Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: First Mission
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Step.
The man at the head of the group of herbalists entering Bronserian Forest frowned.
“Hmph, getting paid to do sweet nothing.”
“Tell me about it. This is where all the rare herbs are.”
“But… isn’t this a restricted area?”
The restricted area of Bronserian Forest.
A place designated by the Erkal Garrison because it was still too dangerous.
Entering without permission could lead to severe punishment, but…
“Hehehe, that’s why we brought mercenaries. Don’t be scared.”
The man who appeared to be the leader let out a low laugh and looked back.
A full six C-rank mercenaries.
Each one of them was strong enough to easily kill an orc.
Among them, the mercenary captain was skilled enough to be considered B-rank, a step above C-rank.
The herbalist at the front said boastfully.
“Do you know how much it cost to hire these men? We’re not leaving until we’ve made back five times our investment, so everyone get a move on.”
Being a restricted area, it was untouched by human feet.
Naturally, rare herbs were scattered about in abundance.
Just by gathering these, they could make back several times the mercenaries' fee.
“…It’s damp.”
The mercenary captain, having entered the forest, surveyed his surroundings.
There didn’t seem to be anything dangerous enough to warrant it being a restricted area…
“That’s how those garrison bastards are. They probably just mark everything as restricted to avoid any hassle, don’t you think?”
A mercenary with a scar on his left cheek said with a grin.
Thanks to that, their commission was quite handsome.
The mercenary captain said with a stern expression.
“Still, stay on your toes. This is Bronserian Forest, after all.”
It has a bad reputation for a reason.
The mercenary captain thought so.
Therefore, he looked at the herbalists and said.
“You have six hours, starting now. Once the time is up, we’re leaving without a second glance, so hurry.”
“Hahaha, don’t you worry! Everyone, hurry up!”
With protectors around, there was nothing to fear.
The herbalists quickly began to search the area and gather herbs.
“Ooh! There are certainly a lot of high-quality ones here.”
“Haha, to think we never came to such a goldmine. We’ve wasted our lives.”
“Thanks to you, we get to enjoy such luxury.”
“Just follow me from now on. Hehehe.”
At the words of the herbalist leader, everyone beamed.
But in that moment.
“…?”
The sound of something approaching quickly.
The mercenary captain drew his axe.
“Prepare for battle!”
At his shout, the mercenaries quickly drew their weapons.
Crunch!
And the monster that appeared from behind the bushes was…
“A Redbear!”
A massive body with a red mane running from the crown of its head to its tailbone.
Among bear-type monsters, it was a dangerous, mid-tier creature.
“We strike before it charges.”
The mercenary captain said calmly.
Fortunately, Redbears were solitary creatures that didn't form packs.
It was strong, but a single one posed no great threat to them.
At the captain’s command, the mercenaries quickly formed a line.
They intended to finish it quickly.
But then.
“…Huh?”
“Captain, that thing is a little strange…”
A ferocious Redbear would have charged the moment it saw people.
Seeing it stagger, a mercenary frowned.
Then he saw its wounds.
‘…It was running away?’
A Redbear?
But that question was fleeting.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Beyond the bushes, a mysterious sound.
The ground began to tremble as the sound grew closer.
And then.
CRACK!
A thick tree split in half, and a massive monster, twice the size of the Redbear, appeared.
Its appearance was similar to a bear.
“Wh-what… is that?”
“…Was there ever a creature like that?”
An appearance similar to a Redbear.
The difference was that its fur was entirely black, and its eyes gleamed with a purple light.
The herbalists who met its gaze collapsed on the spot.
Their legs gave out, and they couldn’t even scream.
“Guh… guh…!”
An immense pressure that made it hard to even breathe.
“E-everyone… run.”
The mercenary captain managed to force out the words, but.
“Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
With the roar of the unknown creature, death descended upon them.
* * *
“Hah… hah… hah!”
“Catch that bastard…!”
The Neokalitz seniors were climbing the mountain path with all their might.
Some on their shoulders, others on their backs.
The heavy logs pressing down on their bodies made it difficult to even walk without resting, let alone run.
But that bastard…
‘How is he running?’
The gap had already doubled.
Watching Demian run ahead, the seniors’ faces filled with despair.
‘No… no… no…!’
‘If I lose, I die…!’
It was a situation where losing literally meant death.
Because they knew.
That Tarone was a man who always kept his word.
They had to win.
But…
‘Fuck, what is that brat…?!’
It was true they had underestimated him for being thirteen.
However.
‘This doesn’t make any sense!’
Even taking that into account, his level of skill was ridiculously outstanding.
Fwoosh!
Demian sprinted up the incline with a 30kg log on his back.
It was a truly explosive sprint.
‘This is… more manageable than I thought.’
Demian lightly fiddled with the ring on his finger.
The peculiar thing was that the heavier the object he lifted, the lighter it seemed to become in proportion.
‘I’ll need to figure out its exact properties later.’
It seems to reduce weight by a percentage.
Glance.
With some leeway, Demian glanced back.
Unlike the other seniors who had long since fallen behind, one person was still chasing him.
