16: First Freedom and Hunt
And so, morning came. After breakfast, I asked my clone (My Copy) to stay home again and visited the Bernard Trading Company, which had recently opened without hesitation.
As Jarnal had told me yesterday, when I handed over the golden Merchant Copy Certification Card (Oval Copy Card), the merchant’s eyes widened before he took the merchant’s certification card and retreated into the back—perhaps to check with some kind of magic tool— and then came rushing out and headed up the stairs.
That plate is amazing. Even though it’s a branch, it’s still a royal purveyor, and they’re in such a panic. I think they’re treating me like a noble.
“This way, Mr. Jasper. I’ll show you to the reception room upstairs.”
“Yes.”
And so, after waiting in yesterday’s reception room for a few minutes, Journal appeared.
“Good morning. You’re early.”
“Well, yes.”
After drinking the tea that the servant brought, I spoke my request.
“Do you know where would be a good place to hunt? I don’t really know.”
“Let me see…”
Journal thought for a moment and then rang the bell on the table.
“Bring me a map and a complete set of the guidebooks that adventurers (Adbels) use.”
And so, what was brought to me were several thick books and a large, rolled-up piece of paper.
Journal spread out the paper, and it showed a rough map of the area around the city.
“This is the fortress city of Garland. If you go south from here, you’ll come to a forest called Zamien Forest. There are relatively weak magical beasts there, and it’s where novice adventurers go.
If you go north, there’s a place called Karlack Mountain, and beyond that is a plateau. There are often powerful magical beasts between this mountain and the plateau, so not many people go near it. If they do, it’s usually a group of high -ranking adventurers forming a party. At the foot of the mountain is Karlack Forest, which is where mid-level adventurers go.
The road leading west to the royal capital is heavily patrolled, and there are few magical beasts that appear, except for the occasional stray.
If you follow the road east for a few days, you’ll enter Zarood territory, as you know, and the magical beasts there are somewhat stronger. The best option is to follow the eastern road for a while and then head north to the dungeon owned by this city. Of course, the lower you go, the stronger the magical beasts become.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
I nodded as Journal pointed and explained each one.
“Basically, this city is close to the royal capital, so unless something unusual happens, there won’t be any magical beasts of danger level 4 or higher in the vicinity. I hear that there are plenty of such magical beasts in Zarood territory and the mountainous region of Radish Frontier far to the east, but they’re too far away for an expedition.”
“So, out of these, it’s either north or the dungeon. Has it already been provisionally conquered?”
Apparently, there is a lowest level in the dungeon, and if you destroy the powerful Dungeon Keeper and the Dungeon Gem that are there, it will disappear. It’s strange that it’s not just one or the other, but both.
Provisional conquest means reaching the lowest level or destroying either of these.
By the way, if you destroy either of these and close the dungeon, you will be executed immediately.
Dungeons are a source of various special materials and magical beasts that appear almost endlessly, so they benefit adventurers, merchants (Ovals), and the country. Destroying them is an act that harms all of these, and it is therefore seen as an attack on the country and is punishable by death without question.
Those who close dungeons are immediately teleported to the surface, and their visual record is given the title of Dungeon Conqueror, and they cannot easily escape from the royal family, who have visual record copy plates that can view visual records and a magic tool called the Gem of Authenticity that can determine authenticity.
“No one has reached the lowest level. Therefore, no one has even seen the Dungeon Keeper.”
“Hmm. How many levels have been explored?”
“Unofficially, it was apparently forty-two levels. Officially, it’s thirty-five levels.”
“Unofficially?”
“The adventurer who reported it had the worst reputation and was evaluated very poorly by those around him.”
“I see.”
Apparently, each dungeon has its own unique characteristics. Some have traps, while others don’t. Some are narrow but have extremely powerful monsters, and some become increasingly vast and labyrinthine as you descend to lower levels.
There is a ranking system called the Abyssal Rank that evaluates the difficulty of dungeons, and it seems that the Garland Dungeon is ranked 4. This means that it’s a suitable place for adventurers of average to above-average skill.
“For now, let’s head to the northern forest.”
“Yes, that seems like a good idea.”
Saying this, Journal rolled up the map and spread out the set of illustrated books that he had set aside.
“These are illustrated books of monsters, other creatures medicine, and plants and minerals that can be used as materials or minerals that are currently known.”
“May I take a look?”
“Of course.”
I picked up one of the illustrated books and flipped through the pages. When I finished one book, I moved on to the next. I continued in this manner until I had looked through all of them.
I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of tea.
“Would you like me to give them to you?”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’ve memorized everything.”
“…I see.”
As expected of someone with an Intelligence of 6th Tier. He had instantly memorized and understood everything. With this, he would be able to determine what was valuable and make money relatively easily.
“Are there any materials that you would like?”
“Yes, there are. Right now, there is a rapidly increasing demand for medicinal herbs and catalysts. Also, non-perishable food items. The fur, fangs, and claws of powerful monsters are also in demand.”
“…Ah, I see.”
The reason for the demand was simple enough. I had just heard that a certain grand event was going to be held in the west that would require such items.
“Understood. I’ll bring them to you if I find any.”
“Ah, that would be a great help. And if you could avoid doing anything too dangerous, that would be even better.”
“What kind of words are those to say to an adventurer?”
“Indeed.”
We both chuckled and stood up.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes. I want to get going and try out various things as soon as possible.”
“If you like, I can prepare some good equipment and a carriage for you.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“A fledgling adventurer like me has no need for such luxuries.”
