47. A Lucky Day
47. A Lucky Day
The defensive battle at the outpost beyond the Empire.
My first mission since becoming an adventurer may have taken a massive toll, but with the demons and beastkin pulling out midway through, I somehow managed to see it through to a successful end.
I only felt a sliver of relief after returning to the guild, filing a full report on everything that happened, and submitting it to the receptionist.
"Yes, Adventurer Woo Hyosung. Your mission completion and safe return have been officially logged."
"...So that's it."
A wave of relief finally washed over me at the receptionist's confirmation.
Now that I'd accepted this mess was finally over, I took a moment to reflect on what I'd gained and lost through all of it.
What I'd gained: the pay I received as a low-ranked adventurer for taking part in the outpost's defense, and a small amount of merit points toward a rank promotion.
And a minor change in my aptitude stats, which had been stagnant for the last two years.
====
Aptitude Stats
Body: C+++ | Technique: C++
Intelligence: C- | Senses: C+
Mind: A+ | Arcane: F
====
Yeah, my Mind aptitude had risen from A to A+.
It's just one measly plus sign, but considering that A-rank is basically the ceiling of human potential, this wasn't a gain I could shrug off lightly.
That mental fortitude was what drove the final nail into the coffin in my fight against that damned layabout bastard, and it had grown even stronger since the battle.
For two years of hauling cargo, I'd seen next to no change aside from a single plus sign tacked onto my Body stat. But now this. What, was the whole "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger" adage actually true?
Well, I can't say I feel any different, but it's nice that the system acknowledges my growth.
"...The problem is, I lost a hell of a lot more than I gained."
Right. Life's never just one thing. Whenever something good happens, something even worse usually rears its ugly head.
Compared to the modest payout and the stat rank increase, the losses I suffered on this mission were by no means small.
I had to say a farewell with no promise of return to someone I'd hoped would be at my side in the future, and even if I tried to put that out of mind, the reality of my armor—which I'd sunk my entire savings into—being shattered to pieces was waiting for me.
Damn it. I have to return the Ego Weapon too, so I'll need to get a new weapon soon after. I wonder if my emergency funds are enough to scrounge up something used.
"You're Adventurer Woo Hyosung, correct?"
Just as I was stewing in that misery, another guild employee suddenly approached the receptionist handling my paperwork.
He was carrying a huge backpack, and with a loud *Thud!*, he dropped it right in front of me.
"W-What's this?"
"What else? It's the processed materials from the demon corpse you dealt with, Adventurer Woo Hyosung."
A demon's corpse, huh.
Come to think of it, I'd heard demons can be harvested for materials depending on the individual. If it's a demon I killed, does that mean the guild dismantled the body of that lazy bum?
"Our assessors looked into it and determined that demon was a fairly high-ranking specimen. Its current level might've been a bit underwhelming, but in terms of potential alone, it was at least on par with a Demon King's Army executive."
"Huh? That bastard was executive-level?"
"Cross-referencing it with the testimonies of the adventurers who were there makes it certain. To take down a monster capable of reshaping the landscape all by yourself... you're a newbie, but that's seriously impressive!"
Sure, I knew the power he wielded wasn't typical of your average grunt demon, but I never imagined his potential alone was executive-tier.
Actually, thinking it over, it makes perfect sense.
The guy was so lazy he'd just tank every attack with his body, and once the fight got serious, he poured out all his power only to instantly enter a state of exhaustion.
A man so thoroughly disinterested in everything—merit and ambition included—would naturally stay a rank-and-file soldier no matter how much power he had.
"On top of that, I'd say the guild's internal evaluation of you will be quite high after all this. With the rating you're likely to get, your grade might jump several levels at once~"
The guild, on the other hand, only sees the results, so they'd inevitably assign that monster a higher rating in hindsight.
I wondered if I was getting credit I didn't deserve, but whatever the case, the objective fact that I took him down didn't change.
Neither did the fact that everything gained from putting him down was tallied as my achievement.
"So, what's in the bag is..."
