I assume that has to be Jill Drake the IVth.


    Even the equipment he wore seemed top class but, well, when it comes to equipment, Ralf¡¯s [EidosKarna] was definitely a level above even that.


    But, his shield gave off a really dangerous feeling to me.


    For a shield, that thing reeked of death, so I had a feeling it had some kind of secret.


    Also¡­¡­.beside that giant man stood another man, one very similar to myself in height.


    Yes, it was indeed my very own brother, the man I had been chasing for so long¡ª-Klaus.


    From just size alone, you¡¯d think that Drake was the stronger of the two of them but, the life presence being released by Klaus was on a whole different level.


    Honestly, he had become a lot stronger than I could have ever imagined. I could tell just from sensing his life force and mana.


    Unlike back then when he had just awoken as the [Sword Saint], his body had now grown to befit his title, and the physique of his body now matched his innate talent.


    I could feel his personality just from his posture alone, and his expression had turned a lot worse as well.


    We were twins, so I had heard we looked quite alike back in the day but, now, most won¡¯t even think that we¡¯re brothers.


    His aura itself reeked of evil, and while I was no saint myself, but Klaus had clearly drenched himself into all sorts of villainy it seemed.


    While being raised as a symbol of justice in public, in the dark he continued to involve himself in matters of the underworld.


    His already warped personality had become twisted even further. I could tell the moment is saw him.


    ¡°Klaus, long time no see. Do you still remember me?¡±


    I spoke up towards Klaus but, he continued to chat with Drake and didn¡¯t respond back.


    Here I was thinking I should at least have some kind of chat before the real thing but, if he was really not interested in it, I guess we can begin the battle straight away.


    Thinking that, as soon as I reached towards Vendettatein, he moved his hands about exaggeratedly as he finally replied back.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Ah? I didn¡¯t even notice, but is that you Chris? And her I thought you had died some place after losing to me and running away. I honestly erased both your face and voice from my memory so I didn¡¯t recognize you instantly.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a shit liar. I know you had been desperately looking for me. But I killed both Carlo and Milworc who you sent to get me.¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re the one who¡¯s lying. How could a fucking [farmer] kill people like those?¡ª¡ªyour jokes are shit they make me wanna puke.¡±


    His eyes opened wide and he spoke angrily.


    As always, his boiling point remained a mystery. He was always so mentally unstable that it was creepy.


    ¡°Why would I lie? I worked quite hard to get really strong you know? Just so I can kill you, Klaus.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you really piss me off. Your face, the way you act and talk, everything pisses me the fuck off!!¡±


    ¡°Hey Klaus, wait a minute! Don¡¯t go on a rampage just yet! At least let me run away first, okay!?¡±


    Seeing Klaus snap, Drake spoke up in a panic.


    Even those worse seemed to have hit a nerve as Klaus glared at Drake with killing intent, and then punched at him with a mana infused fist¡ª¨Cbut stopped right before it hit his face.


    ¡°Drake, don¡¯t get in my way. If this happens again¡­¡­¡­.I will kill you, understand?¡±


    ¡°Fine, I get it man! I won¡¯t get in your way! Uh, l-look, that guy¡¯s got a companion as well right, I¡¯ll go and beat him instead! Okay?¡±


    Hey should be classmates working towards becoming future heroes but, there was a clear master and servant relationship between Klaus and Drake, as Drake retreated out of genuine fear.


    As Klaus gestured with a movement of his neck to go, he quickly moved his giant armoured body towards the entrance from which we came.


    ¡°Alright then, I guess I¡¯ll go fight Drake¡­¡­¡­.don¡¯t you dare lose, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you too Ralf, win, no matter what.¡±


    As I replied that, Ralf forced a smile as he showed me a thumbs up.


    And then, he followed after Drake and disappeared from the arena as well.


    Now it was just me and Klaus left inside the arena, and silence took over with no audience to cheer us on.


    Since there was no point talking further, we both took stance with our swords, and our battle to the death finally began in earnest.

 CH 425

    6-8 minutes 21.07.2023


    Idiot


    (Ralf POV)


    Leaving Chris back at the arena, I followed after Drake all by myself.


    To be honest, I was really worried about Chris but right now I was in no position to be worrying about others. I need to be focused entirely on Drake else I¡¯ll die instantly.


    We left from the entrance we gate from and kept walking back the way we came until the point where the arena wasn¡¯t visible anymore at which point, Drake suddenly stopped.


    The road here was still narrow so it wasn¡¯t really a place suitable for fighting but he stopped regardless, which made my heartbeat quicken in response.


    ¡°SHIT!! That bastard Klaus, ordering me around like he¡¯s some hot shit!!¡±


    While stomping on the ground again and again, Drake roared angrily.


    He had been threatened pretty badly just a while back, and it apparently took until now for his frustrations to show back up it seems.


    To throw a hissy fit only after the arena was completely out of view made him seem like a proper small fry but¡­¡­¡­the fact is, Klaus is just that dangerous and scary.


    From the moment Chris called him out, it almost seemed like he was completely unhinged and had no control over his emotions.


    ¡°Aaah, seriously, that guy pisses me off!¡­¡­..Hey, you guys came here to kill Klaus right? Then, why not join hands with me as well? I have a lot of pent up frustration against Klaus as well and I¡¯m at my limit now. Not a bad deal for you guys as well, right?¡±


    He was sounding so irritated just a second ago, but suddenly he turned calm again as he gave this suggestion.


    Now then¡­¡­¡­how the hell do I even respond to this?


    Hearing a suggestion like that from the guy I was intending to fight to the death and had fired myself up over, caught me off guard and made my head fall into chaos.


    Normally Esta or Chris are with me so talks like these progress even if I just stay quiet and stand behind them but, when I am alone, I have to be the one to give an appropriate response.


    After thinking for a while, I couldn¡¯t figure it out so, whatever, I decided to refuse it!


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly not a bad deal but¡ª¨CI refuse!¡±


    ¡°Hah? But why? You should have no reason to refuse me?¡±


    ¡°My reason¡­¡­¡­.I have none!¡±


    ¡°Whaa¡­¡­¡­.man, I¡¯m really unlucky. Looks like I got drawn with a totally brainless idiot it seems.¡±


    Drake sighed deeply hearing my response and began walking again as if tired of it all.


    I really had no idea what he was planning to do but, I decided to continue following him.


    We kept walking until we reached a somewhat open room, seemed like a place where some competitor used to live in back in the day.


    It was quite close to the arena, and was much bigger than the other rooms we saw on the way which meant that this was probably the place where the strongest competitor of the arena lived, if what Chris explained to me is correct that is.


    Entering the large room, Drake kept walking to the other side before slowly turning around to face me directly.


    He took stance with his shield, and then drew his sword with his other hand, while another shield remained rested on his back.


    ¡°What now? So you¡¯re gonna fight me after all then!? If you really don¡¯t want to fight, you can run away as well you know!? I¡¯m not so shitty that I¡¯d go around attacking people that don¡¯t wanna fight me!¡±


    ¡°Kakaka! Are you joking, or are you actually that stupid?¡ª¨Cwhy the hell would I run away huh?¡±


    He laughed before frowning and glaring at me.


    I really didn¡¯t get this guy but anyway, this means he wants to fight right?


    So why did he even suggest cooperating with us in the first place?¡­¡­¡­my head hurt just trying to make sense out of Drake¡¯s words at this point.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you hated Klaus and didn¡¯t want to fight for him? I don¡¯t want to join hands with you but, if you want to just run away, I¡¯m saying I¡¯m not gonna chase you down or anything!¡±


    ¡°You, really are a fucking idiot huh. I may hate him, but I¡¯m not gonna betray him that easily either. I simply gave that offer hoping to sweet talk you to get you to lower your guard, that¡¯s all. When that plan failed, now I have no choice but to fight you head on is what I¡¯m saying.¡ª¡ª¨CDid you understand all that now?¡±


    He was talking to me as if he was ridiculing me and revealed to me his real motivations behind the deal he offered.


    ¡­¡­¡­I see. He wanted to make me careless and attack me from behind!


    I thought these guys were supposedly hero calibre people, but that sounds pretty cowardly to me.


    I should just hurry up and take this guy down and quickly head back to help Chris.


    ¡°Is that so. I didn¡¯t think a so called potential-hero would stopp down to such dirty tactics! But, if you wanna have a good ol¡¯ head on fight, I¡¯m all for it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not dirty, call it cunning instead. Anyway, I suppose I should beat your dumbass quickly and wrap this up eh?¡±


    He cracked all the bones in his body and then took a stance again¡ª¨Cand then kicked the ground and lunged at me.


    Chris said he was a complete defence focused fighter but his movements seem both nice and quick!


    I put up my shield as well and read his attack and then perfectly guarded against Drake¡¯s attack.


    Yeah! He¡¯s strong but nowhere near Chris.


    If it¡¯s this level, I can keep an eye for openings and counter attack as well¡ª¡ª-or at least that¡¯s what I thought.


    ¡°You may be an idiot but you do know how to guard properly eh! Alright then, let me raise up my speed a little in that case, okay? [Martial Arts First Form. Fierce God Rampage]¡±


    He had been attacking normally until now but, the moment the skill activated, his movements suddenly became completely different like he was a totally different person.


