Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Around early dawn, as the sun began to rise, we each prepared our gear and set off towards the Meshen Great Forest. There were five of us in total: El, Eira, Mien, Charka, and myself. Having left the city gates at such an early hour, we immediately began walking into the depths of the Meshen Great Forest. As we ascended the mountain, we were greeted by fallen leaves and branches scattered among the dense trees, as well as a vibrant array of grasses and wildflowers blooming on the earth. Though somewhat ambiguous on maps, the Meshen Great Forest was an uncharted territory larger than the Kingdom of Kilkard. In terms of its extent, it not only bordered the entire eastern part of the Kingdom of Kilkard but also connected to the border of the Astaltine Empire. Completely filled with mountains and forests, and with numerous monsters inhabiting its inner regions, it was a remote area that even the kingdom and empire hesitated to intervene in. Moreover, with tales of dragons dwelling in the central mountain regions, it was a treacherous place where even wyvern-riding dragon knights couldn’t guarantee their safety. “However, there’s no need to be too afraid,” Eira said, turning to us with a grin after explaining about the Great Forest as we walked along the mountain path. The entrance to the Great Forest had been somewhat explored by adventurers over the years, and Eira, serving as both an archer and a pathfinder, was an adventurer who had survived in the forest for quite some time. This was my third time coming to the Great Forest, but to be precise, it felt like my first. The previous times, I had simply come to sightsee and ended up getting dragged away by goblins, and the second time, I had practically fled through the entrance. This was the first time I had entered the Great Forest on an official request. Was it because it was an official request, or was it because it was the Great Forest? The group’s attire was somewhat different from usual. Everyone wore hardened leather helmets to protect their heads and hard leather armor to protect their vital areas. Unlike soldiers, adventurers often spent days or even weeks in the mountains, so they prioritized convenience over high defense, preferring leather armor to heavy plate armor. The reason for enduring the discomfort of wearing armor was to have at least some insurance when facing goblins or wolves. Of course, I could wear rags or even go naked without much issue, but the fundamental problem of other people’s gazes made that impossible. If I did that in front of Mien, I would surely be scolded. However, I didn’t need to wear a helmet. Yesterday, while telling Mien about my secret, I had also shared a slightly embellished version of the story about my Iron Skin. Mien was surprised that human skin could have defense similar to iron, but she seemed to accept it, as there were similar spells or divine magic. …What can’t magic do? Anyway, as we walked in formation for a while, I suddenly became curious and asked Eira, who was leading the group, “By the way, how do you plan to find the trolls?” Wondering what methods a veteran adventurer would use, I asked, and Eira replied with a grin, “There’s no special method, we just look for them.” “…That sounds difficult.” I was somewhat disheartened by her simple answer, but surely that wasn’t all there was to it. Even if the Great Forest was teeming with monsters, that was only relative. To find trolls in such a vast land, there had to be some kind of method. In fact, from the entrance of the forest to here, all we had seen were some wild animals. There wasn’t a single sign of monsters, not even a goblin. “Nothing is ever easy, is it?” “….I guess not.” “Sorry, I’m just kidding. Trolls aren’t in these ‘shallow areas.’ You’d have to walk at least half a day from here to even see a trace of them.” According to her explanation, the entrance to the Great Forest had been so thoroughly disturbed by adventurers that there were hardly any monsters left. The only ones you could find were wolves, goblins, or Wootan. And that also meant that the demi-walkers, including goblins, had tenacious lifespans. Eira, leading the group, looked back at El and me and smiled. “The newbies just need to follow quietly. If anything happens… protect me.” The most important person in an adventurer’s party is the guide. Finding the way through the forest and searching for the target were tasks anyone could do, but it was a role that shouldn’t be done by just anyone. Even in the entrance, where goblins lived, there was always the possibility of being ambushed. As the pathfinder, Eira was at the forefront of the group and therefore most exposed to such threats. And Charka, true to his role as a guard, walked at the rear of the group. Originally, the leader was usually an archer or a mage. Those who could make the most objective judgments in combat situations were archers or mages. But Eira, despite being an archer, was leading us because she knew the way. Meanwhile, El and I walked side by side, with Mien between us. Even though we were newbies, our skills had already been proven, so the others didn’t seem particularly worried. This cross-shaped formation had to be maintained while walking through the mountains, as it was necessary to protect the mage, who was the core of the party’s firepower and support. // And after walking for quite some time… “…Wait a minute.” Eira suddenly raised her arm and stopped walking, taking out the bow she had slung over her shoulder. However, even before her warning, El, Charka, and I had already sensed something.

