## Chapter 7 – Kobold Hunt
I passed the guard, who looked terribly tired, and returned to the city.
He couldn’t suppress a yawn, even though he clearly had just started his shift. What a comfortable job. If I had to pick the best job in the world, it would be a guard.
A job where you just have to endure boredom.
They hardly ever had to fight, either.
What lunatic would dare to mess with the city guards?
“Mr. Katte. You’ve worked hard.”
“Hehehe, the Sister worked hard. It seems like the Sister did everything from start to finish.”
I greeted Elise.
This was practically a carry job by Elise, who spammed divine skills. All I did was take down a few kobolds. I couldn’t help but feel deeply grateful, both for the money and for her help.
“Ah, but. Do I have to escort you all the way to the church?”
“There’s no need.”
I handed Elise the sack of kobold hides. Elise accepted the grotesque bundle with a smile.
“Thanks to you, I finished the job easily. Here, this is the reward as promised.”
Elise handed me 1 silver coin. One silver coin was worth a whopping 100 coppers, an incredibly large sum of money.
I was so excited and thrilled that I felt like I was about to foam at the mouth. It was the first time I’d ever earned so much money at once. My hands and feet trembled uncontrollably, and an unknown impulse surged within me. I felt like I would have a seizure if I lost focus for even a moment.
This brought my current holdings to a whopping 1 silver and 27 coppers.
My lips stretched into a wide grin.
I waved to Elise with a smile.
“Have a good trip back, Sister! I won’t forget today’s work! You’re practically my benefactor!”
“You’re welcome… No. You worked hard too, Mr. Katte. Farewell.”
Elise slung the sack of kobold hides over her shoulder and disappeared gracefully. I put the silver coin in my wallet inside my coat and headed to the blacksmith with a light step. I needed to dispose of the giant spider carapace.
Most buildings were located near the east gate, so I entered the first blacksmith I saw.
Inside, a muscular man who was hammering looked back at me. His bulging arm muscles seemed to prove his skill and experience. I abruptly held out the carapace. He put down his hammer and stood up.
“Here. Blacksmith. Do you need this? I got it today, so it’s super fresh.”
“I need it a lot. I’ll buy it for 1 copper.”
The blacksmith wiped his sweat, took the carapace, examined its quality, and then took out 1 copper coin and handed it to me.
“If you have high-quality carapaces, I’ll buy them all for 1 copper each. If you hunt giant spiders again, come to me.”
“I will.”
I took the copper coin and looked around the smithy, but there wasn’t anything I particularly wanted to buy. Even if there was something I wanted, I didn’t have the money. 1 silver wasn’t nearly enough to buy a single piece of equipment. I needed at least 3 silver.
“Looking to buy something? I’ll give you a discount if it’s now.”
The blacksmith casually tossed out the line and started hammering again. No one would believe that he was actually offering a discount.
“I’m just looking around for now.”
I would consider buying a pauldron or breastplate, but armor was ridiculously expensive. It was because the blacksmith guild colluded so heavily. Just looking at the price tags on display made me want to go crazy.
Just look at this [Giant Spider Carapace Breastplate] on display. It was made from a dozen or so carapaces that cost only 1 copper each, but they were charging a whopping 3 silver for it. This is why people say you have to learn a skill, but even this was too much.
It’s not that I’m not interested in getting equipment, but the problem is that I don’t have any money. Saving money and buying equipment was a very difficult task for a lowlife like me.
Those alchemist guild bastards.
“My place is much cheaper than the others.”
The blacksmith said nonsense without a care. The prices were the same everywhere.
Damn scam artists. There was no fair trade law in this world, so it was common for them to monopolize and collude with each other.
We can’t have a free market economy or anything like that. All merchants and artisans belonged to a guild, and if merchants and industrialists who didn’t belong to a guild tried to make some money, it was common sense to not only interfere but also stab them in the back. So there was no way these guys would lower their prices.
