Chapter 9: Reunion and the Footsteps of the Demon – Part 03
The next morning, as soon as the gates opened, we set off towards Tolson. Everyone had already agreed to hunt the Gigant Viper along the way.
In our party, we had fully adopted the basic marathon-style movement, and we arrived at the aforementioned farming village just before noon.
After gathering information about the Gigant Viper from the village chief, we headed towards the grassy area he indicated. In the distance, we could see a water source that looked like the perfect spot for a giant snake to lurk.
“Hmm, I smell something fishy. It’s definitely over by that water source,” Larni remarked.
Thanks to Larni, spotting monsters had become considerably easier, which felt a bit unfair.
We approached the water source, which resembled a pond, with caution.
“It’s hiding in the water and is likely targeting us. It will probably launch a surprise attack when we get closer,” Sfenia said as she took out her crystal staff.
“Can’t we flush it out with fire magic?” I suggested.
“It might be difficult if it’s too deep, but it should be in shallower waters, so I think it’s possible. Shall I give it a try?”
“I’ll take a swing at it when it comes out. If I miss, I’ll need your support.”
“You just want to test the power of that mace, don’t you? Men really do love that sort of thing,” Larni teased.
While she was right, it couldn’t be helped. After swinging the mace around yesterday, I had deemed it ready for actual combat.
“Be careful, Soushi-sama,” Freinir said, her voice laced with concern as I stepped forward.
“I’m casting magic. Flame Bolt!”
About ten fiery spears arced overhead before crashing into the pond, creating a thunderous sound and a cloud of steam.
At that moment, the water surface bulged, and the massive serpent—the Gigant Viper—revealed itself. Its eyes, fixed on me, seemed to burn with fury.
In an instant, the enormous snake lunged toward me with terrifying speed. It was indeed massive, its body appearing to be at least a meter in diameter.
As the Gigant Viper locked onto me, it opened its gaping maw, revealing fangs as long as daggers, glinting menacingly.
I delivered a perfect counterstrike, smashing my mace into its snout. The weight of the mace, easily exceeding 100 kilograms, struck with a speed surpassing 300 kilometers per hour. Of course, this was amplified by my Skills, which enhanced my strength exponentially. The head of the Gigant Viper exploded on impact, a testament to the overwhelming power of my strike.
“Just as expected from Soushi-sama!”
“To take it down in one hit… Soushi, you really are something else.”
“That was definitely a serious blow from Soushi-san. He’s already surpassed C-Rank, maybe even B-Rank…?”
While I appreciated the praise from my teammates, I wished they would tone it down a bit.
After managing to stuff the massive snake into my Item Box, we resumed our marathon towards Tolson.
“It’s strange that all of that fits into the Item Box, but being able to run with it inside is even stranger,” Sfenia remarked.
That was likely due to my extraordinary Stamina and Strength.
Upon reaching Tolson, we first secured lodging and then visited the Adventurers’ Guild.
I greeted Kisara, the receptionist, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. Well, it hadn’t been that long, really.
“Hey, isn’t that Soushi-san? What brings you here?” she asked, her eyes widening.
“I’ve become D-Rank, so I came to Tolson. I’ll be relying on you again for a bit.”
Kisara looked momentarily stunned before leaning over the counter in excitement.
“Wha—? Soushi-san is already D-Rank? Isn’t that a bit too fast?”
“Well, I’ve had quite a bit of luck. Thanks to that, I was able to form a party.”
I introduced Freinir and the others, and Kisara’s eyes widened even further.
“Um… so these are your party members? Wow…”
Her drawn-out “wow” seemed to carry a rather ambiguous meaning, but I chose to ignore it.
“By the way, do you have the request for the Gigant Viper hunt from the village?”
“Ah, yes, the D-Rank one. It’s definitely here.”
“I’m here to report that we’ve completed the hunt. We were told to deliver the monster materials to Euron, so we’ll handle that there.”
“Really? But I’ll need to see some proof…”
So, we moved to the dissection area, where I retrieved a part of the Gigant Viper’s carcass from my Item Box to show her.
Kisara kept exclaiming, “Wha!? Wha!? Wha!?” but it seemed she believed the hunt had indeed been completed.
“Just so you know, we’ll be entering a D-Class Dungeon starting tomorrow,” I informed her before we left the guild.
Tolson had two inns, but considering there were three women in our party, we naturally opted for the more expensive one.
Larni teased me about getting along well with Kisara, while Freinir shot me a slightly sad look. Regardless, we decided to have an early meal at the inn before retreating to our rooms.
However, I slipped out of the inn afterward and headed to another establishment to greet the members of the party, Ginrin, who had helped me before.
Unfortunately, when I asked the innkeeper, I learned that Ginrin was out on a hunting mission, leaving me empty-handed. Well, such things happen to adventurers.
As I walked down the hallway back to my room, Larni suddenly emerged and, for some reason, began sniffing my body.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m checking to see if you smell like any other women.”
“Huh…?”
“Well, I get that you’re a guy, so I can understand, but be careful since you’re in a party with three girls.”
As I struggled to respond, Larni simply returned to the girls’ room.
I could hear her say something like, “It’s fine,” but I couldn’t help but wonder what I was being suspected of.
Did she think I had visited some shady place? It seems that girls dislike men who frequent such establishments, no matter the world.