Heading Out for My First Hunt
The carriage was even more rundown and rickety than I’d expected.
The wooden planks creaked constantly, and every turn of the wheels sent clouds of dust billowing into the air.
Since it was a cheap model meant only for mission transport, the seats were miserably uncomfortable.
4-person party (3/4)
……Looking back now, the fact that only three seats were occupied should have been an omen.
“Hey, yeah, yeah. So your name’s Rowen, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
The muscular, bearded middle-aged man sitting across from me spoke up.
A one-handed axe and shield rested beside him.
He was Kant, the party leader.
He claimed to be at the Middle Stage of the 1st Realm, and since the rest of us were all at the Initial Stage, it made sense that he led by strength.
“You’ve got such a pretty face… Why the hell are you working as a mercenary? Some fallen noble or something?”
“No, sir. I’m a commoner. My father ran an herb shop back home, but…”
“An herb shop? Don’t those make decent money? What, couldn’t you afford training elixirs?”
“It’s not that… I need to earn money for my medical expenses…”
I briefly explained that I wasn’t from a practitioner family and that I suffered from a rare disease.
At that, the relatively young, skinny man sitting next to me perked up, eyes sparkling.
A quiver on his back and a shortbow beside him.
He was Jerik, the party’s archer.
Next to him sat the oldest member of the group, a middle-aged man resting comfortably. That was Vold, who wielded a long spear.
Jerik chuckled and jumped into the conversation.
“Pfft, haha! What? You became a mercenary to pay for medical bills? Kid, you’re way too pure for this—
Hey, I’m not joking. Just sleep with a few rich older ladies and earn your treatment money that way. Why take the hard road when there’s an easy one?”
“Excuse me!? Sleep with… N-no, I couldn’t possibly do something like that…”
“Why not? Listen, when I say older ladies, I don’t mean actual hags. They’re all practitioners anyway. Plenty of well-maintained milfs out there.”
“That’s not the point…”
“From what I can tell, you could even charm women at the 2nd Realm. You’ve got the potential, I can see it. Just do what I said. And if you score any good stuff, make sure to share some with me.”
“Jerik, shut up. I’m trying to sleep here!”
When Vold, who had been resting on the side, grumbled in annoyance, Jerik muttered under his breath and lowered his voice.
“………………….”
Even though they were practitioners, there was something about their crude, familiar vibe that reminded me of home.
It was exactly like the atmosphere I used to feel when watching the guards and older men back in my hometown.
No wonder this party felt so tightly knit, like they’d been together for a long time.
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On the eastern outskirts of Pletur lay a place called Shadow Shrub Canyon.
It was about fifty minutes by carriage from the city walls.
Low hills, dense thickets of brushwood, and a small canyon greeted us.
This was one of the most popular hunting grounds for low-rank mercenaries.
Recently, the goblin population had surged, causing increasing damage to civilians and farmland.
As a result, the guild frequently posted subjugation requests for the area.
We made our final preparations at a small rest area nearby called Greenwood Shelter, then set off on foot toward the canyon.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the trees grew thicker and our field of vision narrowed.
The thought that we might get ambushed by goblins made me a little nervous.
But the other three moved forward with practiced ease, scanning their surroundings.
Leader Kant muttered as if talking to himself.
“Obviously the goblins will be in the usual spots…
Just watch out for the few scouts on patrol… Ah, there’s one. Everyone hold.”
Goblin Scout
1st Realm — Initial Stage
When Kant raised his hand, a lone goblin wandering in the distance came into view.
It held a crude blade in one hand and wore tattered rags for pants.
Maybe it was because he was at the Middle Stage, but Kant’s eyesight was noticeably sharper.
“Jerik, shoot it dead. Then circle the area once.”
“Got it.”
Jerik picked up his shortbow, crept a little closer, then drew the string without hesitation and buried an arrow in the goblin’s head.
The goblin let out a small “krrk” before collapsing. Without wasting a second, Jerik crouched low and dashed forward just as Kant had ordered.
Soon his silhouette vanished into the brush.
A short while later, another brief death cry echoed.
It seemed he had taken care of a second scout goblin as well.
When Jerik returned with a relaxed smile, Kant gave a small nod.
“We’ll dismantle these goblins later. Remember the spot. For now, let’s sweep toward the canyon.”
We continued our search with noticeably more ease as we headed for the canyon.
By now their attitude suggested they no longer cared if we were spotted.
The earlier ambush on the scouts had simply been the bare minimum precaution to eliminate variables.
Sure enough, as we moved toward the canyon we spotted a large cave not far from the water’s edge. Several goblins were busily moving about nearby, tending to their daily lives.
“Good. A cave that size should easily meet the request’s minimum of fifteen kills. Anything extra is just bonus money.”
“How should we attack?”
I asked while assuming a combat stance. Kant let out a small snort.
“We don’t need some fancy plan. Just go in and kill them. We’ll take the front, so you handle anything that tries to flank us. Help Jerik if he gets in trouble.”
“Understood…!!”
Even as we spoke, we strolled toward the cave as casually as if we were out for a walk.
