Chapter 32: Ambush
The next day, we arrived at the bustling Adventurer’s Guild once again. We couldn’t afford to miss out on the competition for requests, so we decided to observe for a while and get accustomed to the atmosphere.
“Looks like it’s as crowded as ever today,” I remarked, watching the frenzy of adventurers vying for requests while also keeping an eye on what was posted.
Now that I understood how to earn money, the anxiety I felt before had faded away. It turns out, having a little confidence makes a world of difference.
“Hey, look, Shuu. There are requests for hunting Great Deer and Murder Bears in the D and C rank sections.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know those monsters were D and C rank. Interesting. The reward for the Great Deer’s antlers is… 100,000 Fron, and the liver of the Murder Bear is 200,000 Fron.”
I wondered if the guild would buy meat separately from requests. What should I do if I just wanted to sell meat? Ah, I could always just dismantle it myself.
“I hope there’s no rule against hunting without taking a request from the guild.”
“I doubt it, but… if we get attacked, we won’t be able to fight back.”
“Right.”
“Ah, looks like there are still some E-rank gathering requests available.”
Before someone else could snatch them up, we hurried to the now-empty board to check the details.
Let’s see…
They wanted fifty leaves of Iron Leaf. The completion reward was 300 Fron, and they would buy each Iron Leaf for 50 Fron. Got it.
“Since we’re heading to the Forest of Enchantment anyway, should we take the request?”
“Yeah, might as well.”
After peeling the Iron Leaf request from the board, we submitted it at the counter.
“Alright, let’s take it easy today.”
“Yeah!”
We exited the guild and made our way through the central plaza toward the North Gate. As we were leaving, the gatekeeper called out to us.
“Oh, you’re carrying a bag today. Good to see you’re prepared.”
I realized that last time, I might have left without anything but my gear. A little embarrassing.
“Ahaha, we’re off now!”
“Take care out there!”
As the name suggests, Iron Leaves are as tough as iron. They grow like grass, and you typically get about three leaves per bundle. It seemed that no one was eager to take on the request for fifty leaves.
Following the same path as before, we arrived at the Forest of Enchantment. This time, we moved faster and explored deeper than before, searching for Regulus Fruits and Iron Leaves. We planned to spend the night in the forest again.
Of course, we continued our experiment to tame the Green Wolves. They managed to escape again, but at least they didn’t bite me this time. I must be making progress… I think.
Naturally, we also hunted monsters. They attacked us, after all. This time, we took down a Land Turtle, about 1.5 meters long, and a large number of Iron Ants, each around 80 centimeters. There were so many that I decided against carrying them all back. We also hunted another Great Deer, which seemed slightly smaller than the last one.
“Well, well, we meet again.”
On our way back to town, pretending to drag two of our catches, we encountered a trio of familiar adventurers. They were the same ones who had bothered us before—an archer and a scout in the front line.
“So, what do you want this time?” I asked, clearly aware they were lying in wait for us.
“Well, I thought I’d come to collect on that debt from last time.”
“Debt?”
I couldn’t recall lending them anything, but they seemed intent on returning something. More likely, they were just here for revenge.
“Great Deer and Land Turtle, huh? You seem to be doing alright, but you’re still just rookies.”
With a swift motion, the swordsman unsheathed his blade, the archer nocked an arrow, and the scout drew two daggers, ready for a fight.
“Looks like they’re really fired up…”
Rio sighed in exasperation.
“Hey, if that girl over there is willing to join our party, I might let you off with just a half-dead punishment.”
Half-dead, huh?
“Of course, I’m going to decline that offer.”
Rio’s voice was laced with anger at the mention of “half-dead,” and I could feel her Magic Power beginning to leak out.
“Haha, you’re turning us down without even asking, huh? Is that really okay with you?”
Why was he checking with me? It’s not like I had the final say in our party.
“Well, I agree with her, so I have no reason to oppose.”
“Is that so? …Then die!”
So much for half-dead. I doubted my comment would even register with them.
At that moment, Rio had already activated her spell, likely Earth Needle. Hundreds of earthen spikes floated ominously behind her.
The archer released his arrow, but Rio sent some of her Earth Needles flying to intercept it, shattering the projectile mid-air.
“W-What the hell… is that?”
The front-line fighter and the scout, who had been rushing toward us, halted in their tracks, cold sweat trickling down their brows.
“Die… you say?”
As Rio took a step forward, the Earth Needles followed her, closing in on the trio.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“Yikes!”
“Of course, if you’re trying to kill someone, you should be prepared to be killed in return, right?”
Whoa, Rio, maybe you don’t need to go that far…
“My Shuu won’t be harmed by anyone!”
With that final declaration, the Earth Needles launched in succession, targeting the ground closer and closer to them.
“Ahhhhhh!!”
The front-line man threw down his sword and bolted, with the other two quickly following suit.