Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Bluff
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Baldwin.
A D-rank adventurer.
Nicknamed the "Eternal D-Rank Adventurer," he was a man consumed by an inferiority complex.
Baldwin, who was nearing his forties, had hit his limit at a young age and given up on everything.
*I've done all I can. I can't get any stronger than this.*
Though he'd convinced himself of this and let everything go, he was the type of person who couldn't be satisfied with his station and envied others.
*'Son of a bitch...!'*
Baldwin didn't like Luke.
Not since the first moment he saw him at the Adventurer's Guild.
He'd thought one of those high-and-mighty nobles from the academy, who looked down on everyone but themselves as if they were insects, had come to mock him.
Of course, not all nobles despised commoners, but most of them did, which was why the adventurers, who were mostly commoners, all hated nobles and academy students.
Setting aside what kind of person Luke was, the simple fact that he was an elite, different from himself, fueled Baldwin's inferiority complex.
On top of that, he'd gotten into a fight, earned the Guild Master's disapproval, and now, he'd even had his money taken by that damn bastard.
Baldwin had sworn to himself that he would knock him down a peg ever since they met at the Adventurer's Guild today.
He didn't plan to kill him, but he intended to at least break an arm or a leg, crippling him for a while so he couldn't work as an adventurer.
But the plan went awry from the start.
He had planned to quickly reach the Giant Ant lair, pretend to fight the monsters, and then deliberately interfere or backstab him, but on the way, they were interrupted by goblins and werewolves, which were hard to find even in the morning.
It felt like the world itself was conspiring against him.
*'That bastard... he didn't help at all in the end...!'*
Not all of it, but a portion of the money he'd brought had been taken by the guy.
Yet the bastard had just watched without lifting a finger to help.
*'I'll show you the difference between the cradle and a real battle, you little brat...'*
Clenching his fist tightly, Baldwin made a vow.
"We're here."
A lot had happened on the way, but they had finally reached their destination.
Even if he was going to mess Luke up, he was still a D-rank, and this was a D-rank request, so he had to be on his guard too.
A wrong move, and he could end up dead, plan or no plan.
So, he decided to pretend to do the request for now and execute his plan at the right moment.
"You just going to watch this time, too?"
"...No. You take the lead this time."
He'd used up some stamina on the way, and it was better for his plan if the guy took the lead.
*'He might pull some stupid wordplay like before, too.'*
This was to prevent any other incidents from happening along the way.
***
"Wow, this entrance is ridiculously huge."
True to their name, the Giant Ants' lair had an entrance so large that a grown man could walk in standing straight up.
You could almost believe it was an underground passage rather than a lair.
*'This is what makes hunting worthwhile.'*
If it's a lair, there must be a ton of monsters inside.
My level didn't go up when I killed the goblins and werewolves earlier.
It seems I can't level up from those anymore.
Even if they're just E-rank, if they come in large numbers, I should be able to suck up a good amount of experience.
We had been fighting the whole way here, but we entered the lair immediately without taking a break.
That bald guy getting tired from just fighting a few goblins and werewolves is the weird one.
With me in the lead, we ventured into the lair.
There wasn't much to see, but it was my first time in a tunnel made entirely of dirt, so it was fascinating.
The fact that it was an anthill was even more fascinating.
"Whoa, Luna, this is my first time in an anthill."
"...It is not an anthill, but a monster's lair."
"Ant monster, anthill, what's the difference?"
I once saw a YouTube video where they poured molten aluminum into an anthill to show its structure.
I just zoned out while watching it, but if this place is that big, wouldn't it be hard to clear it all out?
I should probably just clear out a decent amount and then collapse it.
"Hey, Luna. Wouldn't just one C-rank or B-rank adventurer be able to handle this in a flash? Why would they specifically send D-ranks?"
"That is—"
"Hmph. Just like a little brat. You know one thing but not the other."
The bald guy cut Luna off, jumping into the conversation.
"Everyone has their place, you idiot. Don't you think it's a waste of manpower for a C-rank adventurer to take on a request that a D-rank can handle perfectly well?"
"Aha."
Is it like calling the fire department because you forgot to turn off a light after leaving the house?
"But you know what? I didn't ask you."
"..."
I was asking Luna, not you.
He seems to think glaring at me will accomplish something.
-Clack, clack.
"?"
Just then, the sound of something clashing echoed from deeper inside the cave.
"Master Luke. I think they're coming."
Who? An army of dentures?
-Clack, clack.
We stood still as the sound grew louder, and it became clear it wasn't just one source, but many.
-Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack. Clack, clack.
We came to hunt monsters, but this constant sound of clacking dentures... is there an army of brainwashed old geezers kidnapped by monsters in here?
Before long, the source of the sound revealed itself.
Long antennae. Three pairs of legs. An inverted triangular face with a sharp jaw.