The goblins naturally spotted us and began shrieking “Kyaaak!” in excitement.
An arrow mercilessly pierced the chest of one of them.
And just like that, the battle began.
Kant charged forward bravely with his shield and axe, carving through the goblins.
Vold, wielding his long spear, calmly stabbed at them from a distance, steadily reducing their numbers.
The way he retreated slowly while thrusting his spear was quite impressive.
Jerik kept his distance and fired arrows at his own pace.
And then a goblin came leaping toward me.
This was my first real fight!
Clang!
I knocked the crude blade aside with my buckler and quickly stabbed with my gladius.
Wait, I should have aimed for a vital point…!
Realizing I’d forgotten something important, I quickly adjusted my grip and slashed the goblin’s throat.
“Gurgh!”
Its balance had already been badly broken when I deflected its attack with the buckler, so the goblin couldn’t offer any real resistance. It died with a short death rattle.
The sensation of taking a life for the first time sent something unpleasant rising from deep in my chest.
But I soon shook my head inwardly and brushed it off.
I can’t let something like this shake me.
This is the path of a practitioner, and these creatures are harmful monsters we can’t possibly coexist with.
After that, I took down two more goblins that lunged at me without much difficulty.
It felt… easier than I had imagined.
Well, they were just ordinary goblins, after all.
Before I knew it, the battle was over.
“Huh? What the hell? You fight pretty well, kid.”
“Yes, I’ve been training quite a bit since I was young…”
Kant looked at me, goblin blood dripping from his axe.
The bloodstains on the iron pauldrons over his worn leather armor stood out sharply.
He gave a small yawn.
“Alright, the subjugation reward is secured… Let’s each dismantle what we killed. Don’t forget to cut off the right ear for the request submission.”
Dismantling.
It was an essential task if we wanted to maximize our profits.
‘Ugh……’
To the others it might look like money after they’d grown used to it, but to me they still looked like freshly dead goblin corpses.
I pulled out the dagger I’d packed in my Ether Pocket and began the grim work.
The goblins’ tough green hides were rougher than I expected, and every time blood got on my hands my stomach churned.
But the others skillfully skinned them, split open their chests, and pulled out small mana stones.
I picked up one of the tiny mana stones I’d taken from a corpse and examined it between two fingers.
‘So this is a mana stone.’
Also called ether crystals, mana stones were crystallized cores found inside monsters.
They played an incredibly important role as resources in the practitioner world.
They could be used as alchemy ingredients, for charging artifacts, and in many other ways.
When processed, they could be turned into Ether Gems, the basic currency among practitioners.
1,000 Ether Gems equaled 1 Ether Crystal.
1,000 Ether Crystals equaled 1 Essence.
In other words, 1 Essence held the enormous value of one million gems.
I finished dismantling the hides and claws from all three goblins I had killed and stored them in my pocket.
Then I stared at the three small mana stones in my hand.
The subjugation reward was 4 Ether Gems per person…
If I sold these three mana stones along with the hides and claws, would I get about 1 Ether Gem?
Even at the highest estimate, my total earnings from this subjugation would be around 5 Ether Gems…
From what I’d heard, even decent low-grade artifacts cost around 100 gems.
No, the most important thing wasn’t artifacts.
To raise my realm I would need ether veins or countless ether elixirs.
The ether veins were all claimed by powerful factions, so that was out of the question.
Even low-grade training elixirs supposedly cost 20 to 30 gems…
I had no idea how many elixirs I would need to reach the Middle or Late Stage, let alone break through to the 2nd Realm.
Since the average lifespan at the 1st Realm’s Awakening Stage was 130 to 150 years, if I calculated based on earnings at this level…
‘Sigh, better stop thinking about it.’
My mind was starting to spin, so I forced myself to stop.
Right. Everything starts with a single step.
…Surely I won’t be living like this forever, right?
‘By the way, I still don’t know what the ring the priestess gave me does.’
I quietly stroked the ring on my left index finger.
It was a simple band with a single green orb set into it, no other decorations.
The priestess had said it would help me in truly dangerous moments.
She hadn’t explained the details, but I could only hope it wasn’t some ridiculously expensive artifact.
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After we finished dismantling the corpses, we walked back to Greenwood Shelter.
Inside, a few mercenaries from other parties were resting.
This shelter was apparently a public rest area frequently used by novice mercenaries.
It was a place where mercenaries on or finishing requests gathered to share information and build connections.
There were modest facilities for simple maintenance, and best of all, there were three or four shower areas that drew water from a nearby stream.
They were nothing more than simple tents with wooden shower stalls, but even that was a blessing.
There were separate areas for men and women. The men’s side was open-air, just a place to stand and wash.
We still had some time before the carriage departed.
Splash, splash.
On one side of the shower facility was a small space for hand-washing laundry.
I washed my clothes as best I could to remove the bloodstains and hung them up to dry.
Kant had said he would lend me a heat pouch, so I could dry them with that later.
When I finally stepped into the shower area, I saw the three of them already washing, scrubbing the blood from their bodies.
“…………What the fuck is that, you son of a bitch.”
The moment Jerik saw me, he suddenly spat out a curse.
