CH 9

Today, as usual, I check the adventurer's guild bulletin board. The only rank I can get is F. There are no good ones.

"Maybe I'll try rabbit hunting."

I went to the counter and checked the details. Since it was a guild-sponsored request (quest), there was no particular deadline, and I was told that I could just bring it back when I had gathered enough fur. If it's a normal beast, you'll probably need to dismantle it, but the monsters in this world drop materials when they're defeated, and they're divided into fur and meat.

I went outside the city to look for the rabbit. I found it immediately. A big pink rabbit. It was almost a meter tall.

This guy looks strong...

The appropriate level is 3 or higher, which is one level short, but if I can defeat even one of them, my level should go up soon.

It's time to get some leather armor, and I want to save up some money.

These big pink rabbit pelts sell for three gold a piece, which is a better price than I've ever paid for an enemy.

"H-Here I go!"

I roused myself before it could get away, raised my bronze sword and lunged at it.

The rabbit braced itself and jumped toward me with great force.

"Guahh!"

The rabbit head-butted me in the chest, and I cowered in pain.

It's really strong.

I should have just leveled up by killing a goblin.

But now it's too late. The rabbit going to attack me, so I'd better not turn my back on it and run away. I don't have the confidence to escape.

"Oraaa!"

With all my strength, I swings my sword sideways. I gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, careful not to lose the weapon in a snap.

I managed to hit the rabbit fot the first time, but it's quickly dodged the second time.

Damn, you're a rabbit and you're dodging.

Speed, or is it hit-and-run? I'm going to need some skills in that area.

No matter how many skill points I have, I'll never have enough.

Hmm?

I wonder if I can steal some skills from this thing?

I'll use "Appraise Lv3". It should be the first thing you use on an enemy you've never seen before, but I guess I forgot.

[Name]  Big Pink Rabbit

[Lv]  3

[HP]  12

[Description]

A large pink rabbit.

It is about one meter tall and moves fast.

It has a fierce personality and is active against humans.

It has 12 HP. It's tougher than goblins because it's faster.

In addition, even if I use the appraisal, I won't be able to see its skills, so there's not much point.

"Damn it!"

I took quite a bit of damage, but I managed to defeat it.

It dropped a pink fur coat.

『One Level has Gone Up!』

『You become Level 3!』

『Attack Power has Increased by 3!』

『Defense Power has Increased by 1!』

『Speed has Increased by 3!』

『Maximum HP has Increased by 6!』

『Maximum TP has Increased by 2!』

『11 skill points gained』

My level went up.

It seems that there is a random element to the increase in status rather than a fixed one, since the range of the values fluctuates slightly. The range is not that wide, so it's easy to predict.

As for the experience value, according to my calculations, each rabbit is worth five points. That's the equivalent of five slimes. Goblins are 3 points, so the rate is better than that.

However, even though my level has increased, my HP has not recovered. It seems to be a non-recoverable type of world.

If it does recover, it's pretty easy to push yourself, and you can adjust your experience and level up when the going gets tough.

"Tch, I can't hunt this guy mainly. ...... No, there are medicinal herbs."

The guild staff also taught me how to use medicinal herbs, so I half-heartedly put the aloe plant I had in my mouth and chewed on it.

It was bitter ....... Did aloe ever taste like this?

"Oh?. It's getting easier. The pain is lighter now. Wow."

I seemed to be recovering properly. Just to be sure, I checked my status, and my HP was back to full.

"Good!"

In addition, I opened the skill list and took "Athleticism Lv1" and "Dynamic Vision Lv1". Both skills cost 5 points each.

It's better to have this kind of skill that increases athletic ability when you're dealing with a fast opponent.

"Hmm, I guess it's an Ability UP skill. "

I swung my sword a bit to make sure, but it seems that neither of the two are active skills that can be used by reminding.

If they're always active, I don't have to worry about when to use them.

I don't feel like I'm moving that much better, but I guess I just haven't gotten a feel for it since I've done so little exercise in the past.

I should have gone for a run if I was going to do this.

I'm not going to do it in this world either.

I can also take a skill to increase my strength.

I looked for the rabbit again. There it was.

"Take this!!"

It's coming towards me, so it's easy to bring it into battle.

"Okay, I'm can do this. Guo!?"

I thought I could take it down with no damage, but it took another body hit. It jumped at me with a lot of force.

