CH 16

Hunter? No, I’m an Adventurer.

I got up the next morning while it was still dark. Though there was no alarm, I had gone to bed early, and had gotten plenty of sleep.

As I washed up and went down to the dining hall, I saw that the innkeeper was in the middle of preparing breakfast. I bought two loaves of bread, and told her that I was heading out before opening the door.

The sky was just starting to become pale. But when I headed to the north gate, it was not open yet. Apparently, it opened after the sun rose. Carriages and people began to gather around as I waited to depart. Once the sky had fully brightened, the gatekeeper went up to the top of the stone tower. Some time passed, and the outer door opened, and with a loud grating noise, the iron bars began to lift.

Outside, there were two rows for people who were waiting to get in. Among them, I saw a wagon that was loaded with vegetables.

Oh? Had I been too late?

When I arrived at the north settlement, Mr. Rogit was out in the field.

“I’m sorry that I’m late.”

“Ah, good morning. And don’t be, I was just about to start here. It’s no problem.”

“But I saw a wagon with vegetables going inside?”

“Ah, that must be people from the village. But these will be freshly picked, which is completely different. Now, there’s no need to hurry.”

I see. That made sense. And so I helped him with the morning harvesting, and we loaded it onto a wagon, along with what was picked the previous day. Once we arrived at the market, he opened up his shop and unloaded his vegetables in what seemed to be his usual spot.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

He signed the request sheet, and I returned to the inn to eat what was essentially brunch.

I then made a report at the Adventurers Guild, and sold my magic stones at the counter.

I had 72 goblins, 36 forest wolves, 32 horn rabbits, and 2 fang boars. The fang boars had appeared near the village, and were surrounded and killed by the villagers. I had all the stones separated into different bags, which I placed on the counter.

“You sure brought a lot.”

The guild worker said with annoyance.

“Goblin magic stones are worth 50 bronze, wolves are 40, rabbits 30, and boars are 1 silver. So that will be 62 silver in all.”

Tsk! So cheap! However, we ate monster meat and used the other materials. So perhaps it made sense to only get this much for the stones.

“If this was a quest, it would be E-Rank.”

The guild worker said with a laugh. Then he handed me 6 great silvers and 2 silvers. I wasn’t mad or anything!

I then headed to the reception counter and received 2 silvers for finishing the quest. So, that was 98 more G-Rank quests to go. Phew.

After that, I went out the west gate in order to talk to Mr. Gidel.

“Ah, weren’t you supposed to start tomorrow?”

“I’m going to set the traps tonight. But I won’t know if they’ll work until tomorrow.”

“I see. They got us this morning as well. So I’m counting on you.”

He slapped me hard on the back.

And so I entered the forest and searched for footprints. There seemed to be two routes to enter the field. I looked for a good place, then dug a shallow hole and set the trap. It was a simple trap that Zuky had taught me. If the prey’s foot falls into the hidden hole, a rope that was tied to a bent tree would pull it up. So even if a human stepped into it by accident, they would not be hurt. Well, they might trip and fall.

By the time I had set a total of six traps across the two routes, the sun was starting to set. I told Mr. Gidel that I had set the traps and asked him to warn the residents of the west settlement.

Then I returned to the town, ate an early dinner at a street stall, and returned to the inn. I would experiment with magic today as well.

However, I would not be making the same mistakes again. And so I chanted in a quiet voice.

“Earth.”

A small stone appeared. The volume of my voice had no effect. That was good.

When I checked my status, my MP was 16/19. It was because I had used some while out buying food at the stalls. But the amount used for rehydration in the forest had recovered.

What I wanted to confirm today was whether or not your magic energy status would grow when you used up your MP. It was a common thing, but I wasn’t too hopeful.

After coming to this world, my once flabby body had become lean with muscle.

However, while I had more muscle on me, my STR did not increase.

Of course, that didn’t mean that it was a waste. Without a doubt, I had become stronger, even if my level was the same. And if I looked at other Adventurers, the warriors generally had big muscles.

In other words, the status was something that was added on top of your actual strength. So, what about magic energy?

The master of the Sorcerers Guild had said that ‘magic energy was just power.’ If it was power, shouldn’t it increase if you exercised it? However, it might not affect my status.

Regardless, I wanted to know.

Ah, but perhaps I should practice with magic manipulation first?

—Knead, knead, stretch, stretch…

I did that for a while, but the magic energy never got soft enough that it would circulate. However, I did feel that it was softer than yesterday.

Now, here was the real challenge. I would make 15 pebbles. Of course, with a hushed voice.

“Earth.” x15

I checked my status and made notes on a scrap of leather.

MP1/19

INT: 11

“Earth.”

And I lost consciousness.

…Ah!

I woke up. It was still dark all around me. When I opened the window, the sky had grown a little pale. So I woke up at the perfect time. That was good.

“Status open.”

The status I checked was,

MP 15/19

INT: 11

MND: 19

Aside from my MP recovering, everything was the same. Well, it was expected.

Your MP didn’t recover all the way if you slept, but it did seem to recover faster that way. However I had no watch and could not time it precisely.

I slowly washed up and headed to the dining hall, but breakfast wasn’t ready yet. And so once again, I bought two loaves of bread and headed out so that I would reach the west gate just as the sun rose. Then I went out the gate and headed to the forest in order to check the traps. A deer was caught in it.

“Great.”

As the deer thrashed about, I hit it on the head with my sheathed sword, and then slashed its throat open with my shortsword. Then I hung it from a tree with a rope, and went to check on the other traps and saw that another had been caught. I drained it of blood like the first, and checked the remaining traps, but they were undisturbed.

And so I kept the deer strung up and removed the guts.

(There aren’t many slimes in this forest, so I should probably bury this.)

However, the shovel I carried for my travels was quite small, and it would be a pain to dig a hole with it. And so I headed to Mr. Gidel’s house and found him at one of the fields on the way. I told him that I had caught the deer and borrowed a wagon and a shovel.

I returned to the forest and buried the guts and reset the traps. Then I put the deer on the wagon and went to the west settlement in order to make a report.

“So you caught two of them already! What do you think? Should we call the quest complete?”

“No, I think there are still more, and so I’ll continue.”

“I’m even more grateful then! Do what you can!”

He bashed me on the back repeatedly.

It really hurt.

I pushed the wagon through the gate and took the deer to the purchasing counter at the guild.

“An Adventurer and a deer. That’s unusual. Are you also a hunter?”

“I’ve been trained a little, but it’s not an occupation.”

“I see. But you’ve bled it properly I see. Now, about 3 silvers per deer?”

Oh? That wasn’t too bad.

“Yes, please.”

They made a record on the request sheet and I accepted the 6 silvers.

It was about lunch time now, and so I decided to eat at the guild bar.