Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: First Mission Accomplished! Afterparty... Successful?
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"Fuck, I don't know!"
Grab.
As I snatched up the statue, the first thing I felt was its bizarre texture. What the hell? Why is it so squishy?
Unlike its black, cold appearance, the statue was surprisingly soft and spongy—less like stone and more like a giant gummy candy. Something like that, anyway.
But before I could dwell on the sensation, a strange buzzing vibrated through me like an electric current, surging from my nerve endings straight into my brain. It was exactly as Malco had described: a feeling of my brain twisting in knots.
"Ugh!"
"Y-Young man! So it is cursed after all! What do we do!? If that massive Samaritan goes berserk, we won't be able to stop him! Everyone, grab some rocks!"
"Grgh, w-wait a second! Just wait!"
I thrust out my palm toward the party members who were picking up stones to smash my head, trying to calm them down. They all narrowed their eyes in disbelief.
"You seem perfectly fine in the head! A savage like you received the Sun God's blessing? This is astonishing. In my seventy years, I've never seen anything like it!"
Old man Platan clicked his tongue in amazement. Of course, I was just as shocked. But the most astonishing part wasn't the statue's texture or the tingling sensation—it was the text floating before my eyes.
Ding-.
『You can spend 100 Karma Value to increase one stat by 1.』
『1. Strength + 』
『2. Agility + 』
『3. Vitality + 』
It was unbelievable text, but to a guy who'd grown up in the 21st century with his brain tempered by countless games, it felt strangely familiar.
Spend Karma Value to boost a stat? Isn't this exactly like allocating ability points after leveling up?
I'd had no idea what this 'Karma' stat was for until now, with no one to ask. Now it all made sense.
It felt like peeling back a layer of the world's secrets, clearing the fog from my muddled mind.
"Brother, why aren't you saying anything!? Everyone, get those rocks ready!"
"Fuck, just hold on a sec, you little shit!"
"Alright! But if the curse takes hold, and you're still like that after 30 seconds, we'll smash your skull for your own good! For the sake of our brother!"
That nosy bard punk. Didn't he just say he didn't believe in curses?
He gripped a hefty rock, fully prepared to bash my head in.
Maybe he just wants to smash my skull for the hell of it. Everyone has that destructive urge to chuck stones at someone.
Anyway, with my companions eyeing me suspiciously, I had no time to relax.
I had no confidence in explaining the floating text or my situation coherently, and I was pretty dazed myself, so with a fuck-it attitude, I tapped the Strength stat with my finger.
Ding-.
A strangely artificial sound effect rang out, and the text vanished. Is that it? As I wondered that—
Psssh-.
The squishy black obsidian statue in my palm crumbled to dust like it was corroding, slipping through my fingers. What? Did I mess something up? It was making me nervous for no reason.
But the electric buzzing in my head faded, the odd tension throughout my body melted away, and I felt incredibly refreshed.
Contrary to my worries, it was like I was in peak condition.
"I-It disappeared... turned to dust...."
Luna muttered softly from behind her mask. Malco, the bard holding a rock beside her, called out to me.
"Brother, are you alright? Do you recognize us?"
"Yeah, no problem. Looks like the sealing worked."
"Young man, it was more like disintegration than sealing. Still, just to be safe, we'll watch you for another five minutes. Don't come closer—stay right there!"
Old scholar Platan's caution was perfectly reasonable. So we kept an eye on things until the bard finished about two songs.
....
....
"Old man, how long do we have to wait? Seems fine now."
"Curses can eat away at the mind slowly, even if nothing shows right away. Looks like we got through it alright. Let's head back before sundown!"
And so, my debut quest as an adventurer came to an end.
*
Settlement!
1 live wheel bug, +30 copper.
Temple cleaning quest reward, +30 copper.
20 goblin fangs, +20 copper.
Torn clothes? -10~30 copper.
Mental and physical wounds: +-0 copper.
