episode_0014

*****

Did they say that good times pass quickly? I suddenly looked at the date and realized that almost two months had passed since I arrived in Turkan.

Use your in-game knowledge to clear difficult quests, become stronger with the resulting rewards, and further increase your guild’s reputation. Experiencing the standard flow of an RPG game in real life was much more enjoyable than I expected.

However, as long as the base is real, you cannot just perform the quest every time. There will always be free time when inspecting equipment or replenishing consumables. And at those times, I usually go out with Ranian.

Despite his appearance, Ranian seemed to have a strong desire to improve, and whenever he had the chance, he would ask me to train him in swordsmanship. I also like to move my body, so I tend to accept it.

Thanks to this, when we were in Turkan, clashing swords became part of our daily routine.

“Huh!”

Tukak! Pop!

The dry sound of wooden swords clashing against each other echoes throughout the training ground. The impact transmitted through the sword handle made me feel the power of the attack.

Ranian has a physique that is closer to that of a boy rather than a man, but in this world, physique and attack power are not necessarily proportional. Especially if it is an alien race such as a beastman. Ranian ran in all directions and continued to launch attacks that could crush even steel.

When we first sparred, I was able to finish with a single counter. Now, the gap between attacks has been reduced significantly. This guy has also improved his skills quite a bit.

“But we still have a long way to go!”

“Pfft!?”

As the opponent quickly jumped forward, Ranian was embarrassed, but swung his sword accordingly. However, because the center of gravity was too far forward, both power and speed were dull to opponents who approached within the gap.

If it’s Ludger, it will have to be finished here, but if it’s Ranian, there’s still a lot of time left. I put the wooden sword in my hand in front of Ranian’s neck and ended the sparring.

“How about it? Do you want to try more?”

“No, my defeat──Coughing, coughing.”

“Ahh. You don’t have to say it in words. Come on, lie down.”

Perhaps as a reaction to the movements he had made so far, Ranian became short of breath while speaking and began to cough violently. I patted Ranian’s back until it subsided and laid him down on the floor of the training ground.

… Ugh, I’m covered in sweat. I guess I’ll have to try something a little more expensive for today’s meal.

Unlike Ranian, who was lying down with sweat pouring down from his body, I was completely fine, with only slight difficulty breathing. Even though things have improved a lot compared to before, there is still a big difference between me and Ranian.

“I was too impatient this time too. I know you’re nervous because the attack was blocked, but if you lose focus because of that, it’s a shame. Unless it is a fatal blow, always anticipate your opponent’s movements. Got it?”

“ㄴ, yes… .”

“Well, we’ve already talked about everything. Wouldn’t it be better to use sign language? I think things will go wrong as is.”

Beast humans have a type of battle mode called shuhwa (獸化). Even if the durability is a little low, the physical ability increases rapidly, so a better match will be possible.

It’s not that you can’t practice in your current state, but you might develop strange habits. Considering Ranian’s future, I think it would be better to practice with someone of the same level.

“But you’re not strengthening TS properly, are you?”

“That’s right. There’s no way an enemy like me is rolling around.”

“No, then I’ll just do it this way. If I can’t beat TS anyway… .”

“What if I can’t?”

“Oh, no! It’s nothing.”

The reason his face is bright red is because he was running around just a moment ago. Anyone can see that the reaction of shaking one’s head vigorously is nothing.

However, no matter how many times I interrogate Ranian in this state, he persistently refuses to answer. If this is going to be the case, why not make them curious in the first place?

“That, more than that! Congratulations, Mr. TS. I heard. I heard you will be promoted to Silver if you succeed in the next mission?”

“Ah, we haven’t succeeded yet. And even if it’s Silver, it’s just the same as that kid, right?”

“No, that’s really amazing! Additionally, Mr. TS was promoted only 2 months after becoming Bronze. Even the guild praises it for being the fastest speed ever!”

I know. I also heard it from the guild receptionist. In the case of retired knights, they start at Silver right away, so it is said that it is very rare to go up from Bronze to Silver so quickly.

It took that kid, that Shoo guy, two years, and for that alone, people around him were rumored to be a genius. In other words, I went up to 2 months and more. He is a genius among geniuses.

But even for me, it was difficult for me to withstand Ranian’s barrage of praise. The guild’s evaluation was good, but even after that, people kept saying things about her beauty when she wielded a sword or that she was called a saint by some villagers.