Still, I steadily killed them one by one while collecting herbs, and raised my level by two more. On the way, I couldn't hold on to the dropped meat anymore, so I checked my skill list and found "Item Storage Lv1".

I spent 10 points and kept it. It's very handy to be able to quickly move your belongings in and out of different spaces.

"Hmm? What's this?"

When I killed the twelfth rabbit, it dropped what looked like a red marble.

I'm a little disappointed, though, because the fur was better.

Anyway, let's try to "appraise" it.

[Name]  Jewels of Speed (Small)

[Type of Item]  Ability Increase Item

[Material]  Magic stone

[Weight] 1

[Description]

A magical stone that permanently increases your speed when used.

The jewel will disappear after use.

I see. It's a rare item. I thought it was a trivial skill with little chance of changing because it doesn't come out easily even though I had the "Rare Item Probability Increase Lv4" skill.

I think I can sell this one for a good price.

My speed is probably only going to go up a little bit anyway, and I'd rather have good armor than a bunch of random ability values right now.

I should go to the adventurer's guild and ask for a price.

The sun was setting, so I stopped hunting there and went back to town to drop off the rabbit fur at the guild counter.

"Well, that's quite a haul for a novice."

The old man, a guild employee, praised me.

"Well, it's not like those whh are happy hunt goblins."

I feel a little superior.

"Yeah, that's the thing, but I heard that the other heroes group was hunting rabbits and caterpillars today. They also have more pelts than you."

"What!? Tch, I see."

"Yeah. Don't feel bad, I'm sure you're still close to their level, so let me join that party."

"No thanks. I'm solo."

"Well, you can do whatever you want, but you're not gonna survive solo, you know?"

"Mmm. Anyway, no thanks. Anyway, Shin... was that bowman with them?"

"No, it was just the three of them."

"Hmm, I see."

He's hunting somewhere else, isn't he? Not even coming to the guild? Well, there's no point in worrying about it.

"Here's your reward, 105 gold. Take it."

I received one large copper coin and five dull yellow brass coins that looked like five-yen coins. It was not enough to buy armor, but it was enough to pay for ten days of lodging.

"Oh, yeah, I found this red marble on the ground, do you know what it is?"

Show it to the guild staff. If they are honest with you, that's fine. If they try to trick you into taking the quest, you might want to think twice about taking it.

"Wha!? This is!"

The old man from the guild was surprised, but it seems to be quite rare.

I waited in silence to see what he would say.

"Good find you have there, ....... This is a jewel that increases your abilities. Unlike magic or medicine, it works all the time, just like leveling up. Well, it's only a little bit, so I don't think one or two will make you feel any different."

"I see. So, how much does it cost?"

"Hmm, So you're selling it.... Normally, adventurers use them as soon as they find them for good luck. It's been years since I've seen it. I'm sure it would fetch a good price if you sold it, but... wait, I'm pretty sure there's a quest for collecting jewel, so I'll check it out."

Hmm, I guess I can trust this guild. Maybe it's just this old man.

"One gold coin per jewel, 10,000 gold. It's a C-rank request, but it's instant, so you can make a special exception. But you'll probably get more for it at a merchant or an auction."

Ten thousand gold.

Damn, I can't stop smiling, but I'm going to be cool about it.

"I see. What's the auction?

"It's a monthly auction held by both our guild and the merchants' guild. The auction is at ......."

"No, I know about that. When and where is it held? Can I participate?"

"Yes, they're held on different days, but as long as you have an adventurer's card, you can participate in both. However, if you don't have a valuable item, you'll be turned away. This jewel is no problem. Tomorrow is the day of the Merchant's Guild auction, so you can ask for more information there."

"Which one sells for more?"

"Well, They sell mostly weapons, armor, materials, and adventuring items, but they sell a lot of magical items, jewelry, and art. I don't know, maybe it's the merchants' guild."

"Thank you. I'll ask around at the merchants' guild then."

"Yeah. The place is right down the street. I don't mind as long as you newcomers grow up. But you can't retire just yet. 10,000 gold will be used up in no time at all."

Huh, I'm not retiring for a thousand days of innkeeping. You worry too much, old man.

I raised one hand to signal that I understood and left the guild.

The Merchant's Guild is a magnificent brick building, much nicer than the Adventurer's Guild. As I approached the entrance, the two soldiers guarding the gate were ready to asked me.

"Are you a merchant?"