Episode 15: Punishment
They were spouting whatever they pleased, but I’ll make them pay for underestimating me just because I’m a newbie.
“Oi, don’t just stand there dawdling.”
He kicked me again, but doesn’t he realize something’s off?
My clothes have impact resistance, blade resistance, and magic defense all applied. Can’t he tell that I’m not reacting at all when he kicks me?
It doesn’t hurt or itch, but the feeling of being kicked just pisses me off!
In the back of the Adventurer’s Guild, in a square arena-like area, there wasn’t a single person training.
“Hey, you perennial bronze turds, you’re acting all high and mighty with a kid, but can you even win?”
“What’s that? You think we’d lose to some brat like him?”
“Hmph, do your best. After you’re done, I’ll give you guys a lesson in Goblin extermination.”
“You’re talking big, but aren’t you guys perennial bronze too?”
“Idiots… You can’t even tell your opponent’s strength, you blockheads.”
Oh boy, they’ve started arguing with someone else.
Since they’re turning their backs to me, I’ll kick their asses as hard as I can.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
“Wasn’t I your opponent? That was payback for kicking me earlier.”
〈Jeez, what an embarrassing guy.〉
〈Turning your back on the person you’re picking a fight with and lecturing them? He’ll be bronze until he dies.〉
Somehow, people are pouring out of the cafeteria and starting to surround us.
〈Doesn’t look like there’ll be any betting on this.〉
〈Aren’t those guys the “Blood Oath” party, with that amusing name?〉
〈They can’t even do proper exterminations and just scrape by gathering herbs.〉
〈Just like that kid said, they run away if there are even a few more Goblins than usual.〉
“Oh my, that’s quite the harsh assessment. I’m stronger than a Goblin, you know? Want to try me?”
“You bastard! Grab a wooden sword over there and get ready!”
“Ah, I’ll use magic, so I don’t need one.”
〈Ooh, he’s a mage.〉
〈He’s only carrying a short sword, so he must be pretty confident in his magic.〉
〈Hey, big bro, turn that bunch of Blood Oath idiots into bloody messes!〉
Being ridiculed by the crowd, they grab wooden swords and sticks that look like short spears with bright red faces.
They surround me, each brandishing their weapon.
“Hee, do adventurers in the Royal Capital train 7-on-1? That’s practical.”
I snorted at them, and an attack came swinging horizontally, but I stepped in and hugged the guy in front, switching positions.
I don’t have a hobby of hugging smelly old men, so I immediately pushed him away and kicked him in the stomach at the same time.
〈Eh?〉
〈No way!〉
〈Get out of the way!〉
They’re saying all sorts of things, but they’re full of openings.
As I extend my arm towards the guy to the left of the man clutching his stomach, I shoot an Ice Bullet at his face.
The bullet shatters with a satisfying “crack,” and at the same time, the man reels back, scattering teeth.
It’s about the speed of a ball thrown by a pitcher, so he won’t die, but it’ll hurt.
The man on the right is stunned, but I point my arm at him and send an Ice Bullet to his face.
Kind-hearted me is shooting soft ice that shatters on impact, but the sound of the ice breaking and the screams are literally freezing the surroundings.
The remaining four are just watching, unable to understand what’s happening, so I point my outstretched arm at them, smile sweetly, and mutter “ba-ka” as a shortened incantation while shooting.
I found the guy who kicked me earlier, so I pick up a wooden sword lying around and smash it into his face with a full swing.
I think they should fight instead of gawking, but I’m not kind enough to give advice, so I mercilessly beat them down and finish it.
The old man I kicked in the stomach at the beginning finally comes to his senses and starts moving, so I strike his wrist with the wooden sword.
I look around and see no signs of a counterattack, so I’ll have a little chat.
“Who’s guarding who? I’ve never fought a Goblin, but I’ve never lost either. Got it?”
〈How pathetic.〉
〈What’s the point of being a bronze if you get beaten by a complete newbie?〉
〈Losing 7-on-1, and with a surprise attack, too?〉
〈A bunch of idiots spitting blood.〉
〈Was the 7-on-1 training a training in getting beaten up?〉
〈You’re a disgrace to the adventurers of the Royal Capital, quit being an adventurer!〉
“Um, is the training over already? Isn’t that too fast?”
Oh dear, they’ve started prostrating themselves.
The guy glaring at me seems to have some guts, so I’ll keep hitting him until he apologizes.
“Hey, hey, bro. The match is already over, right?”
“Eh… is this a match? It’s training, and I still need to teach the guy who’s glaring at me which one of us is better, or it’ll be a pain later.”
“True enough. Well, just don’t kill him.”
He laughed and went back to the cafeteria.