In the end, I forced Ranian to stop talking by hitting him on the shoulder.

“Yes? Already? I can still talk for a while longer… .”

“That’s it! That’s enough, no, it’s too much! Spitz is misunderstanding because you are like this!”

Spitz is the name of the beast girl at Lanian’s party. At the time I saved her, she followed me well, calling me her sister, but at some point, she started to have an eerie expression on her face when she looked at me.

No, I really have no intention of taking it away. I want you to stop glaring at me like you’re looking at a stray cat. Since Ranian’s actions are actions, it is inevitable that they will be misunderstood.

“Do you think you have recovered considering that you have the time to say that in the first place? Shall we start the second game right away? Huh?”

“Oh, no! I’m telling you all of this for an important reason. I’m happy if TS does well, but there are some people who don’t.”

“Ah. What is that shoe?”

As soon as I finished this mission, there was an argument from over there. Are you planning on becoming his woman even now?

I wanted to shake off some corn, but… . Is it because there are few female adventurers? There is no specific regulation regarding sexual harassment in the guild regulations. If I beat that tricky guy, my side will actually drop to block rank.

That guy probably knew that too, so he only provoked him verbally. If I get demoted to block rank, it will give me time to regain my position.

Of course, just because there is a reason doesn’t mean you aren’t angry. Really, regardless of whether he clears stage 1 or not, he definitely needs to be given real training at least once.

“There is a rumor that the destination of that person’s request this time is near where TS is going.”

“Is she on my side? What are you doing?”

“I don’t know for sure, but… . Manipulating one’s whereabouts is not a problem for that person. Please be really careful this time.”

Even Schneizer cannot avoid sanctions if he harms me within the city, but it is difficult to conduct an accurate investigation outside the city. At least Lanian seemed confident that Schneizer would exercise his skills.

So much so that he asked me to consider giving up on this request if the situation were to arise.

“I’ll be careful. But don’t you think it’s a good opportunity? If I can’t even figure out the guild, it means that no matter what I do to that bastard, it won’t be discovered.”

“I thought you would say that… .”

For me, I think it actually went well. I was tired of being bombarded with sexual harassment every time we ran into each other at the guild. It’s not a bad idea to clearly tell which side is up here.

In front of Ranian, who was holding her face and sighing, I smiled, thinking of the tricks the other person might use.

***

The key to sealing the Demon King distributed in each region is the [Gauntlet of Corruption], which is the target this time, and is a glove-like armor once worn by the Demon King.

Each key has its own unique ability, and in the case of this gauntlet, the wearer can evolve endlessly. For example, if you clear Abyss Valley in stage 1, the boss is Evil Drake, but if you clear it in stage 4 at the latest, the Abyss Dragon, one of the strongest monsters in the game, appears. And that too while wearing gauntlets.

Conversely, if you encounter a boss earlier than the original timing, you can theoretically fight in a weaker state. There are reasons for trying to clear stage 1 as quickly as possible, but… .

“… Ha, at least it sucks this time.”

I sighed softly as I looked around at the corpses of ‘ordinary’ warwolves all around me.

In the game, as the player’s adventurer rank increases, signs of Evil Drake’s appearance appear. Things like monsters going berserk or flowing black energy around.

However, in the two months since I started working as an adventurer, I have yet to encounter such an omen even once.

Now that you’ve caught a pack of warwolves, all you have to do is return to the city and you’ll reach silver rank. It is possible that the process was carried out too hastily, but it is still strange that there are no rumors about it.

“Ah, it took 4 days to get here. If I had known this would happen, I probably would have gone to a place closer to the city twice.”

“I think this was a necessary expenditure. Mutant monsters did not appear in villages near Abyss Valley. It’s great that I was able to see that fact with my own eyes.”

“That’s true too… . Well, there’s nothing we can do here anyway. Let’s go back to the guild and check the results of the investigation.”

If it were a normal party, they would sweep up the skins and bones of the warwolves, but I am not good at collecting them and have no way of carrying them around. The moment I was about to cut off the leader’s fangs to use as evidence of subjugation, the Seraph in my arms fell inside.

There are two main reasons why Seraph disappears without saying goodbye. This is when they get upset because I cursed at their god or when someone appears nearby.

Of course, there is no need to say which of the two it is now.

” Hey, as expected, he’s a highly anticipated rookie. You did a great job subduing this many people by yourself.”

“… Who are you?”

“It’s been a few days since we met and have you already forgotten? It’s me, I.”

