The Wizard's Story (1)
The Wizard's Story (1)
#
The gorilla momentarily lost its vision under Reni's Holy Light. I hurled the Aphrodisiac Slime at its crotch.
-Oo-ong-ooooooong?!!!!!
The gorilla reacted immediately. Between its legs was a monstrous thing... I'd heard primate genitals were normally only about the size of a finger, but perhaps because this was a dungeon monster, the scale was completely different. Anyway, I grabbed the rabbit Yuri had gutted earlier and hurled it at the bastard's dick.
"Now, let's run!"
"Right!"
We accelerated in an instant, ducked into the forest, and then cast Silence to watch.
-Oo-oh... Oo-ooht...!
The gorilla scanned its surroundings with bloodshot eyes, as if trying to find us. But it was just a beast. How long could it resist instinct?
-Uoooooooooooh!!!!
The gorilla began to circle around as if it had given up looking for us. It only thumped about, looking utterly bewildered, as if it had no idea why it was doing this.
And then the bastard... found the rabbit. The gutted rabbit I had left for it to use.
It reached out for the rabbit. And then...
-Oo-oh... Oo-oh? Oo-oooooooooooooooht!!!!!!!!!
....
"How long is that thing going to keep at it?"
"Well..."
The gorilla was visibly gaunt, but its hand gripping the rabbit did not stop. How could it? I was remotely manipulating the slime to continuously stack the Heat effect.
-Oo-oh... Oo-oooo.... guu-ooht....
Could you read a beast's expression? My answer to that was... 'Yes, you could.' I'd felt the same way about those unicorns earlier; you could at least read the mood with fellow mammals. Besides, this bastard was a primate similar to humans. I could feel its emotions perfectly.
It wanted to stop, but at the same time, it didn't want to stop. Well, I guessed the body was more honest than the mind. I never expected to confirm this cliché with a monster. It was a little horrifying.
Anyway, if I left it alone, this guy would be beating his meat here forever...
-Oo-oot.... ku-ooo...
Perhaps because it was a monster, there was no sign of it finishing. An ordinary person probably would have died from sexual overexertion by now. At this rate, it would never end. I had no choice. I would have to use something stronger...
"Guys. Cover your ears for a sec..."
"What?"
"...."
"What?!" "Excuse me?!"
"We can't stay here forever. Hurry up."
"...Ah, fine...."
I sent Yuri up a tree, and with a reluctant expression, she drew her bowstring. But soon her face became focused.
And the arrow Yuri released pierced the gorilla's crotch.
-Ku-oht?
Receiving Reni's Haste and Strength buffs, Yuri shot arrows with unstoppable momentum. No matter how thick the gorilla's hide was, it wouldn't protect its dick.
-Gguu-ooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
The bastard quickly tried to shield its crotch with its hands, but several of Yuri's arrows had already embedded themselves. It was a gruesome sight that made one's legs go cold just looking at it. The gorilla was hopping around, its member clutched in both hands!
-Oo-oh! Gguu-ooo-ooh! Kki-yooooooooooong!!!!!
It seemed to want to do something, but that only drove the arrows in deeper. With that many embedded... I couldn't see clearly, but it was probably in tatters. And then, massive bleeding followed.
-Kwi-eh-eh-eh-eh-ehhk!!!!!!!!
The gorilla tried to limp away and escape from us... but I wasn't going to let it go!
"Yuri! The ass! Aim for its asshole!"
"Uh... What?!"
"Hurry!"
"Ugh...!"
-Kwi-eh-eh-eh-eh-ehhk!!!!
Soon, an arrow sprouted from the bastard's backside. Now, unable to go forward or back, it just crouched there, curled up.
Pitiful bastard. It was time to show it mercy.
I activated the Super Vibration Blade and charged at it.
...
I severed its spinal cord from behind, killing the gorilla in one blow. But the corpse was considerably gruesome. It was drenched in white fluid and blood... quite disgusting. Reni trembled at the sight.
"Y-Yoo-jin. Di-did we really have to go that far...?"
"Earth belongs to humanity."
"Huh?"
Intoxicated by the feeling of having killed King Kong, nonsense slipped out of my mouth before I knew it. Maybe I was excited by the sight of blood. At least I was glad I'd stopped before going completely off the rails.
"Ahem. Hmm. I don't know why this thing was here, but if we'd left it alone, those idiots might have been taken out. They could barely handle a unicorn."
"I-is that so...."
"But the method was a bit too much..."
Yuri looked a bit disgusted. W-well, I also thought it was a bit harsh, but still...
"Wasn't it a pretty good method? We're not in a position to be picky, are we?"
For once, Yuri couldn't retort at those words. She turned her head away from the gorilla's horrific state. Abruptly, her expression hardened.
"...Come to think of it, isn't that the slime we saw in that cave?"
"...."
"You picked it up back then, didn't you? Why did you pick it up?"
"...I-I was saving it for a situation just like this! And we did use it well, didn't we!"
"Hoo... really? I was just thinking, what if you tried to use it on us."
Yuri was smiling brightly. But her eyes weren't smiling. It felt like she could see right through me. We'd caught the gorilla, so why was I sweating again?
"There's no way Yoo-jin would do such a thing."
"...."
Reni. I genuinely felt like crying. The t-truth was, I had used it on you... I really felt like garbage.... Aphrodisiac Slime was absolutely forbidden on these two. Forbidden.
"Ahem. S-so, what do we do with this guy? You don't know anything about it?"
"I’m not sure... Of course, I know a lot, but I don’t know every single dungeon monster. Wouldn’t it be best to report it to the Guild first?"
"Okay... Then let's head back now."
After using Clean on the gorilla's corpse several times, I put it in my Inventory. Of course, I didn't forget to retrieve the slime.
