CH 7

On the day of the [Undead Swarm Subjugation] Raid Quest, I walked with the other adventurers to the forest close to Rondalm.

The number of adventurers present, including myself, was exactly ten.

The group was made up of mostly F rank and E rank adventurers, except for the single D rank adventurer amongst them.

“I heard that there was an adventurer amongst you who is just messing around, but…. I guess that was you, Elma!”

It was a middle-aged man with a unique stiff blue beard.

He had an enormous axe on his back.

He was Goutan, the supervisor for the currently ongoing Raid Quest, who also had the authority to promote people to E rank.

Since he was entrusted with not just the authority to promote people, but he was also selected as the supervisor for the Raid Quest by the Guild, I expected a trustworthy and mild-mannered adventurer, but my expectations were cruelly betrayed.

“You have some nerve showing up here! You are looking down on monsters and the Guild! You say you took down an Alanda Ape by yourself while you were only 【Lv：12】? There should be a limit on how much bullshit you dare to spout! I’m gonna straighten you out with a good beating! That will teach you that being an adventurer isn’t a picnic like you think it is!”

I wanted the examiner to remember me, but… it seems I was already singled out by him.

And not in a positive way.

This went to shit right from the start.

At this rate, even if I manage to show some proper results, I can already imagine Goutan saying something like “I don’t like you!” and failing me anyway.

However, I really wanted to take this opportunity to get promoted to E rank this time.

It would take too long to simply accrue enough achievements and get promoted the regular way.

If I miss this chance, the next opportunity to participate in a Raid Quest with a supervisor who has the authority to promote people will not come along for a few months at least.

The only way to succeed is to accomplish something that even Goutan can’t push under the rug.

Without becoming an E rank adventurer I won’t be able to raise my [Vow of the Heavy Armor] skill, which mean I won’t be able to raise my level in a Dungeon.

“…I ask that you judge me fairly.”

When I said that, Goutan’s thick eyebrows started twitching.

“Tch, what an impudent guy.”

After they advanced a bit farther, a mage raised his thin sword.

He was a blond man with a feathered hat on his head.

“[Search]….. The enemy monster swarm is getting closer. Their numbers should be around thirty.”

The [Search] is a magic skill that can determine the presence of living creatures in the area.

A Skill Tree that contains[Search] can only rarely be found in lower leveled areas.

Judging from his equipment he should be a Red Mage.

That class has high physical stats, can learn attack spells, healing spells, and a great variety of support spells.

[Search] can be obtained by putting 【8】 points into the Red Mage’s exclusive Skill Tree, called [Red Magic].

“Mmm, excellent work, Teil.”

It seems the Red Mage is called Teil.

Apparently Goutan and he already knew each other.

“Indeed, I have a number of helpful Skills, unlike those with a defective Class. Please consider my promotion to E rank.”

Teil flicked his gaze at me and smirked.

When our eyes met he just shrugged his shoulders as if to make fun of me.

“Elma-kun, your outlandish…. oops, I mean outstanding claims have become a bit of a gossip, you see. You are a Heavy Knight, right? That’s too bad for you, pulling such a defective Class.”

“Nah, I actually came to like this Class. But thanks for worrying about me.”

“Hah, blustering like that.”

When I tried to brush him off, he simply snorted and walked away, looking bored.

….if I had to choose one, then I would say the Red Mage was the less than ideal Class instead.

The Red Mage is the quintessential jack of all trades, master of none. All it can really do is run around solo in lower leveled Dungeons and that’s about it.

At most, it can be used as a second choice if the party is missing another important class.

Well, it’s not like everyone wants to operate as efficiently as possible here, unlike in the game.

It’s normal that a jack of all trades Class that’s easier to use would be preferred instead of a peaky Class that’s usually favored by professionals.

“We will be checking to be sure, but apparently the swarm of undead is being led by a Ghoul Head this time. Since I’m a D rank adventurer, I will be taking care of that one! You will be keeping your distance and hunting down the small fry! If you get caught anyway, then I won’t be saving you!” Goutan yelled at us.

“A Ghoul Head, huh…”

It’s a monster that looks like a giant ghoul head.

D rank adventurers are around 【Lv：40】on average.

As for Ghoul Heads, they are usually around 【Lv：30】.

Ghoul Heads don’t have any attack Skills.

The most troublesome is its single ability [Breath of Yomi], which creates zombies from nearby corpses. Other than that its movements are simple and easy to read.

Even the undead swarm accompanying it should just be made up of the lowest ranked monsters.

If we proceed with care, then it should be unlikely for our side to suffer a defeat.

….however, among the ten adventurers gathered here, the majority are still F ranked adventurers, many with no experience with Raid Quests at all.

Goutan doesn’t seem like a helpful person either. Even though we are already this close to the enemies, all he said were some vague as hell instructions.

If this was a Guild commission or Dungeon exploration, who knows what mishaps might happen because of it.

The penalty for death is not just a minor loss of experience points anymore.

We should be preparing for possible emergency situations.

I took a look around and checked our lineup of adventurers.

Taking everything into account… at this rate, there should be about 80% chance that we could complete this Raid Quest without losing anyone.

In the game that would be a perfectly fine number, but this is reality.

“Goutan, shouldn’t you specify a bit more what you meant by your previous orders? We should decide what to do in an emergency, like when exactly to run and on what signal, and if we do, then who is responsible for what in that case.”

“….wh-…what did you just say? A newbie bastard like you wants to criticize me!?”

Hearing my words, Goutan’s face flushed red.

I’m well aware of Goutan’s personality.

I don’t know if he will hear me out, but I thought I needed to say that at least.

“It’s possible that the undead swarm somewhat differs from the one described in the report. Since we are putting our lives on the line here, shouldn’t we prepare a bit for a worst case scenario at least? Aren’t you supposed to be the supervisor for a bunch of low ranked adventurers?”

“Gh….ugh….y-you, bastard….!”

Goutan kept clenching his teeth without saying anything.

Judging from the fact that he didn’t immediately retort with something, he too must’ve felt that my words made some sense.

It’s just he can’t be seen admitting to it anymore.

Let’s take a step back on my side for now.

“I’m still at a low level and don’t have much experience as an adventurer, so I’m somewhat uneasy. This might be a routine job for an experienced person like yourself, but please give a bit more detailed instructions for our sake.”

Saying that I bowed my head.

Goutan cleared his throat.

“Kh-khm, well, I don’t like to babysit, but it can’t be helpe-”

“‘For our sake’ you said? Hey, hey, don’t involve us in this. The only one who would be scared of the lowest ranked undead here is just you, Elma-kun with the defective Class. Who would’ve thought that you would get scared and start crying at Goutan-san just before the battle.”

Teil cut into the conversation.

This happened at the worst possible moment.

He must’ve been pissed off about me brushing him off before.

“There is no need for that, Goutan-san! If you are scared then you should just stay far back in the rear. Isn’t that right, Goutan-san?”

“M-muh…r-right, that’s right, Teil,” Goutan said, still flustered.

This little….!

The escape route I created for Goutan to go back on his word was neatly closed by this little shit.

“What’s more, how did you even think you would be able to work as an adventurer with so little courage? You are just getting in our way, so I would kindly ask you to stay away from Raid Quests in the future, Elma-kun. Well then, let’s hurry up and proceed, Goutan-san.”

Goutan got caught up in Teil’s flow, so he started moving forward, however reluctantly.

I dropped my head and let out a sigh.

Now that it came to this, I won’t be able to interfere anymore.

The other adventurers had no trust towards me to begin with.

“I just hope nothing out of the ordinary happens…..”