Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Gnoll Frontier
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The moment I received the skillbook, I flipped it open right away.
Inside the skillbook, strange, unfamiliar characters were densely engraved.
Before I could even examine what those characters were, a flash of light burst from the skillbook.
As the system message ended, the skillbook crumbled away like dust.
I opened my Status Window to check, and sure enough, the Double Enhancement skill had been added.
'Now, most enemies shouldn't be a problem.'
Not that I knew much else, but when it came to fighting humans, I was practically unbeatable.
An attack spell enhanced with Double Enhancement would pack too much power even for a shield to block.
And even if they managed to block it perfectly, they'd be lucky if their arm didn't shatter.
I closed the Status Window, hiding a satisfied smile.
"Alright, we've got the treasure. Let's push a bit further."
At my words, the team members nodded in unison.
Even factoring in the time to get back, it was still too early.
We pressed onward once more.
About thirty minutes later, after going through three more battles...
"...A field?"
At some point, the trees had vanished, giving way to a vast open plain.
Our field of view suddenly widened, so we all stopped and scanned our surroundings.
"Over there, look at that. Something's there."
Park Sang-gu pointed toward one side of the field.
A humanoid shadow similar to a hobgoblin.
But the hunched back and body covered in an unnatural amount of fur made it clear it wasn't human.
I narrowed my eyes and peered at the distant moving figure.
"It's a gnoll."
"A gnoll?"
"Like a hyena that walks on two legs. They don't have much in the way of weapons, but they're bigger and stronger than hobgoblins."
A monster that hunched over like a hunchback yet stood almost as tall as a human.
Its bulk was comparable to an adult man's, so its raw strength had to be greater.
Min Jae-yoon, standing beside me, spotted the gnoll and muttered.
"Guess this is the boundary. The forest is hobgoblin territory, and the plains from here are gnoll territory."
"Means we're entering a higher difficulty zone."
"And more experience and rewards to boot."
A brief silence followed our exchange.
Should we head back, or push forward for some scouting?
It didn't take long to reach a decision.
"Let's turn back. If we were all level 10 or higher, maybe, but it's still too risky."
"I agree. This isn't a game, after all."
In a game, we'd have scouted without a second thought.
Even if the enemies turned out stronger than expected, we'd probably only lose half our health at worst.
But this was reality, not a game.
If someone took a deep wound, it could turn into a real headache.
'Even if we can heal it, the fear afterward would be a problem. Best to level up until we can take them down without a scratch.'
With our decision made, we retreated from the gnoll-infested plains.
It was a bit regrettable, but learning the monster boundary line was harvest enough.
Now we knew where to shift our hunting grounds once we leveled up.
I led my companions back into the forest to hunt more hobgoblins.
What mattered now wasn't the future hunting spot—it was clearing the immediate quest.
"Whew, I'm beat."
"Finally, a chance to rest."
About two hours later, I returned to the safe zone with my exhausted teammates.
Time-wise, it hadn't been that long, but the battles had been relentless.
We'd been on high alert the whole time, so fatigue was inevitable.
'Still, it was worth the effort.'
For one, Min Jae-yoon had finally hit level 10 during the hunt.
No extra skill this time, unfortunately, but there was an even better change.
His precious healing skill, Minor Heal, had evolved into Intermediate Heal.
Min Jae-yoon himself was over the moon about it.
-Now I can really heal just about anything!
The skill description said it could mend broken bones and torn muscles.
Following the firepower boost from Double Enhancement, our healing had now become far more potent too.
'Once Ho-chan hits level 3, we can head straight for the gnolls.'
Come to think of it, Yoon Ho-chan had reached level 2 today as well.
At this rate, he'd hit level 3 by tomorrow.
Even if not, the day after at latest.
The thought made me chuckle.
I'd just been thinking we should take it steady, one step at a time, but we were charging ahead at a ridiculous pace.
'Not that it's a bad thing.'
Yoon Ho-chan, catching his breath on the ground, blinked at my smile.
"Hyung, something good happen? Why the grin?"
"We got a ton of magic stones today. That's what."
"Oh, right. The magic stones."
The excuse lit up everyone's faces.
We'd collected a whopping 48 of them today.
Considering it was our first team hunt, that was exceptional.
"Can we get over 50 tomorrow?"
"Probably. We were a bit slow today syncing up."
"At this rate, one of us clears the quest per day."
"If we keep it up, all four in three days? Once one gets Auto-Retrieve, you won't even need to handle that."
"Then I can fight full-time?"
"Obviously. Just gotta think about your class change."
We were chatting excitedly about the better-than-expected results when...
"Ho-chan!"
Someone came dashing toward us from afar.
Yoon Ho-chan's face paled at the sight.
