Adventurer Life with Exiled Daughter

Chapter 90

Chapter 90

*

One of the common jokes among adventurers is that trying to get materials from monsters will make the gods hate you.

Basically, whether a monster drops materials or not is entirely up to luck.

No matter how cleanly you kill it, or even if you sever the part you want before finishing it off, there's no guaranteed way to make it drop materials.

On the flip side, if you blow a monster to bits like Erika does, then you definitely won't get any materials.

Whether a monster drops materials is fundamentally luck-based, which is why equipment used by adventurers who rely heavily on monster materials tends to be ridiculously expensive.

In hindsight, losing my tool pouch in the forest in the Demonlands really stings.

I placed a hand on the spot near my waist where I used to hang my tool pouch and looked toward the nameless forest not far from Noljuen.

It doesn't have an official name, but it does have a nickname.

The Forest of Fools.

Honestly, it's a fitting name if there ever was one.

I can't help but feel a bit exasperated at myself for what I'm about to do.

But even so, I had confidence.

I had confidence that everything would go well.

*

There's a monster called the Jewelhead Bunny.

It doesn't appear in Faltarl, where strong monsters show up often but the variety of species isn't actually that high.

It's about the size of a human child, and though its name includes "bunny," its face looks more like a weasel's. The person who named it clearly didn't bother hiding the lazy thought of "it has long ears, so bunny is fine."

A jewel-like crystal is embedded in its forehead, and its long tail—unlike any rabbit's—as well as the tips of its rabbit-like long ears, are adorned with blade-like gems.

Hence the name Jewelhead Bunny—plus, it hops.

But the real origin of its name is something else.

The Jewelhead Bunny is a rare monster said to always drop materials, even though monster drops are generally all about luck.

By now, you get what that means, right?

That's right—this thing always drops a gem.

"Damn it, another dud."

I cursed under my breath as I decapitated my twentieth Jewelhead Bunny.

With its head and body separated, the dead Jewelhead Bunny turned into an amber-colored gem and sand-like magic stone fragments.

The Jewelhead Bunny doesn't drop magic stones upon death, only a gem, and the magic stone fragments vanish like sand as soon as they appear.

In other words, the only thing of value you get from killing it is the gem it drops.

It might sound like a good deal since it always drops a gem, but unfortunately, it's not that simple.

Anything that drops without fail has no value.

"It's rarity that drives people mad"—those were the words of a friend from the academy.

Even if the Jewelhead Bunny's ears or tail attacks are strong enough to easily take off a person's head, that's just how it is.

Still, the reason I'm targeting the Jewelhead Bunny is because I'm after a rare gem it's said to occasionally drop.

That jade-colored gem is commonly referred to as the "Priestess's Eye," named after the eye color of a once-famous Priestess of Light.

But to me, it's a gem the same color as Erika's eyes.

I'm sure it would suit her perfectly.

If I'm aiming for anything, it has to be that gem.

And so, I came to this nameless forest—the so-called Forest of Fools—where the Jewelhead Bunny lives.

It's a pretty rare phenomenon for a specific monster to consistently appear in a specific area, and I have to say, that's Orclah for you.

As a result, this forest has become a place full of dreams for adventurers.

I entered the forest before the sun had fully risen, but now I can sense several groups of adventurers operating nearby.

Since the Jewelhead Bunny isn't that strong of a monster, even low-rank adventurers can hunt it relatively safely if they form a party.

The amber-colored gems it drops aren't even worth using as fuel for magic tools, but if a jade-colored gem drops, you can make a fortune.

So of course, there are plenty of people after it.

And the result——

"Waaahhh, my aaaarm!"

——is that adventurers who are underprepared or let their guard down end up losing arms, legs, or even heads.

"Can't argue with the name Forest of Fools, huh."

I muttered that as I heard yet another scream, impressed by the unknown person who named it.