#
Back at the Guild, I came as the representative to report to Lize, while the other two hung around the bulletin board. They said they had something to look into or whatever.
"A gorilla?"
Lize was startled by my report. She leaned her upper body out of the counter and poked her head toward me. As she did, her tie slid down her chest, fully revealing the open shirt...
"Please be a bit more specific."
"Ah, y-yes, yes."
Lize said this and rummaged around for something, then pulled out a map with a serious face and spread it before me. She straightened her posture, and it was utterly disappointing that her upper chest was no longer visible.
"First, could you show me the location where you found it?"
"In the forest with the unicorns..."
"Didn't you say you were going to the beginner zone today?"
"Ah, well, the thing is..."
...
"...I see. A request for help. Well, it happens from time to time, but for it to happen in the beginner zone... and a gorilla, at that..."
Lize's expression became a bit serious.
"Gorillas are not monsters that appear around here. They had their territory a bit further away, but it seems another environmental shift is happening. I thought this area had become quite stable... Could you tell me some more details about this gorilla?"
"Actually, I brought the whole corpse with me."
"What?!"
"I happened to come into possession of a sub-space pouch."
"...I see. Then, would you come this way for a moment?"
Lize got up from her seat and led me to what looked like a warehouse. I thought her eyes gleamed for a moment... but it must have been my imagination.
...
"It's bigger than I thought. For something like this to appear in the beginner zone..."
Lize examined the gorilla with a grave expression, occasionally prodding it with a finger as she looked it over. ...I wouldn't have touched that if I were her. I almost felt sorry for her.
Lize examined it like that, then opened her mouth.
"Have you thought about what you want to do with this?"
"Well...."
As if she had been waiting, Lize beamed and poured out her words at my answer.
"How about selling it to the Guild?"
"To the Guild?"
"Yes. Normally, the Guild rarely buys by-products other than magic stones directly. Unless a separate quest is issued, that is. But... this seems like it needs some investigation. If it's determined to be a new species, we offer a separate discovery fee."
"I-is that so?"
"In this gorilla's case, the bones and tendons could be used for processed goods. Additionally, the hide has almost no damage, so I think we could offer a considerable price. We'll purchase the whole thing ourselves! Wouldn't that be convenient for you? It seems better than slaughtering it yourself..."
Was that so?
"Of course, since you brought it whole like this, our side will incur separate slaughtering costs. But for a monster of this size, it likely has a magic stone inside as well. We'll process that all at once for you, so the fee should be quite good?"
"I-I see."
So there was a separate slaughtering fee. Right. Of course, slaughtering would naturally cost extra. Yeah. It sounded convincing. I'd never slaughtered anything before. It was better to leave it to a professional than to damage it by doing it myself. Even in the modern world, pig deboning was left to professionals, right?
I nodded while contemplating the whereabouts of the tie Lize had tucked into her cleavage.
"Then, I'll do that..."
"A great choice!"
It felt like I was getting good service. I felt like I'd met a kind and nice person for once. Could I settle this as well while I was at it?
"Ah, excuse me, and also, we caught a few rabbits...."
"Unfortunately, we aren't buying rabbits right now. You can sell those at a general goods store, I think!"
"...."
Lize... you were ruthless about cutting out anything you did not need...
#
Lize said the settlement for the gorilla purchase would be in a few days. Slaughtering itself wasn't time-consuming, but it would take time to review whether it was a new species. So, I left the reception desk and came to the table where the girls were sitting.
Yuri was looking at some flyer with a serious expression, and Reni seemed lost in thought.
"Guys? Ready to go now?"
"Ah, are you finished?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"No, just a sec. There's something I need to think about."
"What's that?"
At my question, Yuri handed over the flyer she had been looking at.
<--Ullr's Archery School-->
- You can use it too!
- The mana arrow that shatters rocks!
- Step by step from the basics of mana!
- Basic Adaptation Class (2-month curriculum) : 30 Silver per month
- Intensive Study Class (3-month curriculum) : 50 Silver per month
<<Limited time: Free mana aptitude test!>>
<<Recommendation letters to major clans issued for top performers>>
"...."
An arrow imbued with mana. So that was how they described a skill. This really was a city of adventurers; they even had academies like this. Still, the place felt rather... money-grubbing.
But Yuri had a serious face.
"My arrows didn't work. Even though it was the beginner zone. I think I need to find a way."
"Well, I asked Lize earlier. She figured it was just a stray appearance?"
"...I can overlook it once or twice, but what if things like this keep appearing from now on? I don't want to be a burden."
"Hmm... do you?"
So that was what she'd been thinking. How admirable. It certainly would be troublesome if we met another enemy her attacks couldn't hurt. I needed to give the matter some serious thought as well. There was no telling how long our tricks would continue to work.
...
As we left the Guild building, the sunset was already painting the sky. While I wanted to go straight back and rest...
"Reni? Didn't you say you had to go to the Church?"
"Ah, w-well."
"Hold on. You go on ahead and rest."
"Huh?"
Yuri suddenly cut me off. Unlike before, she had an expression that was holding back a laugh. What reason would this girl have to smile like this? I had a really bad feeling about this.
"Aren't you tired from wrestling with that gorilla? We'll handle the rest of this stuff."
"No, I'm not that tired..."
"Khak!"
I looked to Reni, wondering why she was acting like this, but Reni was also shaking her head for some reason. What was going on?
"Th-that's right. Yoo-jin. There's no need for you to go all the way to the Church. You have nothing to do there anyway..."
It was as if they were deliberately pushing me away.... What had the two of them talked about while I was gone? It was suspicious. What were these two scheming?
"Dinner?"
"Eat first~"
"Fine...."
...
And so, I trudged back to the inn alone.