Chapter 11: The First Companion
Chapter 11: The First Companion
And so, though the method had changed, I ended up spending another day dedicated to neutering wild wolfdogs.
“Let’s call it a day and head back.”
I spoke up as I watched a wolfdog fade away, its testicles crushed by an arrow.
Perhaps because her job level had risen a bit in the meantime, Sara now needed considerably fewer arrows to take one down.
Does a few job levels really increase her power this much?
While leveling up my Martial Artist job, I’d been one-shotting the wolfdogs, so I honestly hadn’t felt the effects of job levels all that much.
It was already 10 PM.
We had been hunting nonstop since morning, so it was natural to be tired, yet Sara showed no sign of fatigue as she remained completely absorbed in the hunt.
She wasn’t saying anything, but her entire body was so drenched in sweat it looked like she’d taken a shower, and you could almost see steam rising from her.
I was physically and mentally exhausted, too.
Especially me, who had to watch the expressions and struggles of the dying wolfdogs head-on. I was mentally drained. This was no job for a human being.
“What are you talking about? We’re not done yet. Or are you telling me you’re already tired?” Sara said coolly, despite being soaked in sweat herself.
Does she feel nothing after watching those pathetic displays all day?
Did I really pick the wrong party member?
“I desperately understand not wanting to sleep at your level, but it’s already night. If we hunt any longer, it’ll just mess us up tomorrow.”
“What? It’s night?”
For the record, this damn underground dungeon maintained a constant brightness, as if the space itself was luminescent, with no distinction between day and night.
I didn’t know if it would change as we went deeper, but for now, this area was always bright enough to feel like midday.
“Yeah, it’s already 10 PM. It’s not like today’s our only chance, so let’s stop here.”
“But I’m only level 5…”
Look, I’ve been coming to the dungeon for days and my Martial Artist is still only level 10. Gaining three levels in a single day is amazing, you know.
Maybe she was leveling fast because she’d apparently kept practicing with her bow, even if she couldn’t level up?
Or was it because she was basically being power-leveled, killing monsters much higher level than her?
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to test the theory, but how could I even check something like that?
The people of this world seem to understand job levels, so maybe I can just ask?
“Compared to me, I think you’re leveling up pretty fast. You got some kind of secret?”
“Wh-What?! I-I don’t know? I can’t think of anything. Isn’t it just a difference in talent?”
Well, setting aside her bitchy attitude, she probably had a point.
Job levels were ultimately a matter of proficiency.
It made sense that I, someone whose only experience with punching was learning Taekwondo in the military, would be slower than a girl who was properly trained with a bow.
Of course, just because she was right didn’t excuse her attitude.
“Sigh. Anyway, let’s go. I’m getting sleepy.”
As I was coaxing the reluctant Sara toward the entrance, we encountered another wolfdog.
“How about we just get this last one and then go?”
“Fine.”
As usual, I charged in while the wolfdog hadn’t noticed us yet.
“Hey there. Sorry, but this is just a job.”
My taunt had gotten considerably weaker, a result of the sympathy that had grown while hunting with Sara.
Even I felt bad making neutering jokes after seeing them writhe in agony like that.
Grrrrr!
Unlike the other wolfdogs that had been cowering whenever they saw me lately, this one was quite aggressive.
Not that it would change anything.
I narrowly dodged the charging wolfdog and got behind it, but it spun around to face me in an instant.
Its charging speed, its reaction time… it feels a little faster than the others.
Still, it didn’t have eyes on the back of its head.
Sara, who had been waiting, quickly drew her bowstring, then suddenly looked flustered.
“Hey! This one’s a female! Should I still aim for the crotch on a female?!”
“What?!”
While Sara and I were panicking, the wolfdog charged at me.
It was so much faster than the wolfdogs I’d faced before that I couldn’t react properly. I reflexively swung my arm, and it chomped down on it.
“Gah! Fuck!”
It had been a while since I’d been bitten, and the sudden pain made me curse without thinking.
And here I was, trying my best to watch my language and speak properly in front of Sara.
I punched its torso with my other hand, and the wolfdog let go of my arm.
It might be too late, but I couldn’t let her see me looking any more pathetic.
I tried my best to cool my head and calmly glared at the wolfdog.
It seemed stronger than the others, but there was still a gap in physical ability between us.
