Return #1

 

The red eyes of the Ratman Shaman move slowly.

He sees me landing at his feet.

I see a clean, sharp sword wound across my body, from neck to chest.

And then, my eyes flutter again⋯

Just lost its light.

The Ratman Shaman’s massive body crumbled.

“I defeated the boss of the underground sewer, Ratman Shaman.”

Phew. That was really hard.

It didn’t go entirely as planned, but we won anyway.

“Estelle⋯!”

Flora covered her mouth and couldn’t continue speaking.

An expression of mixed joy and surprise.

“Senior, just a moment.”

My body, completely drained of magical power, trembled precariously as if it would collapse at any moment, but I braced myself and held on.

Even if it’s hard, you have to clean up after yourself.

I approached the entrance where the magic shield was fading away and tore the scroll.

“You used the Scroll of Fear.”

A thick, dark fog rose above the scroll, forming an indescribably horrific sight.

The ratmen gathered at the entrance of the room were terrified at the sight of the figure and ran away.

Having witnessed the slaughter of their leader, the sorcerer, and with the added effect of the Scroll of Terror, they won’t dare attack us for a while.

“Ah …

Only then did all the strength leave my body, and I fell forward in the standing position.

dump.

Flora quickly caught my body before I fell to the floor.

“Senior, can I sleep for a bit?”

I muttered in a languid voice.

Is it because of the sense of accomplishment that comes from accomplishing something?

Somehow I feel like I just want to act spoiled.

I’m not originally like this.

“You worked hard. Get some rest.”

Flora whispered warmly and stroked my head.

Normally, I would have rejected it, feeling like I was being treated like a child. But now, I don’t really dislike those touches.

‘Just get some shut-eye…’

But something catches my eye in the corner of my darkened field of vision.

Oh, that one.

What is that⋯?

Wait a minute!

“Senior, damn it, that thing!”

“why?”

I jumped up and crawled on all fours towards the corpse of the Ratman Shaman.

Blue flames flicker over the corpse of the sorcerer.

It’s a ghost.

A jackpot reward that appears with a 5% chance.

I crawled like a dog and immediately put my hand on the spirit.

You have to eat before it disappears. Even if a meteor falls from the sky, the soul must eat before it dies.

‘Is your luck stat high?’

I caught the boss and the ghost appeared twice in a row.

Was Estelle actually a lucky girl?

Since luck is a hidden ability, there is no way to check it in the game, but I have a feeling it might be like that.

“You have acquired the spirit of the Ratman Shaman.”

“The Ratman Shaman’s spirit is converted into a spirit item.”

It’s a bit disappointing that the skill ‘Unleash Wildness’ didn’t come out, but at least the item came out somewhere.

I picked up a small green ring.

Sagrada’s life

—Jewelry items

– Increases melee attack power and magic attack power when equipped

—A ring imbued with the dark malice of the Ratman sorcerer. It is shaped like a snake biting its own tail. To properly use this ring, you will need a sufficient amount of antidote.

—Additional options: “Addiction” and “Painful Sacrifice”

“poisoning

“When striking in close range, there is a certain probability of poisoning the enemy.”

“Painful sacrifice

—Poisons the user, increasing all damage inflicted on enemies. The longer the user remains poisoned, the greater the damage.

Although it feels like its abilities are somewhat focused on attack, it is still a very useful spirit item.

It’s good to use right away, and it’s also good to sell later.

‘I’m going to do dungeons for this taste.’

My body is tired from the fatigue accumulated from exploring the dungeons for the past few days, but I am very satisfied because I have achieved the result.

Only then did I close my eyes.

I feel like I’m floating on clouds. I have a feeling I’ll have some really good dreams if I sleep now.

***

It’s really refreshing to breathe the fresh air outside after such a long time.

We left the culvert and returned to the settlement.

The first thing we did was to dispose of the loot.

The bag was heavy, filled with the byproducts of the giant rat and ratman, and even had a faint smell. I had no choice.

“We got rich!”

Flora held a handful of gold coins in her hands and a big smile appeared on her face.

The total amount of money obtained from disposing of the loot was 23,600 gold.

It was worth it to endure the nausea and cut up the rat’s corpse.

In addition, he collected 640 magic stones.

For a first hunt, I’m pretty satisfied.

“Senior, don’t brag too loudly.”

“why?”

“In a pioneering area, bragging about your wealth makes you an easy target for robbers. There’s no need to risk your life by telling people you have a lot of money.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Flora’s eyes widen as she hears me.

Flora carefully put the gold coin she was holding into her bag, then crouched down and looked around cautiously.

I don’t know why, but because his back was bent awkwardly, it seemed like he was copying Ratman.

“⋯There’s no need to be so scared. No, people are so extreme. Just do what you normally do.”

“Okay⋯.”

Flora straightened again, but her expression remained awkwardly frozen.

“I’m talking about distribution.”

After clearing my throat, I got into the real important conversation.

There are countless adventuring parties in the world, but despite their heroic achievements, many of them end up not so well.

A common cause of discord among party members is the issue of loot distribution.

At first, everyone says they want to share it equally, but that’s not as easy as it sounds.

How should we truly divide it fairly? When it comes to actual distribution, opinions are divided.

Among them, there are parties that say to divide it into N equal parts without going into too much detail, but…

Still, dissatisfaction builds up.

Some people might think they do the work of two or three people at a party, while others can’t even do the work of one person.

“Senior, I thought about it. I’m going to split it 50/50 for now….”

“Oh, we’ll do it 2 to 1. Of course, Estelle will be 2. What do you think?”

uh?

I stopped what I was about to say and stared blankly at Flora.

At first, I thought it would be a 50/50 split.