A monster that looked like a regular ant, just scaled up.
It was a Giant Ant.
*'You crazy author bastard.'*
I know ants don't have a cry, but making the sound of their mandibles clacking sound like dentures? That's just wrong.
You called them Giant Ants!! How the hell are those Giant Ants?!
They're Giant Denture Ants!!!
This is so fucking anticlimactic.
We're dealing with monsters, a subject that doesn't even exist in reality.
It's a setting based on authorial convenience, where whatever the author says becomes official.
And yet, despite all that, the sound the monster makes is just the clacking of dentures.
Suddenly, all my motivation vanished.
"I don't feel like doing this."
"Master Luke! They're coming!"
Just as I was contemplating turning back, the ants twitched their antennae, clacked their mandibles in unison, and charged at us.
"Luna! Friend shield!"
I naturally slipped behind the bald guy.
Somehow understanding, Luna also slipped back with me.
"...What!?"
Thanks to us, the bald guy was left to face the charging army of dentures.
He quickly gripped his double-bladed axe and slammed it vertically into the ground.
A wall of rock shot up.
The rock, which rose like a makeshift barricade, was able to momentarily block the denture army's charge.
"Ugh...!"
Of course, I'm not saying it was effortless.
It seemed the bald guy had to maintain that posture to keep the wall up.
He kept letting out strained groans, as if his body was connected to the wall.
You know how in that manga about collecting dragon balls, they keep shouting as they throw an already-formed Spirit Bomb, as if that makes it stronger?
I guess it's the same principle.
"You... son of a bitch! If the vanguard runs away, what's supposed to happen to the rearguard?!"
"The rearguard becomes the vanguard?"
Don't sports have reserve players?
If I step out, the reserve player, that bald guy, just needs to step in. It's that simple.
"The vanguard is supposed to protect the rearguard!!"
"But like... I don't wanna protect a dude."
If the rearguard I had to protect was a small, cute female mage, my protective instincts would kick in and I'd want to throw my body on the line. But who would want to protect a muscular bald guy carrying a giant double-bladed axe?
"Alright, baldy! Just hold them off like that! We'll be right there to help!"
With that, I turned my back and walked out of the lair.
Luna, who had followed me without a word, tentatively asked a question.
"Didn't you say you were going to help...?"
"Yeah. That's why we came out here. To help."
I started pulling sacks of something out of my inventory.
"What is this?"
The identity of these sacks, which made me happy just thinking about it, was...
"Flour."
"...Don't tell me."
"Who has time to search the whole place? Let's just blow up the entire lair."
"But the person inside will get caught in it..."
"He'll figure out a way to survive."
I don't even have to think about it to know that bald guy is planning to backstab us. If he dies with them, all the better.
Sacrificing his own body to give me experience, money, and even draw aggro. He's practically a golden goblin.
"Sob... Baldy, I will not forget your sacrifice...!"
"...Isn't that murder, not sacrifice?"
"Hush! Luna! Do not disrespect his will! He is a great man who deserves our respect!"
I tore open the sacks and started dumping the flour into the lair.
"Luna. Create some wind to help it get all the way inside."
"I feel like I'm becoming an accomplice..."
Despite her words, she created a wind that sent a large amount of flour deep into the lair.
The pile of sacks next to me dwindled one by one.
By now, the lair must have been so full of white powder that even the ants and the bald guy inside would have noticed.
I struck a match.
A certain famous villain I know once said...
"I hope your death brings me more money than I'm expecting."
And from a safe distance, I tossed it into the lair.
The match flew through the air, spinning slowly as if in a comic book.
-BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!
A satisfying explosion roared, sending dirt flying in all directions.
The initial explosion set off a chain reaction with the flour, creating a delightful series of blasts, like a domino chain of TNT.
It was like watching fireworks you'd stuck in the ground go off.
[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]
[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]
[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]
[ You have defeated the demon, Borg! You have acquired the skill 'Superhuman Strength'! ]
[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]
[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]
[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]
[ Level Up! Please check your status! ]
I think a weird notification popped up in the middle of all that.
"Baldy Coin is fucking skyrocketing!!!! Ahahahaha!!!!"
I knew it was rude to laugh in front of the deceased, but this was too sweet not to laugh.
Especially since I was investing all the stat points from leveling up into strength.
-Rustle.
"Huh?"
Amidst the collapsed piles of dirt, a mound of rock that had been standing upright fell over, revealing a human silhouette.
"*Cough! Cough!*"
A shiny, egg-shaped head.
The man, whose head was bright enough to stand tall and illuminate the world even at dusk, happened to be someone I knew.
"You're alive! Well, I'll be damned~ I believed in you all along~"
As I approached, the bald guy flinched and backed away.
I held out my hand to him.
"...?"
"Pay up for the power-leveling."