Chapter XIII - Bugs (part 1)

The moment I went back to the Office with Klane, there seemed like a lot of adventurers were gathering at a long table in the diner.

There's a meeting at the diner, and Jrake is sitting at the end of the table, chattering and laughing.

"Ah! They must be doing a briefing for the upcoming Gray test."

Klane suddenly spoke out to me, thinking that I might want to hear some of the things they are talking about since I'm also going for the test.

"Oh..."

I looked at Jrake who's grinning with the other adventurers, talking and laughing about stuff.

Yeah, joining them will only get me roasted and such instead of getting any information.

"I guess I'll pass on the briefing."

"What? Why?"

"I can ask Jrake in person tomorrow."

I said that while grinning. Having your friend as the tester is really good.

"Hmm... Okay then. Do note that you have to move by tomorrow, okay?"

"Got it."

Me and Klane were about to enter the receptionist room, when we met a certain man.

His appearance is quite colorful. He is wearing a tropical t-shirt, and his short yellow golden hair is trimmed nicely. His shoes are damn shiny, even though they're black.

As soon as I saw him, I knew immediately that this guy isn't your average townsman.

"Oh, Master!"

"Klane? You're here."

Master? As in the Office Master? 

Wow, he is damn fancy for a master of a bunch of hooligans known as adventurers.

"You are back already, sir?"

"I have been in the kingdom since afternoon actually, but I visited just now. I will go back to normal by tomorrow, I just had something to grab here."

"Ah, I see..."

Feeling like a fly, I just stood here silently. He is someone Klane looked up to, and I can't possibly open my mouth randomly in front of her boss.

But the Master noticed my presence. His glance fell at me, making me feel quite timid suddenly. 

What is this pressure he is emitting? Why do I suddenly feel small?

"You must be the Red lady I kept on hearing about."

Kept on hearing? Just what on earth did the rumors say about me?

Seeing that he is greeting me, it looks like introducing myself is the best move.

"Evening, sir. My name is Rize."

"Ohh, no need for stiff manners. Only my employees need that. All of you are basically my family, so don't bother."

"... Okay then."

His gaze then turned back to Klane.

"Anyways, Klane. I wish to see all the reports of the days when I'm gone by tomorrow morning. Can you do that?"

"Eh? I mean, yes sir."

"Good. Then, I'll be going."

The master then walked towards the door and left with his carriage that was parked quite nearby. When he left, Klane let out a deep breath.

"Fuuh… Thank god you know manners, Rize. That guy is like a statue with his words..."

"Haha, calm down Klane."

She looked so worked up… I guess that man must've been very important.

"Anyways, I have a ton of work, it would seem... He left for almost a week, so there is tons of paperwork to be prepared for him."

"Hmm... Need any help?"

"No need, Keila can help me. Your job is being an adventurer, anyway."

"All right, then. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Thanks Rize. See you later."

After bidding farewell to her, I went upstairs to my room.

Ah, my bedroom… So ugly, yet so nice. 

I guess I will be staying at another place tomorrow. Where can I rent a place… I don't even know. I guess I can start searching tomorrow before doing a mission.

I put all the stuff I bought on top of the table, but I hid my money under the bed, as usual. It's already late, so I went to sleep quickly.

By the time I woke up, the sun was already up quite a bit. Klane didn't come up to wake me up this time, so I guess she must be still busy with her work.

I woke up and took a bath before changing to my new adventure attire. Then, I went to the arena for training.

Oh my lord, there's people here.

There are around 8 men, and 3 women. Some are training, some are sitting down and chatting at the long bench that doesn't even fit 5 people. All of them seemed to be Jrake's acquaintances, since the guy is at the center of them all.

When I came in, everyone landed their eyes on me.

Jrake is talking to some people at the bench. His big sword is being propped by the wall. He was talking when I came in, and he quickly glanced at me to call me.

"Ah, Rize! Come here!"

I walked towards him, with eyes following me.

"Rize. These people are going to take on the upcoming Gray test. So I won't be training today, alright?"

"Oh, that's fine. Actually, I want to let you know that I want to join."

Jrake suddenly got taken aback.

"What? But you said yesterday it's a drag."

"I... Klane helped change my mind."

"Haha! Couldn't take the pressure huh? Then, sit down. You missed the briefing last night."

"Just tell me what I need to know."

I sat down right next to the guys on the floor. Jrake explained from the bench. The bench isn't that tall, but looking at him from below made me feel like a midget.

"So it will be in a dungeon. As you know, the dungeon is low ranked. A Gray ranked dungeon."

