They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World

Chapter 231: The Hunters!

"If you two really don’t have anywhere else to go right now... why don’t you come with us?"

Mira and Yenna both stopped, staring at me in unison.

"What?"

Beside me, even Tessa raised an eyebrow, clearly caught off guard by the sudden invitation.

Though Scarlet just kept chewing her bacon, entirely unfazed by my impromptu recruitment.

"Hear me out."

I straightened up in my chair, clearing my throat to explain.

"We’re heading to Oakmere. It’s Tessa’s home village. And once we get there, I’m planning to set up a workshop and start the mass production of various high-grade potions, which I’ll be selling wholesale through the adventurer’s guild in Thornhaven."

I gestured casually with my hand.

"And since it’s a small village sitting right on the border of the Thornwoodforest, it’s mostly peaceful. The cost of living is incredibly cheap, the air is clean, and nobody from the capital noble houses is going to bother looking for you there. You two could settle down, build a house, and spend your time completely uninterrupted—"

"And conveniently guard your little production facility while we’re at it?" Yenna interrupted, raising a perfectly sculpted, skeptical eyebrow.

I chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of my neck.

"Well... that’s only if you want to. I wouldn’t force you to draw your weapons. But having two retired, high-tier adventures living next door certainly wouldn’t hurt. You know."

Yenna stared at me for a long, calculating moment.

Then, she let out a soft sigh, shaking her head as a fond smile broke through her aristocratic composure.

Mira, however, just burst out laughing.

"Hahaha!"

It was a loud, booming sound that turned a few heads in the tavern.

"Oh, you sneaky little brat!" She cackled, lightly slamming her bandaged arm against the wooden table, completely ignoring the fact that it was bandaged.

"You’re offering us an early retirement package with a side of border security! I love it!"

I shrugged. "Just as I said. I’m not forcing you. It’s only if you want to, but I think you can’t do this now as—"

"Oi brat... what the heck are you implying here?"

She grinned coldly, leaning in.

Then she looked over at Yenna, her grin softening.

"What do you say, Yenna? Want to trade the capital’s politics for a quiet cabin near the woods?"

Yenna took a delicate sip of her tea, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"I suppose the forest would be a pleasant change of scenery. And someone needs to make sure this boy doesn’t blow himself up with his own alchemy."

"It’s a deal, then!" Mira cheered.

I leaned back in my chair, exhaling quietly as Tessa beamed at the prospect of bringing new friends home to Oakmere.

Thank the gods, I thought internally, a massive weight lifting off my shoulders.

I had been seriously worried about Oakmere’s safety. The guild had assured me that the border was relatively secure, but "relative" wasn’t good enough.

Having someone like them retiring in the village would instantly make Oakmere the most heavily defended civilian settlement in the region.

It put my mind completely at ease.

I took a sip of water, letting my gaze drift over to Mira’s thick white bandages again.

Wait a minute...

The system timer for my Administrator Mode had been ticking down. In just a few hours, the severe cooling period would be over, and my Root Access would unlock again.

And... if the description of Root Access was true... could I—

"Jin?"

Tessa’s soft voice violently yanked me out of my spiraling thoughts.

"Hmm?" I blinked, turning to look at her.

She was already standing up, slinging her leather satchel over her shoulder with a bright smile.

"Let’s go. We have a long journey ahead of us, and we still need to buy supplies from the market before we leave town."

"Right. Oh, yeah," I nodded, quickly shaking the thoughts from my mind and pushing my chair back.

I’d test my theory later.

We gathered our things, waving to Yenna and Mira who promised to meet us at the town gates by noon.

With the morning sun shining bright above us, we finally stepped out of the inn and into the bustling, vibrant streets, leaving the ghosts of the dungeon behind.

---

The noon sun beat down on the cobblestone courtyard as we stood in front of a sturdy, reinforced carriage.

According to the local merchants passing through the inn earlier this morning, the beast activity along the outer roads had drastically lessened over the past few days.

