Interlude 3: An Adventurer’s Tale
“Damn it, what is up with these Councilors?!”
I’m a solo B Rank Adventurer, wandering the streets of the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Faerdehelde when suddenly, I find myself branded a criminal.
…Well, perhaps “suddenly” is a bit misleading. I do recall having a bit of a scuffle with a noble about a week ago. I had chased off a man who was bothering the inn’s lovely signboard girl, and he had spat out some rather nasty parting words.
“Here I gooo!”
And so, here I am, right in the middle of a Stampede at Satanis Garden. With a hefty fine weighing down my pockets, this is the quickest way to earn some cash. Even without the debt, I would have likely come here; it’s the perfect place to test my skills.
As I scatter the approaching monsters, I can feel my debt slowly diminishing, which lifts my spirits. But perhaps that was my mistake.
The sound of bells ringing echoes from afar. I suddenly realize I’ve strayed too far from safety. There are no other adventurers around, and I can see a horde of monsters approaching from a distance.
“Oh no… did I really screw up?”
I hurriedly begin my retreat, uncertain if I’ll make it in time. But there’s no reason to stop, so I keep moving backward.
“Damn it!”
The speed at which the monsters advance is alarming. The uneven ground hampers my retreat, and before I know it, they’ve caught up to me. I turn to face them, raising my shield, bracing myself to absorb the incoming attack. Just as despair begins to settle in, one of the monsters lunging at me is suddenly sent flying away as if struck by an unseen force.
“…Huh?”
Looking in the direction from which it was thrown, I see a massive wolf rampaging through the monsters. Upon closer inspection, I notice a child with fox ears perched atop its back.
Moreover, the child is carelessly unleashing fire magic, decimating the monsters in their path.
“Wait, wait, this isn’t the time to be gawking!”
I momentarily lose myself in the spectacle, but then I remember I was in the middle of a retreat. With the monsters no longer on my tail, there’s no reason to linger.
“That was close… I almost bit the dust there.”
Once I safely return to the second outer wall, I wipe the sweat from my brow.
“But still… I don’t get it.”
From what I’ve heard, that wolf is a Tamed Monster of an S Rank Adventurer. The moment I laid eyes on it, I knew it was something extraordinary. But what about the foxkin child riding it? Could they also be a companion of that S Rank Adventurer?
As I ponder these questions, I savor the fact that I’ve survived.
Days pass, and once again, the sound of bells rings out.
Fortunately, I’m not on the front lines this time; I’m resting atop the second outer wall, allowing me to watch the chaos unfold with a sense of security. However, the ringing is more frantic than usual. Looking out into the Forest of Enchantment, I see a swarm of monsters spilling forth, not just from the nearby woods but from far-off thickets as well, creating an impenetrable tide.
“Whoa…”
I can’t help but let out a gasp.
If I just sit here, I might be in serious trouble. With that many monsters approaching, I could be swallowed up in no time.
Ah, right, the way they ring the bells means it’s a signal for everyone to retreat. An S Rank Adventurer is about to make their entrance, and the rest of us are supposed to get out of the way, right?
Considering the previous display of the Tamed Monster’s prowess, I can only assume that its master, the S Rank Adventurer, is incredibly strong. But can they really hold their ground against such overwhelming numbers?
As I watch the steadily advancing monsters, my anxiety grows, and just as I’m about to seriously consider fleeing, it happens.
From one direction, an expansive wave of magic is unleashed.
The approaching monsters are blown away one after another, rendered utterly incapacitated. Occasionally, a few manage to survive, but the magic seems to ignore them, spreading further and further, expanding its reach.
The range is absurdly long, seemingly reaching even the Forest of Enchantment several kilometers away.
“Hahaha…”
I can only chuckle dryly at the sight of the landscape being reshaped by the magic as it decimates the monsters. So this is the power of an S Rank Adventurer.
In the aftermath of that catastrophic area-of-effect spell, the ground is littered with the corpses of monsters, and it feels like all that’s left is to hunt down the remaining stragglers.
I had steeled myself to endure the full brunt of the Stampede after the S Rank Adventurer, but it seems the battle is already over.
I had been eager to earn money to pay off my debts, but the Stampede ended before I could make much. S Rank Adventurers are truly terrifying.
After weeks of waiting for the Guild to sort through the massive amount of monster materials and distribute rewards to the adventurers, I received an unexpectedly… no, an astonishingly large sum.
“What the hell is this?”
“Oh, it seems to be a special reward from Shu.”
“Huh?”
I ask the Guild Staff in confusion, but it seems they don’t have many details either. Shu… could that be the recently rumored S Rank Adventurer? The Nation Crusher, Shu? If someone were to unleash such a wide-ranging spell, an entire city could be turned to rubble in an instant, making the title of Nation Crusher quite fitting.
“Apparently, they said it was thanks to you that they were able to gather evidence.”
“Really?”
I still don’t quite understand what they mean.
“Haha, well, that’s good for you, isn’t it?”
“Uh, yeah… I guess so.”
I don’t fully grasp the situation, but if they’re handing out rewards, I’m not about to refuse. With this, I could live comfortably for the rest of my life, debt-free.
Later, as Ronarl treats me to dinner, he tries to console me, but I’m feeling pretty secure right now.
In fact, I even consider treating him instead, but I decide to let him comfort me in silence.