"Yes! After deducting the processing fees, tax, and the waste byproducts from dismantling, 80% of the processed materials go to you, Adventurer Woo Hyosung!"
A heavy sack full of neatly organized bones, carapace pieces, tendons, and more.
The moment I realized I'd just come into a huge pile of what could genuinely be called 'high-grade materials', an unconscious gasp slipped from my lips.
"Jackpot."
Well, they do say life is full of ups and downs.
If you spend two years busting your ass like a dog, you're bound to hit the jackpot at least once.
****
Of course, I still couldn't entirely shake the feeling that this was more than I deserved, but the guild said they were just following the rules. There was absolutely nothing shady about it, legally speaking.
So, deciding to just accept it as the fruit of my labor and figure out how to put it to use, I grabbed the luggage and headed straight for Tachia's workshop.
Whether I sold the materials for cash or had them crafted directly into equipment.
I figured it was best to consult with her as a blacksmith, especially since I was there to return the Ego Weapon anyway.
"Gyaha! Hey there, pal. That's one hell of a fat backpack you got there~?"
But on my way to my destination with a light heart, I ran into some unwelcome guests.
The guys in leather jackets occupying the middle of the street looked, at a glance, like the kind of thugs who made a living robbing people.
"But here's the thing, pal. We just seized this spot, see!"
"Yeah, this is our turf now~!"
"Drop everything you got and piss off!"
Punk-ass underlings cackling behind what looked to be their mohawked ringleader.
Faced with them, I let out a sigh and quietly slid up the mask I'd been wearing to hide my face.
I'd kept it on at the guild because of that damn "Hero Killer" notoriety I couldn't shake, but sometimes a bad reputation is just what you need to sweep away a hassle.
"Move it while I'm asking nicely. I don't have time to deal with small fry like you."
"Keheheh, you cocky little... Keheok! Th-That bastard is...!?"
The moment one of the posturing thugs recognized me and blurted out in shock.
But the mohawked ringleader, who didn't recognize me, could only voice his confusion at his underling's reaction.
"What's with you? Why so spooked?"
"Ah, well, boss. Th-The last time we were near the guild, I saw him. That guy's the one they call the Hero Killer!"
Yeah, figured at least one of them would recognize me.
Doing dirty work is one thing when you get a good opening in a secluded spot.
But since those chances don't come up every day, they'd need some side gigs to get by. It wasn't unlikely that they'd lurked around the adventurer's guild and happened to spot me.
"Aha~! I did hear the rumors, come to think of it. Wasn't it at the guild where he nearly killed a Hero?"
The mohawk guy, by contrast, seemed to be meeting me for the first time but was giggling like he'd at least caught wind of the rumors.
The underlings around him were all tense as hell, but his face practically oozed a relaxed confidence, like he had a card up his sleeve.
"They say as soon as the priests barely revived him, he was screaming and shaking like a leaf. You must've scared him something fierce. Keheheh."
There are also eyewitness accounts, not just rumors, that I nearly killed an actual Hero.
And even so, the fact that he's acting confident... does that mean his arrogance here is more than just empty bluster?
"But in the end, Heroes die just the same if you stab 'em, right? Hero, Hero Killer, it don't matter—as long as you've got a weapon that can kill 'em, there's nothing to be afraid of!"
"...You say that like you just happen to have a means to take me down."
"Keheheh, if you're curious, I'll show ya."
*Shiiing!* A sharp dagger was drawn from inside his jacket.
It looked ordinary at first glance, but considering a simple object like that was the basis of his confidence, this wasn't a situation to take lightly.
"Hey, buddy, you know what this weapon is? It's a dagger made from the fangs of a Demonic Venom that lives out in the Demon Realm, I'll have you know!"
"Don't go underestimating it just 'cause it looks plain. Pour a bit of mana in and it secretes a poison that can drop not just a Hero, but even a freak of vitality like a bear beastman, in one shot!!"
-Oooommm.
The moment a resonant hum rang out from the dagger as he poured mana into it.