    His strike was heavy, and his speed increased, making it really difficult to keep up.


    Forget tracking him with my eyes, I had to depend entirely on instinct to keep a grip on this battle.

 CH 426

    7-8 minutes 22.07.2023


    A Demonic Attack


    After  guarding against almost a hundred consecutive strikes, finally Drake¡¯s move came to a stop.


    I did end up getting hit a few times but, it was mostly scratches from attacks that I failed to fully deflect, and I didn¡¯t actually take a clean hit.


    Compared to me who was only slightly bleeding from one of my shoulder, Drake who was panting heavily seemed to be in a worse condition.


    ¡­¡­.but still, that move definitely had me panicking.


    Chris had said that he was a defensive minded fighter so I wasn¡¯t expecting him to fire this kind of an attack.


    I¡¯m gonna definitely complain about this to Chris later!


    ¡°Zhee zhee¡­¡­..y-you¡­¡­¡­how are this strong even though you¡¯re so stupid?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I never heard you had attacks like this under your sleeve either!¡±


    ¡°Normally I just don¡¯t need to use it, but I can fight either way¡­¡­¡­but, it doesn¡¯t look like my attacks could break past your wall.¡±


    For a moment, Drake sounded like he was ready to give up but by his expression, it was clear he still hadn¡¯t even considered doing something like that.


    While I was still remaining cautious of what next attack he may pull, he suddenly said something surprising.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re a tank as well, right? Then it doesn¡¯t seem like we¡¯d ever be able to end this battle. Why don¡¯t we just sit here and waste time instead? Until the battle is decided between Chris and Klaus, we can just rest instead, not bad of an option right?¡±


    ¡°Hell no! I want to quickly go back and help Chris! If you don¡¯t wanna fight, just fuck off already!¡±


    ¡°Why do idiots just refuse everything without even thinking? Well, I can¡¯t just run away either¡­¡­..so I guess you have to beat me to get past me.¡±


    Saying that, Drake moved and stood in front of the entrance as if to block it. He put his sword back in its sheathe and pulled out his other shield to take a new stance.


    This guy was already a giant but with two shields on both hands, he seemed even bigger.


    Now this has turned into something really annoying.


    This was the one thing I wanted to avoid but, I just need to break through his guard I guess.


    This time, I pulled my sword, and then aimed it at Drake.


    Back in the day I used to swing my sword around a lot but these days, I mostly act as the tank so it feels like it¡¯s been a long while since I have taken a stance with my sword like this against someone.


    Well, I did have a bunch of mock battles with Chris though.


    This guy is definitely weaker than Chris but, it still definitely feels like I¡¯m aiming my sword at a large piece of rock instead.


    But, unless I attack, I¡¯m not gonna know how things really are.


    Having made my resolve, I launched an attack against the guarding Drake but¡­¡­


    Just like how I do it myself, he easily saw through the patterns of my attacks and deflected them away with almost no effort.


    No matter what angle I attacked from, no matter how many feints I mixed in between, he just vry easily blocked every single attack I made.


    ¡°I guess you aren¡¯t exactly a master at attacking either. Guess we¡¯re both similar in that sense eh?¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up! I¡¯ll definitely break past you!¡±


    He was clearly provoking me but, I let my impatience take over me and I ended up launching a reckless large swing at him.


    If he can see trough my movements, maybe a simple but seriously heavy strike may work.


    But I was too simpleminded. For this attack was full of openings and built on this supposition that he was really going to stick with just defending and won¡¯t counterattack back.


    He not only saw through my attack, as soon as he deflected my sword to the side¡ª¡ªa crushing impact hit my entire body.


    For a moment, I didn¡¯t even realize what had happened and once I had crashed into the back wall and saw Drake again, I finally realized what he had done to me.


    He had used the shield on his right hand to deflect my attack to the left, and then used the shield on his left hand to strike at me who was completely defenceless.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re being a bit too careless, you know? I didn¡¯t say I won¡¯t attack back just because I don¡¯t have my sword. Now then, how will you attack next?¡±


    Looking down on me who was sitting on his ass, Drake smiled as he provoked me.


    Perhaps because of his attitude at the start, I was honestly underestimating him a bit but¡­¡­.he¡¯s strong, really strong.


    As a tank myself, I know better than anyone just how tough it is to deliver strong attacks while also deflecting all the oncoming attacks as well.


    If it was a sword on sword fight, it¡¯d be one thing but to do that with just shields, it showed the difference in experience between us.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­Why are you smiling? Did you give up after realizing that your attacks won¡¯t work on me?¡±


    ¡°Smiling? Who? Me?¡±


    ¡°The corners of your mouth are so high up it might split your mouth open¡­¡­¡­man, you¡¯re a creepy fucking bastard, you know.¡±


    ¡°My bad! You were stronger than I thought Drake, so I ended up smiling I guess!¡ª¨Cby the way, my name is Ralf! Might be a tad too late, but be sure to remember that name!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point in self introductions now? And besides, I only remember the names of people that can actually beat. I won¡¯t remember yours.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad! I only named myself because I had  feeling this¡¯ll be a good fight but¡­¡­.well, whatever! Enough talk, let¡¯s continue!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who started talking though!? Just come at me whenever you want. I¡¯ll beat you up so bad you¡¯ll forget your own name.¡±


    I had a bad impression of anyone who was part of Klaus¡¯ party but, while he¡¯s an over talkative guy, Drake doesn¡¯t seem too much of a bad person to me.


    He¡¯s not the type who has depended entirely on his skills to get stronger. I have a feeling I¡¯ll get a lot stronger just from fighting him as well.


    To be honest, I wanted us to both enjoy the fight to its fullest but it doesn¡¯t seem like Drake¡¯s in the mood unfortunately.


    But that aside, I want to experience his top class technique with my own body.


    I¡¯ll find out if there¡¯s anything I can learn from him, and while Drake might be above me in terms of ability right now¡­¡­.


    If I can find that certain something from fighting him, I can instantly reverse the situation as well¡ª¡ªI had that confidence in myself.

 CH 427

    Talent Explosion


    About 20 minutes had passed since I started my assault on Drake.


    I had still not yet found a weakness to grab on to, and the act of my sword being deflected by his shield seemed to continue on for an eternity.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Oi, are you still not done? You¡¯ve run out of attack variations, and I¡¯m starting to get bored now too, you know?¡±


    ¡°he, he hee, I¡¯m not bored at all though! If you want to end this match, maybe you should come and attack me instead then?¡±


    ¡°Are you dumb? The moment you guarded against my Fierce God Rampage, I had already decided that there was no point even trying to attack you normally. I hate wasting time on useless things.¡±


    ¡°Then, be quiet and continue blocking against my attacks!¡±


    While exchanging such light banter, I refused to loosen the strength in my attacking hand and continued my assault.


    I still couldn¡¯t even envision myself breaking past Drake¡¯s guard, and after getting blown around by his shields for so long, the damage accumulated in my body was far more than him.


    If not for the armour of the first hero, Eidos Karna, I probably would have taken enough damage to be lying on the ground, unable to move by now.


    While giving my gratitude to Chris for lending me this armour set, I kept on with my flurry of attacks on Drake.


    Like he had said, even I could tell that my attacks were getting duller and simpler with every swing, and he must have been getting bored of dealing with them as he was yawning mid battle.


    Even if I keep attacking like this, it would be impossible to do damage to Drake.


    So if you¡¯re asking why I¡¯m continuing to do these attacks even while knowing the futility of it all, well, it¡¯s certainly not because I expect it to suddenly work because of luck. No, it¡¯s because I¡¯m observing the movements he makes everytime he guards against my attacks.


    Among all the tanks I have met until now, Drake was without a doubt the most talented and technical of them all.


    And if I wanted to catch up to him, I needed to steal his techniques. That was the conclusion I came to.


    Thankfully, he had already boldly proclaimed that he was not going to attack at me with his sword so I can continue to calmly analyze his technique.


    And after another 30mins had passed of me one-sidedly hitting his shield¡ª¡ªI finally got to a level where I could confidently say that I had gotten a grasp of Drake¡¯s techniques.


    Rather than growth, it felt more like an awakening, like I had just unearthed something from within me. Something that I had been using from pure instinct until I actually saw Drake fully utilizing it.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.and you¡¯re grinning to yourself again. Did you go overboard and lost your mind finally?¡±


    ¡°nah, it¡¯s all finally come together inside my head now! From here on¡ª¡ªI think I might even win against Chris with this.¡±


    ¡°Chris? Not Klaus? What¡¯s the point in winning against the useless older brother? Also¡­¡­..you haven¡¯t even beaten me yet though?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will start with you Drake! But, I only got stronger thanks to you so you do have my utmost gratitude so, I¡¯ll ask one last time, if you wanna run away, now¡¯s your chance you know?¡±


    ¡°Your ass is on the floor, and your one eye is all swollen and bloody. Not the words I expected from a guy in that kinda state. I haven¡¯t even gotten hit even once still, on the other hand, you¡¯ve been hit by my shield bash countless times already¡­¡­¡­.why the hell would I ever even think of running away?¡±


    ¡°Then, guess we fight till the end! Alright, allow me to go all out now!¡±


    Even if I stole it from him, he still technically counts as my teacher so I was really being serious when I said that I¡¯d let him run away if he wanted to but of course, he had no intention to do so, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped.