I couldn’t even protest. I was just an adventurer without a resident registration card, and the blacksmiths were all self-employed people who paid taxes properly to the lord. The difference was huge.
“I’ll come back next time.”
I left the smithy. So where should I go now? The alchemist guild, of course. I had to dispose of the hook mushrooms I picked yesterday as soon as possible. Whether it’s plants or mushrooms, their value decreases the longer it takes after picking them.
I figured it would be okay since it had only been a day.
If you pass the central fountain square and turn the corner, you’ll see a five-story building with an exotic roof. This is the alchemist guild.
[%$^%&%$&]
Something was written on the sign, but I couldn’t read it. Every time I saw it, I didn’t know if it was because the writing was terrible or if it was a foreign language. Of course, I didn’t care. I could read other things, but I couldn’t read magical languages.
It didn’t seem to be crowded because it was early.
I opened the door and went to the materials window.
“Hello. I’m here to sell this.”
I took out the hook mushrooms from my pouch. They looked to be in good condition, so I should be able to get at least 3 coppers for them. It’s a bit of a boast, but I have good observational skills, so I can immediately estimate the price when I see something like this. You could call it a kind of talent?
I’ve been told since I was a kid that I have good observational skills.
Of course, I didn’t become an adventurer by making use of that talent.
“This is… a hook mushroom.”
The alchemist wearing magnifying glasses said while looking at the mushroom. The appraisal didn’t even take 10 seconds. This bastard definitely just glanced at it.
“But the condition isn’t very good. I’ll buy it for 2 coppers.”
“No, it’s only been a day since I picked it, right?”
I was shocked by the appraisal and almost screamed. Where did my observational skills go…! As I said before, the alchemists were all scam artists, so they were clearly undervaluing the materials.
“Huh? It’s been a day? Then 1 copper.”
“No, no, I picked it last night, so it hasn’t been a day!”
It was clear that I would be screwed if I bargained any further, so I obediently accepted the 2 coppers that the alchemist handed me. I didn’t like the look on his face as he smirked. He definitely pocketed 1 copper, that’s for sure.
Anyway, I decided to let it go since I had earned a whopping 1 silver and 3 coppers in just one day. I left the alchemist guild without regret.
“It’s an awkward time to play around.”
It was still early in the morning, so it was awkward to just wash up and go to sleep. I had come straight into the city as soon as I woke up, so it was almost commuting time. It would be nice to go to the bathhouse, wash up, and sleep soundly at the inn to recover from my fatigue, but if I was lazy like that in this world, I would end up penniless in the blink of an eye.
Laziness leads to ruin. Those who do not work cannot live. No one but yourself can take responsibility for yourself. That was this world.
“What’s the point of playing around? Let’s work.”
The bed wasn’t very comfortable, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t sleep. I just chewed on the dried rations I bought yesterday for breakfast and trudged towards the adventurer guild. It wasn’t far away, so I was able to arrive quickly.
The number of people coming in and out showed that it was indeed commuting time. I opened the door, trying not to make eye contact with them.
ㅡCreak.
I wonder if there will be some work today.
Usually, I would complete two to three quests a week, each worth about 20 to 30 coppers. Originally, I could do more, but these days there wasn’t much work and no one would include me, so that was the maximum.
My weekly living expenses were about 30 coppers, so I had no problem living as long as I did just two quests. But that would just be staying in the same place. On days like today when I got 1 silver in my hands, I had to work even harder to level up.
Anyway, I went to the receptionist. I don’t know about anything else, but these days my back gets hot whenever I see the receptionist. I’m so embarrassed and sorry.
“Um, excuse me. Receptionist. Is there any work today?”
When it was my turn, I asked a little timidly.
“Who is this? Isn’t it Mr. Katte? What brings you here?”
The receptionist asked, putting her hands together and pretending to be exaggeratedly happy, as if she had never expected me to come back to work. I felt like my face was about to turn red with embarrassment. No, it was already flushed.