The mohawk punk gave the blade a confident lick, then started swaggering up and closing the distance between us.
"Keheheheh! So, my man, you think you can fight me without getting pricked by this thing even once... Kuheok!"
And before he could even swing the dagger, his body crumpled to the ground.
"Kuheok, kuheu... eugh...!"
Then, the thug puked blood and his head slammed into the floor, his body starting to convulse wildly as if paralyzed.
Considering he openly licked a poisoned blade, this was an obvious result.
The hell? Is he stupid?
"Waaah! The boss is down!"
"You dirty bastard! How dare you exploit our boss's habit by provoking him, you scumbag!?"
"...Isn't the guy who bought a venom-secreting dagger while having that habit the real dumbass?"
What, does their conscience double as an erogenous zone?
You jackasses started this fight, so why the hell are you acting like I'm the bad guy?
"Fine, whatever, I'll let the fact he collapsed from his own idiocy slide... but are you really planning to keep going? If you leave him like this, his insides might just melt and kill him, you know."
"G-Grrgh! We've got no choice. We're retreating for now! We'll remember your name, bastard!"
"You'll pay for this, the Hero Killer 'U-hyo'! We'll never forgive you next time we meet!"
No, it's 'Hyosung,' not 'U-hyo.'
I get that people in this fantasy world put family names last, but still, other people summoned from different worlds get called by their given names just fine. Why's it only me they do this to?
...Is it because the last character of my name is a family name, so they just cut off the real surname part?
"Anyway, a venom-secreting dagger, huh."
Well, whatever, the street thugs had cleared out now.
I quietly picked up the dagger lying on the spot where they'd collapsed and examined its blade.
A dagger that secretes poison just by injecting mana.
Seeing the guy vomit blood the moment it touched his tongue, it seemed like by adjusting the mana, the user could create poisons deadly enough to be fatal to the human body.
"It looks pretty pricey, but oh well... they're guys who live outside the law. It's not like they'd report it to the guards."
A guy I randomly caught turned into a treasure trove, and now I snag a rare item just walking down the street.
Today's my lucky day.
****
Of course, I keep coming back to it, but life is a mixed bag.
Good things happen, and bad things happen. And generally speaking, in this world, bad things tend to be life-threatening.
I got lucky this time because that thug was a moron, but given the stuff I'm now carrying, the risk of getting targeted can't be small.
So I pressed on, my guard raised as high as possible. At the end of my journey, I managed to safely arrive at Tachia's workshop, the home of the Ego Weapon's owner.
"Tachia. You in?"
The moment I returned, right on time for the return deadline we'd agreed upon.
She was willing to lend me the Ego Weapon, so she wouldn't have any reason to do me harm. Still, just to be safe, I decided not to let my guard down even after entering the workshop.
"Tachia, aren't you here? Tachia..."
-Riiip.
The sound of water being poured, coming from the basement of the old workshop.
Taking that in itself as proof that someone was here, I immediately moved my feet toward the staircase leading down to the source of the noise.
Is Tachia down there?
The sound of water coming from a smithy is a little odd, but well... I'd heard quenching sometimes requires cold water, so it wasn't too strange.
"Tachia. I see you're in the middle of work... Keuheok!"
But the place I walked into with such casual thoughts greeted me with an utterly outrageous sight.
The moment I saw it, I froze in place. Then the woman with her back turned to me began to move her body in my direction.
"T-Tachia. That getup..."
Yes, the person there was Tachia Failoy.
She was the master of the Ego Weapon on my back, but I, rooted to the spot, couldn't hand her the weapon, let alone offer a polite greeting.
Because right now, her body and hair were damp as if she'd just come out of the bath. And the only thing hiding her voluptuous body from view, in place of clothes, was the hand she was using to clutch a towel wrapped around herself.
A figure so dangerously full and lush, barely covered by a single wet piece of cloth...
"Haaah, haaah..."
The moment I realized I was letting out heated breaths at the sight of her like this.
My lower half, which had been shriveled and useless from the after-effects of my injury, slowly began to fill with strength.