Chapter 14: The First Companion
Chapter 14: The First Companion
And so, another day was spent hunting Wolfdogs.
I guess running into two females at first was just bad luck, because most of the Wolfdogs we encountered after that were male.
We often ran into packs of two or three males with a single female, which almost made it look like she was their bodyguard.
Even so, they were no threat to Sara and me. Thanks to the males' unique weakness, Sara could take them down easily as long as I drew their attention. Even the females weren't much of a problem—with Sara's cover fire and my physical abilities, we could handle up to three of them.
The pattern was simple. Sara would climb a tree, and I would circle the area, luring one pack at a time. Once we cleared out all the nearby Wolfdogs, we’d find another suitable tree, and she’d climb up while I went to lure more.
We hunted late into the night again, and Sara finally hit Archer level 7.
Even considering the level gap with the Wolfdogs, her progress feels way too fast.
It was no exaggeration to say that I could feel her skill improving with every single arrow she fired.
It was like watching a master archer who’d been restricted for some reason, rapidly regaining her former skill.
What’s more, the power of her shots increased by an unbelievable amount for just one job level.
She had now grown strong enough to not only shatter a male Wolfdog’s testicles with one or two arrows but also to deal significant damage to the females.
Something’s definitely going on with her, but I have no idea what it is.
Maybe she’ll tell me once we get closer.
“Phew. Finally done.”
“Done with what?”
“What do you think? Your level up. You said you hit Archer level 7. You can’t raise it any higher now that you’ve hit the level cap.”
That was right. From now on, the only way for Sara to grow stronger was to raise her base level.
This was exactly what I had been aiming for.
As long as her goal was to become stronger, she would eventually have to raise her level.
The problem was how to bring it up.
Pestering her about leveling up the moment she maxed out her job level would be way too obvious.
Was there a way to get Sara to bring it up naturally herself…?
“Not yet. My base level just went up to 8.”
As if to mock my concerns, Sara said it like it was nothing.
“What?!”
I checked with Analyze, and sure enough, Sara’s level was 8.
Wait, does that make any sense? How is this possible?
I barely gained one level after slaughtering all those Wolfdogs, and she levels up in just two days?
What a cheat!
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Ah, no. I know I don’t know much about this world, but I heard it’s not easy to level up just by hunting monsters. I was just wondering how you did it so quickly.”
“It’s nothing special. I was already close to leveling up when we first met.”
Fucking hell, of course. I hadn’t thought of that.
Still, my plan wasn’t ruined. It was only a one-level difference. All I had to do was get her Archer level to 8, and there’d be no problem.
But it was already past midnight.
Damn it, I thought tonight might be the night. Do I have to wait until tomorrow?
It was the first time I’d ever hunted for this long, and beyond the physical exhaustion, I was mentally drained.
“Alright, let’s head back for today and come back early tomorrow to get you to level 8. I’m too tired to go on.”
“I know you’re tired, but we’re definitely selling the materials before we go today.”
“I know, I know. I really was just too tired to think straight yesterday.”
Tch. I’m gonna jerk off and go to sleep tonight, you know?
No, wait. Should I save it up for the main event tomorrow? Kehehe.
When we went to the guild to exchange the Magic Stones, the receptionist, who always wore a perfect business smile, had a complicated expression on her face.
“Hello. Is something wrong?”
“Ah, Mr. Guwon. Hello. No, it’s just… By the way, did you go hunting Wolfdogs again today? Did anything unusual happen?”
“Not really… Ah, there were a few females mixed in.”
“I see. It seems you have no trouble fighting the females, Mr. Guwon.”
“Huh? Does that mean other people did?”
“Well, most adventurers fight monsters that match their level. We’ve had quite a few cases today of adventurers who went to hunt male Wolfdogs, only to encounter the much stronger females and end up dead or seriously injured. We may have to re-evaluate the guild’s recommended level settings for each section of the dungeon.”
Come to think of it, compared to the people of this world, I was exceptionally strong for my level.
Even if the male Wolfdogs were at the recommended level, my stats made fighting them a complete slaughter. And even I got hurt fighting the females. For adventurers who were only used to fighting the males, the females must have been a disaster.
“I see. That sounds like a big problem for the guild.”
“Yes. We’re currently investigating why the female Wolfdogs have suddenly appeared, but since so little is known about monster ecology, we haven’t made much progress.”
The reason female Wolfdogs suddenly appeared…
Surely it wasn’t because I was running around wiping out the males, forcing the desperate females to come out of hiding, right?
Nah, no way.
…It can’t be. It has to not be.
Thinking back, I might have gone a little overboard, considering my specs were overkill for hunting Wolfdogs.
If I just keep my mouth shut, no one will ever know.
Yeah, let’s do that.
“That must be tough, since adventurers aren’t exactly scholars.”
“You can say that again. Here’s the payment for the Magic Stones. Oh, and the information reward I mentioned yesterday came through. The female Wolfdog has been assessed at a recommended level of 15, so the reward is 20 Silver.”
“Wow, that’s quite a bit for a relatively low-level monster.”
“It just shows how much effort the guild puts into gathering information about the dungeon. Some adventurers keep what they know to themselves and refuse to share, so the information fees have risen accordingly.”
“I see. Well, keep up the good work.”
“Yes, have a good night.”
Sara was once again busy looking around the inside of the guild.
You look like such a hick. Stop gawking.
“Rejoice. We got 20 Silver for the info on the female Wolfdogs. Let’s just go to the inn today and sell the materials later.”
“That’s great. See you tomorrow, then.”
