## Chapter 6 – Kobold Hunt
We got a little lost, but retracing our steps carefully allowed us to pinpoint our location on the map before sunset. Having trained myself to remember the paths I’ve taken whenever possible during my time as an adventurer, getting my bearings wasn’t too difficult.
Anyway, after finding the path, everything went smoothly.
“Wow, Sister. It’s gotten completely dark.”
Before we knew it, the sun had completely set.
In the mountains, where even moonlight couldn’t penetrate, you couldn’t see an inch in front of you at night. Without a way to light the night, further marching was impossible. We had to prepare to camp out.
Of course, camping out was practically a daily occurrence for adventurers. When we didn’t have enough money in the city to even rent a stable, when quests took longer than expected and night fell, or when we had to make a long march, camping was always with us.
I wasn’t particularly worried. I was used to camping in this uncharted territory.
There were nocturnal monsters, but the ones living near cities, which could be considered human strongholds, couldn’t be strong. Those guys had all been wiped out, so even if there were nocturnal monsters, it wouldn’t be a problem. Strong monsters only came out far away.
Even the troublesome goblins were diurnal. More than anything, monsters feared fire. We just had to light a fire and take turns sleeping.
“Then, let’s prepare to camp out in a suitable place…”
ㅡMay the Light illuminate the darkness.
“Holy Light.”
“Ooh.”
As Eliza recited the prayer, a small ring of light appeared above her head, illuminating the surroundings.
A divine spell that lights up the area like this?
Eliza was truly an all-around survival nun.
Aren’t priests and nuns really OP classes?
Their versatility is even greater than that of wizards.
“The duration isn’t very long.”
Holy Light is a spell that summons a ring of light from an angel, a convenient divine skill that can be used as a substitute for a torch, she said.
Eliza explained that in addition to the advantage of being able to illuminate dark dungeons or the surroundings at night, it also had the effect of driving away monsters to some extent. This was because most monsters feared or disliked the divine aura. I was truly impressed.
There were rumors that slightly stronger monsters would approach after seeing this light, but I had never seen such monsters. I figured they’d have to be at least orcs. Of course, there was no way orcs would be located only two hours away from the city.
The city’s authorities would never leave orcs roaming around.
“This is fucking awesome.”
Anyway, impressed, I clapped my hands.
“Fu… Fucking awesome…? What does that mean?”
“It’s a saying from my hometown, meaning the best of the best.”
“I see.”
Eliza responded to my clumsy explanation with a smile.
Anyway, with a flashlight, we marched forward without hesitation and arrived at a familiar thicket. As expected, we detoured back the way we came.
I carelessly used up all the oil earlier, but it’s a little disappointing that I didn’t leave a little bit behind, as I could have easily made a torch. I had a fire starter, but even if I could use it to light a bonfire, it would be impossible to make a torch.
“The duration is up.”
The Holy Light went out. It was fortunate that we hadn’t been attacked by monsters on the way here.
The typical monsters that attacked near the city at night were wolves that had strayed from the pack, giant bats, or imps. They were weak, but they had good night vision, so they were quite challenging opponents to fight without lights.
“Sister, can’t you use it one more time?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
Then I guess we’ll have to prepare to camp here.
“Katt, I think it would be best to camp for the night.”
“Let’s do that.”
I took out the fire starter from my pouch and split it in half. *Pshhh*. Before long, smoke started to rise from the inside, and a fire was lit. In reality, this was just called a fire starter, but it was a completely different object.
Anyway, this fire starter was made by putting some kind of flammable material inside a bamboo-like wooden tube and sealing it. When you split it in half, a fire would start inside. It was a must-have item commonly used by most adventurers.
“Dry wood…”
However, the fire itself didn’t last long, so I took advantage of the light to gather dry branches and leaves. With Eliza’s help, we were able to quickly complete the bonfire. She seemed to have a lot of experience in the field. Was she some kind of special forces? It seemed like she could do almost anything.
“Then, Sister, shall we take turns sleeping? You decide the order and time.”
“There’s no need for a night watch. I’m a light sleeper.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
Camping in a place like this without a night watch was generally suicidal, but since Eliza, who was practically special forces, said so, I decided to just sleep. In the first place, I was living with half my life on the line, so if something happened, I would just die.
Life was definitely precious, but lately, I’d been thinking about it less and less. Living was so tough and shitty that my attachment to life was gradually fading away. I had a grand goal of returning to my hometown. But this world wasn’t easy enough to live for such an unattainable dream… But whatever. A cleric was stronger than most monsters anyway.
So it didn’t matter.
“Sister, cover yourself with this and sleep. My armor is warm.”
I handed Eliza the kobold skin. Whether it was ominous or not, you could get frostbite if you slept cold. In the worst case, you could die of hypothermia. Since I was wearing quilted armor, a type of padded cloth armor with excellent insulation, I decided to give it to her.
I wanted to take it off and give it to her, but then I would be too cold.
“Thank you.”
Eliza took the leather bundle, coolly moved the kobold skull inside to her feet, and wrapped the leather around her body. The pagan symbols drawn on the leather were a bit concerning, but such things had no meaning in the face of the cold.
No matter how ominous something was, you had to cover yourself with it if you were cold.
If you caught a cold, the medicine would cost a fortune.
“But the leather seems a bit big. It might be better to cover ourselves together.”
It was a bit big since it used to be used as a flag.
It seemed to have some extra room because it was sewn together from several pieces.
“Hehe, I’m fine. How should I put it, that leather is a bit ominous, isn’t it? I feel a bit uneasy just looking at it. I’m afraid I’ll see it in my dreams.”
It was a kind offer, but I was a bit reluctant because I tended to believe in superstitions, so I refused.