    I was curious to see just how far I can fight against someone like Drake, and now, a sense of exhilaration and excitement, that I don¡¯t normally felt during battles was bursting forth within me.


    I picked up my heavy feeling body from the ground, and gave my wrists and neck a quick twist to crack ¡¯em bones and then¡ª¡ª


    I put my sword back in the sheathe, and faced with just my shield as well.


    ¡°After all that talk¡­¡­..you¡¯re aiming your shield at me? Are you planning to have guard battle with me?¡±


    Drake¡¯s style involved using two shields in both hands, so I decided to go against him with my own shield as well.


    From the side, it must seem really funny seeing two warriors face off with just shields in hand but¡­¡­¡­this is fine.


    Because we both only had shields, I was able to approach very close to him and looked Drake straight in the eye.


    Although being this close made it more apparent just how much more taller he was than me so I did feel a little bothered by it.


    ¡°What are you planning, facing a shield with a shield? Isn¡¯t it about time you gave up and went to sleep already?¡±


    ¡°Well then,¡ª¡ªlet¡¯s have a shield bash battle, shall we?!¡±


    Answering in that way, I swung my shield with the force and intention of blowing him away.


    But a basic shield bash was never going to break Drake¡¯s guard and my shield was easily bounced back by his shields¡ª¡ª¨Cand then came the same old counter shield bash that I had gotten hit by so many times at this point.


    But, this was exactly what I was waiting for.


    This time I deflected his shield bash and then countered with another shield bash of my own.


    With this, Drake finally saw through what I was going for as well, and turned his second shield around quickly to smoothly deflect my bash again.


    I only had one shield so it might seem like I was at a disadvantage but my shield was also smaller and lighter, which made it flexible, and also easy to use and manoeuvre around.


    Having learnt Drake¡¯s techniques with my own body, I coupled it with my own techniques and mixed them together, allowing me to fight against Drake at an equal level.


    ¡ª¡ª¨CYeah. Blocking and guarding really is lots of fun!


    Until now I always thought playing as the defensive tank was a very simple and boring job and that attackers were much cooler but, now I know that the ability to protect others suits me better than anything else.


    And above all¡­¡­..I realized the importance of making the opponent feel as frustrated as possible.


    To figure out the weaknesses of an opponent and then slowly force them into constantly revealing their weakness.


    Cornering them into fighting in a way that made them uncomfortable, the glares of hate and frustration that the opponent gives you at that moment is¡ª¡ª-just the fucking best!

 CH 428

    The Idiot and the Genius


    At first we were equally exchanging shield bashes but, I gradually began to find the moments where Drake wasn¡¯t very good at, and the more I forced him into making those movements, the more the battle began to tilt in my favour.


    Until now he hadn¡¯t sweat even a single drop but now I could see small beads of water form on his forehead, and I could see the annoyance on his face towards ever movement, every action I took.


    ¡°Drake, how about it eh!? Finally willing to admit that I¡¯m stronger than you though!?¡±


    ¡°Like hell you are! Like I said, I still haven¡¯t gotten hit even once!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of time before you do though! Given up and leave already! I¡¯ve learned this moves by stealing them from you Drake, if possible, I¡¯d prefer not to beat you up with those very skills!¡±


    ¡°Damn, this kid¡¯s really looking down me huh. Just because you got a slight upper hand for a moment in our little bout, doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re suddenly better than me you cocky bastard!¡±


    I truly, genuinely, didn¡¯t want to have a battle to the death with this guy buy, perhaps because he thought I was mocking him, Drake snapped with anger and decide to finally break this deadlock for good as well.


    We both were blocking and then countering with shield bash one after another¡ª¡ªthis continued between us as normal, but then suddenly Drake began to swing around his shields with brute force.


    Using his big stature to wildly swing the two shields around him, the force behind each swing was enough that if I tried to block it head on, I¡¯d get blown back into the wall again.


    But, now I already know that I wouldn¡¯t be able to match Drake when it comes to brute strength.


    So instead, I angled my shield to make his swings slide off the surface of my shield and perfectly parried Drake¡¯s shield bash with pure technique instead.


    And aiming for the moment where his posture broke, I did a powerful upswing with my own shield bash to counter attack.


    Since the moment our fight properly began, this was the first time I had managed to land a proper hit on Drake.


    Perhaps because I also cleverly used his own oncoming force towards me to boost my attack, Drake groaned in agony from the pain inflicted by my attack.


    ¡°There, that was the first one! But we¡¯re just getting started, there¡¯s a lot more to come!!¡±


    After landing the first hit, I was now in a much more superior position than before as I continued my assault.


    I continued to attack the same part, and while he was wearing armour, the hits must have begun to accumulate serious damage as he instinctively began to guard that specific part more and more.


    But, when you end up focusing on defending a certain part constantly, your movements begin to show distortions and you start to lose your balance even more.


    After breaking him balance, I switched my target and began to strike a different point, and when he started to protect that part, I switched my aim again as I continued to attack.


    Instead if instantly finishing the battle, my attacks were focused on doing things more to annoy and irritate my opponent instead.


    And then, after I specifically attacked his left side to make him put more weight in his right leg¡­¡­.


    Finally, my attacks seemed to bear fruit as his right knee seemed to collapse under his own weight and he completely lost balance and tumbled to the ground.


    ¡°See, told you didn¡¯t I!? my words from before were not some bluff, I really did completely surpass you!!¡±


    ¡°zheeee zheeee¡­¡­¡­¡­s-so this is what they mean when they say that the line between an idiot and a genius is very thin, eh?¡±


    Drake was lying face up on the floor, and was completely drenched in sweat, like he had just showered or something.


    Even the words he spoke seemed to indicate that he really had given up, so I stopped aiming my shield towards him.


    I don¡¯t think Drake has the energy left to fight anymore I think.


    I¡¯m sure Chris would¡¯ve shouted at me for not completely making him unable to fight but, I don¡¯t want to beat down on someone that doesn¡¯t want to fight anymore.


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be heading back if you don¡¯t mind!¡­¡­..Drake, thanks to our fight, I really grew as a warrior. Thanks man!¡±


    Saying that to Drake who was still lying flat on the ground, I began to leave the big room in which we were fighting when¡­¡­.


    ¡°Wait a second. Where the hell do you think you are going after saying hair raising stuff like that?¡­¡­.This isn¡¯t over yet!¡±


    Drake stood back up somehow, and then threw the shield in his left arm straight towards me.


    But since I was still completely in the zone right now, even a surprise attack like that didn¡¯t catch me of guard, and I easily smacked the shield away with my own.


    ¡°Dude, you can barely stand! There¡¯s no point continuing the fight any longer!¡±


    ¡°Who gives a shit whether there¡¯s a ¡®point¡¯ or not!? I just simply cannot let you go back there right now, that¡¯s all!¡±


    I don¡¯t understand, why was he so fixated with that?


    Of course, it¡¯d be one thing if he was like me who¡¯d put his own life on the line if it meant Chris survived but, Drake very clearly hates Klaus from what I could tell.


    In that case, he could just accept the loss and remain on the ground¡­¡­¡­.I really don¡¯t get it why he¡¯s taking all this so seriously?


    ¡°Why? Why go this far?! Don¡¯t you actually hate Klaus!?¡±


    ¡°Damn right I do! But, I know Klaus¡¯ strength better than anyone as well. Klaus will never lose to anyone, and if I let you get back to him¡ª¨C¡°


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..If you do, what of it!?¡±


    ¡°Forget about it. Anyway, as long as I know that Klaus will win, I need to stop you even if I lose my life trying.¡±


    In the end he refused to tell me the core part of the problem, but I imagine he¡¯s simply been threatened enough by Klaus to be terrified simply imagining what he might do to punish him.


    If I recall, Drake came from some frontier village right?


    If the things CHris told about Klaus are true, that does seem like the kind of guy who would destroy Drake¡¯s entire village¡ª¡ª-or something like that.


    Of course, these things are nothing more than my own imagination, as Drake refused to say anything further but, in that case, it¡¯d make sense why he¡¯d take this so seriously.


    But even if that truly was the case, I too have a very important reason to return back to that arena.


    ¡°Drake, I really don¡¯t hate you! In fact, I¡¯d say we¡¯re quite alike even, so I feel like we could have gotten along in different circumstances!¡±


    ¡°¡­..Wha? What the hell are you spouting out of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°But, if you really are willing to put your life on the line to stop me, then I too will fight back with all I have got!¡±


    ¡°Fuh, Hahaha! Why are you stating the obvious at this point¡­¡­¡­¡­hey, what was your name again?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Ralf. I was nothing more than a beggar raised in the slums so I have no last name. Simply, Ralf!¡±


    ¡°Ralf¡­¡­¡­.your name. I¡¯ll remember it. I don¡¯t hate you either but, I can¡¯t let you pass as long as I breathe! From here on out, this shit¡¯s about to get really serious, so grit your teeth and get ready okay!?¡±

 CH 429

    The Strongest ¡°Shield¡±


    Drake showed a smile as if he was having fun now, and the instantly switched his expression again and began to heighten his concentration to the maximum.


