LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 16: First Quest
After accepting the quest in the adventurer guild, I entered the support tool shop on the left of the adventurer guild to buy the monster clearing potion.
The size of the store is that of a convenience store.
Alongside the walls are placed red, blue, yellow, purple, and so forth liquids in bottles, bundles of medicinal plants, various differently sized stones, etc. Each price tag had several numbers on it, among them there were stones that couldn’t be seen yet had a high prize pasted on it.
I looked at everything from start to end, then asked the lady sitting at the counter near the entrance about where the potion is.
The lady smiled and took a bottle from the front shelf.
It was a blue bottle about 250 ml big.
I checked the price, it was 1 silver coin.
Expensive!? Too expensive! Isn’t this more expensive than magic liquid metal!?
I was about to raise my voice, but held back.
But the lady explained that only a small dose needs to be applied on carcasses. So this bottle won’t run out so quickly.
So I paid the price and bought the potion, and asked the tool shop lady where I might buy a knife.
I have a gun so I won’t be needing a sword, but I still need a knife.
She told me that the weapons and armor shop in front was a Magician’s guild support store.
I said my thanks, then left the store and went into the weapons and armor shop.
A knife is priced at 3 silver coins.
I mentioned about using one to cut off the tails of defeated garugaru, and chose a somewhat thick knife.
While I’m there, I also bought a leather bag to put the tails in.
This one is 6 large copper coins.
Once I’m back at the inn, I made my preparations.
I put the “S&W M10” revolver in my gun belt. Fully loaded.
I loaded the AK-47 with a banana magazine, and confirmed that the specially-made leather sling is in place.
I put two spare magazines in a specially-made magazine pouch on the left side of the gunbelt.
I put two spare magazines, one on each side of my backpack. I also put in a box of ammunition for the revolver.
Moreover, I equipped the knife I just bought on the back of my hip.
With this I am fully armed.
In addition, I put the leather bag, magic potion, a canteen made from magic liquid metal, and a sandwich (crunchy fried meat, tomato-like vegetable, and hard baked egg) in the backpack.
I also took a 500 ml portion of magic liquid metal, just in case. The container is made from magic liquid metal. I carefully sealed it and put it down.
I bundled the monster clearing potion with cloth and put it on top so it doesn’t break.
I put the backpack on, slung the AK-47 on my shoulder, and left the inn.
“Well then, I think I should try going out by the west gate and walking around the forest.”
I left the west ward, where adventurer-related buildings are, and went out the gate.
I showed my tag to the gatekeeper and was immediately allowed to go outside.
Like that, I walked and left the fields and ranches, then followed the forest’s edge.
After about 30 minutes of walking.
100 m ahead, some 4-legged creatures came out from the forest. Three of them.
They had triangular fox-like ears, pointed fangs, and agile-looking thin bodies, their tails spread out like bamboo brooms, and quite a volume of fur.
They look just like stray dogs. So these are garugaru, huh.
In the world of my previous life, the father of combat karate, Ooyama Masutatsu, said “Once a human holds a sword, they finally became equal to cats”
Certainly, a beginner would find it to be a hard fight using swords or spears against monsters showing such hostility .
“Oooooooooooooooo!!!”
The three garugaru took me for prey and ran while howling.
For monsters, a child’s meat is a feast.
I wasn’t even holding a sword, and was lazily walking alone, to them I must look like a “duck carrying an onion”.
But I took the AK-47 down from my shoulder without panicking.
I released the safety switch.
I set it to full-auto.
I pulled the cocking handle, and a bullet entered the firing chamber.
I raised my physical abilities with body strengthening.
I faced the enemy with a kneeling shot pose, my right knee on the ground, and my left foot on tiptoes.
I had the stock on my shoulder.
I turned the muzzle towards the garugaru.
Of course, the garugaru know nothing of assault rifles.
So even with the muzzle pointed at them they did not run, and ran straight towards their prey.
In order to bring all three of them down, I drew them in so they don’t run away.
Only a 30 m distance remained.
I took a breath―I held it so it doesn’t interfere with my shooting.
I pressed the trigger.
BANG! BABABABABANG!
The rhythmic sound of firing.
The three garugaru lining up side-to side shot by 7.62mm Russian Shots in the heads and shoulders instantly died and fell down.
The battle ended in less than 10 seconds.
I went closer, keeping my body strengthening just in case.
I poked them with my foot, but there was no reaction.
They are certainly dead.
“That went quicker than I thought…… It’s thanks to the AK-47. In fact, it’s way overkill for enemies of this level.”
I re-enabled the safety on the AK-47 for now, and slung it back on my shoulder.
I pulled out the knife from my waist and removed all the tails.
Taking out the leather bag from the backpack, I put the tails in and tied up the opening.
I sprinkled several drops of the potion I bought at the tool shop on the garugaru carcasses.
I tried smelling it, but to my nose it doesn’t really have a smell.
Maybe it’s not at a level that can be detected by humans.
I packed the potion and the leather bag full of tails back in my backpack.
Because I put the severed ends on the bottom, the tips of the tails pop out of my backpack.
The fur touches the back of my head.
It felt surprisingly good to the touch.
Doesn’t seem like it’s going to hinder my battles, too.
“That was amazing just now. You took down a number of those carnivorous garugaru in an instant.”
“!?”
