## Chapter 366 – Troll’s Song
Trolls.
I don’t know much about them, but from what I understand, they’re pretty strong monsters. I think they’re big, hulking creatures that sometimes raid settlements or eat travelers.
I’ve never seen one, and all I know about them is what I’ve picked up here and there or read in books.
“Trolls? Aren’t those seriously strong monsters?”
“Have you ever seen one, Darkie?”
“If I had, I’d be dead.”
To be specific, my bones would have turned to dust.
Kim Kat would have been completely decomposed, becoming nutrients for this other world. Back then, I wasn’t a Heavenly Demon; I was just another snot-nosed kid.
“Hehe. I guess so.”
Still, the fact that Winia managed to get a job hunting trolls suggests that they’re monsters that a C-rank mage can handle.
When I voiced my doubts, Winia started explaining.
“They’re not as monstrous as you think, Darkie. Just a bit stronger than a cockatrice? Usually, when they show up, they ask C-rank adventurers to take care of them. I’ve hunted them a few times.”
“Really? How are they?”
“You just burn them with fire and stab them with a sword, and they die.”
“I can’t really picture it.”
“You saw the cockatrice we fought last time, right?”
“Hmm…”
If I remember correctly, the cockatrice we fought last time was pretty strong.
But if I fought one now, one-on-one… I honestly don’t know, but I don’t think I’d die. If I could just aim for the head with Realgar Strike, I could probably finish it off.
Anyway, it’s a request that Winia, a skilled mage and veteran adventurer, brought, so it should be fine. She’s got experience hunting them, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
“Still, explain exactly what they’re like.”
“Well, they’re pretty tall and bulky. But they’re hunched over, so their actual height is only about a head taller than you? They’re like grotesque, dark green giants, I guess. Anyway, they’re man-eating monsters. They’re nimble, but they’re also scared easily.”
An image of a troll formed in my mind.
The inhumanly hunched monster was still a head taller than me, and its bumpy skin had a dirty, dark green sheen, beneath which it concealed heavy fat and ferocious muscles.
A ghoul hiding in the darkness.
It’s definitely stronger than an orc.
“How do they compare to ogres?”
“Darkie, are you even serious? Trolls are just snacks for ogres.”
Ogres were the most powerful hyper-bastards I’d ever seen. I don’t know about comparing them to that, but judging from Winia’s assessment, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
“Okay. But what did you do today?”
I asked Winia as she went to wash up.
“I did some requests from the Magic Tower. The troll thing was something I picked up on the way back from the Adventurer’s Guild. Oh, we have to leave early tomorrow morning, so we should go to bed early, okay?”
“Got it.”
As Winia went inside, Claudia seemed to have finished organizing her luggage and was about to change.
“What did you buy so much of?”
“Huh? This? I just bought some necessities while I was out.”
I saw that she had bought toiletries and clothes. I helped her organize them and asked.
“Claudia, have you ever seen a troll?”
“No? I’ve never even heard of them.”
I guess there weren’t any similar monsters in the desert.
Claudia seemed excited about hunting a monster she’d never seen before. Such a professional headhunter. She also went to wash up, and I lay in bed, waiting for them and imagining what trolls were like.
Trolls, huh.
* * *
The next morning.
We finished preparing for our expedition, registered our party at the Adventurer’s Guild, and went to the city gates.
A carriage was already waiting for us. The Adventurer’s Guild had kindly arranged for us to travel to the village where the troll had appeared.
That’s Winia, a C-rank adventurer.
Being a mage is reliable in itself, and their status is guaranteed. Unlike the Adventurer’s Guild’s ragtag bunch of adventurers, the mage identification card issued by the Magic Tower is highly trusted everywhere.
For example, as a D-rank adventurer, my status is absolutely guaranteed in Isvant, but it doesn’t work in other cities. Of course, neighboring cities with a lot of exchange, like Krasheim, recognize the rank, but the experience is reset.
But that’s just the story for neighboring cities, and it naturally becomes meaningless when you go to distant cities. Outside this border, I’m not a D-rank adventurer or anything; I’m just a traveler and vagrant.
But mages are different.
Casting magic itself is proof that you’re a mage, and it can’t be faked or tricked. So if a mage goes to another city, they can just go to the Magic Tower in that city, pay a fee, and have their ID card renewed.
And if they take that mage ID card to a place like the Adventurer’s Guild in the city, they can easily get a high-rank adventurer’s pass.
In Winia’s case, she has a mage ID card and a C-rank adventurer’s pass from Isvant and Krasheim, so even if she goes to a city far away from here, she can just show them and talk a bit, and she’ll immediately become a C-rank adventurer.
There are some cities without an Adventurer’s Guild, but unexpectedly, this Adventurer’s Guild is generally ingrained in this world’s culture. Although it is divided by city.
Well, in that sense, Winia is an excellent C-rank adventurer. Because she received a quest exclusively for C-ranks, the transportation costs are also supported like this.
“We’ll depart for Oros Village, giddy-up!”
—Clatter.
The coachman shouted energetically, and the carriage set off.
It’s a bit bumpy, but it’s better to ride in a carriage than to walk. Above all, I felt lighter because I thought I was getting a free ride.
“Okay, Darkie. And Sister. I’m going to explain this quest now, so listen carefully.”
I lay down with my head on Winia’s lap and listened to the briefing. The feeling of her heavy breasts pressing against the side of my head felt pretty good.
“A troll has appeared in Oros, a rural village next to us. It seems like the residents have suffered some damage. A total of six people have died or gone missing. In this case, we can assume that the missing people have already been eaten.”