I waved my hand and left the reception room. I exited the shop and headed towards the city gate.
I passed through the massive, sturdy gate that was befitting of a great fortress city.
I walked for a while until I was out of sight of others, then I disappeared into my [Colorless Room] and ran at full speed.
It was an exhilarating feeling. Even though I couldn’t feel the wind due to the effects of my [Colorless Room], I felt a sense of exhilaration that came from running at full speed for the first time in my life.
The scenery ahead of me approached and received in an instant. It was strange.
“hahahaha.”
Laughter escaped my lips. What was this? I still had the capacity to feel such joy.
*
I passed through a small town and village along the way and finally reached the forest.
To tell the truth, this was the first time in my life that I had ever entered a forest. After all, I had never had the opportunity to approach such a thing before.
“Well, here goes nothing.”
I stepped into the forest with [My Room] still deployed. I deliberately made noise by stepping on the fallen leaves, and I couldn’t help but be distracted by the scenery around me as I walked.
Sometimes I would touch the bark of a tree or pick up a flower or fruit. It felt more like a walk than anything else.
As I was thinking that I should start looking for it soon, I heard a small sound above me. I looked up and saw several spider monkeys, magical beasts with rather creepy appearances, looking down at me. I wondered how they had found me even though I was invisible, and when I looked at my feet, I noticed the sound and the footprints I was making on the fallen leaves. Ah, I see.
They had two pairs of feet like hands and six arms, four of which grew out of their backs. Their faces were like human faces that had been twisted into something hideous, and they wore eerie smiles. Their fur was a dark brown color.
They were the kind of creatures that I would have preferred to disappear from my sight immediately.
“Hey,”
I said, but then I realized that my voice wouldn’t reach them if [My Room] was still activated. And they wouldn’t be able to see me either.
I deactivated [My Room] and switched to [Five-Colored Room (San-Ku-Room)], a barrier against physical and magical attacks, and asked again.
“Come down here. It’s unpleasant to be looked down on.”
I feel very uncomfortable when anyone other than my father or mother looks down on me. Who do they think they’re looking down on?
From Noble mtl dot com
“I’ll say it one more time. Come down here.”
“Ooshoo!”
The response was a strange cry that was not even a word. And then they threw a large stone at me with all their might.
They were flying at a considerable speed, but I caught them. It seemed that they wanted to die, so I decided to grant their wish.
“Hmph!”
I threw the stones back at them with all my might, as if I were returning them. One of them was blown away, its head cleanly severed.
The spider monkeys saw this and threw the rest of their stones at me all at once, but they were blocked by my [Five-Colored Room]. Then they spat out a black and purple liquid from their mouths. I didn’t feel like getting hit by that, so I dodged it.
According to the bestiary, the liquid they were spitting out was a deadly poison that would cause the skin to rot and cause excruciating pain if it came into contact with it. These creatures were at the third stage of danger, so I suppose they were capable of such attacks.
As I dodged the attacks that were flying at me over and over again, they finally got impatient and chased down from the tree. One of them swung its thread from its rear end like a pendulum and charged at me with great force.
“Stay away, lowlife.”
I aimed a powerful gust of wind at its body as it charged towards me. In an instant, it was blown away into tiny pieces of flesh. As I watched its end, I activated [Mana Reed] to grasp the location of all the lowlifes and created spears of earth from the ground to pierce them all.
Then I blasted water into their bodies from the spears and made them explode.
————————————————– ————————————————– ———————————————–
Car-Mine Colorless Ji Garland Le Carlo-Jiggle Arley
Race Human/Human Race
Soul Rank 60
Vitality 3,600/3,954
Spirit 4,870/5,354
Status: (All ability level values are decreased)
(All ability level values will not increase)
(Individual information is concealed)
Strength 5-7 (5-7/6-7)
Speed 5-7 (5-7/6-7)
Toughness 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Endurance 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Intelligence 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Magic Power 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Mental Resistance 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Magic Resistance 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Magic Attribute
Light 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Darkness 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Fire 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Wind 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Metal 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Earth 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Water 6-7 (6-7/6-7)
Skills
Offensive Skills: [Swordsmanship 4-1] [Spearmanship 4-1] [Hand-to-Hand Combat 4-1] [Throwing 3-7]
Defensive Skills: [Room of Five Colors 6-7]
Support Skills: [Words of Spirit 6-7]
Recovery Skills:
Attribute Skills: [Light Magic 5-7] [Darkness Magic 5-7] [Fire Magic 5-7] [Wind Magic 5-7] [Metal Magic 6-7] [Earth Magic 5-7] [Water Magic 5- 7] [Let There Be Light 6-7] [Darkness 1-7] [Wind Pressure 4-7] [Earth Pillar 5-1] [Water Current 5-7]
Special Skills: [Magic Tool Creation 4-7] [Doll Creation 6-7] [Clone Creation 6-7] [Transformation 6-7] [Room of Light 6-7] [Room of Darkness 6-7]
Unique Skills: ([Lower All Abilities] [Fix Abilities] [Conceal Individual Information] [Skill Release]) [My Room] [My Treasure Box] [Soul-Seeing Eyes] [All-Seeing Eyes]
Race Skills:
Bloodline Skills:
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
“Hmm.”
Perhaps because my Soul Rank was 1, it’s rising abnormally. They say that the higher it rises, the slower it gets, but isn’t this a pretty good rate of increase?
I was starting to enjoy myself a little, so I activated [All-Seeing Eyes] at full power and decided to hunt down any strong monsters nearby.