novelraw Chapter 133 : The Start Is Good
Chapter 133 : The Start Is Good
Chapter 133: The Start Is Good
Sparse hair and a patchy beard scattered across his chin.
Ordinary clothes with no weapon in sight.
They held their breath, unsure of what words would come out of the man’s mouth.
The man who had approached right up to him stared blankly at Robin, then tilted his head.
“Who are you?”
“It’s me, Robin.”
“Robin? I’ve never seen you before.”
The man examined Robin closely, but there was no sign of recognition.
Robin cleared his throat and continued calmly.
“An orphan Captain Calimacos brought from Stonegoth ten years ago. We briefly met during the Runeberg War three years back—don’t you remember?”
“What are you talking about? Stonegoth, Runeberg—I’ve never even been to those places.”
Looking more closely, the man was different from the Brandok Robin remembered.
Brandok had not been smaller than this man.
His body had been built with a lean sharpness, but the man before him was closer to a genial merchant than a hardened mercenary.
“…You’re not Brandok?”
“You must have the wrong person. My name is Branddeokhu.”
“Branddeokhu……?”
It struck him belatedly how disastrous it was that he didn’t know Brandok’s face.
He had always worn a helmet, so there hadn’t even been a way to guess what he looked like.
Thinking he might be pretending otherwise, Robin asked the people nearby for the man’s name.
All of them answered that he was indeed Branddeokhu.
“I don’t know who you’re looking for, but I wish you luck.”
“…My apologies.”
Branddeokhu returned to his seat.
The people around him all looked similar as well.
Clinking their glasses and chatting away, they did not stray from the bounds of ordinariness.
“Matilda must have given the wrong information. Even to me, the pronunciation sounds similar.”
Robin left the inn with Sigbard and headed toward the Adventurers’ Guild.
When he revisited the guild, he could not find Matilda.
“Matilda? Her shift ended today, so she went home.”
He asked another receptionist if she knew someone named Brandok, but only received the answer that she did not.
They said the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
Only then did Robin truly realize that finding Brandok would not be easy.
He did not know his age, his face, or his hometown.
The only thing Robin knew about Brandok was that he was a mercenary skilled with various weapons.
Among them, he was especially good with a bow—that was all he knew.
He harbored suspicions that he was a Demon Tribe Worshipper, but he could not be certain.
That was why he had come to confirm it himself.
‘Come to think of it, he did have many secrets.’
Perhaps he had committed a crime.
The very act of covering his face meant he was hiding his identity.
Why had he failed to notice it back then?
“Is there anything else you need?”
The kind voice brought him back to his senses.
He had drifted into his thoughts with the receptionist standing right in front of him.
“…I’d like to find people to go with me to the Uncharted Area.”
The receptionist looked over Robin and Sigbard before pulling out a stack of papers.
Party recruitment notices.
“Please take your time looking and return them when you’re done!”
“I can only view them inside here, right?”
“You can take them outside if you leave collateral. Cash 10 Silver or an item of equivalent value would do. What would you like to do?”
Robin shook his head and sat on a bench in a corner of the guild.
“Sigbard, find a decent place to stay. We won’t be heading out today.”
“Understood, Robin.”
Left alone, Robin carefully examined the recruitment notices.
Most were Copper-Ranked Adventurers, but that was fine.
He had never expected Silver-Ranked Adventurers to team up with him anyway.
The criteria were simple.
Those who could go with him to the Great Forest.
Even if it was only as far as the vicinity, that would suffice.
After reading from beginning to end, several notices remained in Robin’s hand.
“These people here. I’d like to meet all of them—when could I see them?”
“These individuals… they’re all gathered here right now. I’ll arrange a meeting.”
The receptionist stepped out from behind the counter and called a few people over.
Though the meeting had been arranged suddenly, they gathered together as if accustomed to such things.
“Then, if you wish to register the party, please call me again!”
After the diligent receptionist left, Robin spoke with each person one by one.
He did not rise from his seat until evening.
“I found a place with good value for the price.”
“Good work.”
“It’s not as tasty as what Humphrey makes.”
Back at the inn, Robin had a late dinner.
The taste was mediocre, but he liked that they served food until late.
“We’re leaving tomorrow—that’s not bad for us, but those adventurers are quite bold too.”
Of those he had met at the guild, three had ultimately formed a party with him.
Veterans who had been active in Valoria for a long time.
They had shown reluctance at the mention of going to the Great Forest, but on the condition that they would guide him only to the nearby area, he agreed to let them keep the spoils.
Since Brandok’s whereabouts were more important than money, Robin readily accepted.
In exchange for hiring them as guides, he would assist in the hunt.
After going up to his room, Robin did not lie down on the bed but opened a booklet.
‘It’s more substantial than I expected?’
The book he had bought cheaply at the guild truly contained information helpful for beginners.
It detailed not only the ecology of the Uncharted Area bordering Valoria, but also the monsters that appeared there and how to deal with them.
‘That receptionist named Matilda wasn’t lying.’
Absorbing the valuable information into his mind, he finished the book in two hours.
There was even a section about the Great Forest, so despite having read it once, Robin did not put the book down.
“It says there’s not a single Copper-Ranked Adventurer who entered the Great Forest and returned alive.”
Sigbard, who had come back after downing several mugs of beer, lay on the bed.
While Robin had been engrossed in reading, he had been drinking with adventurers on the first floor.
In his own way, Sigbard had been gathering information.
“Even Silver-Ranked Adventurers can’t seem to go deep inside.”
“It’s a place even adventurers avoid within the Uncharted Area.”
The book Robin was holding also warned against approaching the Great Forest.
The dense woods allowed no sunlight in, and the swarms of insects and Monsters made it a difficult environment to survive in.