With the dungeon’s staging area wiped out and the miasma presumably receding, trade routes were opening back up.

Carriages, traveling merchants, and regular citizens were finally making the trek toward the forest territories without needing a small army of escorts.

I paid the driver a handful of silver coins, and the five of us piled into the spacious wooden carriage.

Almost immediately, the quiet tension of the past few days evaporated.

Mira and Tessa hit it off with a terrifying, high-energy synergy.

As the carriage rocked along the dirt road, Mira enthusiastically swapped wild tavern stories while Tessa eagerly matched her energy, telling the archer all about the Oakmere.

Scarlet, entirely uninterested in their bonding, had claimed the entire back bench for herself.

She curled up into a tight ball, using her tail as a pillow, and immediately went to sleep.

I had spent a good chunk of yesterday evening explaining Scarlet’s background to Tessa.

And her initial wariness had melted into profound sympathy, and she deliberately kept her voice down whenever Scarlet shifted in her sleep.

The hours bled away, the rolling hills giving way to the denser, towering tree line of the approaching forest territory.

Eventually, night fell. The driver pulled the carriage off the main road, pulling into a small, established clearing to make camp for the night.

A warm, crackling fire was quickly built.

Tessa and Mira immediately took over the cooking duties, combining their travel rations with fresh herbs Tessa had brought along.

The rich, savory aroma of a thick meat stew began to drift through the clearing.

Scarlet, who had been dead to the world for the last few hours, suddenly sat up.

She crawled over to the fire, sitting cross-legged on the dirt right beside the pot, literally drooling as her fox ears twitched at the sound of the bubbling broth.

I sat on a thick, fallen log a few yards away, perfectly content to just watch the peaceful scene unfold.

A moment later, the rustle of fabric announced Yenna’s arrival.

The dignified mage gracefully took a seat on the log beside me, carefully smoothing out her traveling cloak.

"It’s peaceful," Yenna observed, her voice low and smooth, a stark contrast to Mira’s boisterous laughter echoing from the fire.

"It is," I agreed, leaning my elbows on my knees.

Yenna looked at the firelight dancing across Mira’s bandaged arms, a soft, incredibly fond expression crossing her aristocratic features. Then, she turned her gaze to me.

"I never properly thanked you, Jin," she said softly. "For what you did down there. And for giving us a place to go. Mira acts tough, but her pride was completely shattered when she realized she couldn’t pull a bowstring right now. You gave her an out that didn’t feel like pity."

"It wasn’t pity," I replied honestly, looking at the mage.

"I told you, I need people I can trust guarding that village. You two were the first ones who came to mind."

Yenna offered a small, graceful smile, her shoulders relaxing.

"Dinner is ready!" Tessa called out, carrying a stack of wooden bowls.

The new duo brought the food over, handing out generous portions of the steaming stew.

I accepted my bowl with a grateful nod, blowing on the hot broth.

We all sat around the perimeter of the campfire, the tension of the dungeon finally, truly beginning to wash away under the starry sky.

I took my first bite. It was perfect.

Then, suddenly... shadows violently warped.

"Well... waiting here was actually worth a shot."

A voice echoed from the dark tree line.

And arrogant drawl that completely shattered the quiet ambiance of the camp.

Tessa violently tensed, her wooden spoon slipping from her fingers and splashing into her bowl.

Scarlet let out an instantaneous, feral growl, her fangs baring as she leaped to her feet.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before any of us could even draw a weapon, six figures dropped seamlessly from the thick canopy of the trees above.

They landed in a perfect, calculated perimeter around the campfire, cutting off every single avenue of escape.

They weren’t wearing the crude, ragged robes of the dungeon cultists.

They were clad in sleek, high-end leather armor, their faces obscured by dark metal half-masks. Their weapons were already drawn, the steel gleaming dangerously in the firelight.

I slowly set my bowl down on the dirt, my hand drifting instinctively toward the hilt of Oathstorm.

Narrowing my eyes as I took a look at them.

Hunters?