Prove Your Worth

The next day, Noah and I visited the Association counter first thing in the morning.

The same reception clerk from last time greeted us.

"You've arrived."

As if she'd been waiting for me, the clerk pulled out a crisp sheet of paper without a word.

She held it out. The paper felt rough and textured in my hand.

Sure enough, what she'd handed me was a Hunter Card. At last!

Besides the name and rank, there were various other fields filled in, but as a brand-new recruit, most of them were blank.

Rank 1, zero monster hunting experience, zero completed quests. Specs so staggering that the veterans would foam at the mouth and trail after me in droves.

"Tsk..."

Noah, peeking at the Hunter Card from beside me, smacked her lips.

To a five-year veteran like Noah, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was nothing more than a raw newbie. Was that itch at the back of my neck just my imagination?

Don't lick the newbie — look with your eyes only.

I shot a sidelong glance at the less-than-composed Noah and ran my fingers over the Hunter Card.

The rough texture of the card in my hand set my heart racing. It was the same feeling as getting a toy you'd always wanted. Good enough to make me want to jump for joy. Truly a happy day.

"Congratulations."

The clerk said it with a warm smile.

"If you'd like to take on quests going forward, please come find me. I look forward to working with you, Hunter."

Hunter!

It had a wonderfully good ring to it. Hearing it from someone else's mouth made my profession feel real.

From this moment on, I was a hunter. Bring a monster before me this instant. I'd slice them all into pretty little star shapes.

"Alice, congratulations."

Noah said, ruffling my hair. D-don't pet me.

I pulled my head back and smoothed down my mussed hair. Noah chuckled and reached into her pocket.

"I've got a little gift for that Alice of mine... Ta-da."

What emerged from Noah's pocket was a monster's Essence.

"This is..."

"It's the Essence from the One-Eyed Luga-lac. Since you took it down, I made sure to grab this even if I left the other materials. Essences don't drop easily, right?"

Noah was right. Materials like Essences were rare.

Sometimes you could go an entire day without getting one. I took the Luga-lac Essence from Noah. It shimmered with a mysterious red light.

Getting an Essence was great, but you couldn't craft anything with just one alone. Still, there'd be a use for it later. There would have to be.

Even so, having even a single Essence meant I could enjoy Hunter Land to the fullest.

"Thanks, Noah."

"Nah, I should be thanking you more. You saved my life. So now... shall we buy you some clothes first?"

"...Huh?"

Weren't we supposed to pick up a quest now?

I'd been full of ambition — the moment I got my Hunter Card, I'd start slaughtering monsters! But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠contrary to my expectations, we didn't take on any quests. There was still too much to sort out.

My clothes were still Noah's, and I had no armor to protect myself.

Above all, the greatsword was a serious problem. Ever since I'd used Flowing Water against the Pienos, the joint between the blade and the hilt had been creaking. I'd checked it several times at the inn, and it was damaged beyond any repair I could manage.

It had clearly been wrecked fighting the One-Eyed Luga-lac last time. That beast's hide and claws were denser than any blade could withstand. Using Flowing Water on top of that had snapped it completely.

I couldn't fight with a greatsword that old and broken.

"Shall we hit a clothing shop first?"

I didn't know Antico's layout well, so I left everything to Noah.

This was Antico's commercial district.

There were shops in the shade beneath the trees, but there were shops up in the trees as well. The ones above were connected by rope-and-wood suspension bridges.

The paths were complicated, if not quite on the level of the Forest of Illusion.

The scenery was so novel that I kept looking around, and before I knew it Noah was already well ahead.

I scrambled after her. Noah climbed the stairs and crossed the bridges with easy familiarity, then stepped into a clothing shop.

Shopping, huh.

I didn't particularly want to spend time shopping. This wasn't what mattered to me...

"Can I just pick anything?"

"No."

Noah was extremely firm. Cowed by her resolve, I simply followed in silence.