"H-Hyung!"
"Where the hell have you been!? Mom and Dad are collapsing from worry looking for you!"
"No, it's just..."
"Hold on. What's that on your hands? Blood!?"
I raised a hand to lightly stop the panicked young man as he lunged forward.
He flinched back and stared at me.
"W-What?"
"It's not his blood, so relax. Monster blood."
"Monsters? Those things?"
"Yeah, those things. From digging out the magic stones in their hearts."
The young man stared at me with a stiff expression.
He seemed to grasp the situation from that alone.
"You took him out there?"
"He asked to come, so I brought him. He did great. Planning to keep teaming up."
"This is insane...!"
His face flushed red as he shot to his feet.
Just before he could yell, I casually picked at my ear and said.
"Got something to say? Say it. I told you before—speech is free."
"...!"
He clenched his fists, trembling with rage.
Basically, I'd ignore whatever he said and take the kid anyway.
After a moment, a voice like ground-out gravel came from him.
"Don't you have any guilt?"
"Guilt?"
"He's not even an adult yet. You drag him to the middle of a forest crawling with monsters that could kill him anytime? And feel nothing?"
Ah, logic failing, so now appealing to morals?
His shallowness nearly made me burst out laughing.
What mattered wasn't my guilt—it was his own future.
I shot him a contemptuous glare.
"I could ask you the same. Don't you feel anything?"
"What?"
"Laws and order collapsed, currency changed, the whole world changed. And all you see is surviving you and your family right now?"
"Then what matters more than survival!?"
Yoon Ho-chan's brother shouted, bristling.
As if he couldn't understand why such natural behavior earned pitiful looks.
But to me, this young man—no, Yoon Ho-chan's family—looked utterly pathetic.
"Survival's everything? Then what after? Live forever on boiled potatoes and water and call it bliss?"
"We don't know yet! We'll figure it out as we go...!"
"No, you won't. By the time you act, it'll be way too late. Only one in your family isn't late yet—your little brother."
"Ho-chan's still a kid! A minor!"
"Mark my words: soon your whole family will leech off that kid for food, clothes, shelter. If you want to hold your head high at home later, do better now. Don't block his path playing big brother."
The young man bit his lip, glaring between me and Yoon Ho-chan.
Then he spun on his heel and stormed off.
Not forgetting a parting shot.
"Get home now! Mom and Dad are worried sick!"
Yoon Ho-chan watched his brother's back silently, then turned to me.
"Will it be okay?"
"What?"
"Hyung and my parents. If they try to stop me..."
"They can't. No interfering with actions in the safe zone."
More precisely, no harmful actions.
The system would step in if they tried force.
Though the guilt would linger regardless.
"If they push it, shake them off by force if you have to."
"They'll be furious."
"And in under a year, they won't dare face you. Keep hunting now—even if they cry, it's filial. Stop, and they might be happy short-term, but regret it forever later."
"I know, but it still feels bad."
Damn, he had real character.
Like Min Jae-yoon, this guy seemed like a long-term keeper.
I divided the 48 magic stones from today evenly among the four of us.
Park Sang-gu and Yoon Ho-chan freaked out, not expecting equal shares.
"R-Really okay to take this much?"
"I didn't even fight...!"
"I know. But experience is already divvied up by contribution."
If experience was split evenly, we'd differentiate on magic stones.
But the system allocates experience strictly by contribution.
Unbalancing magic stones on top would be excessive discrimination.
'Levels already set team hierarchy and say. No need to short them on cash too.'
And with empty pockets all around, they needed a taste of reward to motivate next hunt.
Plus, under 50 stones, distribution ratios didn't matter much.
At 50, I'd dump them all on one person, but now it was rolling over to tomorrow anyway.
Better for morale to split fair.
Min Jae-yoon agreed, knowing the logic.
"I'm with you. Experience's tiered—unfair not to share the money."
"Th-Thank you!"
"Thanks, hyungs!"
They bowed, faces full of gratitude.
Yoon Ho-chan aside, Park Sang-gu was surprisingly humble.
I figured he'd take it for granted, but he had some conscience.
As we split up post-distribution and I headed home...
"Ahem. Mind a quick chat?"
"...?"
I paused at the sudden figure blocking my path.
A flowing robe and long staff evoking a mage.
Unlike my all-black, his robe was red.
'Elemental Sorcerer.'
Specialized in elemental magic, unlike my Black Mage path.
His gear marked him as a quest completer with final rewards.
Like me and Min Jae-yoon, a frontrunner in the elite minority.
"What did you want to discuss?"
Intrigued, I asked, and the Elemental Sorcerer smiled.
"As Pioneers, how we lead these 'Commoners' forward, of course."