And +1 Strength.
Not bad at all? Compared to my slave days, it's a world of difference in earnings.
My steps were light on the way back. The throbbing wounds had mostly settled down.
"Old man, about that appraisal artifact you mentioned earlier. The pen nib thing."
"The Needle of Judgment? Why do you ask?"
"Those numbers it appraises. Like Strength and all that. Do they go up and down easily?"
"Even for a young man from foreign lands, that's too ignorant. If it were that simple, the world's order would collapse."
"That serious?"
"Indeed. Raising a single stat by 1 takes anywhere from a year short to five years long. Through consistent training, tempering, devout prayer...."
Delighted at the chance to show off his knowledge, old man Platan rambled on. Apparently, raising my Strength stat was a big deal.
It hadn't budged in the two years since I came to this world. I'd vaguely expected as much, but—
It was so extraordinary it gave me chills. What the fuck is going on?
"Anyway, keep at it, young man. The young have unlimited potential. Don't get obsessed with stats. These days, youngsters are fixated on them, but they're just for show. Experience, knowledge, wisdom, skills—those don't show up and—"
"Oh! Brother, there's the city wall! We made it back properly!"
Map in hand, old man Platan had navigated the return trip better than expected.
We arrived at Sodomora's west gate just before sundown.
The guards were about to close the gates when we showed up, sparing us a night camping outside.
"Next time, move faster. Iron-rank nobodies are always the last ones. Look like goblin-fucked beggars...."
Ignoring the guard's grumbling, we returned through Sodomora's west gate. I don't know what the others thought, but—
After a night camping, battling weird monsters, a cursed artifact, and bee stings, this shithole city felt welcoming.
The thick, acrid smoke and stench enveloping the city even felt nostalgic. Good to see you again, my sweet city.
"Then as party leader, I'll report to the guild. The goblin anomaly, the cursed artifact—nobody can explain it as smoothly as me."
Thank goodness nosy old man Platan took on the hassle. Just as I thought the quest was done, the ridiculous conical-hatted bard spoke up.
"So, how about we all grab drinks tonight? Mission pay plus side earnings should be decent. Meet at the promised inn after settling up?"
"I'm good with that. What about you, Hassan?"
Luna shoved her massive mask forward. Even after a day, I couldn't get used to her bizarre getup.
Drinks in the evening, huh.
Adventurers often hit the tavern after quests. Elfriede and her crew feasted on meat and booze after big hauls. Of course, slave me couldn't join.
"Let's go! Hassan, you worked the hardest! We'll cover your drinks!"
"Uh, um, sister, does that include me too?"
"You gonna make Hassan pay for mine?"
"My instrument broke, so I need to buy a new one... Hah, fate brings us together. We'll split brother's drinks. What about you, old master? With you, we could split his tab three ways!"
"Me? Nah, I'm not desperate enough to crash the young folks' drinks. And I'm busy. Time's even more precious for us old folks."
Unlike his old-fart image, he knew when to join and when to bow out. Thinking about it, he was probably the most helpful in the group.
Knowledge and wisdom are always better in abundance.
"If fate wills it, we'll meet again. And young man, visit the temple. Just in case of a curse."
The half-sized geezer waved and vanished. After just one night camping together, his sunset silhouette tugged at my heartstrings, nose tingling.
"So, which tavern?"
"Sister, leave it to Malco. Let's meet at the Nymph's Wing Inn by the 8th hour. Best booze and food for the price."
"Sounds good. See you all then!"
Luna and Malco turned and went their separate ways. It was around the 5th hour now.
Three hours until the evening meetup—plenty of time to handle chores.
So, what first? Wash off the dirt and goblin blood. Bathhouse? Fix the torn clothes too.
Lots to do. Most of it costs money.
First things first: deal with this massive bee thrashing wildly in my leather waterskin. Cash in priority!
But where to sell it? Should've followed that cult voodoo girl earlier.