“So, is there… any work?”
“Tsk.”
When I said that with the most pitiful expression I could muster, the receptionist clicked her tongue and sighed.
“Hoo… Mr. Katte.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s make a promise, Mr. Katte.”
“What kind of promise?”
She said with a serious expression.
“To be honest, you know that you’ve screwed up, no, messed up more than one or two jobs, right?”
“Of course.”
I could think of about five off the top of my head, but no matter how I thought about it, none of them were even 1% my fault. When five people get together, one of them is bound to be a moron, but in my case, it was the opposite.
When five people get together, everyone but me is a moron. There wasn’t much that four morons and one person could accomplish. The adventurers were all morons.
“So I don’t really want to give you any work, but if you promise me just this one thing, I’ll give you a job for your sake, Mr. Katte.”
“I promise unconditionally. I definitely will.”
I was about to take off my clothes and prostrate myself in the nude, but I was immediately stopped. This world is a terrible place, and there were only terrible jobs, but I could live because there were good people like the receptionist in front of me who didn’t lose their humanity.
Having made a big decision, I grabbed the receptionist’s hands with the intention of stamping my seal and signing whatever promise she made.
“Yes, then promise me.”
“I promise.”
“I haven’t finished speaking yet. Promise that you’ll complete the quest even if it means risking your life. Repeat after me.”
“That’s not a very difficult promise…”
As I said, I’m someone who lives with my life on the line. This time, I’ll definitely complete the quest even if it means throwing away my life. I repeated loudly with determination.
“And I looked into it a bit, and if you fail one more quest, you’ll be demoted.”
“What…!”
At those words, I froze like a stone statue!!!
“As you know, Mr. Katte, it’s really screwed up if you get demoted from E-rank to F-rank. You’ve probably seen it a few times in your life, but your turn is coming soon. As far as I know, all the people who were demoted quit being adventurers. Where did those people disappear to?”
I know the miserable end of those who were demoted…
“So keep that in mind. Come to the guild before sunrise tomorrow. There’s a party looking for an E-rank vanguard and odd jobber… no, never mind that. Anyway, I think you can do this one.”
I knew that demotion was near, but I didn’t know that it was my last chance. I can’t get demoted here and live as a day laborer in the city. I can’t accept that…! The receptionist is looking out for me, too. Good. I’ll become a bit of a wild man tomorrow.
“To be exact, it’s a D+ rank subjugation quest. There’s a C-rank mage in the party, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Be sure to be here by sunrise tomorrow. Look for the Cockatrice Subjugation Party.”
A cockatrice and a mage, huh.
“Anyway, thank you… I’ll definitely repay this kindness.”
“I won’t see you if you get demoted. Next!”
I grabbed my trembling legs and came out of the window. I hadn’t been paying attention to my recent record at all, and when I came to my senses, I was in the last game of the demotion defense. I couldn’t help but be nervous.
“Damn it, I have to do this.”
After stopping for a moment and making a solemn resolution, I immediately left the adventurer guild and headed to the public bathhouse. I need to prepare thoroughly and go to bed early for tomorrow’s work.
[Golden Basin]
The bathhouse, named , was a fairly expensive place that charged a whopping 1 copper per bath, but it was the only bathhouse around here, so I had no choice but to go there. The other places were further away.
It costs a lot of money to even take a bath in this world.
ㅡSplash.
Only when I washed my body with water could I forget the storms of this harsh world. I washed every nook and cranny of my body in the sense of cleansing myself and making a new start. After taking a bath, I walked around the shopping district, bought supplies for tomorrow’s battle, and ate a meal.
If I fail one more time, I’ll be back to F-rank… I can only imagine a bleak future. I couldn’t let that happen. The receptionist is looking out for me, too. Good. I’ll become a bit of a wild man tomorrow.
Having finished preparing for the expedition, I went to the inn and slept all day. So that my fatigue would be completely relieved.