-Swish.

Mien took out the spellbook she had attached to her belt, Charka took out his axe, and El and I each drew our swords and shields. After stopping and waiting for a moment, a familiar cry echoed in our ears.

-Ker-erk.

It was the voice of a goblin, which I had heard before. We all turned our gaze towards the source of the cry. Although nothing was visible due to the trees and bushes, it was clear that there were goblins nearby. “…The numbers don’t seem that high, but they’re trying to attack first. That’s unusual. Is there a chief around?” Eira made a troubled expression and shook her head, muttering as if spitting out the words. Having been gang-raped in a goblin cave, she probably didn’t have good feelings towards them. “Should I go take a look?” When I asked Eira, she seemed to think for a moment before replying, “If it were anyone else, I would tell them not to, but… you should be fine. I’ll leave it to you.” Eira recalled how I had slaughtered goblins with my bare hands in the goblin cave and nodded with a wry smile. Mien and El didn’t object either. “I’ll be watching.” And Charka, unusually, looked at me and grinned. If it were a human man, he wouldn’t have reacted like that. Is it really that orcs have a different culture? Still, seeing that I prefer this kind of reaction, maybe I’m a good fit for orcs. “Keep your eyes peeled.” I smiled back at him and, with my sword and shield, walked towards the bushes above.

-Crunch, crunch.

As the sound of twigs and leaves breaking echoed, a cry similar to a sob came from beyond the bushes. Goblins are said to act in groups, so there must be more than one or two. But I didn’t feel afraid. That’s because, with my Iron Skin, neither slings nor javelins would work. Even crossbows might not be effective, so those primitive weapons couldn’t hurt me. Besides,

– Whoosh!

– Thud!

I could easily block even this without Iron Skin. I blocked a rock rushing towards me with my shield and ran towards the bushes.

-Whoosh!

Another rock flew towards me, but I simply tilted my head to avoid it. After deflecting a javelin coming next with my sword, I was able to easily reach the other side of the bushes. “Ker-erk!?” Beyond the bushes, seven goblins were huddled together, each holding crude weapons. They had stone spears made by sharpening the ends of thick branches and tying them with plant vines, as well as slings and javelin throwers. “…Haa.” Were they planning to attack us with these weapons? If they hit a vital point, I would get hurt, but that was it. Unless we weren’t wearing protective gear, there was no chance they could win if they attacked us. There was no reason to hesitate to kill the enemy, but seeing enemies like this made me feel somewhat drained. Still, I had to do what I had to do. “Ker-erk!” The goblin in front of me shouted and thrust his spear, but I lightly swung my sword and cut the spear in half. The sword I was holding wasn’t a magic sword, but even a regular iron sword could easily cut through a thick branch. “Kir-erk?” The goblin, who had lost his weapon in an instant, shook his head in confusion, but I swung my sword again and unhesitatingly cut off his head.

-Thwack.

As red blood splattered, the goblins behind him, holding crude weapons, were filled with horror. Regardless, I jumped back into their midst and swung my sword.

-Thwack.

I cut down the stone spear thrust at me and swung my sword at the goblins’ necks. I didn’t want my clothes to get damaged, even though it wouldn’t hurt much to get hit, so I defended myself as much as possible. Besides, compared to Emily or El, their attacks were too clumsy to even bother blocking.