Grrrrrrrrr!
As if it were furious, the wolf charged recklessly to bite me again. I punched the side of its head, then followed up with a series of Low Kicks.
Even then, it didn’t go down. As it tried to bite my leg, I dodged its mouth and stomped down, finally felling it.
Four hits. That’s a huge difference from the others I’ve fought.
My Martial Artist job was level 10, and I’d even learned a few skills along the way, making me much stronger than when I first encountered a wolfdog. And it still took four hits.
Could it be something like a named monster?
“Kyaa!”
A sudden scream made me look up. Another wolfdog was charging at Sara.
No! After all the effort I put into recruiting her!
At Sara’s current level, even a glancing blow from a wolfdog would probably be a serious injury.
I sprinted with all my might and threw myself between Sara and the wolfdog that was leaping for her throat.
CRUNCH!
It bit my arm, but I had managed to protect Sara.
Looking at its attack power, if that had been Sara’s neck, it wouldn’t have been strange for it to have been torn in two.
“Watch your back!”
Before I could even turn around at Sara’s shout, another wolfdog bit my leg from behind.
Fuck! Where the hell are they all coming from?!
For some reason, the brawl from my first day flashed through my mind.
Back then, too, my stats were high enough that I didn’t need to fight so desperately, but I fought recklessly and it turned into a chaotic dogfight.
I won’t make the same mistake twice.
“Sara, back off! Give me some covering fire from a short distance! But don’t get too far away!”
Her being too close was a problem, but if she was too far, reinforcements could arrive and I might not be able to help her if she was attacked.
Judging by their speed and attack power, these two were stronger individuals, just like the first one.
It would be a pain in the ass if they could call for allies with a howl, too. I had to end this as quickly as possible.
Getting bitten a few times wouldn’t kill me, so my tactic was simple.
Beat them down one by one.
I’ll show you why you don’t mess with a crazy person.
Completely ignoring the one latched onto my leg, I swung my bitten arm hard, flinging the first wolfdog to the ground.
Then I got into a mount position and started wailing on it.
A wolfdog, with its sad, short legs, could do nothing but take the beating in this position.
As I continued to pummel the one creature, ignoring the pain in my bitten leg, I could somehow feel that they were starting to panic.
Swish!
In the meantime, Sara’s covering fire struck the wolfdog clinging to my leg, forcing it off.
“Nice one!”
I delivered a finishing blow to the one I was beating and gave Sara a thumbs-up. Just then, the one that had been biting my leg suddenly threw its head back.
Ugh! That posture!
“Aaargh! Shut up, you son of a bitch!”
I hastily swung my foot, but the wolfdog’s howl was a little faster.
Awooooooo~!
Shit! We’re screwed!
Still, the wolf was left defenseless while calling its pack, so I was able to finish it off in an instant.
“Hey! Let’s bounce!”
I swept the corpses into my inventory and hurried Sara along.
“Wh-What? The bodies?!”
“I’ll tell you later, just run!”
I grabbed Sara’s arm and desperately fled the area. Only when we reached the entrance could I finally catch my breath.
Thankfully, we didn’t run into a pack of wolfdogs.
Phew, that was a close call.
“Could you let go of my arm? It hurts.”
“Ah. Sorry.”
I must have been so focused on escaping that I’d been holding on without realizing it.
“Are you okay?”
Why is she acting so out of character?
Confused, I looked down at myself and understood why.
The excitement of battle had masked the pain, but the attacks from the stronger wolfdogs had left some nasty wounds. I’d lost a fair amount of blood, making this the worst injury I’d sustained since coming to this world.
My superior natural healing ability was already closing up the wounds, but since I was also covered in the blood of the wolfdogs whose magic stones I hadn’t harvested yet, I looked like I was seriously injured.
For reference, natural healing depends on one’s vitality.
Both the Saint and Martial Artist jobs give a guaranteed vitality increase on level up, so my vitality was quite high for my level. Naturally, my healing ability was high, too.
Wait, isn’t this a chance?
From an outside perspective, I had just thrown my body on the line to save Sara and gotten gravely injured.
This was a classic development where the standoffish female heroine starts to develop feelings for the protagonist.
I couldn’t miss this opportunity.
I immediately went into method acting mode.
“Keoheok. Keuk. I-I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. Huk.”