A voice called out to me from the forest, I immediately pointed my AK-47 there.
“Wa, wait a minute! Please wait! We’re adventurers!”
A man held both his hands up, showing me that he was unarmed.
Additionally, behind that man, two people—one man and one woman came out.
They didn’t seem to be hostile.
The man standing at the back had a disappointed expression, but that might just be how his face originally looks.
“Sorry, sorry for startling you. We hid ourselves and came closer because we heard the garugaru howling. We didn’t mean to surprise you.”
The blonde-haired cat-eared popular-looking man that spoke the first time lightly said his apologies.
It’s easy to see from the cat ears that he’s from the beast race.
Two short swords were equipped at his waist.
“Nah, I’m sorry too. I inadvertently pointed my assault rifle—my magic device.”
“You’re an adventurer right? I’ve never seen your face though, are you a newbie?”
“Ye, yes. I just registered today.”
The woman standing behind peeked at my face with great interest.
Her silver hair was cut short, her chest was covered with leather armor but her navel was left exposed. She had brown skin. She was wearing a pair of low-rise trousers.
She was holding a bow, and was carrying arrows on her back.
Her golden eyes had vertical pupils. She looked like she was human, but it seems she was of the demon race.
“Uwaa! Really, a newbie!? Yet you insta-killed these garugaru. We met a guy who easily surpass us again. And he’s still a kid, too. What a huge shock, Akent!”
“Being an adventurer has nothing to do with age.”
“Ahahaha, that’s certainly true!”
The man standing at the back rejected the blonde beastman’s words.
The man called Akent had short-cut hair, a muscular body, and also an 180cm tall stature.
The deep cuts carved on his face were silent proof of his experience.
His weapon was a crude longsword that he carries on his back.
From the looks of him, he seems to be a human like me.
He turned his back and returned towards the forest again.
“Oy! Where are you going!”
“…… getting back to the job.”
“I’m sorry, Akent is not good with people. It’s not that he’s angry at you or anything. Well, sorry for interrupting you. Good luck on your quest.”
“No, I don’t mind. You guys do your best too.”
“Wait, you two don’t leave me behind!”
Cat-ears went after Akent, the brown-skinned oneesan followed up with a wink and went after them.
I bowed my head like a newbie adventurer toward these senpais.
It seems that normally several people would handle a single quest just like them.
Since I’ll soon be going to the town near the magic school where Snow is, I’ll soon be able to go on quests together with her.
Though it’s only when she’s not busy.
“But in her case, if I called her out she’d skip class and go with me anyway……”
Other than that, I was worried that she’d be easily tricked by other people as her idiot kid transformation went on.
This world is a dangerous place, so it won’t be good unless I tell her to be careful.
“Well, never mind about things past. Whatever happens I’m going to be gathering experience as long as I’m here”
Though something unexpected happened, my first fight went with no problem at all.
If the monsters are at this level, I can bring them down easily.
“Well, then I should keep on exterminating monsters before the sun sets.”
Putting the AK-47 back, I once again continued walking.
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After that, I continued walking along the forest.
I had good luck, and encountered groups of 4-5 garugaru one after the other.
Of course, I drew them in until the last moment and annihilated them.
Once I had 30 tails, I went back towards town.
I arrived back in town before the sun had completely set.
Bathed in the evening sun, I stopped by at an Adventurers’ Guild Exchange Center under the west gate.
The area around the exchange center was packed in the afternoon, it felt just like a marketplace.
Large quantities of scales put inside wooden boxes, rainbow-colored mushrooms, huge horns that felt like steel—and so on, was lined up in large amounts.
The monster parts being exchanged can be turned into fine items. For that reason even merchants had gathered, brimming with energy.
Because I was small in size, I can get to the counter without a problem.
I called out to the old man at the counter.
“‘Scuse me, I’d like to have garugaru tails assessed. The amount is 31 tails.”
“Hou!? 31 tails is it? All by yourself?”
“Yes, I got lucky and met several groups one after the other.”
I handed over the leather bag carrying the garugaru tails to the middle-aged human man minding the counter.
The man continued,
“Please show me your adventurer tag”
“why?”
“I have to temporarily record your transaction information on the tag. If you confirm that information at the Adventurers’ Guild, it will be used to grade you for a level increase.”
I see, I see.
I said my thanks and took out the tag hanging from my neck.
The man took out the tails from the bag and counted.
He confirmed the number twice, and put 31 tails × 1 silver coin = 3 gold coins + 1 silver coin.
Then, he recorded the information on the tag with a magic feather pen.
Then I confirmed the amount of money and put it in my leather wallet, then received back my tag.
“Speaking of which, what kind of item are these tails going to become?”
“Garugaru tails are flexible and strong, if I had to explain, there are lots of things it can be used for. Also, it can become high-class dusters. The length of these tails, the softness of the fur, the size, either way it would be fine, right?”
Now that you mention it, it can certainly be used as dusters.
Though I don’t think common people will get their hands on one, since he said it was a high class item and therefore expensive.
I left the Adventurers’ Guild Exchange Center and went back to the inn, I temporarily put all my stuff aside and had a meal at the bar next door.
Then, I quickly slipped into bed.
I was tired after my first quest.
I can make my report at the Adventurers’ Guild tomorrow, right.
I closed my eyes, and fell into a deep sleep immediately.