I was a grown man, but I was afraid of ghosts. In the first place, wasn’t superstition ingrained in Korean culture as a whole? Having lived in such a place my whole life, it couldn’t be helped. I still couldn’t sleep with my head facing north.
When I told another adventurer this in the past, I was scolded for having barbaric customs. But it’s true, damn it.
“Then why did you offer it to me?”
“You’ll be fine, Sister. You have divine power.”
Eliza would surely be protected by something like divine power.
But I didn’t really believe in any gods or religions, so I didn’t have any resistance to such demonic things.
“…Just come in. It’ll be warmer that way.”
“Aww…”
I crawled next to Eliza and covered the remaining part. Somehow, covering myself with this ominous leather made me feel very uneasy. To be specific, it felt like sleeping with my head facing north.
“Then, can I just trust you and sleep, Sister? You’re really a light sleeper, right?”
“I’ll wake up immediately if something approaches. I’ve been trained to do that.”
“Wow! As expected of you, Sister! This is too awesome!”
“…I’m a little embarrassed that you praise me so much.”
I closed my eyes at Eliza’s words.
I was the type of person who had trouble falling asleep even when I lay down. But since coming to this world, there hadn’t been a single day when I wasn’t tired, so I just fell asleep as soon as I lay down.
“I’m worried because I can’t sleep,” or “It’s too hard to wake up in the morning because of insomnia.” Such words were just things that people who were well-fed and comfortable would say.
If you’re really tired, you’ll fall asleep as soon as you close your eyes. If you have sleep problems, try working or exercising first.
Using the sound of the burning bonfire as a lullaby, I fell asleep.
***
I woke up in the early morning after having a terrible nightmare.
“Ugh, damn it. What kind of dream was that?”
Fortunately, it seemed that there had been no monster attacks during the night. But I felt as heavy as lead, probably because I hadn’t slept well. There was no way I could sleep normally while covering myself with such shitty leather.
I shouldn’t have covered myself with it. I should have just faced my head north… Ah, never mind.
“Are you awake?”
“Oh, good morning, Sister.”
The sun was rising. Since the surroundings were getting brighter, it seemed okay to move soon. After washing my face simply with water from my canteen, I stretched and stood up.
“Let’s go back quickly.”
Eliza, who seemed to have woken up before me, was already ready to leave.
I picked up the kobold skin and skull.
Eliza took out the map and led the way, and so we set off towards the city. I wondered if the map was even meaningful.
“We should arrive in about an hour.”
“Hehe, that’s perfect.”
We were finally going back to the city. The thought of working my ass off for a day and earning 1 silver made me smile. Since my weekly living expenses were about 30 coppers, I could live for three weeks without doing anything, and still have 10 coppers left over.
Come to think of it, I also brought back a scaly mushroom. I was overjoyed.
“Hehe.”
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Because the work is done. Aren’t you happy too, Sister?”
“Of course.”
If only I hadn’t bought that damn Madecassol… Living expenses themselves weren’t that high, but the necessary items were a bit expensive. I had to save like crazy to buy a single piece of equipment.
After walking for a while, the sun rose.
And as the sunlight shone down, monsters of a different form appeared.
“Huh?!”
I shouted in surprise. The things crawling towards us were two black [Giant Spiders]. These spiders, larger than guard dogs, were low-level monsters, but their appearance was so disgusting that female adventurers avoided them at all costs.
“I’ll kill them.”
With a fierce momentum that seemed like she would run out and smash their heads at any moment, Eliza pulled out her morning star.
“No, no, wait!”
Eliza raised her arm high. I grabbed her arm in shock.
“I’ll do it. Their carapaces can be sold to the blacksmith.”
“Is that so?”
A Giant Spider’s carapace that was removed intact could be used as a material for armor, so it could usually be sold to a blacksmith for about 1 copper. Of course, a carapace that was broken or cracked had no commercial value. If the skilled Eliza hit them with her morning star, it would surely break in an instant.
ㅡ*Kweeek*.
The Giant Spider raised its front legs, making a strange cry. Seeing its eight eyes glaring and green liquid dripping messily from its twitching fangs, I thought even Eliza would be horrified, but it was actually me who was horrified.
“Eek!”
I’m weak against gross things…!
Making an unsightly noise, I gauged the distance and kicked the monster’s mouth with a front kick. *Thwack!* A bursting sound rang out, and two fangs were torn off. As I said, I was a 3rd-degree black belt in Taekwondo. The fatally wounded Giant Spider convulsed.
“Die!”
And I finished it off by splitting its brain with my sword. Unlike its ferocious appearance, the Giant Spider’s combat power was terrible. It just seemed like its structure was a bit disadvantageous to humans. Of course, if these spiders grew and started to become larger than humans, there would be nothing I could do.
ㅡ*Kweeek!*
Another one charged at me. It jumped up with a bit of momentum in an attempt to somehow sink its fangs into me. I simply struck the jumping monster’s mouth with an upward slash, then finished it off with a two-handed downward slash.
“Nice.”
It was a perfect hunt. Both of them were perfect kills with no damage to their carapaces. I took out a small dagger from my pouch and removed the carapaces from the dead Giant Spiders.
“How gruesome.”
“It’s too disgusting, Sister.”
When I removed the spider’s carapace, the inside was filled with muscles and organs. Adventurers often ate this spider meat, but that was only when they were starving. I didn’t particularly want to eat it.
I skillfully removed both carapaces. *Squish*, the bodily fluids stuck to the inside of the carapace stretched like silk, making a cheerful sound.
“Sister, I’ll give you one of these as a gift. You don’t have to keep it, just sell it and buy something delicious to eat.”
I handed one of the carapaces to Eliza. It was a gift to score some points.
“Um… Th-Thank you.”
Eliza accepted the carapace.
Women are weak to gifts.
