## Chapter 3 – Kobold Hunt
After a brief moment of contemplation, I made the significant decision to form a two-person party.
I’m practically a tank, but a ridiculously good one that dishes out damage like nobody’s business. With a healer by my side, I’m confident we can overcome any adversity. Perfect. I’ll show this nun my true skills. For 1 silver, I’d sell my soul. And I’ll make damn sure she sees what kind of power a warrior who’s sold his soul possesses.
“Just the two of us, you say?”
“What’s the big deal? Doesn’t seem like it’ll be that difficult.”
In my mind, this job was just about going and beating up some weak-ass kobolds, smashing their obviously crude idol, and bringing back a fragment. Kobolds crawling out into the open are no match for me.
Elise pondered my words for a moment before ultimately making the same decision as me.
“Very well. Surely, we’ll receive a good evaluation if we succeed in this mission with just two people.”
“Absolutely.”
“Then, let’s depart before it gets any later.”
And with that, we left the Adventurer’s Guild building.
Standing next to Elise, I asked which direction we were headed, and she said towards the east gate. The east gate was directly connected to the uncharted territories, and since most adventurers traveled in that direction, it was lined with various shops.
All sorts of general stores, armor shops, weapon shops, and street vendors lined the commercial district. How should I put it to convey the nuance? It was basically like a constantly bustling market. You could buy almost anything you needed there.
We walked along, chatting about this and that.
“Ah, Sister. You mentioned a test of your abilities. Is it something like an intermediate nun exam?”
“I need a few more years before I can take the intermediate nun exam. This mission is a personal test of my abilities.”
The church must be a pretty strict place.
The Order of the Luminous Cross is a bit like that.
Anyway, to continue the explanation, killing monsters requires more preparation than you might think. You need your weapon, of course, but also food to eat outside. And because all sorts of things can happen, you need to bring various miscellaneous medicines and tools, and sometimes even camping gear.
Camping out is something you end up doing quite often.
In a game, you could just cram everything into an inventory, but unfortunately, I don’t have anything like that. There are mages and whatnot here, but I don’t know if they have inventories. But even if they do, it has nothing to do with me, so let’s move on.
All I can do is buy the necessary supplies and put them in my pouch. And you can’t bring too much stuff. The heavier you are, the more it hinders you in battle. You have to adjust that based on your own judgment.
That’s experience and skill.
“Is there anything in particular you need?”
We arrived at the east gate before long.
I asked Elise.
“Food and… maybe some oil?”
“Oil? Do we need oil?”
“Well, we need to burn the idol, after all.”
Indeed, there’s nothing quite as good as fire for destroying something. More than that, fire can be useful in combat with monsters, so it’s good to bring some along.
“Then let’s buy some oil and food.”
We went into a nearby general store and bought two servings of dried rations and a bottle of oil. Of course, we split the bill. I checked to see if there was anything else we needed to buy. We came to an agreement and bought a few more things.
“Then all that’s left is to head out.”
“Before that, could you take a look at this map with me?”
“Sure.”
Elise took a map out of her habit and said.
[Map]
As soon as I took the map, I wondered what the hell it was, but it seemed to be something like a map. Looking at it roughly, it had the gate and some crude contour lines drawn on it… Who the hell drew this? It’s terribly drawn. I could draw better with my feet.
“Is the circled area the target point?”
“Yes, it is.”
I barely managed to find the recognizable mark, but it seemed like I would have a hard time interpreting this map.
It was worse than when kids with terrible handwriting can’t read their own notes the next day. There were always one or two of those guys in class. They were all crazy bastards.
“It’s estimated to take about two hours on foot from here to the target point. It’s not that far. The idols are said to be positioned near here, so we shouldn’t have any trouble finding them once we arrive.”
“Two hours, huh.”
Just going back and forth would take at least four hours. It’s a bit late in the morning now, so even if we finish the job quickly, we’re probably going to have to camp out.
The east gate closes completely when the sun goes down and doesn’t open again until sunrise. So, it’s common to finish up and return before sunset if possible. If it gets too late, you just sleep there overnight.
“Then it looks like we’ll have to camp out? Sister, have you ever camped out before?”
I’ve camped out a lot, so it doesn’t matter to me, but I asked because I didn’t know about Elise. If she can’t camp out, it would be better to leave tomorrow at sunrise.
Elise nodded in response to my question.
“I’m used to it. Besides, we only need one symbol, so I think we can finish it in a day if we work hard. If we hurry a little, that is.”
Even if we finish it today, we’ll have no choice but to sleep leaning against the wall when the sun goes down. The timing was a bit ambiguous. It seems like I won’t be sleeping at an inn tonight. Should I prepare to camp out?
“Let’s depart, Mr. Katt.”
“Let’s go.”
The guards didn’t stop us as we left the gate. Actually, I don’t even know why the guards are standing here. I’ve never been inspected or anything. They just stand there and seem to work with their eyes.
What a dream job. If I ever get the chance, I’d like to become a guard. Doing nothing and standing still is my specialty.
“Hmm…”
Elise stared at the map and took the lead. I was worried about whether she could actually reach the destination with that scribbled map… but seeing her energetic stride, I felt a sense of trust. No matter how badly something is drawn, it’s her own, so surely nothing will happen. I had to trust her.
Actually, who else can you trust in this world besides religious people?
They all seem a bit crazy, but fundamentally, they’re good people who move according to rules and order. They’re completely different from mercenaries or adventurers, who only indulge in freedom. Those who maintain a lifestyle based on rules have cleaner hearts.
