Chapter 16 – We Seem to be Under Attack

You could only brew the Pale Green Spirit Potion at a certain time. If we just dilly-dally around, we'll miss the window and won't be able to brew it until the next day.

「All right. I'll brew it now.」

I went ahead with the task. I've memorized the recipe and it wasn't really a difficult one. All I had to do was slice, broil, mix, and boil down the ingredients. After a few minutes…

「All done.」

I completed the brewing. In my hand was a bottle with potion inside that glowed a pale green.

「May I verify its contents?」Myna asked, eager to get a hold of it.

「Knock yourself out.」

I handed her the bottle and she examined it nervously; she took a sniff of it, held it against the light, and shook it lightly. After verifying that I've indeed completed the potion, Myna embraced the bottle in her arms.

「Finally… I finally have it…」

「Myna-sama…」

Tears streamed down her face as she held the bottle. Her two subordinates were rejoicing as well. It looked like there was some complicated reason why they wanted the Pale Green Spirit Potion.

After a while, Myna turned to face me.

「Thank you so much. First is your payment.」

She handed me platinum coins. A few pieces too many, however. The deal was ten million gils so I should have ten coins in total but she gave me twenty.

「Uh, this is ten coins too many.」

「Yes, and that should cover your payment. The potion you brewed is for two portions.」

I see. So that's why she gave me twenty million gils. I wondered what would've happened if I brewed ten portions but being too greedy will only come back to bite you. This might've been for the best.

「I would love to give you more, but a deal is a deal. You can have this instead.」

She wrote my name on a thin sheet of metal that glowed golden, signed it and gave it to me. On it was a crest the same as the one on the ship. It must be the crest of the Maxia Company.

「What's this?」

It's proof of friendship with the Maxia Company. You'll be rewarded to something great if you stop by the office and show that. It doesn't have to be Maxia either. It's to certify that you're a man worthy of trust if you visit the larger firms in the royal capital as well.

A certification to show that someone is trustworthy… This is perhaps one of the most crucial things I need at the moment. After all, I'm just an F-ranked adventurer with no acquaintances whatsoever in the capital. It should come in handy.

「Thanks.」

「No, thank you. I don't think we would've gotten anywhere without your help.」

And so I received the proof of friendship with the Maxia Company. In that instant, I was struck with an ominous feeling and I turned to look at the sea. In the distance, I could see a tiny speck of something but it was too far away for me to recognize what it was. But my instincts were screaming, telling me that there was a monster coming.

「Hey, either I'm imagining things or there's a monster's coming at us.」

「A monster?」

「Yeah, and it's coming closer.」I said, as I stared at the speck in the sea.

It seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

「This ship was built to withstand any attack from monsters that live near its route. We should be fine.」

So basically this was one sturdy ship. Still, I couldn't shake off that ominous feeling.

「All right. We'll check just in case.」

Myna seemed to have noticed the tense expression I had all over my face. She took a deep breath and gave out orders.

「Men, go and check what's over there.」

「A-Aye, Ma'am!」

All the sailors on deck took out their binoculars at once and pointed it at the speck in the distance. Her authority is nothing to sneeze at, I thought. Then a sailor went pale as a sheet.

「It's a Sea Dragon and it's coming straight at us!」

「That's ridiculous! There's no Sea Dragons in this region. We should be 500 kilometers away from where they dwell!」

Sea Dragon – a monster that's far more powerful than the C-ranked Wolf. As the name suggests, it has wings, but Sea Dragons don't fly. Rather it uses them to swim freely and deftly through the currents and lunges at its targets with its sharp tentacles called 『Spear Arms』.

I'm only a level five Novice (I got to level 5 after taking down those Army Spear Mice) adventurer. If I got hit by its tentacles, I'm a goner for sure.

「We'll be safe on this ship, though, right?」

There was a hint of expectation in my voice as I asked her. Hope that we will be alright. But I knew from their reaction that it was not the case. The day I thought how peaceful this world is, I get in this situation. Man, how unlucky can a guy get?

「Like I said, this ship was designed to withstand attacks from monsters near its route, and a Sea Dragon was certainly not taken into consideration.」