Something about medicinal uses?
If this world has health stores, it'd be sketchy alchemist shops brewing dubious potions....
Wandering the slums near the west gate, I stopped at a wooden sign carved with a beaker and potion vials.
White smoke billowed from the chimney. The musty, dank smell triggered childhood flashbacks of boiling, bubbling brews.
Honestly, not dying to go in.
Jingle-.
"Welcome~."
Pushing open the creaky wooden door triggered a bell, and a soft voice drifted from the back. Sounded like a woman—probably the owner or clerk.
Fuck, what's all this...?
Stepping cautiously inside, my legs nearly buckled at the dim shop's horrors.
Taxidermied and dissected specimens, creatures floating in formalin-like solutions—utterly grotesque.
The smell was that same eerie, nauseating preservative from ancient anatomy labs.
"Oh my~. Who's this~. A strapping Samaritan~."
Rustling sounds followed, a hanging curtain parted, and someone emerged. First things first: conical hat and massive breasts.
Breasts, yeah.
Her flowing off-shoulder frilly top barely contained them, stealing my gaze as they jiggled.
Below: a navy skirt slit high like a cheongsam, revealing thick thighs and calves in ripe allure.
"Your eyes are fierce, Samaritan. Here to claim Witch Nemea's head~?"
Her sticky voice matched the beauty mark quivering seductively on her glossy lower lip.
Witch.
She was a witch, as she claimed—no better word.
Mid-to-late twenties? Fiery long red hair, oozing sensuality that dimmed even Zhu's shine.
Too beautiful, too intense—sometimes it repels men with an aura. This was it.
Above all, I was hopelessly weak to witches, from Elfriede onward.
Two years as a slave had etched it into my soul. Witches and I were magma and flame—clear superior-inferior.
"Uh.... I, um, came to sell something."
"Something~?"
"More like a creature, sorta...."
"A creature~?"
A languid beauty of a witch right in front of me—I wasn't sharp enough to think straight. Saying "bee" outright felt silly.
Clack, clack-.
As I hemmed and hawed, she approached, standing before me.
Shorter than me, but tall for a woman—plus heels and hat made her seem huge.
The bard's conical hat was comical; the real deal was different!
"Creature, item—indeed. You've got fine goods, friend~."
The witch smiled. Her slender fingers reached toward my lower body. For real? I froze like a gazelle before a lioness, trembling.
Swish.
"This, right?"
She deftly snatched the waterskin from my belt, held it to her face, uncorked it—and bzzzzz!—the furious bee shot into the air after its long imprisonment.
Fuck, the bee's loose! Danger!
I nearly leaped back, but my panic was unfounded. The bee landed meekly on her index finger, more like a butterfly on a flower than a savage stinger. Bees like pretty girls too? Definitely a male.
"Impressive wheel bug~. So lively. Black, hard shell—prime quality~. Worth about 30 copper~."
30 copper.
I'd guessed the price, but hearing it confirmed made me buzz with excitement, forgetting the atmosphere.
With 30 copper, bath and new clothes—hee hee! As I thought that, the witch spoke.
"But a young Samaritan visiting my shop is rare. I'm more interested in something else you have~."
"S-Something else I have...?"
"Yes. Depending on your skill, I could pay over 30 copper~. Or rather, something you'll do for me soon~. Five minutes? Ten? It'll be over quick~."
The witch chuckled. Her eyes— red like Elfriede's—sent chills down my spine.
Don't get tangled with witches. It's common sense here.
Witches and mages are mostly insane. Elfriede wielded fire magic like her madness. This one was surely crazy too!!
I pictured myself skinned, nails peeled, in a beaker as her lab rat.
But part of me anticipated what this beauty wanted. Damn male instincts....
Sensing the spiderweb, I still couldn't help asking.
"...What do I have to do...?"
"If you're sturdy, you can handle it easy, Samaritan."