From the passage urging readers not to harm nature and to observe it from afar, the author’s firmness could be felt.
‘They call themselves the guardian of the forest, yet they’re ruthless.’
The cases describing what happened to humans who forced their way deep inside were horrifying.
Being flayed alive and having salt rubbed into their skin.
Being bitten by venomous snakes and then hung upside down.
It did not state who was responsible, but it was presumed that a community of heinous cannibals lived there.
‘Not even a mad serial killer. The true savages were here.’
Sigbard, lying on the bed and patting his stomach, looked unusually gentle.
“Sigbard, Barbarians don’t eat people, do they?”
“We’ve lived together for three years, and that’s what you ask? What lunatic would eat a person?”
“No, it’s nothing. I was just talking nonsense.”
What if the author calling themselves the guardian of the forest was actually one of them?
The suspicion deepened as he considered the possibility that Brandok might have joined a group of cannibals.
“That book seems to be the problem. Let me take a look.”
Sigbard read through the book Robin had been reading.
Though slow, after finishing the problematic chapter, he made a single remark.
“It’s not normal.”
“Right? Just let it slide.”
“Are you going to keep reading it? I think it’d be better to tear it up.”
Robin hurriedly stopped Sigbard from ripping the book apart.
Unlike its savage warnings, the information inside was too valuable to discard.
Fortunately, it did not end up being treated as a forbidden book and torn to shreds.
“I’ll sleep first. Don’t read too much of that bizarre book.”
With the sound of Sigbard’s snoring in the background, Robin read through it once more.
He carefully selected what might prove useful and committed it firmly to memory.
* * *
At the western gate of Valoria, three adventurers greeted Robin and Sigbard.
Mark, who specialized in gathering rare materials.
Cass, a swordsman clad in heavy armor, and Tracy, carrying a bow.
Cass looked unbearably hot to anyone watching, but he wiped away his sweat, saying it was better than dying.
Mark spoke on behalf of the group.
“Today, we’ll head straight west. If there are no major variables, we should reach just before the Great Forest by tomorrow.”
“Thank you for guiding us, Mark.”
“The pleasure’s mine. As we discussed yesterday, we won’t avoid any Monsters we encounter, and we’ll gather anything that looks worthwhile.”
There were no objections.
The formation was set with Mark at the front, Cass and Sigbard in the middle, and Robin guarding Tracy at the rear.
Since it was his first time cooperating with other adventurers, he followed Mark’s instructions without protest.
Other adventurers passing through the gate also caught his eye.
Though everyone here shared the same starting point, before long they distanced themselves and scattered.
It was an unspoken rule to avoid interfering with each other’s hunts.
After about thirty minutes of walking, Mark came to a halt.
“Wait. I’ve spotted a Twin Tail Scorpion ahead.”
“Are we fighting it?”
At Cass’s question, Mark looked at Tracy.
Tracy shrugged.
“My arrows can’t pierce its outer shell.”
“It can’t be helped. We’ll detour.”
As Mark turned to change direction, Robin asked,
“The tail of a Twin Tail Scorpion sells for a high price.”
“One’s life is more precious than money. The venom in its tail is dangerous.”
“We can take it down.”
At Robin’s words, everyone’s gaze turned toward him.
When they looked at him as if urging him to continue, he began to explain.
“There’s a Black Hornet hive not far from here.”
“So what?”
“Judging by the way it’s moving, it’ll pass by the hive soon. We just need to disturb the hive then and make them fight each other. Tracy only needs to land a good shot.”
“If it goes wrong, we could end up facing both of them.”
“We’re adventurers, aren’t we? We have to take that level of risk. And if things go south, we can retreat to the city.”
Of course, that would not happen.
If danger arose, he would swing his sword without hesitation.
Sigbard would not remain idle either.
The reason he refrained from cutting down a Monster he could defeat alone was to verify the information written in the book.
Twin Tail Scorpions and Black Hornets were natural enemies.
If they discovered each other, a fight would surely break out.
The result usually ended in mutual destruction.
They relentlessly injected venom without regard for consequences.
‘It’s a strategy with nothing to lose.’
Perhaps finding merit in the idea, Mark turned to Tracy.
“You mean that wavy hive over there? It doesn’t look easy to hit…….”
“It’s fine if you just graze near it. Even if you miss slightly, they’ll swarm out.”
“Alright. Let’s give it a try.”
The Twin Tail Scorpion had not noticed them.
After preparing for a possible retreat, Tracy drew her bowstring.
Slowing her breathing, she released the fully drawn string—and at that moment, the direction of the wind shifted.
Whoosh!
The arrow that cut through the air unfortunately failed to lodge in the hive.
Mark swallowed and said,
“Everyone, get ready.”
They had prepared to flee, but soon it became clear that there was no need.
The Black Hornets that burst out of the hive with a loud buzzing immediately spotted the Twin Tail Scorpion and launched their attack.
Even from afar, the Monsters fought fiercely, and before long, their bodies stiffened and collapsed.
“So what you said was true.”
“Thanks to you, we’ll be handling some Silver Coins when we get back.”
Upon approaching cautiously to confirm, they found both of them cleanly dead.
At this level, with no damage to the corpses, it could be considered top-grade.
“How did you know about a hunting method like this?”
“I read it in a book.”
“A book? Then there’s no way I wouldn’t know it. What book was it?”
“A guide for beginners written by Aelineira.”
“Never heard of it. Can you tell me where you got it?”
“A receptionist at the Adventurers’ Guild recommended it. I guess it’s not widely known.”
The way Mark and the other two looked at Robin changed.
They had not expected much from a beginner, yet he had brought them an unexpectedly large gain.
“Young man, you’re well-read. You’ll go far.”
The journey toward the Great Forest proceeded smoothly.
The start was good.