‘…As expected.’
“Hah… hah… hah…!”
It felt like he could taste blood in his throat.
Dianal gasped for breath but didn’t stop moving his legs.
‘That monstrous bastard.’
I thought he was something else from the moment I saw him. But this…
‘He’s just on another level…?’
First place in the training camp.
I thought it was just at the training camp level.
After all, Dianal didn’t lack for stamina.
But.
‘…I’m not even a match for him.’
Having already reached the summit, Demian set down the log he was carrying.
“First place.”
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Demian looked down at the unit members below.
Even for Demian, who could handle mana, it wasn’t an easy task.
But there was one major difference between him and them.
His concentration.
The intense focus he could pour into a task was one of the reasons Demian had survived on the battlefield.
Demian had run while casting aside all other thoughts, focusing solely on the goal.
That was what created the huge difference, this unbelievable gap.
“…”
Tarone looked at Demian.
Then he looked at the other unit members.
He had thought they might lose due to their slackened tension, but.
‘…I didn’t expect even Dianal to lose.’
The rookie’s skill was far greater than expected.
He might have to acknowledge him, at least in terms of physical stamina.
However.
“A promise is a promise.”
A menacing glint appeared in Tarone’s eyes.
The unit members nearby swallowed hard.
It had been a long time since they had seen Tarone like this.
“All of you…”
Tarone opened his mouth, looking at the unit members.
But just then.
“Captain!”
Someone shouted.
Tarone frowned and turned his head.
“Th-there…!”
A red flag had been raised over the barracks.
* * *
The red flag was a signal for a level-one emergency.
Seeing the red flag, the look in Tarone’s eyes changed.
Returning to the barracks, Tarone asked the administrative clerk.
“What’s going on?”
“There have been fatalities in the forest. The report says some herbalists died.”
“Location?”
“Well… it’s the restricted area.”
Grit.
At the clerk’s words, a muscle in Tarone’s jaw twitched.
The second-in-command, Aaron, scowled.
“Those sons of bitches! They shouldn’t go where they’re told not to!”
“Casualty count?”
“Five herbalists for now… but they didn’t just go in recklessly. They apparently took six mercenaries with them.”
If they took a job in Bronserian Forest, they wouldn’t have been shabby mercenaries.
For six such mercenaries to go in and all die meant…
“Hoo, Aaron. How many men can we deploy right now, excluding the injured?”
“Excluding the lightly injured, just over thirty. Including them… around seventy. But some of those classified as lightly injured are actually hurt pretty badly.”
The situation wasn’t good.
Hadn’t they just returned from a mission a few days ago?
‘…The cycles are getting shorter.’
The furrows on Tarone’s brow deepened.
Something was changing in the forest.
But he finished his thought and quickly made a decision.
“Leave out the seriously injured and assemble about fifty men. Any information on the monster that appeared?”
“Not yet.”
“Idiots, what have they been doing all this time?”
Aaron spat out a curse.
When Tarone glanced at him, Aaron quickly ran to the barracks to assemble the unit.
Tarone also gathered his gear and moved outside the barracks.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
There were no words.
Only a suffocating air that pressed down on their chests.
But it was then.
“We’ll go too.”
Demian said to Tarone.
Tarone said firmly.
“Permission denied. Stay here.”
Actual combat is impossible for rookies.
No matter how good their training scores, a real battle is completely different.
But Demian was persistent.
“We’ll just act as porters far in the rear. As you can see, our strength and stamina are good. This guy Kyle, too.”
“I can do it!”
Kyle shouted, nostrils flaring.
At that, Tarone stared at the two of them.
It was embarrassing, but right now, they were so short-handed they’d take any help they could get.
After a moment of thought, Tarone bit his lip.
“Fine, I’ll allow it. But you are absolutely forbidden from engaging in combat. You’ll carry the spare equipment and stay at the very rear.”
“Understood!”
“Dianal! Hand the spare gear over to these two. Everyone, move out!”
“Yes, sir!”
The unit members moved in perfect order, quickly forming up outside the barracks.
Once everyone was in formation, Tarone spoke.
“The punishment I mentioned during training is off the table. Everyone focus solely on the mission.”
It would be a problem if their concentration wavered during the mission because they were worried about punishment.
Right now, they needed to be completely immersed in the operation.
Tarone continued.
“As I always say, when you’re deployed on a mission, consider every possibility. Avoid anything you judge to be dangerous as much as possible.”
It was as if he could hear their silent replies.
With that, Tarone gave his final order.
“Make sure you all come back alive.”
“Yes, sir!”
Along with the thunderous reply, a chilling atmosphere settled on their shoulders.
In the midst of it all, Demian heightened his focus.
‘Bronserian Forest…’
‘If my prediction is correct, then around this time…’
Demian recalled the things Dianal had told him in the past.
Unorganized information tangled chaotically in his mind.
But Demian soon organized his thoughts and gripped the bag he was holding tightly.
‘I have no choice but to see for myself.’
That was why he had volunteered as a porter to go to Bronserian Forest.
And so.
“Move out.”
It was his first real mission.