Chapter 22

Chapter 22 : A Pack of Lesser Green Raptors

At Radi’s warning, I could not help but be flustered.

I knew every Monster that appeared here inside and out.

From the exceedingly dangerous boss individuals to the larvae of trivial small fry, every single one of them.

There was no way there could be a Monster I had missed….

“A Monster?”

“Yes, one hundred meters ahead. Several of them are approaching quickly. They will arrive in a few seconds, so prepare yourselves.”

How in the world had he sensed a Monster that far away….

“Radi’s instincts are exceptional. You would do well to prepare too.”

Malton smiled as he gripped his Mace.

I also half-doubtfully drew my Cutlass, and then the bushes shook as green shapes burst out.

｢A pack of reptile-type Monsters, [Lesser Green Raptors], has appeared!｣

｢Though small in build, the power produced by their unique joint structure and their steel claws often tear Adventurers’ throats apart in an instant!｣

Lesser Green Raptors.

They were the strongest Monsters in this area, and they usually moved around in packs.

They were among the extremely agile and persistent Monsters whose downward strikes were especially powerful.

At this level, Malton and I could work together and repel them, but the Monsters did not stop appearing there.

｢A larval Monster, [Green Moth Caterpillar], has appeared!｣

｢As the larva of a moth Monster, it has neither powerful claws nor teeth, but it often spews poisonous gas.｣

“Damn it….”

I clenched my molars and stepped back.

How long had it even been since we entered the dungeon? Yet we had already run into a variable like this.

When the types of Monsters one had to deal with increased, handling them became twice as troublesome.

To kill the Raptors, we had to get close, but if we did, we would be hit by the poisonous mist the Caterpillar spewed.

Perhaps they had already fought someone, because the arm of an unknown Adventurer dropped from one of the Raptors’ jaws.

Just as I was wondering what to do, Radi shouted.

“Everyone, come this way!!”

As he crossed the clearing and unfastened the bottom button of his backpack, sharp caltrops spilled out and blocked the Monsters’ approach.

The Monsters grew confused when their path was blocked by pointed obstacles.

With this, the risk of being surrounded from every direction was greatly reduced.

However, Radi did not merely stop at changing the battlefield to our advantage. He pulled out a terrifying weapon from his backpack.

[Crossbow]

｢An extremely powerful ranged weapon. Though similar to a bow, it is a product of technology that applies an advanced mechanism.｣

‘…So that was his main weapon.’

Click─!

When Radi fired the Crossbow, a Raptor whose forehead had been pierced precisely was sent flying.

Its enraged companions leaped over the caltrops and charged, but─.

“Malton!!”

“I know!”

Malton and I immediately rushed out and intercepted them.

Two Raptors were sent flying through the air, their necks and heads crushed.

Another individual immediately leaped and brought its claws down, but….

‘As expected, there is a limit to a Monster’s intelligence.’

A downward attack from above could be broken with a horizontal slash.

I twisted up one corner of my mouth and stepped forward forcefully.

The moment I clashed with the Raptor, sparks flew from the blade that met its claws, and the tip of my curved sword tore through its head.

Along with the crimson blood spraying from the tip of my sword, a desperate scream rang in my ears.

I quickly thrust my sword in and cut off the Monster’s breath, then made a beckoning gesture as if provoking them.

｢The pack of [Lesser Green Raptors] is enraged!｣

｢Strength increases by 1 due to the [Chaos] skill!｣

─Krrrrrk!!

One Raptor charged at me with eyes gleaming in fury.

It nimbly swung its claws, but while recalling the days when I had once raised a Swordsman, I had already slipped out of the line of attack.

I dug in from the opposite side and swung my blade, making the Raptor flinch back.

The Raptor approached again, pushed its claws into the trajectory of my sword, and pressed down with its weight as though laughing at me, but─.

“How simple.”

─Krrk…?!

I did not resist the force. Instead, I spun my wrist and twisted the sword path.

The tip of the bent curved sword tore through its defenseless left eye and dug even deeper, scraping against bone.