The shop clerk was a fairly young woman. Around her neck hung a pendant shaped like a monster's claw, paired with a mysterious gemstone. Her outfit was peculiar too — so billowy it looked like a breeze might carry her away.

Clothes just needed to be comfortable to wear and easy to move in, right...? From a hunter's standpoint, that seemed like the correct answer.

But Noah seemed to think that while functionality was fine, you also had to look the part. She held clothes up against me this way and that, shaking her head at whatever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠failed to please her.

Then she suddenly stopped dead and picked one out. ...A sleeveless top.

"Want to try this on...?"

Hold on a second. Is she serious?

I stared at Noah blankly. She swallowed hard and nodded. Even under my long, hard look, she didn't back down an inch.

Ah, whatever. I slowly reached out. My hand trembled as I went to take the clothes.

"...If you don't like it, we can pick something else!"

Just as I was about to take it, Noah yanked her hand back with a laugh.

If Noah really wanted me to, I could grit my teeth and wear it. Of course, not wearing it was preferable, so I said nothing. My eyes happened to meet the clerk's. She was watching us with a hand over her mouth, laughing softly.

Noah kept thrusting various things at me, but nothing particularly caught my fancy.

Keeping on refusing would have been rude. And watching how happy she looked each time I tried something on, it didn't seem so bad.

The sleeveless top was cooler than I'd expected...

Our next stop was the workshop district.

The workshop district had a completely different atmosphere from the commercial one. The heat was thick, and sweat sprang up on its own. The clang of craftsmen's hammers and the roar of molten metal filled the air.

"I'd love to give you the best gear I can, but hunters aren't allowed to do that for each other... You have to outfit yourself with your own hands."

Noah said it apologetically, but I didn't mind. The game hadn't had a trading system either.

"Is there a workshop you like?"

A workshop I like?

Well. I looked around.

In the game, there was only one Antico workshop that players used. There were plenty of forges, but player hunters dealt with only one person.

I scanned the faces of the workshop owners I could spot here and there.

"How about that one?"

When I couldn't decide for a while, Noah made a suggestion, but it didn't appeal to me at all.

I searched for a while, but the face I wanted never appeared.

Since I wasn't wandering alone, I was just about to compromise and give up when I suddenly spotted a familiar old man.

The old man had his graying hair tied back. An eyepatch covered one eye. His arms and body were packed with muscle that didn't match his age.

The old man of the Antico workshop I'd been looking for — Matillo.

"Noah, that way."

"Huh?"

I grabbed Noah and hurried over.

The most out-of-the-way corner of the workshop district, a place people rarely passed through. It matched the location of the forge in my memory.

"...Here?"

Matillo's workshop was older and shabbier than the others. I didn't remember it looking this rundown in the game.

But the old man I'd seen was definitely Matillo. The tsundere blacksmith who spoke roughly but fretted over the player. I might have been wrong about the face. Still, I planned to talk to him first.

I rattled the door handle and knocked.

Clang—clang—!

The old man just kept hammering the heated iron, not even glancing back.

"...Who is it?"

The old man's irritable voice followed. A thoroughly familiar voice.

Doubt turned to certainty.

"A customer."

"A-Alice?"

This rude mouth of mine was using informal speech even with someone decades older.

Noah was flustered — no, I was more flustered than she was.

At my casual address, the old man finally turned around and met my eyes.

Finally looking this way.

"...Hmph. I thought some insolent brat had wandered in — you're a rookie hunter?"

"I-I'm so sorry! She's..."

"Forget it. That kind of thing doesn't even make me mad."

Matillo and I locked eyes for a long moment.

Matillo snorted, set down his hammer, and stood up from his work. He peeled off his thick work gloves, hung them on a chair, and strode ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over to me.

"Hunter miss. This brat needs armor, does she?"

"Ah, yes... that's right."

Why was Noah a "miss" and I a "brat"? Sure, Noah was a little taller than me, and her chest was a little bigger... but I wasn't brat-level, was I?

I glared at Matillo with sulky eyes. He smirked at my look and crossed his arms.