“How long have you been an adventurer, Mr. Katt?”
Walking behind Elise, she asked me that question.
Come to think of it, how long have I been doing this? Seeing how long my hair has gotten, it’s definitely been a while. I haven’t counted the days, but I’ve gone through winter twice, so it’s definitely been over 2 years. Or maybe it’s been about 3 years? My memory of the time is a bit unclear.
Anyway, serving in this world after serving in the military is enough to make me shudder. But what’s even more chilling is the fact that there’s no discharge. This is fucked up.
“I don’t really know, but it’s probably been about 3 years… or maybe more? That’s usually the case for E-rankers. What about you, Sister?”
“I’ve lived in the church since I was very young, so it’s been over 10 years.”
“Hoo… then you must have mastered at least the lower-level divine spells, right?”
In order to become a nun or priest, you must have the ability to wield divine power. If you can’t use divine power, you’re no different from a regular believer. Come to think of it, what kind of skills do they use in the Order of the Luminous Cross? Each religion has slightly different skills, so I don’t know the details.
“Of course. All we do at the church is pray and train.”
Maybe the church is just a kind of armed group.
Had we walked for about an hour? Since it wasn’t a path I usually took, I saw completely new scenery. The mountains are all the same, but I have a route that I frequent, so I’m more familiar with that, and I couldn’t get my bearings in a place I’d never been before. That’s how people get lost.
“Are we going the right way?”
“There’s no need to worry. Would you like to take a short break?”
“Ah, thank you.”
I looked around and sat down on a reasonably flat rock and drank some water. I also ate some dried rations. There are various types of dried rations, but usually, the cheaper they are, the worse they taste, and the more dried out they are, the longer they can be preserved. The ones I bought were less dried out hardtack since I was going to eat them today anyway.
“Sister, have some too. We’ll have to move soon, so it’s good to fill your stomach.”
Elise didn’t seem to have much of an appetite, but she took out some hardtack and started chewing after hearing my words. You need to eat to gain strength. After a 10-minute break, we moved again.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
But what do you know, as I was walking while keeping a close watch on my surroundings, I stumbled upon an unexpected windfall.
“Oh, it’s here.”
“What is it?”
I suppressed the urge to jump and express my joy while collecting the Hook Mushrooms that grew on the tree stump. This rare mushroom was an alchemical ingredient worth a whopping 3 coppers, and it was a treasure-like mushroom that the Alchemist’s Guild would almost always buy.
You gain this kind of knowledge while living as an adventurer. Knowledge is power. Intelligent people, like me right now, can make full use of valuable opportunities without thoughtlessly passing them by.
“This is a Hook Mushroom, a mushroom used as an alchemical ingredient. Adventurers often earn extra income with things like this.”
“Oh… that’s helpful. New knowledge.”
After that, we arrived at the target point without any other incidents. The sun was overhead. It was probably around noon or a little before noon.
“We’re almost there, so prepare yourself.”
“I’m already super tense.”
“From here on, we’ll search for it.”
Elise, who had put the map in her habit, took out her morning star again. Wait, is that `habit` some kind of inventory? No way.
“…”
Anyway, now was the time to be as tense as possible. I stared intently at the ground and searched. And then I found some footprints.
“Footprints…”
“Kobold footprints. It seems they’re nearby.”
Seeing that there were three toes, they were definitely kobold footprints. It was a bit strange. The footprints of kobolds, who only live in the caves they create, i.e., dungeons, were so numerous outside. They really are crawling out and doing stupid things.
What wind has blown into these blind bastards?
“Let’s go up there.”
Elise pointed to a hill. The footprints were going under the hill, not towards it. If we looked from above, we would see the route.
Stealthily.
We crawled up the hill and carefully looked down, bingo.
“Sister, those are them.”
“Yes… I see them too.”
Our targets were visible below.
ㅡGyusat, gyusasasat!
ㅡGyusaaat!!
ㅡGyusatgyusat.
A hideous monster that looked like a hunched, wrinkled old human body with the head of a disgusting rat. It was a kobold. Three kobolds were wandering around below the hill, crying out in bizarre voices.
“They’re truly hideous monsters. Mr. Katt. Look at those blasphemous abominations. We must not listen to their cries. They will surely corrupt humanity.”
I’ve never heard such a thing in my life, but it would be a bit awkward to pour cold water on it at this point, so I overacted and enthusiastically agreed.
“Their existence is truly blasphemous… They must have been created by demons. They’re truly hateful. Sister, what am I supposed to do with this overflowing hatred?”
Religious people seem to like these kinds of words.
“That’s a good mindset. You can punish them with that spirit.”
“Punishment! That’s a good word! But it seems like those guys are scouts. Should we see where they’re going first?”
Following them would lead us to the destination.
“We can kill them first and then worry about that. I’m going!”
“Ah, yes.”
As I followed Elise, who was fearlessly descending the hill with her morning star raised, I thought, yeah. She really does seem crazy. Well, she’s a cleric, so that’s probably normal. Anyway, I drew my sword as well.
ㅡGyusat?
By then, the kobolds had noticed our presence and turned their heads towards us. So what, you blind bastards. Unlike in a cave, the sound doesn’t echo, so it will be difficult for you to pinpoint our location.
“Die, you filthy monster!”
ㅡCrack!
Elise’s morning star shattered the skull of the kobold in the front.