-Whoosh!

“Ker…!!” It didn’t take long for me to defeat all seven goblins. // Charka was examining the goblins I had dealt with and giving his assessment. “Cleanly severed the Adam’s apple and carotid artery. One cut per goblin. The blade didn’t get caught on the skin, and the cut is clean.” Honestly, I wish he would just be quiet because it was embarrassing, but he wouldn’t. The orc with the axe looked at me with an admiring gaze and nodded. “Just as I expected.” “Is that supposed to be a compliment?” “Of course.” Mien, who was examining the goblins’ corpses, asked Charka, and he immediately affirmed. Mien seemed pleased to hear Charka’s words and gave a subtle smile. Meanwhile, Eira was examining one of the larger goblins. “He’s probably an ousted leader. There must be a chief nearby.” She pointed to something hanging around the goblin’s neck. A necklace made of small teeth signified the leader of the goblins. According to her explanation, the previous leader had been kicked out of the group when the chief appeared. “Do we have to catch him?” When I asked, Eira slung her bow back over her shoulder and shrugged. “Normally, we would, but we’re in a hurry right now, so we have to skip it. We don’t know where these guys came from, and we’re not the only ones doing this request. We need to move fast if we want to get the extra 3,000 Rads.” There was nothing to gain from the goblins’ corpses. We couldn’t take their crude stone tools, and we couldn’t take their tattered leather scraps. We took a short break and then started walking again. After walking for a long time, the sun was setting. “We ended up walking all day.” “It feels like we’re marching… though I’ve never done it.” When El and I each said a word, the other three adventurers replied to us. “This is just the entrance to the Great Forest.” “Can you see the base camp over there? From here on out, it’s the real Meshen Great Forest.” “Tomorrow won’t be so easy.” I couldn’t help but be surprised by their words. We had walked all day, and it was still just the entrance. It was said to be as large as a country, and I was starting to get a sense of its vastness. The base camp was different from what the word “camp” implied; it was more like a small cave. The only difference was that there was some kind of marking painted on the cave entrance. “What if there are goblins?”

“Kill and take. It’s that simple.” “The cave isn’t very big. It can’t hold a large number of creatures, so monsters rarely live there.” Charca and Mien answered El’s question as he looked at the cave, seemingly recalling a story he’d heard at the Adventurer’s Guild. It was quite a violent method, but hearing it, it sounded plausible. El, after hearing their answers, opened his mouth in surprise. “…Adventuring is a tough job.” I think that’s a fair statement. Despite walking all day, the group didn’t seem very tired. I secretly thought Mien would be weak since she was a mage, but she held up well, and there was no need to mention Eira and Charca, who were carrying backpacks. We lit a campfire inside the cave, finished preparing for camp, and had a light conversation. It was a time for a rough briefing about the hunt tomorrow. “From tomorrow, we’ll be seriously searching for trolls. We’ll avoid combat as much as possible, but monsters might appear from time to time, so be prepared.” “If we encounter a troll, I’ll be at the very front. You protect the two from the rear, and Lyla, you’ll assist me.” Eira and Charca told me and El as much as possible about their respective roles. And Mien was the same. “Trolls are formidable opponents. They’re about 2.5 meters tall, have immense strength, and their regeneration is tricky. But I’ll assist you, so there’s no need to be too afraid.” She said that, then smiled as if she remembered something and added. “…Of course, Lyla wouldn’t be scared.” Anyway, since me and El were rookie adventurers, we had no choice but to heed the advice of our seniors. I need to have seen a troll before to get a sense of it, but I’ve never seen one, so how am I supposed to get a feel for it? Still, in the worst-case scenario, even if I fought one-on-one, I didn’t think I’d lose at all. I might use some inner energy, but I can always replenish that. ———= Author’s Notes ———= Sorry for skipping a day. After watching Avengers, I couldn’t write well for two days… Now that I’ve come to my senses, I’ll resume regular updates.