Behind me, a little distance away, three hooded figures appeared. I almost laughed a little because, in order from the left, they were big, normal, and skinny.

Even though I don’t know the other two, it’s obvious who the normal figure in the middle is. After asking out of courtesy, Schneizer pulled down his hood and grinned triumphantly. I asked for no reason.

“Ah, yes. I remember. Schweitzer.”

“It’s Schneizer! Damn you, you bitch the size of a rat!”

“Master, calm down. There’s no way you don’t know the master’s name, right? It’s an obvious provocation.”

“Tch, I know that much.”

No, I guess I didn’t know. It looked like it was going to pop out at any moment until the leg touched my shoulder.

And honestly, Schweitzer has a better tone and is more familiar than Schneizer. From now on, I will definitely call you this way.

“So Schweitzer. Why did you follow me here?”

“Ha. The mouth still works well. I guess you still don’t understand the situation? Why did you come? This is what I came here for.”

Sreung. With the cool sound of metal, Schweitzer pulled the sword from his belt. At the same time, the big guys and gangsters in the back each took out large axes and wands.

Whether they were regular party members or temporary hires, they all seemed to be doing their bit.

“Hmph. Do you think that if guys like you get together, you can beat me?”

“You are definitely strong. But, I know this because I’ve dealt with it myself, but Warwolf is not a monster that can be caught that easily. How much of the two bottles of potion do I have left? Huh?”

Schweitzer probably didn’t say he had a lot of influence for nothing, but he accurately guessed the number of potions I purchased from Turkan. He probably knows exactly what else I have prepared.

Of course, the potion remains 100% full without using a single drop. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to make fun of him by holding it in front of his eyes, but right now he was frowning very slightly. It felt like it was hiding something that hit the nail on the head.

“… If you touch me, the guild won’t stay silent, right?”

“Do you feel a little scared now? Don’t worry, we’re supposed to be in the next town now. It’s not an easy task to deceive the guild.”

“… … .”

“This is your last chance. What if I put down that sword right now and get naked? , I will forgive you for the time being. I tend to be nice to my woman.”

Sure enough, when I pretended to be embarrassed, the guy got upset and started talking nonsense. Even during this time, my eyes are turned to sexual desire. Was this guy also affected by the Seoknamu?

I’d like to tell you to fuck off right now, but it’s not the time yet. I unsheathed the sword from my belt and placed it on the ground. Very slowly, as if he was hesitant.

Then, the corners of Schweitzer’s mouth went up as if he had won.

I crouched down and rushed towards him.

[Sunbo]

Kang!

“Oh.”

The sharp sound of metal hitting metal. With that, a short exclamation flowed from my mouth.

At the same time as he narrowed the distance with a forward stride, the sword he swung was blocked by Schweitzer, who was in a defensive stance.

“I knew it would be like this, you bitch! Do you have the courage to quietly surrender to your temper?”

“No, I can say my temper just because I’ve seen it so many times. Are you close to me?”

“Everyone but that bastard knows that you’re a bitch!”

Kaang! Schweitzer pushed my sword away with great force. Instead of resisting it, I took a step back, resulting in a 3-to-1 confrontation at a much closer distance than before.

I’m in the dog car class… . Well, it’s not like there’s nothing to guess about. I’m a bit angry at you for calling Ranian a bastard. How kind of a kid he is.

“Didn’t people give you lots of presents when I beat you, Schweitzer?”

“So you said it was Schneizer… , no, it’s done. I’ll make sure you’ll never call me that again! Crown!”

At Schweitzer’s call, the leg behind him released magical power with a wand. Then, a purple mist rose like a fountain from all over the surrounding area and quickly began to spread around the area.

magic? Not. It feels like some kind of signal.

“How did you know I would come here?”

“Tsk, is this guy named Silver asking that? Once you check the ecology of the warwolf and the surrounding area, organizing it will be a breeze. I’m completely astounded that the guild guys are promoting something like this as a genius.”

“Oh… .”

This means that through my experience as an adventurer, I decided where to fight the group of warwolves and set up traps in advance. I admire this part because all I can do is simply cut.

Additionally, the fog that fills the surrounding area is a demonic object that eats up mana. I slowly opened the status window to check the mana amount and saw that it was dropping by the minute.

“Honestly, I was surprised. I thought I would use paralyzing poison at best. The antidote I brought along just in case is probably useless.”

