Chapter 35: Promotion to F Rank
“You heard him. Get out!”
Ah, poor guys, getting kicked out of the Guild.
“You should lower your heads and move slowly. If you make any shooing gestures, you’ll get stung.”
The man who kicked Mii-chan’s chair, his face contorted in pain from being stung on the head, glared at me and slowly rose from his seat.
As they left, I ordered Bee-chan and the others to pursue them and asked them to give the group a good scare.
It wasn’t an attack order, mind you, just a request.
“You too! Just have them sting those bastards and ‘request’ they leave immediately!”
“If I could do that, I would’ve done it long ago.”
“So, is that cat your tamed beast?”
“Yes. This is Mii-chan.”
“Mii-chan… A fitting tamed beast for you. Go take some rat-catching requests while holding it! I heard there was a newbie who brought in a lot of Orcs and such. Was that you?”
“Those were from nearly five months of subjugation work in Osius Village.”
“Five months, huh… What’s your rank?”
“It’s G.”
“I’ll promote you to F, so take your Guild Card to the counter. Then get to work on those rat-catching jobs!”
I registered last May, so it’s already been over a year.
I wonder if he doesn’t know I’d be promoted to F rank even if I did nothing. He’s saying it so condescendingly, so I’ll just keep quiet.
Once the foul-tempered Guild Master left, the dismantling chief came over with the appraisal sheet, as if taking his place.
“Hm? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing. The Guild Master’s just in a bad mood, I suppose.”
The dismantling chief tilted his head and handed over the appraisal sheet.
I don’t know the market rates, so I just glanced at it and acknowledged it.
“So, about that, can’t you catch more Chiki-Chiki Birds?”
“Ah, birds are Mii-chan’s job, you see.”
“Mii-chan, you mean that cat, right?”
“That’s right. They build nests high up in trees or at the tips of branches, so it’s impossible for me. Mii-chan attacks them while they’re sleeping at night and brings them to me.”
He made an exasperated face and said, “Well then, tell Mii-chan to earn more,” before leaving.
Horn Boar: 3, 140,000 Dahla x 3 = 420,000 Dahla
Elk: 2, 110,000 Dahla x 2 = 220,000 Dahla
Orc: 9, 70,000 Dahla x 9 = 630,000 Dahla
Gray Wolf: 11, 37,000 Dahla x 11 = 407,000 Dahla
Flame Dog: 7, 19,000 Dahla x 7 = 133,000 Dahla
Carrion: 6, 26,000 Dahla x 6 = 156,000 Dahla
Chiki-Chiki Bird: 2, 55,000 Dahla x 2 = 110,000 Dahla
Sprint Bird: 1, 35,000 Dahla
Kokekko: 3, 16,000 Dahla x 3 = 48,000 Dahla
Red Chicken: 6, 20,000 Dahla x 6 = 120,000 Dahla
Total: 2,279,000 Dahla. Since this was earned over nearly five months in Osius Village, it comes out to a little over 450,000 Dahla per month, which is good earnings.
I took the appraisal sheet to the settlement counter, received the full amount, and handed my Guild Card to the receptionist.
“Oh my, it’s been over a year for you, so you should be F rank, right? The Guild Master also came by saying to make you F rank.”
“He seemed to have lost his temper, so I don’t think he noticed.”
“Well, either way, you’re definitely F rank.”
Now that I’d finally processed the game stored in my Rank 5 Magic Bag, I went to the neighboring shop frequented by Adventurers to get new boots and clothes.
The shopkeeper’s face lit up when he saw me.
For now, I bought a set of clothes and boots, and then tried out the bow with the strongest draw weight.
Ever since I acquired Super Strength, even drawing a shortbow felt as light as drawing a child’s bow, and I can’t count how many times I’d overdrawn and the arrow slipped off the string.
I bought a three-person-draw bow and heavy-tipped arrows, paying 527,000 Dahla.
All that’s left is to change my spearhead to a sturdier one and get a short sword.
Since gaining Super Strength, even carrying somewhat heavy things at my waist hasn’t become a hindrance, and being unarmed often leads to being underestimated.
I went to the smithy I was told about and ordered a spearhead replacement and one short sword.
The shape was the same as the one in the Adventurer’s shop, but I ordered it to be wider and heavier.
A heavier one is better for bludgeoning, and I requested it be made of magic steel, which is harder and sharper than iron.
For the short sword, I decided on a single-edged straight blade, about 50cm long, with a hilt two and a half fists long.
The spearhead was 450,000 Dahla, and the short sword was 600,000 Dahla. I paid 10 Gold Coins and 5 silver coins, and it was decided I’d pick them up in two weeks.
I headed to the market to stock up on food, but the “goldfish poop” tailing me since I left the Guild was annoying.