As I pulled my sword out, a Raptor that had been secretly waiting for an opportunity behind me sprang forward.

Click! Click! Click!

Bolts flew in with whistling sounds, pierced the Raptor’s vital points one after another, and drove it into the ground.

While admiring that almost supernatural accuracy, I moved my feet swiftly and escaped the encirclement.

The more narrowly I defeated them, the more fiercely the Raptors charged in with shrieks.

The pack of Raptors, judging that they could not handle me alone, began attacking in tight coordination, but I was already prepared.

“Leap Forward.”

It was an additional skill of the [Greave of the Landless Adventurer].

When I recited the command, my body shot forward in an instant.

I twisted the angle of my foot and braked sharply at the same time, cutting through the defenselessly exposed necks of the Raptors.

As the two bodies fell and stained the grass red, I calmly caught my breath.

Now that all the Raptors had been taken down, all that remained was to deal with the Caterpillar….

“W-Wait! What are you doing right now?!”

When I turned my head, Radi was leaping over the caltrops and approaching the Caterpillar.

｢[Green Moth Caterpillar] spews poisonous mist!｣

“Damn it…! That idiot!”

I immediately covered my nose and mouth with my robe and charged in to rescue the boy from the poisonous mist, but─.

“…Hmph!”

Radi drew his Dagger with utter calm and cut off the Caterpillar’s breath.

｢You have successfully repelled the Monster pack!｣

｢You have learned how to disguise yourself as a [Lesser Green Raptor]!｣

｢Your level has gone up....｣

Several notifications appeared in my field of vision, but I set them aside for the moment and hurriedly grabbed Radi by the scruff of the neck before dragging him out.

If one inhaled the Green Moth Caterpillar’s poisonous mist directly, the nerves would be paralyzed and symptoms of breathing difficulty would occur.

If a party member died, the guild imposed an extremely severe penalty, so I had to take him back to the surface even now….

“I am perfectly fine, so please help me recover the caltrops instead.”

However, he swatted my hand away as though annoyed.

When I looked back at Malton, he was calmly finishing off the Raptor as if nothing were wrong.

Seeing that sight, I became certain of one thing.

‘This guy… is not human.’

The fact that he had sensed the Monsters’ approach ahead of time, and the fact that he was immune to poison.

I was sure I remembered there being a species like that among the Beastkin.

And….

‘How on earth did he fire a Crossbow in succession?’

In games, Crossbows were usually depicted as weapons with excellent rapid-fire capability, but reality was the opposite.

Medieval Crossbows were all slow and cumbersome to load.

Because of that, they were demanding for the user, bothersome and expensive to maintain, and ordinary Adventurers did not use them often….

‘A lever-loading Crossbow… He attached a stirrup to the front so it can be loaded with the strength of the waist in an emergency.’

My eyes sharpened as I observed Radi’s weapon through the lens of my past game knowledge.

It was an item improved so that it could be loaded quickly using a metal auxiliary lever called a “goat’s foot.”

On Earth, it was a method used from the fourteenth century onward, and firing four or five shots per minute was the limit.

‘…Did he overcome the weapon’s limitations with his innate dexterity?’

If all of this was true, then he was an absurdly valuable talent.

The ability to create variables through traps, his exceptional sense for detecting Monsters.

On top of that, his ranged support ability was something neither Malton nor I possessed.

It would be useful not only in combat, but also when keeping Night Watch at night.

Besides….

‘If he has immunity to poison… then I can use him in all sorts of ways, can I not…?’

For example, throwing him straight into a den filled with poisonous gas, as just now, or making him capture poisonous Monsters.

I could also have him taste suspicious food first, like a court poison-taster, to prevent poisoning attempts.

Even in the Velheim community, stories came up all the time about players being invited into seemingly kind households, eating sleeping-drug soup, and then waking up in an auction house after having their organs harvested.

If I thought it over carefully, I might be able to make useful use of him to trigger the [Chaos] skill too.

‘I will have to make frequent use of this guy from now on.’