    He should have taken a lot of damage by now, so he was clearly quite fatigued as well.


    While I doubt he has any skill that could break past me now that I have awakened, but judging by his expression, he clearly has a trump card up his sleeve.


    ¡°[Raging Demon Assault]¡±


    Just as I had thought, Drake activated some kind of skill.


    In that instant, his skin began to redden and steam began to rise out of his body.


    It seemed like a worrying change at first but, his aura now was almost incomparable to before so I could tell he had clearly ascended up a level as well.


    In a panic, I took a stance with my shield but, Drake didn¡¯t move and then further activated another skill.


    ¡°[Immortal Immovable]¡±


    The moment he activated that skill, the steam coming off of Drake stopped again.


    But his skin remained reddened, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and his muscle mass seemed to have increased by a full level it felt like.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.fuuh, Sorry for the wait. This is me, at my absolute serious state. Ralf, are you regretting waiting until I went all out now?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s your full strength, I have nothing to regret at all! That said, you certainly don¡¯t look healthy either but, can you really fight in that state?¡±


    Contrary to his looks, he still seemed to be sane so I was able to continue talking like before but¡­¡­.


    The aura he has now is like of a completely different person and it feels like I was facing someone other than Drake instead.


    ¡°After the fight, I¡¯d be unable to move for a couple of days but, until my skill runs out, I¡¯ll be at a level far above my usual state.¡ª¡ª-hey, let¡¯s start already shall we? I¡¯m starting to get a little fidgety now.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯ll be fine afterwards I guess! And sure, come at whenever you¡¯re ready! I¡¯ll deflect anything you throw at me!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, then, I won¡¯t hold back anything. Just, don¡¯t fall too easily okay?¡±


    Right after he said that, Drake took a stance with the shield in his left hand, and then pulled out his sword in his right hand again.


    From his original two shields, complete defensive stance, he had gone back to the orthodox sword and shield again it seems.


    I focused on his movements, and I needed to make sure that I don¡¯t get caught out by the first attack¡ª¨C


    But, even though I was on complete guard, the moment my eyes blinked, the very next instant, Drake had appeared right in front of me.


    Rather than slash, he swung his sword with a force like he was slamming it into me, and I hurriedly held up my shield to defend against it.


    I guarded almost instinctively but, since I hadn¡¯t lost my sensation fro before, I did manage to parry it away perfectly.


    I didn¡¯t block the sword head on, and instead deflected it with the side of the shield to complete divert the attack but¡­¡­..my hand that held the shield ached sharply from the impact.


    Even after perfectly parrying his attack, Drake still managed to deal damage to me.


    Not only did he have a blessed body from birth, he had also been blessed by the heavens with the perfect job to fully support his natural talents.


    And now he had further boosted himself with a bunch of powerful skills so, I guess it makes sense why he was able to generate this much power.


    Right after parrying away his attack, I didn¡¯t even get the time to launch a counter shield bash as Drake quickly launched his next attack.


    His attacks now were even faster than before when he was using [Fierce God Rampage].


    Even after taking so much damage, and having spent so much of his stamina, he was still somehow able to move this fast. Once again, I was reminded of just how unfair skills really could be.


    I didn¡¯t have a skill that suddenly made me stronger so I simply maintained my focus and continued to deflect his attacks.


    The art of guarding was something you built through experience and continuous trial and error.


    Judging the timing, I vigilantly looked for a moment where I could counter with a shield bash¡ª¡ªand then I stepped in towards him, and thrust my shield straight at his solar plexus as soon as the opportunity arrived.


    From my perspective, I had nailed the timing but¡­¡­¡­somehow, Drake managed to block against my shield.


    Every single one of the attacks he launched were fast, smart and strong, and now even his defence seemed to have no holes in it.


    [Raging Demon Assault] was the attack skill, and [Immortal Immovable] was his defence skill I assume.


    To have both top class offensive and defensive skills seemed really damn unfair¡ª¡ª-I grit down on my teeth hard enough that they might get chipped, as I got hit with Drake¡¯s shield bash completely from the front with no way to defend.


    For a moment, I think my consciousness flew. That¡¯s how strong the impact was.


    Still, this is the second time I have gotten hit by a shield and then slammed into a wall.


    I felt dizzy after hitting my head on the wall, but I somehow managed to hold to my senses, perhaps thanks to the strong sense of envy I was currently feeling.


    All said and done, since the day I was born, I have done nothing but be envious of others.


    When I was a child, I was envious of those happy families, when I grew older, I was envious of those who could freely travel and do whatever they wanted, and until a little while ago, I was even envious of Chris as well¡­¡­..


    And now, even after finally achieving an awakening after getting hit again and again, I was once again envious of Drake¡¯s talent that had once again surpassed me in a matter of moments.


    Ever since I was a child I suffered from poverty, I abused by my alcoholic dad. I was a no one, I had nothing, and yet, I made it this far. That should be good enough, right?


    I¡¯m sure most people would tell me that, and there was no doubt that I had indeed achieved happiness in life now¡­¡­¡­and yet.


    Not to Drake, not to Klaus and of course¡ª¨Cnot to Chris either! I DON¡¯T WANT TO LOSE TO ANY OF THEM!!


    I clenched my teeth even harder than before, and stood back up while enduring the pain running through my entire body.


    Because I was putting a little too much strength to try and get back up, my nose began to bleed from the pressure but, even so, I laughed, not to bluff against Drake, but to bluff to myself into believing that I still had more left in the tank.


    ¡°You¡¯re in tatters, and even after taking my full strength attack head on, you can still stand eh.¡ª¨CRalf, you really are interesting!¡±


    ¡°Drake, you are without a doubt, the strongest enemy I have ever fought ! But, I¡¯m not gonna lose no matter what!!¡±


    Loudly proclaiming that, after all this time, I finally activated a certain skill for the first time.


    Not because I couldn¡¯t use it, but because I simply didn¡¯t have any moment where it was needed until now.


    Perhaps because of my intense feelings of envy, I had finally figured out the way to activate this skill.


    ¡°¡ª¡ª¨C[Divine Protection]¡±


    The moment I uttered its name, a shining golden light enveloped my entire body.


    The stamina consumption was massive, and I couldn¡¯t use it consecutively either.


    It was a skill that could really only be used when faced against a completely abnormal enemy or when clashing against the strongest attack of an opponent, but¡­¡­¡­..


    If this skill can protect me from anything for a limited time, it should be able to protect me from the shockwave of using [Divine Strike] as well.


    I had only used [Divine Strike] a few times in the past but, until now whenever I used that skill, my body would be unable to handle it and it¡¯d completely misfire.


    But if I use it while protected by [Divine Protection] then¡ª¡ª-my body should be able to handle the recoil of using [Divine Strike].


    Sensing something was happening after seeing my body get enveloped in a golden light, Drake rushed straight at me with superhuman speed.


    With his shield and sword in hand, he launched an attack to interrupt me.


    But, now that I have [Divine Protection] active, I don¡¯t need to ready myself before using [Divine Strike] and I can fire it whenever.


    Facing the onrushing Drake, I decided to fire [Divine Strike] using my sword like I had done before, or so I thought but¡ª¡ª-suddenly, something strange happened.


    Even with {Divine Protection] active, I perhaps instinctively sensed that I would be unable to handle the recoil with just my one sword arm, so I threw my sword away and took a stance holding my shield with both hands.


    The culmination of the shield bashing skill that I honed after going toe-to-toe with Drake for so long would be revealed in its entirety now.


    I twisted my knee, and dropped the centre of my gravity to make myself stand low. I bent my elbows completely and stuck by body close to my shield.


    My fists, elbows, shoulders, made a triangle as I pushed against my shield, and then I channelled all my grit and resolve into my legs and loins that were supporting this all, as I took a completely defensive stance.


    As soon as my preparations were done, Drake entered close inside my range, and then prepared to slam down his sword with immense speed, and right at that very timing¡ª¡ª


    ¡°[Roar of the Guardian]¡±


    It was a skill that did nothing more than draw aggro but, by using it right before one launched their attack, I could make them launch the attack in a much more straightforward manner directly at me.


    No matter how fast the attack may be, if I know exactly where and when the attack would come, I will be able to completely read it, especially now that I had parried so many of the [Raging Demon Assault] strikes.


    He launched a downward swing, which I dodged by moving diagonally forward, and then activated my own skill.


    But¡ª¡ª-Drake was not just focused on his attacks, he was also focused on his defence.


    Even as he swung down his sword, his eyes were locked right at me, and he moved the shield in his other hand towards me.


    ¡°Ralf, that was far too predictable. [Immovable Vajra ¨C Heavenly Mountain]¡±


    With those words, a pale blue light covered Drake¡¯s shield, and he took stance like he was a giant mountain himself towering over everyone and everything.


    But¡ª¡ªat this point, none of that mattered!


    Right now, my entire body was welling up with explosive power, like god himself had come down and entered my body.


    Focusing on the three points of the triangle that I had created, I pushed out the power that was surging inside my body all at once as I stuck out my shield.