I let out a pained groan while forcing the most tragic smile I could muster for Sara.
“That’s a relief, then. But why did we suddenly run away?”
Have you ever seen such a heartless bitch?!
Is that all the concern you can show for the person who just threw himself in front of a monster for you?!
“You saw it howl, right? When they do that, all the others in the area come running. You have a hunter class and you don’t even know that?”
Seeing that pretending to be hurt wasn’t going to work on her, I dropped the act immediately.
“I told you I was level 1, didn’t I? So, what happened to the bodies? How did they disappear?”
“This? It’s just something similar to a spatial pouch.”
I said, taking the wolfdog corpses out of my inventory.
“If it’s a spatial pouch, it’s a spatial pouch. What do you mean ‘similar’?”
“Just think of it as an outsider’s technology. I can’t explain it with the knowledge of this world.”
“So that’s why you said you’d carry all the materials. I was wondering where you were keeping them.”
“What? Were you suspecting I’d steal them?”
“All three are female.”
Sara had blatantly changed the subject.
Aargh, I oughta just…
“You’re right. I haven’t seen a single female while hunting until now.”
I activated my butchering skill and split their bellies open with my hands to get the magic stones.
“Eek! What are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m getting the magic stones.”
“Don’t you at least have a knife or something?!”
“Nope.”
I’d desperately wanted one on my first day, but I hadn’t needed one lately, so I hadn’t even thought about buying one.
“Here. Use this, at least.”
Sara pulled a knife from her sleeve and handed it to me.
…Scary woman. She was hiding something like that?
If I’d tried to jump her without knowing, I would’ve been stabbed for sure.
Once I removed all the magic stones from the female wolfdogs, their bodies disappeared, leaving behind fangs and leather.
Huh? Fangs?
Until now, the male wolves had only left behind leather.
Not only were they stronger, but they had different drop items, too. Are males and females treated as separate monsters?
I should ask about it at the guild.
“Wait here a minute. I’m going to go get this tallied up.”
Arriving at the guild, I had Sara wait and went straight to the receptionist.
“Oh my? What happened? Are you alright?” the receptionist, with whom I’d become quite friendly from always coming to her, asked with a worried expression.
Yes. This is it. This kindness. Are you seeing this, Sara?
I glanced back at her as if to make a point, but Sara was just looking around the guild, not paying me any mind.
Just how much of a bitch can she be?
I’d love to see the face of the grandfather who raised her.
“Yes, I’m fine. Here are the magic stones.”
For the record, even with my Analyze skill at level 17, I still couldn’t read this woman’s level.
Just how high is she?
“What were you doing to get so hurt?”
“I was thinking of heading down to the lower floors soon, so I got a companion and went to hunt some wolfdogs.”
I said, gesturing subtly toward Sara, who was waiting behind me.
“…Hmm. I see…. So that person is with you, Guwon….”
The receptionist looked at Sara with a meaningful expression.
“We kept seeing only males, but for some reason, a female showed up today, and it was incredibly strong.”
“What? A female? Could you tell me more?”
“More…? That’s about it, really. It was just there in the usual spot where we fight wolfdogs. Its overall physical abilities were better than the males. Oh, and it dropped fangs as an item.”
“I see. I’ve checked the guild records, but this doesn’t seem to have been reported before. Please wait a moment.”
The receptionist took out some kind of document and began filling it out, asking me for details about the exact location we encountered the wolfdog and how strong it was.
“Thank you for the report. The reward for providing new information will be paid out tomorrow.”
Ooh! Right, that was a thing.
Felt like I’d just found some free money.
“You haven’t been an adventurer for very long, and you’re already providing new information. People with special classes really are a cut above the rest, aren’t they?”
“Haha. Of course. I told you I’d show you the legend of a Saint.”
More than just showing you, I’d rather we make it together, if you know what I mean.
By raising my Saint level, of course.
“Hehe. Yes, yes. Here you are. 7 Silver and 26 Copper.”
I’d expected it, but it was still a small amount.
Sara had hunted with passion, but that didn’t magically grant her attack power she didn’t have. The time it took to kill each one was inevitably slower than when I hunted alone.
If anything, I was lucky to get this much, thanks to the decent price of the female wolfdogs’ magic stones.
Oh well. I just have to think of it as an investment in the future.