As I realized why Malton, who had such a wide network of acquaintances, had gone out of his way to recruit him and drew all sorts of blueprints in my mind, my eyes met Radi’s as he was harvesting a poison sac from the Green Moth Caterpillar.

“…What?”

“Nothing, really… I was just thinking that you also fight well for an F-Rank Adventurer. The way you accelerated at the end and took down several Raptors at once was impressive too.”

“Well, that is….”

“Doran, did you perhaps feel anything strange in your body? At this rate, it would not be surprising even if you leveled up.”

“Ah, is that so? I did not feel any level-up sickness, at least.”

I glanced at the log messages.

Now that I thought about it, it seemed several messages had appeared in succession besides the notifications for killing the Monsters….

As my eyes flicked over them, I saw the notification and froze on the spot.

｢Congratulations! You have reached Level 24!｣

｢[New] Sudden Quest Triggered!｣

｢In the past, you were a legendary Swordsman and Adventurer! A small reward shall be granted to you for defeating a pack of Lesser Green Raptors with outstanding skill!｣

｢To complete the quest, go to the Gorge Where the Stars Do Not Set. It is a scenic secret place with beautiful views, and an ideal location to spend the night!｣

｢Reward upon mission completion: Luck increases by 2.｣

‘A Sudden Quest? A reward? That cannot be right….’

I glared at the text with suspicion.

Even if it looked like an easy mission on the surface, I had already been suspecting that system messages might not be made up of pure goodwill.

In Velheim, which was steeped in malice, a plausible favor was one of the things one had to be most wary of.

However, in my memory, the “Gorge Where the Stars Do Not Set” had only been a place with somewhat unusual terrain. There had been no special event there.

‘Is a roaming boss wandering there? A landslide? Or is it really just a simple reward quest?’

“Wait… surely not?”

As I agonized, a fragmentary memory flashed through my mind.

Two or three years before the game’s starting point, when the dungeon had just opened, I had heard that there were more varied Monsters and gimmicks.

Many members of the advance party exploring the dungeon had died because of the sudden appearance of Monsters.

And one of them was….

“…Malton, what day was it today?”

“Are you asking for the date? Or….”

“No, you know. The thing the old men of the Magic Tower often bring up.”

“Ah, you mean the mages’ time. There is also a saying that when something strange happens, one should check that first. Wait just a moment….”

Malton pulled out a strangely shaped pocket watch from deep inside his backpack.

He adjusted a small circular plate engraved with strange reliefs and its hands this way and that, then murmured quietly.

“Hmm… It is the time of the Iron Maiden and the Fire River Soldiers. The Week of the Blue-Tailed Star will begin soon. But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“The Week of the Blue-Tailed Star, huh… It is nothing.”

I forced down a bitter smile and waved my hand.

‘I almost died.’

How dare it present such a suicide quest as a reward?

If a Newbie who knew nothing followed this quest to the gorge, they would have died miserably there.

Because a highly threatening Rare Monster would soon appear in that place.

However, it would also be a waste to throw away the free Luck stat that was the quest reward….

‘The Luck stat, huh….’

In Velheim, the Luck stat was especially unique.

It did not show much when it was low, but once it accumulated, it began displaying tremendous effects.

Right now, I was mainly developing Strength and Agility for the sake of survival, but in truth, Luck was the stat that suited me as a clown.

It was a stat that felt wasteful to invest in directly, yet even more regrettable to abandon. In other words, it was like a chicken rib.

‘Should I just pretend I have gone insane and go there once?’

Honestly, with these members, making it back alive did not seem impossible….

Moreover, the reward for finishing the battle there was on an entirely different level from a simple increase of two stats.

The Monster we would encounter there was a rare mob that appeared only during a specific cycle, and it possessed an extremely “unique trait.”

If I could disguise myself as that Monster, it would become an enormous resource for me going forward.

“…Ah, to hell with it.”

“Doran…? Where are you going?”

“Just follow me for now. Come to think of it, I think I heard there was a good hunting spot around here….”

I casually let the words slip out as if talking to myself and turned my steps toward the gorge indicated by the quest.