“To kill six innocent farmers… I can never forgive that.”
Massacring criminals and heretics is not a sin, but killing innocent people is a heinous crime.
You could consider it a kind of monster serial murder case.
“But one of them, who was almost the seventh victim, luckily escaped and reported that the troll had appeared. So they immediately went to the city’s Adventurer’s Guild to request a subjugation, and I happened to receive it. The reward is 20 silver.”
“Oh, that’s expensive.”
“Hmm… Wasn’t the reward for the hobgoblin subjugation quest 10 silver?”
Claudia, who was chewing on jerky, said.
Come to think of it, the reward we received for subjugating about one company of hobgoblins who had occupied the abandoned mine was 10 silver. But a troll is 20 silver… It seems like C-rank adventurers make a lot more money.
“Sister has a good memory. But there wasn’t anything we could call byproducts back then, right? Unlike hobgoblins, trolls have a lot of things that are worth money. Their heart, brain, and bones are valuable. The skin is also useful if it’s in good condition… Above all, the blood is the most expensive.”
Winia, who boasts the highest level of knowledge among us, gave a wealth of explanations. Originally, the bigger the monster, the more there is to collect.
“The blood is the most expensive? Is it useful for something?”
Claudia showed interest.
The blood is the most expensive? That’s a bit unusual.
“You can refine troll blood to make potions. It’s a low-grade potion, but it’s a useful item. The reason why trolls have good regeneration is because of that.”
Trolls have good regeneration?
That’s something I can’t just ignore.
“What? They have good regeneration?”
“Oh, Darkie, you don’t know much.”
Winia touched my face and kindly informed me.
“Even if you make deep cuts in their flesh, they recover completely in a few days. You could say they’re monsters that are a little hard to kill with bleeding.”
“Ah, so they have good natural healing power?”
“That’s right.”
I thought they could regenerate their arms on the spot if you cut them off.
If they can heal knife wounds in a few days without any special treatment, their immunity and natural healing power must be several times better than humans.
Is the blood the source of that?
I’ve never heard of making potions with troll blood before.
Well, it’s natural since I wasn’t in a good enough financial situation to use potions. Potions are expensive items.
“See that big backpack in the corner?”
“Yeah.”
“Darkie, go open it.”
At those words, I got up and rummaged through the backpack.
Inside, there were several leather water bottles.
“Darkie, you can put the troll blood in there. There are some chemicals inside that can keep the blood fresh for a day or two.”
“Got it.”
After listening to the explanation, I closed my eyes and took a nap.
It didn’t take long to get to Oros.
We left early in the morning and arrived in the village a little after noon.
Surrounded by forests and mountains, this rural village looked peaceful, but in reality, it was a hell where a troll serial killer was rampaging. Perhaps that’s why the village looked so gloomy.
“Ugh…!”
“Ugh.”
Claudia and Winia got out of the carriage and stretched. I also stretched and greeted the coachman. But when I greeted him, he said that he would be staying in this village today.
Well, it’s been a while.
Even if he left now, he would only arrive in the early morning, and he wouldn’t want to make a dangerous night trip when trolls are appearing.
“Kat, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
First, we need to go to the village chief’s house, who requested the job. I immediately grabbed a resident nearby and asked where the village chief’s house was.
“Ah, excuse me. Are you a resident of Oros Village?”
“You are… Ah! You’re adventurers!”
“Yes. We’ve come to catch the troll. Can you tell us where the village chief’s house is?”
When I asked about the village chief’s house, the resident rambled on about how scary the troll was, how seven people had already died, and trembled while explaining.
Has the number of victims increased by one?
Anyway, he’s terrified to the point of being insane.
“I know it’s scary, but please just tell us where the village chief’s house is.”
“Oh, my goodness. Go straight that way, and the biggest house you see is the village chief’s house.”
“Thank you.”
We headed towards the village chief’s house.
“Um, Winia. How long will it take?”
Claudia asked Winia.
“Well? I’m thinking about two days. It’ll take some time to track it.”
“I hope there’s a place to stay.”
“Me too.”
If it takes about two days, it’s good to stay in the village for one day.
But looking at the size of the village, it seems like there won’t be any problems with accommodation. That’s why it’s good to work near a proper village.
There are many poor villages that don’t even have a restaurant, let alone accommodation.
We arrived at the village chief’s house and knocked on the door.
“You are… Ah! You’re the adventurers!”
“Yes. Can we talk?”
“Come on in!”
The inside of the village chief’s house was quite spacious and comfortable.
We sat down on the chairs as directed.
“To think you’d come so early… Thank you so much! Another victim has just been added! Please save us!”
The village chief said almost crying.
He’s completely terrified.
I’m going to ask this person about the places that have been damaged, the areas where the troll appears, and the size of the troll… But first, I need to calm him down.
“Don’t worry. That’s why we’re here.”
Then Winia said in a calm tone.
“Ah, Mage!”
“I’d like to meet the person who encountered the troll and survived. Can you call them?”
“Of course, I’ll call them. Honey! Go get Jake!”
He shouted loudly, and the woman inside opened the door and went outside. Winia asked the village chief various questions and gathered information.
“It seems like it will take some time to track the troll, but is there a place to stay?”
“Of course, Mage. But I think it’s a bit humble for you to stay…”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re here to work, not to play.”
“I, I see. I understand.”
Winia, who speaks logically, looked quite intelligent.
She’s only a gangster to me; she’s not like that to other people. As we waited, the village chief’s wife brought a person in.