Since I do more work there, such as collecting byproducts or hunting bosses, I tried to claim more of my share there.

“That would be fine with me, but… are you okay with that?”

“Of course. Our party can’t exist without Estelle. I’ll do as you say.”

The conversation ended more refreshingly than I expected.

Moreover, Flora readily gave me the spirit item.

“I think it would be more useful if Estelle wrote it rather than me.”

That’s certainly true.

That’s true, but…

If it had to be done, I would have tried to persuade Flora to give me the ring, but that was no longer necessary.

Is this girl stupid or a fool?

“Then I ask for your help with the next hunt as well.”

After finishing the distribution, Flora nodded.

I see.

It was then that I realized, this guy is definitely not stupid.

I noticed it.

That I am a bus driver.

If you don’t mind and get on board properly, it will take care of taking you to your destination.

Rather than coveting a little immediate profit, they must have decided that it would be more advantageous to participate in the next hunt, and the one after that.

‘You’re quite clever.’

There’s nothing wrong with me either.

There’s no need to argue about loot distribution.

Flora is a very helpful party member, at least for now.

There will probably come a time when we have to say goodbye, but for now, we can go together.

“Excuse me, Estelle. What should we do now?”

“Well, I wonder… why don’t we each get our bearings and rest, and then meet again?”

“Then- would you like to go wash up first?”

Flora said with shining eyes.

“I didn’t notice it when I was in the basement, but I realized it now that I’m outside. The smell coming from our bodies is no joke. I think it would be good to soak in hot water and wash thoroughly. What do you think?”

“Huh⋯?”

I couldn’t find the words to respond for a moment and just swallowed.

Flora’s words are absolutely correct.

I need to wash it.

I’ve been feeling this way for a while now.

I’ve been rolling around in that dirty sewer for days, so I must be smelling like sewage right now.

However, there is a reason why I cannot readily accept Flora’s proposal.

There is a reason that cannot be explained to Flora.

“Why are we washing together again? ⋯No, from her perspective, is that something she can easily say? After all, we’re both women. But still.”

Flora’s suggestion was purely out of kindness, hoping that her colleagues would become a little closer to each other.

I was in deep agony.

I’m a girl, but actually I’m a guy.

But for now, she’s a girl, so I think it’ll be okay.

But even if I can fool the heavens and the earth, I can’t fool myself.

It’s ethically wrong. Even Confucius would condemn it.

But then again, what the hell? Just close your eyes and do it once.

Honestly, I’m curious… If not now, then when-

In just a few seconds, countless thoughts pass through my mind.

The conclusion I came to is⋯

“Oh, I don’t want to wash⋯.”

“yes?”

“Senior, wash up by yourself!”

Coward’s choice.

It was just running away.

***

Inside Richie’s mansion, in a hidden secret room.

Here stands a man and a woman.

Anna, a beauty with cutely upturned eyes.

Eden, a man with a faint smile but a somewhat cold aura.

There are more than one or two adjectives that follow them.

However, the most famous of them all is—

As expected, it must be the ‘companion of the warrior.’

“None.”

Anna said in a playful tone.

“Rich, where did you go? Are you dead?”

“Ancient Magic Binding Device” is a work of Anna’s craftsmanship.

The concept is eternal prison.

It was a work that I was confident that I had made quite well.

Richie, who should have been trapped there, was nowhere to be found.

Annoyingly.

“Ms. Anna, Richie won’t die.”

Eden said, adjusting her glasses.

“I guess it would be right to say that he escaped.”

“Huh, how? That doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s equally absurd that a being is constantly resurrected. There must have been some escape method unknown to us.”

Anna pouted and tapped the restraints for no reason.

As if the restraints did something wrong.

Eden scanned the secret room with a sharp gaze.

“More importantly, how he escaped isn’t what matters anymore. So, where is Richie now? We need to find out.”

“But even if I try to escape, he’s nothing special now. In his current state, he wouldn’t be able to fight off even a wild boar.”

“That must be so.”

Eden looked carefully at the floor.

Amidst the thick layer of dust, there was a trace of something being dragged.

Eden, like a skilled detective, traced the trail of dust.

“That’s why you have to catch them again when they’re weak. If you let them grow stronger again, it’ll be a headache.”

“Aww- It’s annoying. I don’t know. I don’t care. It’s not fun at all, just chasing after a weak lich.”

Anna, who had been following along with her head tilted down and her gait crooked, eventually began to complain.

He is known as the greatest genius of all time among wizards, and is the youngest magic tower master of the Flame School magic tower…

A personality that always moves based on interest and cannot stand boredom even for a second.

For someone like Anna, she had lasted quite a while.

“Michael will take care of it anyway. He’s such a great warrior, what’s the big deal about something like a lich? Honestly, I think I’m just being a bit of a fuss.”

“⋯If you don’t feel like it, you can go back first, Anna.”

Eden stood up and brushed off the dust from her priest’s robe.

“Oh, is that okay?”

Anna asked with a smile.

“I’ll stay and search the area around the mansion. As Anna said, Richie isn’t much of a threat right now, so I should be able to subdue him on my own. If I contact you later, would you come pick him up then?”

“Okay. Good work-”

Anna quickly used her magic before Eden’s mind changed.

“Long-distance controlled space travel”.

The pinnacle of teleportation magic, allowing you to instantly travel across mountain ranges and seas to the other side of the continent.

It is a high-difficulty magic that less than ten wizards in the entire continent can use.

“hmm.”

Eden watched for a moment as Anna’s figure, wrapped in a magic circle, disappeared.

The noisy colleague disappeared, and silence fell again.

The silence and stillness that Eden loves most.

Eden always smiled brightly as if she had a habit of doing so.

I started to persistently trace Richie’s footsteps again.