Report of the Dragon Subjugation
“Excuse me. I’ve completed the Forest Dragon subjugation, so I’d like to request confirmation.”
“Yes, yes. The Forest Dragon’s… subjugation?! No, no, no, if I recall, Haito-san, you’re a C-Rank adventurer, right?”
“Yeah, well…”
Apparently, I’m said to have broken the record for the youngest to reach C-Rank adventurer, or something like that.
Well, from my perspective as someone who thoroughly played JRO, I intend to proceed quite slowly, taking safety precautions.
“…Haito-san, you accepted the request for investigating the Forest Dragon’s movements and its subjugation. False reports are subject to penalties, but—”
“You’re quite suspicious, aren’t you? How about trying to trust people a little more?”
“…But, Haito-san, you’re a ‘Farmer,’ right? Honestly, I think it would be better for you to start over from E-Rank once it was discovered you’re a ‘Farmer.'”
The blonde receptionist looked at me with cold eyes. The inside of the Adventurer’s Guild was noisy with adventurers, and the walls were thick, so perhaps they couldn’t hear the commotion outside.
However, this blatant ‘Farmer’ discrimination. This receptionist might be a graduate of the Hero Academy, perhaps. Not that I care.
“If you’re going to say that much, shall we bet something?”
“Sounds good. Then, if the Forest Dragon hasn’t been subjugated, in addition to the penalty for a false report, please surrender your adventurer’s license.”
“…Th-That’s harsh.”
“It’s true, isn’t it? Then there shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Well, yeah, there’s no problem, but.
“And, if I really did subjugate it?”
“I’ll specially permit you to directly grope my breasts.”
It didn’t seem to balance out with the revocation of an adventurer’s license, but—I lightly lowered my gaze and looked at the receptionist’s chest… Th-They’re huge!
Her face, being just like a JRO NPC, was quite beautiful if you looked closely… Yeah, well.
No, that kind of thing really isn’t good. I just got permission to make Ragna my wife the other day, and getting infatuated with other girls beyond this would be a betrayal to Reina…!
“Um, about what I said earlier—”
“Don’t tell me you’re backing out now, okay?”
“Ugh…”
Well, of course! While I was flustered, having my move preempted, the receptionist opened the Adventurer’s Guild door. Before my eyes was the Forest Dragon we’d painstakingly dragged from Gracos Forest, and Ragna, who was watching over it.
“Eh? Th-The real thing?! …It-It wasn’t a lie?”
The receptionist looked back and forth between me and the Forest Dragon multiple times.
Then, the receptionist’s face turned red, and while biting her lower lip in humiliation, she said,
“…F-For now, I’ll go call the Branch Manager. The penalty game for the bet will be after that…”
The receptionist left. That receptionist seemed to have a lot of pride. Judging by her expression, it didn’t look like the matter of the bet would be swept under the rug.
It’s not like I’d mind if she went back on her word, though…
While I was thinking about such things, the receptionist from earlier brought the Branch Manager who wrote us the Letter of Recommendation last month.
“No, no, there’s no way students could take down a Forest Dragon… Eeeeehhh?!”
“It was true, wasn’t it? Then, please take care of that salary increase from our bet.”
“Gunununu. Th-That’ll come out of my own pocket, won’t it?”
“Yes, well, that’s right.”
That receptionist-san has quite an interesting personality. In JRO, she was just an NPC who repeated mechanical greetings, but perhaps these aspects are also why this world has become real.
Seeing her rather shrewd demeanor, a chuckle unintentionally escaped me.
“…Gunununu. For now, I’ll confirm with Haito-kun and Ragna-kun… did the two of you defeat that dragon?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“No, Haito defeated it almost entirely by himself!”
No, well, thanks to Ragna, I was able to pick up a spare Seed of the World Tree, so there were parts where she helped…
“Well, alright. For now, both of you, come to the Branch Manager’s office. Nina, you make sure to manage the Forest Dragon properly.”
“Of course.”
After confirming that the receptionist was giving instructions to adventurers to move the Forest Dragon, we decided to follow them to the Branch Manager’s office.