    ¡°[Divine Strike]¡ª-!!¡±


    My shield and Drake¡¯s shield slammed into each other and clashed violently, as an ear piercing sound of impact echoed across all of [Foro Neem].


    The impact was so fierce I thought my body would be blasted away but, the light enveloping me suppressed that force to a minimum.


    That said, it was unable to completely kill the recoil of the [Divine Strike] as my left hand holding the shield went completely numb from the shock.


    The {Divine Strike] almost blew me away but¡ª¡ªwith nothing but true grit and resolve, I clenched down on my teeth and prayed to my own legs to endure it.


    I don¡¯t want to lose to anyone ever again!!!


    Neither to Klaus or to Chris either¡­¡­¡­and neither to myself who always seems to find an excuse in my surroundings or past to justify my weakness.


    ¡°UOOOOORAAAAHHHHHH!!!!¡±


    As if letting everything inside my stomach out, I roared loudly, and unleashed my everything at Drake.


    Drake¡¯s guard had been so strong, one would believe he had become one with the very earth itself but, even he was unable to fully take on my [Divine Strike] that had my entire body and soul put behind it¡ª¡ª¨Cand with a loud sound of an explosion, he blew backwards and slammed through the wall as he was sent flying away.


    Since the impact and the crash had raised a large amount of dust clouds, I was unable to see but, I doubt he¡¯d be able to get up after getting hit by that.


    Having finally surpassed my past self, and also beaten Drake, who was without a doubt the strongest enemy I had faced until now, I wanted to exclaim loudly and scream in celebration of my victory but¡­¡­..


    My body was completely at its limits. No, I had already gone beyond those limits.


    My head went blank, and my consciousness became hazy, and even welling up joy of victory soon subsided.


    Perhaps because I overdid it, my body felt unmoveable but, I needed to get back to Chris as quickly as possible.


    I put my hand on the wall to support myself back up, and while my mind seemed ready to simply fly away¡ª¨C


    I really, really wanted to see Chris win with my own two eyes so I slowly took one step after another, as I began walking back to the arena.

 CH 430

    The Final Decisive Battle


    (back to Chris POV now)


    After Ralf and Drake left, the atmosphere started to get even more tense and strained.


    I observed Klaus once again but, what he was wearing wasn¡¯t even armour and was more of a gaudy outfit nobles would wear, with the colour black as its main theme.


    From a purely defence point of view, it was clearly not the best, but I imagine that like me, he has prioritized ease of movement more than just raw defence.


    It was annoying to see our thinking match like this but, unfortunately we do share the blood flowing in our veins so I suppose this was bound to happen.


    The sword in his hand was a long sword that seemed a tad thinner than usual ones, but the blood red blade of the sword was certainly eye cathcing.


    I want to believe that it¡¯s not as high quality as Vendettatein but, the sword Klaus was holding was releasing a tremendous aura as well so there¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s also some kind of legendary blade that has been passed down for many generations.


    I guess I was being too naive hoping to have a clear weapon advantage after obtaining Vendettatein.


    ¡­¡­¡­no, if I hadn¡¯t gotten Vendettatein, he would have had the superiority in weapon as well, so I guess I made the right decision to go through the dangers of getting it after all.


    I changed my mind after reconsidering it inside my head, as I continued to stare and observe Klaus¡¯ face, having met him directly after quite some time.


    Back when he had tried to kill me at home, the expression on his face was horrible but, right now I feel like he¡¯s become even more heinous than even back then.


    The aura around him seemed so black, you could only call it evil.


    I doubt anyone would consider him to be a hero if they saw him like this, and it¡¯d be easier to convince them that he was the demon lord instead.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start this already. I did always regret not finishing you off Chris. So I should be thanking you for coming all the way to me yourself, just to get killed.¡±


    ¡°I came here to kill you, Klaus. You¡¯re going to regret not killing me that day.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­why the fuck is a [farmer] getting this cocky huh?¡±


    With those words as a signal, Klaus suddenly burst forward and rushed towards me.


    He was indeed pretty fast but, not as fast as I was expecting.


    ¡°[Radiance of the Sword God][Sacred Accel].¡±


    ¡ª¡ªor that¡¯s what I thought but, the moment he activated his skills, his movements rapidly changed.


    In contrast to the dark evil aura surrounding Klaus, a much brighter shining aura began to wrap around his body and mix with his own aura.


    Klaus¡¯ movements accelerated by more than double, and before I even realized, the red blade was fast approaching my head.


    So this is what seeing your life flash before your very eyes feels like eh?


    It felt like time had come to a halt in that moment, and I could see the blade of his sword slowly approach my neck in a beautiful arc very clearly.


    But only my consciousness seemed to be active and my body refused to move.


    ¡­¡­¡­.will my neck get chopped off just like that? Hell no. No way am I dying to him that easily.


    [Skin Strengthen][Fortification][Iron Wall][Hardening]


    I activated my skills focusing only on my neck area, and to try and reduce the force in his slash as much as I could, I drew back my body at the last moment to try and  ward off Klaus¡¯ slash.


    Thanks to my instant reaction, I thankfully had avoided letting the sword dig deep into my neck but, even so, the fact remained that a sword had struck my neck at an insane speed, and blood began to gush out of the spot that was cut.


    Even after activating all my defensive skills, and even though it barely scratched through my neck, the fact remained that it had cut open a wound very easily.


    Rather than the blood, it was sweat that my body was releasing in larger quantities as I quickly jumped back to create a distance from him again.


    ¡°How strange. I clearly felt my sword make contact¡ª¡ª-so why is your neck still attached to your body?¡±


    ¡°Because I dodged it at the last moment of course. You sure were talking a lot of shit to me for being a mere [farmer] and yet you tried to go for a surprise attack? What a coward.¡±


    Klaus¡¯s eyes looked livid as I retorted that back, and then I fully activated all of my physical body enhancement skills.


    With that one attack, I got a good feel for just how powerful Klaus was with my own body.


    This was not a fight where I could test my skills, or try and inflict pain and torment my opponent out of vengeance, or anything like that. I needed to go all out and kill him as fast as possible without thinking about anything else.


    I took my stance with Vendettatein, and poured my mana into it, activating the first rune.


    A pale light enveloped the sword as the sword became sharper.


    ¡°I am sure the job you got was nothing more than a [Farmer]¡­¡­¡­.so there¡¯s no way you should have been able to avoid my attack Chris.¡±


    ¡°I worked very hard to catch up to your level. To you, who got handed the title of [Sword God].¡±


    ¡°¡ª¡ª-Are you fucking joking with me? Unlike you, I was chosen by God himself! You were simply born a few seconds before me, but it was I who received all the talents and you are nothing but trash in comparison! How could someone like you ever catch up to me!?¡±


    As Klaus screamed, he once again rushed towards me like before¡ª¡ªand this time, he launched a diagonal  slash to try and split my entire body in two instead.


    Perhaps the skills he had activated before were still active as neither the speed nor the force behind his attack had gone down even one bit.


    If he had done this bigger attack the first time around when I wasn¡¯t fully ready, he really would have done some serious damage to me.


    As I thought of such a useless imaginary situation¡ª¡ª-I easily blocked Klaus¡¯ slash with Vendettatein.


    With all my skills active, I could easily handle attacks like these.


    Further using [Strong Arm] on top, this time I counter attacked back at Klaus next.


    I fired a horizontal slash aimed to chop his head off¡ª¡ªbut that was a feint, as I turned my sword to launch a similar diagonal slash at his body.


    Back in the day, this would have been enough to hit Klaus but, as you¡¯d expect he had certainly been training enough to just barely react in time to block my sword.


    But, he still failed in completely killing the force behind my slash so his body was sent bouncing, crashing and tumbling across the ground of the arena.


    I had a scratch on my neck, while Klaus had tasted the earth in full.


    In terms of damage, it was mostly similar, but I did enjoy getting one back at him.

 CH 431

    Seeing Through


    My sword hadn¡¯t reached his body but, it was still a clean hit that felt very nice.


    Seeing Klaus go sliding across the floor also brought a little joy to my heart.


    But still¡­¡­I was a bit surprised that Klaus had actually put effort into honing his basic sword skills as well.


    I thought he¡¯d have relied entirely on his powerful skills and focused on them but, I could tell that Klaus had learnt at least basic swordsmanship just from our little to-and-fro just now.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to stop my attack. Looks like you actually did learn swordsmanship properly instead of just using your skills a crutch eh?¡±


    ¡°FUCK!!¡­¡­You¡¯re just a scrub [farmer], how dare you talk like you¡¯re above me!?¡±


    ¡°If just a scrub like me can send you flying like that, what would that make you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to definitely kill you!¡ª¡ª-[Fierce God¡¯s Spirit]¡±


    He seemed to have completely snapped at my words, as Klaus activated even more skills.


    Further mixing with the black and gold aura, a red aura began to rise and mix with it as well.


    Looks like he can increase his physical abilities even further.


    And I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he still has a couple more skills hidden up his sleeve. Once again, I was made to realize just what a monstrous job [Sword God] really was.


    And while I understood it¡¯s greatness, I didn¡¯t just keep on watching, and started to hatch my own plans as well.


