Chapter 7
The tutorial boss wasn't in his seat. The guild around evening was bustling with adventurers who'd wrapped up their daily grind. On the first floor, set up as a tavern, the clink of glasses mixed with laughter and rowdy chatter, creating a constant hum.
"...."
Elena stepped into the guild and glanced toward a certain spot. The corner seat where the old man always sat. It was empty now. She set her material bag—stuffed with the blade mantis—on the floor and took his seat.
At that moment, the noise died down abruptly.
"...?"
Noticing the change, she looked around, and the murmurs swelled back up, soaking into the air like they'd never stopped.
"If she's Eck's girl, it's fine. Hey, more than that..."
"You think Eck would let a woman take his spot?"
"You haven't heard? Lately, that kid's been..."
Elena swung her legs idly under the table, waiting for Eck to return.
Where'd he go?
She was curious, but there wasn't anyone she felt like asking. She considered the waitress called Jeina, then thought better of it. It'd look like she was desperately pining for the old man or something. She didn't like that.
Just then, Jeina brought over a glass of water.
"Huh? I didn't order anything."
"Service."
"...Thanks."
Perfect timing—she was thirsty anyway.
"...."
"...."
"...Why are you staring like that?"
Jeina casually perched on the seat across from her, fixing Elena with a steady gaze.
"You're Eck's regular, right?"
"Regular?"
"You selling your body to Eck?"
"Cough! N-no? I've never sold...!"
Startled, Elena choked on her water. She fiddled with the glass.
"Then what's your deal with him?"
"I, uh, just..."
Getting used and exploited by a sucker. But she couldn't say that—not after all she'd received. He'd said he was looking for a sucker to take care of him after she grew up and retired. She got how it looked to others while she was still in the "being raised" phase.
"Just taking jobs from him. Requests and stuff. Look at this. He told me to hunt it, so I did. Even this makes it seem like I'm the one who... you know?"
She opened the material bag and showed the contents. The blade mantis was worth a whopping twelve silver coins. Same as thirty goblins—meaning she'd taken down a monster thirty times tougher. This should clear up any misunderstandings about selling her body to the old man.
"What's that...?"
"Blade mantis. The old man's just using me to make money. For real."
Jeina's eyes dropped into the bag. A greenish exoskeleton and scythe-like arms were packed inside. Her eyes widened. No way she didn't recognize a blade mantis. Sure, she was just a waitress, but she was guild staff. It'd be weirder if she didn't know it. Especially a C-rank monster.
Blade mantises wielded the blades on their arms like expert swordsmen. Their insectile burst attacks made it look like the sword vanished for an instant. If you weren't prepared, you'd realize you'd been sliced only after the fact. With wingbeats that let them widen or close distances in a flash, they were hard to catch or escape. They were the first "wall" adventurers hit upon reaching the forest center.
She remembered faces that had ventured into the forest depths and never returned. A whirlwind of thoughts raced through Jeina's mind. The first emotion: disbelief. She narrowed her eyes.
"Showing off over catching one bug."
She crossed her arms, her voice low and condescending, like she was looking down at a kid bragging about something trivial.
"Eck tells you to catch a bug, you catch a bug. Tells you to catch goblins, you catch goblins. You do whatever he says—that's no different from whoring yourself out, is it?"
"Huh?"
What is she talking about? Isn't selling your body supposed to mean something else? Elena's mind spun in confusion.
"And Eck? He might not show it around you, but you gotta be careful with him."
Jeina leaned forward, lowering her voice.
"Eck used to run around with a female adventurer back in the day. They seemed close—everyone thought they'd get married. Then that happened."
"...What happened?"
"You don't know? Monsters go nuts at the sight of a woman."
"...."
She knew. Wolves, goblins, blade mantises—they'd all charged at her in excitement. She'd heard it was to breed offspring. Her dad had always warned her to be careful in the forest. Monsters were all male, kidnapping human women for breeding. Even now, somewhere in the woods, captured women were probably birthing monsters and being cared for by them.