◇
“I’ll be direct. I’m thinking of specially raising both Haito-kun’s and Ragna-kun’s Adventurer Ranks by two levels each. …Meaning, Haito-kun will be A-Rank, and Ragna-kun will be B-Rank.”
“Eh, A-Rank?”
“Yes. …Honestly, if you have the ability to subjugate a Forest Dragon with just two people—or, according to Ragna-kun, almost single-handedly—then even S-Rank wouldn’t be out of the question. However, S-Rank requires the approval of the General Manager, so it’s difficult to do immediately.”
The Branch Manager hung her head apologetically.
“No, that’s more than enough! I never thought I’d be able to get promoted to A-Rank this quickly!”
“B-But, is it really okay for me too? I really didn’t do anything, you know?”
“No, rather, a student single-handedly subjugating a Forest Dragon is so absurd that there’s a chance no one would believe it. It’s still easier to convince people if it was two, so it would be helpful if Ragna-kun also accepted the credit, but…”
“…Haito, are you okay with that?”
“Well, for me too, it’s probably more helpful if Ragna’s rank goes up, I guess?”
I’m also thinking I’d like Ragna to help me with various things.
“Well, if Haito says so… I guess it’s fine.”
And so, Ragna looked a little apologetic, but it was pretty much within my expectations that our Adventurer Ranks would rise significantly for subjugating the Forest Dragon.
The major merits of subjugating a Forest Dragon at a low level, in addition to gaining a lot of experience points, include being able to quickly raise one’s Adventurer Rank.
Even in JRO, this was a fairly common method among people who had sub-accounts.
Besides, if I reach A-Rank, I’ll probably get closer to reconciling with Reina.
Well, Reina is royalty, so even at A-Rank, it seems difficult to announce myself as a Fiancée candidate without the backing of influential nobles.
“Also, regarding the purchase of the Forest Dragon’s materials… a considerable amount of money will be involved, so I’d like you to wait a little. Of course, in return, I intend to buy them at a slightly higher price.”
“That’s much appreciated. Ah, but I want to submit the hide for the Hero Academy’s Weekly Assignment, so I’d be happy if you could give it to me and Ragna.”
“Ah, yes, of course!!”
After it was decided that our Adventurer Ranks would go up, we moved on to negotiating the purchase of the Forest Dragon. Combined with the quest completion reward, it will surely amount to a considerable sum. …If I save up money, I’ll be able to do the leveling I couldn’t do before.
As a JRO hardcore player, this is quite exciting news.
For now, all that’s left is to have the Branch Manager write up the contract for the dragon transaction, and then we’ll leave her office.
Right. Maybe I’ll check my status on the way out.
“Ragna, I want to check my status before heading back, so you can go on ahead.”
“Oh? Alright.”
Saying that, I parted ways with Ragna for the time being and placed my hand on the crystal for viewing statuses installed in the Adventurer’s Guild.
I can check my level myself, but this might actually be the first time I’m checking my stats. …Because I was a JRO addict, I knew my stats for each level to some extent, so conversely, I missed the chance to look…
This time, I ate the Fruit of the World Tree and its Seed, so I wanted to confirm the actual values of my stats.
Name: Haito
Adventurer Rank: A
Profession: Farmer
Level: 32
Stats
HP 9290
MP 8290
Attack Power 4500
Defense Power 4500
Magical Attack Power 3500
Magical Defense Power 3500
Agility 750
If trained normally, the increase in HP, Attack, and Defense values for a ‘Farmer’ should only be an actual 500. However, for me, that increase is 4790.
Meaning, subtracting 500 from that, 4290 is the amount increased by the Fruit and Seed of the World Tree. I can feel myself getting closer and closer to the stats of that character I had back when I was a JRO addict.
The other stats are normal for a Level 32 Farmer, so there’s nothing much to say.
If I had to say something, it’d be that I’m happy I went from Level 20 to 32 all at once by defeating the Forest Dragon, I guess?
Feeling a little satisfied with my own growth, I also thought I’d like to go defeat a dragon again if I get the chance.
With my level up this much, I should be able to do it more safely next time.
And so, just as I was about to leave the Guild, I was stopped by the Guild receptionist, Nina-san.
…Come to think of it, I forgot about the bet—