    The gold and red aura mixed, and Klaus, who almost felt divine, powerfully stepped on the ground¡ª¨Cand rushed at me with an even faster speed than before.


    Klaus¡¯ was certainly faster now but, the faster you move, the more simpler your movements can become as well, plus I can also keep track of him with the sound and noise he makes.


    I activated [Perception Enhancement] and [Sound Wave Detection] and then gauged the timing before activating [Black Mist].


    Since the arena was very big, it didn¡¯t completely cover it but, the black mist still spread enough around us to be effective.


    Due to the appearance of the sudden black mist, Klaus lost sight of me completely but, I could of course keep perfect track of Klaus.


    After confirming his exact location with the sound, I activated both [Strong Arm] and [Hard Hit] and launched a slash at him when¡­¡­.


    ¡°[God¡¯s Eye]¡±


    With the activation of that skill, he was able to see through my blade through the darkness and easily deflected it, and instead, he used the darkness to his own advantage and further countered with a perfect horizontal slash, cutting deeply through my stomach.


    Because I was unable to see the attack properly, he cut much deeper than the hit on the neck and I took some serious damage this time around.


    I was only using the sound as my guide, but it seemed Klaus could use all of his 5 senses to grasp my position.


    Until now, [Black mist] had been one of my strongest skills in terms of utility but, I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d turn out to be this useless against Klaus.


    I know I¡¯m the one who sowed the seeds for this but, suddenly the situation had turned into a pinch against me.


    Regardless, I needed to first get out of the range of the black mist first and foremost, so I decided to retreat backwards with full speed.


    [Leg Strength Enhancement] and [Gale].


    I further also used [War Dance] focused only on my legs for an extra boost, and even activated [Wild Instinct] just in case.


    From there, while pressing down on the wound on my belly, I ran as fast as I could away from Klaus.


    Right now I was technically a bit faster than Klaus, but he could also clearly see through the mist with his eyes right now.


    He tried to chase after me who was wounded and launched some precise attacks but¡­..


    Since I could hear his footsteps approaching me, I somehow managed to avoid the rest of his attacks and finally succeeded in leaving the range of the black mist.


    For now I had avoided complete disaster but, the fact remained that I had taken some heavy damage.


    Leaving the [Black Mist], Klaus opened his mouth out wide as he cackled with laughter like a demon.


    ¡°KUHAHAHAHA! And here I was wondering what you were trying using a smokescreen like that, turns out, you can¡¯t see shit inside it either!? You really unironically tried to gamble your life against me of all people. Are you seriously this fucking stupid!?¡±


    Klaus pissed me off so much that I almost forgot the pain I was feeling but¡­¡­


    I kept my cool and activated [Self Regen] and [Pain Inhibition] to perform emergency treatment for now.


    I did consider using one the world tree potions that Charlotte gave me but, I decided that this wound wasn¡¯t enough to use something like that.


    And now that my pain had subsided, I felt like I could move normally again. And although the blood loss was a worry, it wasn¡¯t so bad that it¡¯d be fatal.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited from getting just one hit in. Not like you were able to actually finish me off.¡±


    ¡°It was obviously on purpose. I let you run away. Because I wanted to see the dumb look on your face again Chris!¡±


    Saying that, he began to laugh loudly again.


    Man, he really knows how to piss me off. My instincts roared to rush at him and attack him right now but¡ª¡ª-I needed to endure for now.


    Now that I know [Black mist] is useless, the amount of tactics I can use has significantly reduced in number.


    Since I wasn¡¯t sure how well some of the other irregular skills would work on him, for now I decided to test out using [Effect Spread] and try and poison him.


    Focusing my attention on Klaus¡¯ movement, I got ready with the poisonous drug I bought at the royal capital¡¯s store.


    Thanks to the help from Ralf, I had a very good grasp of the exact range of this skill now, so as soon as he enters the range, I can use it just fine.


    As for the not so good news, the range of my [Effect Spread] was also the range from which Klaus could attack as well.


    Until now, he didn¡¯t really show an opening for me to use it but, now that I have been wounded, I can get him to get his guard down and draw him in closer.


    This wasn¡¯t originally in my plans but, if I can properly poison him, I¡¯ll be willing to let go of the fact that [black Mist] had been a failure.


    Thinking more optimistically, i carefully calculated the distance between me and Klaus as he slowly walked towards me while laughing.


    ¡­¡­..three more¡­¡­¡­two more¡­¡­¡­just one more step.


    While pretending to be in deep pain and holding down on my stomach wound, the moment he entered the range, I activated [Effect Spread].


    And at the very same instant, I swallowed the poisonous drug I had bought from [Rakanka].

 CH 432

    The Effect of the Poison.


    He was a little suspicious upon seeing me suddenly swallow a potion at this moment but, even he obviously didn¡¯t think that this in and of itself was an attack so Klaus simply looked a bit dubious and nothing more.


    Having fully swallowed the poison, I quickly took a stance with Vendettatein again and created a distance from him as I waited to see some kind of symptoms show up in Klaus¡¯ body.


    While I already had my doubts, I didn¡¯t see any effects occur even after some time and meanwhile he smirked once again, and was about to lunge forward again to attack me again when suddenly¡ª¨C


    It would seem the poison suddenly took effect, as a Klaus began to bleed from his nose at an alarming rate.


    ¡°He-[Hero¡¯s Blessing]¡±


    Not just the nosebleeds, he must have been feeling dizzy as well as he stumbled over his own words before activating another one of his skills again.


    Considering the timing, I imagine it¡¯s a skill to counteract against bodily abnormalities but still, just how many more skills does this guy still have?


    Every single skill he had used up till now were all top class, plus there¡¯s a good chance, all of them are unique skills as well.


    And even the [black mist] a unique skill that I had struggled very hard to get through the fruit of skill had been very easily seen through by him as well. It was getting hard to just figure out what the gap between us really was like.


    ¡°¡ª¨Cnghuu¡­¡­¡­.C-Chris, you bastard, what did you do to me!?¡±


    ¡°Nothing at all. If anything I¡¯m the one surprised. Suddenly getting a massive nosebleed like that.¡±


    His eyes were completely bloodshot as he glared at me but I feigned ignorance.


    I¡¯m sure [Hero¡¯s Blessing] is a very effective abnormality curing skill but, it doesn¡¯t seem like it can completely nullify poison either as he still seemed to be struggling and in pain.


    I was right to drink the entire container I think, or maybe the poison I bought was just that incredibly strong.


    In either case, this was my chance to attack him, that was a fact.


    I put my hand in the vampire jewel embedded on the Vendettatein.


    I could feel my stamina quickly being drained but, with this I have imbued a Drain effect on Vendettatein as well.


    The more I cut him, the more I¡¯ll recover my stamina as well, and while I don¡¯t know just how much stamina Klaus has, surely after using so many unique skills, he has to have used up quite a bit.


    Since I already knew for a fact that the higher the stamina pool of the enemy on whom drain is used, the more stamina is leeched off, I¡¯m sure this recovery effect will help me a lot in this battle.


    While he still seemed to be groaning in pain, he could still move so rather than aim for his vitals, I¡¯ll focus on landing as many hits as I can and wound him as much as possible.


    Aiming the Vendettatein towards Klaus, the positions from when he chased me around and made me run all over the place had been completely overturned.


    This time, it was my turn to swing my sword at him.


    Starting with a downward swing, into a reverse slash. Then came a swing from the right followed into a diagonal cut. I struck again with a upward swing this time chained into a forward thrust. Then came another slash into a another horizontal swing from the left side.


    None of these were simple or basic attacks, these were the sword motions that had been beaten into me from childhood by my father.


    Klaus had also honed his technique in this time but, it was clear that I was still far above him in that regard.


    He was able to cover the holes in his technique with brute physical prowess but, like I had originally intended, he was getting small cuts all over his body.


    It did feel a little less than I had imagined but, the drain effect was replenishing my stamina gradually as well.


    If I can continue to overwhelm him like this, I thought he would sooner or later lose the ability to move his body after getting ravaged by the poison but¡ª¡ªthings never do go the way you want them to.


    ¡°AGH, FFUUUCCK THIIIIISS!! [SACRED SLASH]!!¡±


    To break past this one sided beating, Klaus suddenly unleashed his big super move.


    [Sacred Slash] was the very same skill he had used to try and kill me all the way back when we fought at our home.


    Perhaps because that was the first time I saw a powerful attack skill, that too aimed at me, I would still see it sometimes in my nightmares and it had become a bit of a trauma for me.


    I had nothing but bitter memories connected to this skill but, precisely because I would often see it even in my sleep, I had already driven it into my brain as to what my next movement should be whenever I face it in real life again.


    Judging the angle of the sword when he begins to gather the energy, I will then use that to calculate and predict the area of effect and range of the Sacred Slash before it gets actually fired at me.


    The time needed to ready the attack had been greatly reduced since the last time I saw it though, as was the intensity and quantity of light that was being gathered in the red blade but¡ª¡ª¡ªeven so, this was not beyond my expectations.


    As he swung his sword horizontally with all his strength, a slash of pure light burst out and rushed towards me.


    Having already judged its range, I dodged to the side just enough to let it pass by me as the slash of light continued onwards and slammed into the walls of the arena with a massive explosion.