That's why Dad always said: if you're ever caught by a monster, don't resist—wait for a chance to escape. They don't get overly violent with docile prey. That's why higher-rank adventurers had more women. Men died on capture, but women survived to try again.
She understood what Jeina meant.
"Eck threw his girlfriend to the monsters as bait."
"But he caught the monster, right?"
"Yeah... he caught it. But he could've done it without that stunt. Eck, that bastard, just wanted to watch her get toyed with by the monster."
"...."
Elena fiddled with her glass.
"A guy like that suddenly treats you nice. Even teaches you monster tactics himself, right? There's no such thing as kindness without a reason. None."
Jeina stared straight into Elena's eyes.
"What Eck's after is you. He's raising you to use as bait somewhere down the line. Got it?"
"...But."
Even if everything Jeina said was true, Elena had no other options.
"You need money, right? Don't worry. I'll hook you up with a better-paying gig than this place. You don't need to cling to Eck."
"Um..."
Elena felt a vague discomfort. When facing monsters, she never read their faces—they were too different from humans. Instead, she read body language, gestures, foot positions. Words differed, but body language was similar between humans and monsters. Fear made the body fidget; interest leaned it forward.
Jeina wore the expression of someone fretting over a naive young girl adventuring, but her hands and feet carried the grumble of dealing with an annoyance.
"Jeina sis, you just don't like me hanging around the old man?"
"Wh-what? Of course I don't."
"Why?"
"Why? Do I need a reason to save a clueless kid from a wolf full of dirty intentions?"
Reason. Elena mulled it over. She still lacked pieces to solve Jeina's puzzle.
"Where's the job?"
"Interested now? Cool, I'll take you after my shift!"
"Can I at least hear what it is?"
"You'll see when we get there."
"Just a hint. The old man said if anyone tries taking me somewhere, ask their reason first."
"You believe Eck?"
"Doesn't matter if I trust him or not—it's solid advice."
But Jeina rolled her tongue in her mouth about the job details.
"You just smile and chat with customers up front. Super easy. Sit there and take their fatigue—that's it."
"...."
What kind of job is that? The world had jobs she'd never heard of. But Elena's answer was always the same. Her sister's medicine cost money, but she had to earn it herself.
"Then why don't you do it, Jeina sis?"
"Me? I'm guild staff."
"You looked worn out earlier. Dealing with people doesn't seem like my thing. Sorry for the trouble."
"Ugh, damn it. Just listen for once."
"Huh?"
"N-nothing."
Elena ventured carefully.
"Do you... like the old man?"
"What?"
Jeina's mouth snapped shut. Her eyes wavered. Color rose to her cheeks. Her mouth opened and closed. She looked like she wanted to speak but swallowed it.
"Wh-who'd... Why would I like that drunken slob...?"
Her face paled. Elena had guessed wrong.
"Two beauties crowding the boss's seat—what's the occasion?"
"...!"
A man plopped down next to Jeina, slinging an arm around her waist.
"D-Darko? Could you let go?"
"Where you off to?"
"Been sitting too long. Gotta head out."
Jeina mumbled an excuse and fled toward the kitchen.
"...?"
As Elena blinked, the man fixed her with a stare. His gaze swept from her face downward. Then laughter exploded from his lips.
"Puhaha! Heard Eck bit a pup, wondered what bitch he'd drag in. Totally a kid! His tastes change or what?"
Elena's brow furrowed.
"Pretty face, but flat chest, short stature. Hey, stand up. Lemme check that ass. Nah, no need—it's gotta suck."
Darko grabbed Jeina's leftover drink and smacked Jeina's ass hard with his palm. Jeina's ass jolted at the adventurer's rough slap.
"Real women got size. What good's pebble tits? Kids born from that's gonna starve."
"Th-they're not small!"
They fit perfectly in hands!
"Oh ho? Talking back to my appraisal? If you weren't a girl, I'd smash your skull."
Darko shook his head. Every word dripped violence. Elena, hearing insults she'd never imagined, was at a loss.
"Boss's tastes really shifted? You hiding family money or something?"