“Of course. Would it really work if I used paralyzing poison on a monster like you? I had a hard time finding this on the black market.”

indeed. I was wondering why they had stayed quiet until now and now they are coming forward. It seems they have been lazily trying to save this. Actually, this is not a poison, so it is effective regardless of resistance.

Of course, I can’t take the antidote in advance or anything like that. If you fight without mana, your pure physical ability will be the calculation that you are superior. And that’s actually not wrong. Because I can’t use body enhancement, I’m less than an ordinary girl.

“Don’t miss it! Crown, buck!”

“Kooo… !”

When I tried to run away, a barrier surrounded me and Schweitzer and the other two men charged at me. It looks like they have properly prepared countermeasures in case I choose to run away.

If you try to escape by breaking the barrier, you will be caught by Dengki and Schweitzer, and while you fight them, they will trap you in the barrier again. However, when dealing with the first two, focus on staying on the defensive and wasting time.

The solid strategy that focused all resources solely on targeting my mana was completely opposite to Schweitzer’s usual image. Well, the ability itself was there, so even the guild couldn’t touch it until now.

So this result, at least, was not a problem with the operation.

“What, are you droopy already? Didn’t you mean to make me cry in bed?”

“Ugh, this bitch… !”

“Now, let’s go up! Take it well!”

Kaang! As predicted, a powerful blow flew out, aiming for Schweitzer’s chin. Although he barely managed to block it, Schweitzer had to take three or four steps back.

A large figure steps in as if to cover the gap, but he is no better than Schweitzer. To avoid the swinging axe, I turned to the side and kicked his sturdy butt.

“You need to lose some weight, you pig!”

“Master, you say that every time! I’m not fat, I’m muscle!”

“You idiot! If you have time to talk to the enemy, swing an ax!”

Schweitzer screamed like that, but even if he swung with a hundred blades, the result would be the same. Even from an outsider’s perspective, I was still alive and well, but Schweitzer and the big guy were struggling like fish on land.

The wizard, who is the only variable, can only stand by and watch from a distance because they are all tangled up at close range.

At this point, the battle is already over. I’m playing around with it to see how long it can hold out, but seeing it struggle for longer than expected seems like it has some strange tenacity.

“Huh, ugh, what the hell is this… ! This can’t be… !”

“No? But this is actually happening.”

“Don’t be funny! What kind of evil trick have you pulled? This witch, wow, wow.”

Still, was there a limit? Schweitzer cursed under his breath and began coughing violently. That’s too much to be a witch. Even though he looks like this, he’s still a paladin.

Please note that the trick is very simple. It’s just that these guys’ mana was running out much faster than my mana was running out. In other words, a simple level difference.

Schweitzer probably expected that my mana amount was higher, but I guess he didn’t know that I would still be fine after the battle with the warwolf group.

Well, if you have that level of skill, there’s no way you’d be an adventurer on this frontier.

“You, what are you…? .”

Schweitzer’s expression gradually fell as he came to the same conclusion as me. The mixture of denial and fear was quite comical, so much so that it made me laugh just looking at it.

Unfortunately, my accumulated resentment was not resolved to this extent.

“Eight.”

“Qu.”

When each of them was struck once in the solar plexus, Big and Knuckle immediately fainted. These two were only following their superior’s orders, so that’s all.

“Now, wait a minute! surrender! I will surrender, so just leave me like this!”

“I don’t like it? Whoever wants. No one knows you’re here anyway.”

“Oh, I know! Because I told Turkan’s collaborators! My family will not forgive you if you touch me!”

Simple bravado… , is not. Painfully, that statement was true. If I were to leave Turkan right now, I wouldn’t have to worry about that, but I still have things to do in this city.

Of course, I have no intention of letting it go like this without doing anything. Because I don’t trust Schweitzer’s words at all, such as saying that he will never touch you again or that he will live quietly from now on.

However, it may be possible to increase the credibility of the statement a little more.

“Ha, you surrendered! Why does it keep coming! Wow, really… .”

“Ah, don’t worry. Because I will return the limb unharmed.”

If you can’t remember it with your head, just remember it with your body. My mind was already thinking about how to dig it up without leaving any aftereffects.

“Instead, it will hurt a little.”

“Stop it! Wow, Wow!”

The next day, when I returned to the village, the entire village was shaking in fear, saying that a terrible monster had appeared and was eating people.

Even for me, this might have been a bit too harsh. Let’s reflect.

*****