    This [Sacred Slash] was basically Klaus¡¯ best attack skill.


    And he had honed it further decreasing the prep time while increasing its power, and yet, unlike before, I had dodged it not due to luck but due to pure skill.


    The poison continued to spread, and his stamina continued to run out and now his big attack had been rendered useless as well.


    I doubt he even has the willpower to continue fighting anymore.


    Expecting that I looked towards Klaus, only to see him kneeling on the ground on both knees, pressing down on his stomach, completely crouching over in an attempt to suppress the pain.


    ¡°SHIT, SHIIIIIIIITTTT!! I am the fucking [Sword God]¡­¡­.Ghufu¡­¡­..And Chris, is just a [farmer]!! So why!? Why am I, the one chosen by god, getting pushed back like this!!?¡±


    He slammed his hands on the ground as his screams echoed in the arena.


    ¡°I will not¡­¡­¡­.accept this!! If god¡¯s not enough¡ª¡ªI¡¯ll sell my soul to the devil instead.¡±


    He suddenly faced forward and muttered that to himself.


    I had been wondering from our previous conversation as well but, sometimes he¡¯d give off this extremely unpleasant aura that sent chills up my spine so I quickly rushed at him and swung my sword down with the intent to fully cut him down and kill him.


    Perhaps because I did it in a panic, I didn¡¯t step close enough and I failed to cut him in half but my sword still dug deep into his body enough to deal a fatal wound.


    I could feel a large amount of stamina being drained from his body, as I looked down on Klaus who remained collapsed on the ground but¡ª¡ª¡ªstill, that ill omen I felt refused to go away.


    This may seem like overdoing it but I aimed the sword at his corpse again and swung down Vendettatein just to make sure and cut off his neck as well. It was at that moment.


    Something dark black began to gush out from Klaus¡¯ collapsed body, and completely enveloped him as if to try and protect him from me.

 CH 433

    Grotesque


    For a moment I hesitated seeing this black-something cover Klaus but, then I swung down my Vendettatein regardless but¡­¡­¡­


    Even though he was lying flat on the ground, he suddenly moved his arm alone and stopped my attack with his sword.


    I didn¡¯t really decrease the power in my swing either, if anything I pretty much swung it at my current max strength.


    Unable to understand what was happening, I quickly created some distance between us and decided to assess the situation from afar.


    On top of the poison, I had also dealt a wound deep enough that it should have instantly killed him.


    Since his body was still lying face down on the ground, I couldn¡¯t exactly tell what kind of condition Klaus was in right now but, he was truly a ¡°living being¡± he should have been dead by now.


    I hope he doesn¡¯t move again¡ª¨Cbut that was just my wish that couldn¡¯t reach the heavens as Klaus slowly began to stand back up while being surrounded by the blackish thing.


    From behind I couldn¡¯t tell but, I had a feeling that Klaus right now, had stopped being human.


    ¡°Until just a while ago, I felt like the absolute worst and yet¡ª¡ªright now I feel like I¡¯m at my absolute best instead. I haven¡¯t felt this good since the day I was given the [Sword God] title I think.¡±


    His entire body was enveloped in a black shell, and a skull-face like design appeared on his face.


    Where his heart was, a dark red core seemed to be embedded in, and he looked more monstrous than actual monsters.


    From his once empty back, two jet black wings suddenly sprouted.


    The deep wound that I had given him was nowhere to be seen anywhere, and if I hadn¡¯t seen him transform right in front of my eyes, I wouldn¡¯t have ever believed that this creature was actually Klaus.


    ¡°Wow, you sure turned ugly. Is that also a skill of yours?¡±


    ¡°Wrong. It¡¯s a type of Devil core that I obtained by using [Under Eye]. I embedded it into my body to gain its power.¡±


    His highly unstable emotions seemed to have dissipated as he calmly and directly answered my question.


    A Core eh? I imagine its similar to the ones that were used to power golems and the ones the old golem guy was always researching about.


    I have never heard of a devil core but, I reckon that thing embedded on Klaus body is probably that.


    It was about the size of my fist, and yet I could feel a completely different kind of energy emanating from it, the likes of which I had never seen before. Just looking at that thing made me feel unpleasant.


    ¡°You sure turned talkative suddenly. Did you even forget your anger towards me?¡±


    ¡°As if. It¡¯s just that this body makes it hard to fully release your emotions, but I¡¯m actually angry enough that I could literally punch you to death and rip you to pieces.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s a relief. That means I can cut you to shreds without any remorse.¡±


    ¡°Spare me your prattle, damn small fry.¡±


    Having turned into a monster, Klaus awkwardly began to walk towards my direction.


    I guess he hadn¡¯t gotten used to using that monstrous body yet, and was unable to freely move that body around as he wished.


    This was the best opportunity to kill him and his monstrous form but¡­¡­.


    Even though he walked so weirdly, I couldn¡¯t see any gaps or openings for some reason and was unable to close in on him.


    Or rather, having attained the body of a monster on top of his talent as the [Sword God], I could tell even without fighting him that I couldn¡¯t beat him like this.


    I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be turning back to normal anytime soon, and I even thought of running away as well but¡ª¡ªI highly doubt he¡¯d allow that to happen.


    I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t take long before he gets used to this new body either, and when he does, he¡¯d be even faster than me.


    Which means, I have no choice but to face him head on right here and now and kill him if I want to survive.


    I didn¡¯t want to use this but¡­¡­.I have no option but to activate [Ability Unleashed] and [Mad Warrior].


    First, I used [Ability Unleashed] at maximum output, and then¡ª¡ªI let [Mad Warrior] take over.


    With a severe bout of dizziness, for a moment it felt like my consciousness was blown away.


    I released [Pain Inhibition] to make sure that I retained my senses by feeling the pain from my abdominal injury.


    Even then, it continued to feel like a different personality was starting crawl back out from inside me again, I gouged further into my own wound to inflict myself with more pain just to forcefully suppress it.


    If Klaus had attacked me while I was still struggling with the battle within myself, it would have really dangerous but Klaus continued to stagger slowly towards me still.


    Cold sweat drenched my entire body as I inflicted myself with this intense pain but even so somehow, I managed to retain my consciousness while activating [Mad Warrior].


    I was worried whether I¡¯d be able to move around properly while feeling the pain of my wound but, if I reactivated [Pain Inhibition] again, I was sure I¡¯d lose control to [Mad Warrior] so I had no choice but to fight while in this state.


    ¡°Just when it looked like you were suffering from pain, you started smiling. Why? You really are a creepy guy.¡±


    ¡°Am I really smiling? In that case, I really might be as creepy as you said.¡±


    I didn¡¯t notice it at all but, while I was struggling with the pain, I had started smiling to myself it seems.


    I want to believe that it¡¯s because of [Mad Warrior] but¡­¡­¡­I know that¡¯s not true.


    Faced with this despairing situation, I was genuinely enjoying it all from the bottom of my heart.


    A situation where one can gamble their life or death, my body start releasing these strange things inside that make me feel that way.


    On top of that using [Mad Warrior] and [Ability Unleashed] without any restriction, my head for whatever reason felt inexplicably clear and awake.


    Even I don¡¯t like to admit just how much of battle loving freak I have become.


    Even though my father would beat me up so much and I hated him for it, just when did I suddenly start to enjoy fighting so much¡ª¡ª


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­perhaps, it was on that day when Klaus almost killed me.


    What came with the fear of death was the thrill of battle, and a pleasure unlike no other. My hatred planted a seed in me and my talent blossomed as a I awakened as true battle maniac.


    My eyes met the main cause of this all, the monster in front of me, and I instinctively knew that this was all true.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to get used to it now. Time for you to die¡ª-CHRIS!!¡±


    ¡°Come at me whenever. I¡¯ll end everything today, once and for all.¡±


    We took stance with our swords aimed at each other once again, as we faced with no more tricks up our sleeves, no more hidden trump cards. Both at our absolute full strength.


    Now then, I dragged a lot of people into this¡ª¡ª-but it¡¯s time to end the world¡¯s worst sibling quarrel of all time!

 CH 434

    Conclusion


    A man with a bleeding wound in his stomach and a devilish monster covered in black shell.


    From the side, I would clearly seem to be at a disadvantage, and as I faced off against him, I could tell even from just my gut feeling that I was definitely lacking in comparison to him.


    I had overcome the personality takeover of [Mad Warrior] and I had used [Ability unleashed] at max output and still, I knew the difference was clear.


    But still¡­¡­¡­for some strange reason, I didn¡¯t feel like I was going to lose for a single moment.


    ¡°[Hero¡¯s Covenant]¡±


    Even in this monstrous form, he could still use skills?


    While I retorted that inside my head, the first one to make a move was Klaus as he activated a new skill.


    The crimson sword in his hand had extended its blade with light-like energy, and was now longer than even my Vendettatein.


    If that light had appeared due to this [hero¡¯s covenant] skill, that it was bound to be seriously dangerous.


    He instantly closed in the distance, and swung the sword sharply at me and matched it with my Vendettatein¡ª¡ª-somehow managing to deflect the attack.


    Klaus was using just one hand, while I held the sword with both.