"Listen, brat. I've done this job a long time, and my back aches and my hands throb. So unless it's a special order, I don't take customers. Did you know that when you came?"

"Nope."

"Then what — you got some rare materials or something?"

"I'll bring them later."

"Hmph. Easy to say. You want my gear that badly?"

"Yeah. It has to be you."

"......"

Matillo heard me out, then fretted for a long while, rubbing his mouth.

There was a reason I clung to him even while being treated like cold leftovers.

Matillo would often ask the player for favors. Mining ore, hunting monsters, fetching materials, and so on.

Along the way, Matillo would share bits of his own story. Most of it was trivial stuff — things that had happened when he was a hunter. I'd thought he was just an ordinary retired hunter, but the final linked quest revealed a truth that tied all those stories together.

Matillo was a Master Hunter.

But he kept that hidden and ran a workshop here in Antico. In practice, it was a Master Hunter's retirement hobby.

While doing blacksmith work he'd treated as mere retirement leisure, Matillo met a player who challenged powerful foes. And he projected his younger self onto that player. Maybe that was why he'd shared stories he'd never told anyone else.

Someday, he'd tell me those stories again.

"Fine. All right."

Having finished deliberating, Matillo finally spoke.

"Then prove your worth. Hunt a Kakari alone, without anyone's help."

"...Isn't that a bit much?"

"Hmph. If it's too hard, go to another workshop. Hunters these days don't know what a challenge is..."

Noah took my side. But a Kakari was something I could handle alone just fine.

The Fire Bird Kakari was a bird that lived in the forest, spitting fire from a red sac-like organ beneath its neck.

It was in a similar class to the Pienos, but a notch higher.

It served as a gatekeeper before you started hunting the real heavy hitters of Hunter Land.

"Alice is still only Rank 1."

"Ha, so you can't do it? Or what — you want me to wait until you rank up..."

"No. I'll do it. Right now."

"A-Alice...!"

I cut Matillo off. Noah stared at me.

She probably didn't understand why I was going this far for such a foul-tempered old man.

He was someone with a long history with the player. I had that much affection for him too. And I knew the attitude Matillo was showing now was just because he was bad at dealing with people.

"...Hoh. Looks like you're not all talk."

Matillo liked people like that.

Hunters who didn't settle for where they were, but yearned to keep pushing forward.

That had been the player — and that player was me. Matillo was fated to craft gear for me.

"I'll go do it, so wait."

Just like in the game — get ready to make me some gear.

I turned my back. Just as I grabbed Noah's wrist and was about to head out, a rough hand caught my shoulder. Matillo.

"You planning to go like that? Reckless. That isn't a quest — it's suicide. Wait."

Matillo went into the workshop storeroom and came back with gear.

The most basic equipment — leather armor. And an iron greatsword, bundled as a set and set down in front of me.

"Ugh, my back... Brat, that greatsword on your back looks wrecked. How the hell do you use a weapon? Hand it over. I'll repair it when you bring back the Kakari. Use this sword instead."

Before I knew it, I'd handed my greatsword over to Matillo too. He set it on the workbench.

"Then I'll be go—"

"You've got to fit the gear first — where do you think you're going? You're reeking of rookie. What are you doing, not putting on the armor?"

Hah, I can't keep up with this flow.

I grunted and struggled into the leather armor Matillo had left on the floor. With Noah's help I fastened the belt, then stood before Matillo.

Matillo rubbed his chin, looked me over a couple of times, then undid the belt with his hands and adjusted it to fit my body.

"I've tightened it, so it should fit snug. If it's uncomfortable, deal with it yourself."

"...I'm going now."

Matillo didn't say goodbye. He just turned his back and resumed the work he'd been doing. Only then could we leave his workshop.

"......Is he actually nice?"

Noah tilted her head, sounding uncertain.

Beats me. I don't know either.

Still, I'd somehow ended up with gear and a quest. Now all that was left was the hunt itself.

...Let's eat first, then go.