Sara took half the money from me and started to leave.
“Hey, hey. Where are you going?”
I had been gearing up to make my move tonight, so her reaction caught me off guard.
“Where am I going? To the inn, of course.”
“No, I mean, why are you going alone?!”
“We both have enough for our own rooms. Is there a reason we need to go together?”
“Did you not hear a single word I said yesterday?!”
“I know. I was joking. Let’s go, I’m tired.”
A faint smile touched the corners of Sara’s lips as she spoke and led the way.
That damn girl… Now she’s even messing with me.
And so the day ended. The next day, Guwon and Sara arrived at the dungeon bright and early.
Though their reasons were different, both of them wanted to get her Archer level to 8 as quickly as possible, so they’d gotten an early start.
“Alright, let’s get going. We need to try and hit Archer level 8 today.”
“…Thank you. For doing all this for me.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s nothing. If my partner gets stronger, it makes my life easier, too. It’s a win-win.”
Sara seemed to think I was being purely selfless and thanked me with an uncharacteristically sincere attitude.
Thank me? This is all for my own benefit.
“Alright, let’s go hunt some Wolfdogs again today.”
“Huh? I’ve gotten a fair bit stronger now, so it’s fine if we go hunt higher-level monsters. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“You’re only level 8. What do you mean, ‘stronger’? Do you know that your level is even lower than the recommended level for those rabbits over there?”
At that, Sara immediately pulled an arrow from her quiver and, in a flash, let it fly.
Swoosh!
The arrow flew with a menacing sound, completely different from when I first met her, and pierced straight through the rabbit.
It was a magnificent one-shot kill.
Huh? A level 8 killing a level 10 monster in one hit? Does that make sense?
“Do you believe me a little more now?”
“Hey, I could make those things explode with a single misplaced tap. That little display is hardly enough to earn my trust.”
That’s what I said, but I was actually quite surprised.
No matter how I think about it, I can’t understand that level of power. What’s her secret?
I really need to max out my Analyze skill as soon as possible.
And so, with Sara easily one-shotting the occasional rabbit or raccoon we encountered, we arrived at the Wolfdog habitat once again.
“Considering our abilities, I think it would be more efficient to hunt higher-level monsters than just these Wolfdogs.”
“Let’s just practice against the Wolfdogs until you hit Archer level 8. Yesterday was fine since you were hunting safely from a tree, but once we start hunting for real, you won’t be able to do that anymore.”
“That’s true.”
The first pack we met was a pair of males.
Normally, I would rush in to draw their attention while Sara aimed for their testicles, but before I could even move, Sara suddenly raised her bow and fired.
“What are you doing?!”
“Just stand back and watch.”
She spoke with a confident expression, then began firing arrows in rapid succession like something out of a movie.
Huh? Is it just me, or is the tip of her arrow glowing faintly?
By the time the two Wolfdogs got close to me, they were already collapsing, turned into pincushions by her arrows.
“See? I can handle this much.”
“Are you seriously bragging to me right now? You might not realize it since I’ve been letting you take all the kills, but I only need two hits to take them down.”
I blustered, trying to hide my complicated feelings.
She seems a lot stronger than I thought.
And what was with that glowing arrowhead? A skill?
Usually, that kind of technique—imbuing a weapon with mana—was something only a master could do.
Is she really a low-level? Is she hiding her real level?
Of course, I knew that wasn’t the case since I could check with Analyze, but her attack power was just that unbelievable.
In the end, with Sara’s added firepower, our hunting speed increased dramatically. After another long day of hunting late into the night, she finally managed to hit level 8.
It felt like the ratio of female Wolfdogs we encountered kept increasing as time went on, which made things a little dicey, but we achieved our goal.
As I was picking up the Wolfdogs’ Magic Stones, I asked nonchalantly, as if it were just a passing thought.
“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said your goal was to get stronger. Now that you’ve maxed out your job level, you should focus on leveling up tomorrow instead of coming to the dungeon.”
I was never good at beating around the bush, so that was the best I could come up with.
“……”
Sara said nothing, but suddenly glared at me with incredible intensity.
Look at her eyes. If I just came out and said, “Let’s fuck,” she looks like she’d actually kill me.
“So, let’s take a day off from the dungeon tomorrow and focus on leveling up separately,” I said, deliberately phrasing it that way.
It didn’t seem like she knew anyone else here anyway.
Even if I put it like that, who else was she going to have sex with but me?
“Actually, there’s something I need to talk to you about regarding that.”
Sara turned her body to face me directly.
Ooh! Yes, tell me!
“I have a goal, so I absolutely must become stronger. But that doesn’t mean I have any intention of doing… that with a man.”
What the hell is this bullshit?
How could you get stronger in a world like this without having sex?
“So, what I’m saying is… it’s possible to level up through combat, right? That’s how I want to get stronger. It’s only been two days, but our teamwork is pretty good, and we’ve been fighting very effectively. I don’t think it will be impossible.”
Crazy. Am I insane? There’s no way I’m doing that. I’d sooner break up our party.
If this were a game, I might have tried a playthrough like that, calling it a challenge run or something.
But this world was stark reality. If I tried that crap, I’d die of old age before I ever got strong.
“You don’t seem to understand… I don’t know how strong you want to be, but you’ll probably die of old age before you get there doing it that way. I may be from another world, but I know at least that much.”
“No. That’s not true. I can do it. I will never be a burden in battle.”
I knew something was strange.
It seemed there was a secret behind Sara’s ridiculously fast growth rate.
From the way she was talking, it was even possible she had leveled up purely through combat.
What do I do now?