    It really seemed like he was swinging it easily and lightly but, everytime I blocked his swing, it felt like I would get blown away just from the impact, and the force of his attack would weigh down on my entire body.


    Perhaps he assessed that he didn¡¯t need to even bother with any kind of technique anymore as he was only using brute strength and his Skills to overwhelm me, but that was my one and only opportunity I could use.


    If I am losing in brute strength, then I just need to use his strength against him.


    Recalling Milworc who constantly aimed for counter attacks, this time I focused on using my everything to see through his attacks.


    I activated [Wild Instinct], and let him approach me as close as possible¡ª-and then dodged the downswing of his sword, and swung my own from the bottom-right side to lean on Klaus¡¯ own momentum and force.


    My sword hit cleanly. He was covered in a bulky shell but, as you¡¯d expect, Vendettatein was more than a match for it.


    I could clearly feel my sword go through and reach all the way to Klaus¡¯ real body underneath the shell but¡­¡­¡­


    Without even giving me a moment to enjoy the feeling of the hit, a big impact hit my abdomen.


    Thanks to my active [Wild Instinct], I was able to focus all my defensive skills at my abdomen just in time to stop myself from getting blow all the way back but, I still got hit with gouging blow from his unarmed hand.


    The attack was strong enough that my breathing almost stopped but, the smile on my face refused to disappear as sent back another diagonal slash as a response.


    This time he did block it with his crimson sword but, it was important to instantly fire back anytime I took a hit.


    No matter how much force he may use to suppress me, I can¡¯t take a step back and keep pushing forward.


    I dodged the oncoming slashes, and then took his fist head-on only to launch another counter right at him.


    I stopped caring about how much damage my body was taking, and was entirely focused on delivering a strike back every time I got hit. In the centre of the arena, we continued to trade blows one after another.


    On top the strength of the [Sword God], he even used some unknown item called a Devil core so, I imagine Klaus really thought he¡¯d be able to kill me in a matter of seconds.


    And while if we were comparing damage, I definitely had it a lot worse and it won¡¯t be strange for me to collapse at any given moment now but¡ª¡ª-I was just having fun. Yeah, this is stupidly fun.


    I couldn¡¯t feel anything other than my arms and legs but, as long as I can swing my sword, I can still continue fighting.


    And this was not something that I could have ever foreseen but, because Klaus turning into a monster made him release evil energy, every time I cut him with vendettatein, the drain effect would activate and absorb that evil energy into the sword.


    Due to that, a secondary effect of the sword, one I had been unable to find out until now finally began to show itself, and my sword started to cut through Klaus¡¯ black shell much deeper with ease.


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because he too realized that or some other reason, even though I was in tatters, Klaus began to step back and retreat from me.


    ¡°Persistent , obstinate, and ANNOYING!! Why won¡¯t you just fall already!!?¡±


    His calm movements started to show deficiencies, and Klaus decided to grab his sword with both hands and started to wildly swing it around at me.


    Because of that, the strength behind each swing increased many-folds but, because he was panicking, his attacks also became a lot easier to read.


    I matched the timing with Klaus¡¯ diagonal slash¡ª¨Cand having now lost his free arm that was guarding his chest, his devil core was completely open, so I thrust vendettatein directly at it.


    It was incredibly hard in its material so the impact didn¡¯t feel very good but, because of absorbing so much evil energy the blade had become so sharp that the core cracked, and more black miasma began pouring out of it.


    Because of the miasma being released, Klaus¡¯ grotesque monster form began to melt away but¡­¡­.his eyes had not yet given up.


    With fading sensations I barely managed to move my body, and got ready to unleash my final attack with the full intent to kill him for good.


    The skill I activated was¡ª¡ª[Suicidal Strike].


    I was already close to destroying myself anyway, so I whipped my body one last time and forced it squeeze every last remaining drop of strength left in it.


    I stepped down on the ground firmly, and then rushed right at him with such intensity that clumps of earth flew behind me as I blasted forwards.


    It was quite literally, my final attack.


    If he manages to survive this, I¡¯ll be left unable to move and he¡¯ll kill me but¡ª¡ª-there was no going back now.


    Klaus. Take this. The strongest attack of the world¡¯s strongest [farmer]!


    A culmination of everything I had built up towards, all for the sake of killing Klaus.


    I don¡¯t need a ¡®next time¡¯.


    Having squeezed every drop of power inside me, it was an attack with my entire life on the line¡ª¨C


    ¡°[Suicidal Strike]¡ª¨C¡°


    My sword slammed into his crimson blade, smashing it, then stabbed into his shoulder, past his melting black shell, and then sliced diagonally downwards, pulverizing the devil core in the process before finally slicing his body into two.


    I couldn¡¯t even tell if his blood was black or red as it splashed all over me, and having lost his bottom half, Klaus slowly crumbled to the floor.


    ¡°¡­¡­..Why, but why¡­¡­¡­.why can¡¯t I never win against Chris. I was the [Sword God]¡­¡­..you were just a [Farmer]. I sold my body, my soul to a devil for more power¡­¡­¡­.and yet, why, why? Why is it always you¡ª¡ª-you got all the attention, you were always the one they focused on. I was locked in a small dark world, but I gained power, and still I was unable to reach you¡­¡­¡­was it simply because¡­..you were born before me¡­¡­..is that, really it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­All that is completely irrelevant. And besides, father treated you more preciously than he ever did with me.¡±


    As tears ran down his face, Klaus looked up towards me as he asked this to which I could only reply as such.


    I moved my heavy hand, and brought out a pocketwatch from inside my item holder.


    It was the one I stole from my house when I was escaping it. The one my father always treasured the most.


    I stole it because I thought it was valuable but, Lugentz-san told me that it was pretty cheap so I didn¡¯t sell it and kept it on me. (T/N; If you¡¯re wondering who Lugentz is, it¡¯s the old man from the pawn shop. Yes he was never named until now, and was only given a name in the LN but the author decided to name drop him randomly in the WN now of all times as well lol.)


    And one day, on a whim while I was fiddling with it I figured out a certain secret in it.


    The fact that this pocketwatch was actually an automaton clock.


    It didn¡¯t have some incredible function but, if you opened and closed the lid quickly twice, it would unlock a back side to it as well.


    And in that small space was¡ª¡ª-a small photo of Klaus from when he was just a baby.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.that¡¯s the watch, father loved?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and look here. It¡¯s not me, but a picture of you inside it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..wha, that¡¯s ri¡­diculous¡­¡­¡­.you left, three days after the ¡­¡­¡­Heaven¡¯s Blessing¡­..After I got [Sword God]¡­¡­..he must have¡­¡­.changed it..¡±


    ¡°Well, you may be right.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Where¡­¡­di..d¡­..I¡­¡­go¡­¡­.so ¡­¡­.wrong¡­.?¡±


    ¡°Since the day we were born. Both you and me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Yo..u..re¡­¡­.ri¡­.ght¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    Klaus was slowly running out of strength to even say small words and soon, he stopped moving completely.


    His expression as he lay dead was that of someone who was completely empty inside, and after raging, struggling and fighting for so long, till the very end he was nothing more than a egotistic younger brother of mine.


    I was worried about Esta, Ralf and Snow as well but¡­¡­¡­I was at my limit as well.


    Right after I had seen off Klaus to the otherworld, the recoil of [Suicidal Strike] came rushing in and I fell flat beside Klaus¡¯ corpse.


    Ah this feeling¡ª¡ªthis is bad, I really might be done for.


    I was so worn out that I wasn¡¯t even using [Pain Inhibition] and yet I still didn¡¯t feel any pain in my body so I resolved myself to finally accept death.


    I had fulfilled my one goal in life that I had sworn towards all the way back then when I was stuck inside Peixa forest, and I have no regrets.


    ¡­¡­¡­.but, I do hope that Ralf, Esta and Snow are safe considering that I selfishly dragged them into this.


    With such thoughts in mind, I stretched my hand toward the entrance of the arena but my body showed no signs of moving.


    My vision was starting to grow hazy and was gradually blacking out.


    My only regret was that I was unable to see my friends one last time.


    Feeling a strange cold crawl up my body, I abandoned any hopes of holding on to my consciousness against the strong sensation of sleep¡ª¡ª¨Cand I slowly closed my eyes.


    .


    .


    .


    I felt like I was in a deep, deep sleep but, I felt like someone was calling me.


    How annoying. I tried to ignore it but¡­¡­¡­the voice felt somewhat familiar.


    It was a boy and a girl¡­¡­¡­I feel like I was on the verge of recalling them but, my sleepiness took priority.


    There was nothing going through my head anymore. I gave on thinking as a whole, and right when I was about to let go of my consciousness completely¡ª-


    ¡°AURFF! AWOOOO!!!¡±


    Suddenly a explosion rang and the consciousness that I was about to let go came forcefully back towards me.


    It was like I had stopped breathing, as I woke up and painfully sucked in a huge amount of air.


    Slowly but steadily, my breathing began to stabilize and I finally began to open my eyes¡­¡­¡­.only to see two very recognizable faces.


    Both drenched in tears and snot.


    All sorts of liquids were flowing down their faces, and it really was the worst kind of sight to wake up to. And so, unable to endure it any further, I ended up bursting out laughing instead.