Most of the spectators also went back to the cafeteria, saying things like “boring match” and “I should have kept drinking.”
When I turn back to continue the training, they immediately throw away their weapons and prostrate themselves, but since I can’t hear any words of apology, I continue the punishment.
〈Please stop! I was wrong!〉
〈I’m sorry!〉
〈I’ll never mess with you again!〉
“You finally apologized. You’re weak, so apologize quickly when you lose.”
〈Compete after you can beat a Goblin.〉
〈Well, that’s never going to happen.〉
They’re being ridiculed by the remaining spectators and hanging their heads, but it’s their own fault, ba-ka.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
I asked around for places where I could gather herbs around the Royal Capital and went there, but it seems like that’s where newbie adventurers make their living, so I’ll stop gathering herbs.
I go around thickets and dense shrubbery, hunting Horn Rabbits, Hedgehogs, and small Elks, and bring them to the guild about once every three days.
The area around the Royal Capital has a large population, so there are inevitably many adventurers, and most of the large, valuable beasts have already been exterminated, so it’s suitable for beginners.
As I was thinking about this leisurely, I saw something shimmering in the distance.
The shimmer I see in a place like this is either from beast extermination or a dispute, so I’m intrigued and approach it.
It’s a fight between Goblins and newbie adventurers, but it’s a bit of a disadvantage with eight Goblins against five newbie adventurers.
On top of that, the newbie adventurers are exhausted and worn out, and it’s only a matter of time before they lose and get eaten.
Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t just leave them, so I decided to help.
They’re surrounded by Goblins and desperate, so I don’t call out to them and just shoot Ice Bullets at the Goblins at high speed.
Each time there’s a “thud” or “crack” sound, the Goblins let out strange cries like “Gugyah” and “Geh” and fall down, writhing.
One after another, the Goblins fall, and about three of them turn their backs and run away, but I don’t intend to let them escape.
I shoot Ice Arrows into their backs to prevent them from escaping, and the adventurers are stunned.
“They’re not dead yet, so finish them off and extract the Magic Stones.”
I call out to them, as they seem to realize they’ve been saved and have collapsed, their strength gone.
They were breathing heavily and gulping down water, but after more than 5 minutes, they finally stood up and went to finish them off.
“You saved us. Thank you very much.”
“I thought I was going to die.”
“I didn’t think there would be so many Goblins.”
“Aren’t there any veterans with you?”
I asked since it’s an unnatural party of only newbies, even to me.
“We were with the people from [Swords of the Royal Capital and Company]…”
“Those guys used us as bait and ran away.”
“They even pushed Uruzaku from behind in front of the Goblins.”
“They acted all high and mighty, saying they’d teach us all sorts of things about being adventurers.”
“They even took half of the money we made from gathering herbs, damn it!”
Ah, they were being exploited by veterans.
As I listened to them venting their grievances, I learned that the Swords of the Royal Capital and Company are a group of four, all Bronze Second Class.
While exterminating six Goblins, they were attacked by another group of Goblins that came from behind. They managed to defeat five of them, but seeing that they were at a disadvantage, the Swords of the Royal Capital and Company ran away.
What’s more, when they ran away from the Goblins, they pushed the newbies from behind, using them as bait to escape.
The guy who messed with me the other day, and now this… aren’t the Bronze Ranks in the Royal Capital too low in skill?
If there are four Bronze adventurers, they should be able to exterminate five or ten Goblins.
Maybe you can become Bronze without much skill in the area around the Royal Capital, where there aren’t many big shots.
They somehow extracted the Magic Stones from the Goblins and thanked me, but they’re wobbly and won’t be able to get back to the Royal Capital before dark.
She watched me sitting down and drinking tea, then asked, “Aren’t you going back to town?”
I told her that going back every day was a pain, so I only returned every two or three days. She looked openly disappointed.
Just because I helped you doesn’t mean I’m nice enough to escort you all the way home, you know.
“In that state, can you make it back to town before dark?”
“I’ll try my best.”
”I don’t have the skills to camp out, so I have to get back to town.”
Well, we’re in the same boat now. I suggested they camp out with me for the night.
They exchanged glances, and then one of them said with a tearful look, “I don’t think I can make it back to the royal capital.”
The small man who said he was used as bait spoke, and the man who first thanked me bowed his head and said, “Please.”
They seem to be the same age as Fernan, but they’re honest, huh?
Well, I’m 28 plus a little over a year old, and back in Japan, I was often told I was a bit twisted.
Since they don’t have any bedding, I quickly had them cut grass from the surrounding area to prepare our beds for tonight.
In the meantime, I made a camping dome for them, a kamaboko-shaped dome big enough for five people to lie down side by side.