Having brought in a large amount of game and received all the earnings, I must have looked like prime prey, but I’m carrying deadly poison, you know.
In the city, Bee-chan and the others can’t distinguish the “goldfish poop,” so I ignored them and stocked up heavily on food, seasonings, and the like.
Before dusk, I went to the city gate and quickly left the city.
The “goldfish poop” didn’t seem to expect me to leave the city at dusk; I could tell from their presence that they were panicking.
I jogged away from the city, removed Mii-chan’s medal, and hid in a thicket of grass.
Bee-chan and the others were resting on a nearby tree, but the night belongs to Mii-chan.
I’ll show them I’m not a Tamer who just relies on Bee-chan.
Using the same technique as blending with a tree, I held Mii-chan and waited motionlessly for the “goldfish poop.”
《Mii-chan, don’t kill them, okay? Aim for their faces, give them some deep claw marks.》
《Master, the approaching scent is from those guys from earlier.》
Ah, right. They were the ones who saw me bring in a large amount of game. Just because the Guild Master kicked them out doesn’t mean they’re going to let a large sum of money go, huh.
In that case, claw marks might be bad.
《Mii-chan, cancel the attack.》
《What about Master’s enemies?》
《Leave it to me~♪ You can bite the legs of anyone who tries to run, but no claws, okay?》
《Understood… They’re here.》
Fools. Just you watch.
They’re stepping into the grassland looking for my campsite, but can’t they tell I’m hiding in the thicket right beside them?
Is their Search skill poor, or is my Stealth just that good?
I Jumped towards the one who shouted arrogantly.
A horizontal flying kick, and the moment it connected, I Jumped again.
I leaped in front of the one who cried out, then Jumped again the instant I landed, delivering a knee kick to his face.
What are they making a fuss about so leisurely?
Well, the enemy being clueless is a welcome development, so I’ll continue the attack.
I took out my Short Spear, held it in a reverse grip, and Jumped.
While leaping over the head of a guy readying a longsword, I struck him with the butt of the spear.
With a nice
《Mii-chan, go bite their legs.》
《Yes, Master.》
You idiot, watching the man screaming and clutching his leg—an opening!
I leaped in almost head-on, delivered a dropkick to his stomach, then lightly Jumped above the head of the man raising his sword.
I twisted my body and delivered a strike to his medulla, then kicked the back of the head of the man clutching his leg, finishing it.
After that, come what may; whether they live or die is up to fate.
* * * * * * *
A comfortable awakening. While moving through the morning grassland on a stroll, I noticed an unusual number of small bees.
And the ones moving from flower to flower were Honeybees!
They were about half the size of Bee-chan and the others, with translucent wings close to crimson, so they didn’t look like ordinary honeybees.
Or rather, their size was completely different from the honeybees I knew.
I’d greeted spring in Osius Village, but since I spent most of my time in the forest, I hadn’t seen the flowers in full bloom.
And yet, where I was standing now, the flowers were in full bloom, and bees were busily flying about.
If I overlooked this, my name as a Tamer would be disgraced.
I (Tamed) a bee resting on a flower. [Honeybee: 3]
If I were to bundle thin twigs and strike them, I’d probably kill them. So, I gathered some thin, rush-like grass, bundled it together, and aimed for a one-hit-kill… no, a one-hit-weaken on the Honeybee perched on a flower.
(Tame) [Honeybee – 1]
(Tame, Tame) [Honeybee, 200-1]
《If you can hear me, could you land on my palm?》
《Yes, Master.》
《Your name is Honey. Honey the 1st, okay?》
《Honey the 1st it is, Master.》
[Honeybee, 200-1, Harvest/Transport, 20]
I saw a number that bothered me a little, so I checked my skills.
(Skill) [Shinya, Human – 19 years old. Tamer – Ability 1, Amadeus’s Blessing – Tina’s Blessing, Domestic Magic – Magical Power 10/10, Search Intermediate Mid-rank, Presence Detection Intermediate Mid-rank, Stealth Intermediate Mid-rank – Tree Climbing – Poison Nullification – Killer Bee Domination, Jump, Agility, Super Strength]
[Killer Bee, 50-50, Compound Eyes, Poison Nullification]
[Fang Cat, 4-1, Night Vision, Agility]
[Honeybee, 200-1, Harvest/Transport, 20]
200… So I really have to Tame 200 of them, huh.
I felt utterly drained, but since there were still 9 days until I’d receive the spearhead and short sword, I decided to secure some Honeybees to kill time.
With this, I’ll have an all-you-can-eat supply of sweet Nectar.
I diligently went from flower to flower, and whenever I found a Honeybee, I’d repeat the one-hit-weaken and Tame it.
《Is that Master’s prey?》
《That one doesn’t have much meat on it, you know.》
《We want to eat big meat.》
It’s not your meal, and I’m not going to eat it either.