"No..."
Darko propped his chin.
"Raising a brat like you for what? Errand girl? Bait? Sell you later? Hm, none of those fit..."
He scratched his jaw, pondering. Elena's fists clenched under the table. She tried to hold back. The old man had said: mouthing off in this world was like begging to die.
But Darko wouldn't stop.
"Hey, kid. You use a sword?"
"Yeah..."
"I'm the guild-certified sword instructor here."
He chugged his drink.
"Grah. Better suck up to me. How much coin you got?"
"Why do you ask?"
"No fun bits to grope. Teaching you's a loss for me, so pay up. Beg Eck if you have to. I know him—he'd cough it up if you asked."
"N-no, why are you asking if I have money?"
"Dumb bitch, huh."
Darko's eyebrow rose.
"Paying to learn swordplay's basic. Didn't even know that? Damn, how spoiled were you? Bet you'd squeal fun when fucked."
"Um..."
Fucked? Not grasping the meaning, Elena corrected one misconception.
"What."
"I wasn't planning to learn from you anyway."
"What?"
"Not from you."
Darko dug in his ear.
"Eck teaching you swordplay?"
"Yes."
"Huh... weird. Does that guy even know how to teach?"
Darko scratched his goatee.
"Hmph. Must suck anyway."
"He said I have talent."
"You don't. I've taught students as an instructor—brats like you can't hit D-rank, let alone C, no matter how hard."
"I do. The old man said so."
"Eck?"
Darko clutched his belly laughing.
"Puhaha! Funniest joke lately! You really believe him? Eck of all people?"
"He teaches really well! Even I could understand, starting from zero!"
Hunting the blade mantis had made her feel how much stronger she'd gotten. Regardless of Eck's intentions, she could feel her sword skills improving.
"Listen, bitch."
"What."
"Eck's a top adventurer, sure, but he can't teach for shit. He's moody. Swings his sword on whims—a lucky genius asshole."
"So? Isn't that good?"
"Like hell."
Darko grabbed a fresh drink from Jeina and chugged.
"Teaching in riddles ain't teaching. You're just deluded thinking you got stronger. Obvious for rookies."
"It's real."
She'd seen adventurers fight as a kid. She was different—stronger than a D-rank. But it might be delusion, so she held back.
"Then!"
Elena stood.
"Spar with me!"
"What? Me? With you?"
"Yeah! Clash swords and you'll see how amazingly the old man taught me. Easy for an instructor, right?"
"Hm..."
Darko toyed with his goatee, then grinned.
"Fine. Spar? Sounds good. But plain sparring's boring."
"...Bet money?"
"Money's obvious. Too dull alone..."
Darko pointed at her.
"How about you."
"Huh?"
"If your skills don't meet my standards, comfort me."
"Comfort? Sure, that. Just admit the old man taught me well."
"Deal. Hell, I'll quit instructing if you want."
Darko sneered, standing. He turned to the adventurers at nearby tables.
"You all hear that? Eck's disciple says if she doesn't meet my bar, she'll comfort me! Rare chance to see what Eck raised—show us good!"
Darko pulled out a silver pouch.
"I bet 50 silver I win! Jeina! Take it! Collect bets from these losers on who wins."
Jeina took his money and went around collecting from adventurers. Most bet on Darko.
"Same old tricks from that guy."
"Let it be. The girl's the one who bit."
"Eck finds out, there'll be hell."
"What can Eck do? Lose a toy he was playing with—boo hoo."
"I'm betting against. Darko losing would be hilarious."
The adventurers welcomed the bet. With nothing but drinking, cards, and banter, a wager was a rare thrill.
Darko snorted and headed out.
"Where you going? Thought we spar in the back yard?"
"You think I'm like you or Eck? I'm a busy guild sword instructor. Was here to see Eck anyway."
He set a date.
"Hm, three days from now."
"Three... days?"
"Yeah. Train with Eck in the meantime. Won't help much in three days, though."
"Just watch. I'll shut you up good."
Elena glared at Darko's rotten grin as he left the guild.