He started explaining, and everyone else also listened well, even though I'm the one who needed to hear this.

"Your objective is to obtain an item that we, the testers, will put at the very depth of the dungeon. Do note that you can still die there, so it wouldn't be that easy.

What you will be fighting are goblins, lizards, and the hardest, lesser orcs."

I see. Luckily, the monsters weren't that difficult to fight. 

Goblins are Gray ranked, and they are very easy to kill. But of course, that's only if they are alone. Goblins always move in packs, and if there's a bunch, they can devastate an entire village. 

They call it a goblin raid, and a goblin raid danger rank is around Purple rank. Mostly because it's not just simple goblins that come on the raid, but they're also other threats like tamed wolves or hobgoblins.

Then there's the Lizards, basically like alligators but with softer skin, also Gray ranked. Even though their skin is softer, they are immune to fire, which means killing them with swords is the best way.

And then lesser orcs. They are a lot like human pigs, and they are very far from regular orcs. Their skin is literally like a pig, and they mainly carry simple weapons like clubs. While regular orcs are muscled and strong, these lesser orcs are pretty weak and thin compared to them. The strongest type of orcs is a red orc, which is a Blue ranked dungeon monster.

A lesser orc's rank is Gray, so this dungeon is actually filled with Gray ranked monsters.

I fought with a demonized bear and wolves that are at the Purple rank, and I even killed a demon mode wolf at the Green rank. This should be easy.

"As long as you don't die and you find the item that I put in the dungeon, you passed."

"I see. What is this item?"

"You'll see."

Cheh. Probably something unimportant like a candle or something.

Me and Jrake kept on chatting, making everyone feel left out. After a while, a guy asked to break the ice.

"Hey, Jrake. What will happen if one of us gets hurt? What if we can't go back up?"

"Ah, that. We placed a few safe zones at the dungeon. So if you want to get saved, stay in that safe zone."

"Oh... That's convenient."

Safe zones, huh? I wonder how that works. Maybe there are items that can repel the monsters? If there is, why not just use it worldwide? Maybe that way smaller villages won't get attacked by monsters randomly.

"By the way, if you guys wish to train, this little lady can help you out. She is more advanced than anyone in terms of sword!"

"Don't blabber out random useless stuff, Jrake."

"Oh, I heard there was a red haired adventurer who defeated a demon bear in one swoop. Was that you?"

The adventurer that was sitting said it, and my head suddenly hurts.

"Seriously... Just how many rumors have run around about me..."

I placed my palms on my face while letting out a heavy breath. But, the adventurers ain't slowing down.

"There's more!"

Of course, there's more. Another person continued the story. Starting from a Red ranked red haired female adventurer defeating a pack of demon wolves and the fact that the wolf had demon mode on.

When a demon beast activated demon mode, their rank rose once more. So that demon wolf that I fought was actually a Green ranked.

"Then you must be strong! Miss..."

"I'm not giving you my name."

"Call her 'Little Lady'!"

"Jrake, for god's sake."

We both chatted for a few hours until I realized the time. I just remembered that I have to do one more mission.

"I think I'm going to do one final quest, so I'll be leaving. Jrake, when is this test…?"

"Two days from now. Better prepare it, Little Lady!"

"Gotcha."

I nodded at him and left the arena.

I went to the missions board and looked at the Red ranks missions. Wait, what am I doing? I left the board and walked to the receptionist, to ask Klane about the potential encounters.

Apparently Klane was busy sorting out with her 'heavy' work, so Keila gave me the scroll. Klane already picked a mission for me, she just asked Keila to give it to me.

Gather 10 'Ujaan' herbs at the blackrain forest. And then a note at the bottom, saying 'Potential encounter: Demon bugs'.

Oh no...

First of all, what the hell was that herb name? Second, I hate bugs.

But, I have to do it. I just need one more mission. Plus, Klane selected this mission for me. I can't let her down.

And so, I began heading towards the location of the mission. The Blackrain Forest.

When I asked the knights at the gate how far is the Blackrain forest, they said it's impossible to reach by foot, because it's pretty much outside the territory of the kingdom already. So for the first time in forever, I took a cart.

The ride took about an hour, and that was already multiple times faster than walking. I wonder how crazy I would be if I had walked.

I went down from the carriage right at the entrance of the Blackrain forest. Apparently, the tree leaves...

They are all black!

Damn that's soo cool. For an edgy guy like me, this is like paradise. Even though the dead leaves on the ground are white, it does feel like a dead forest.

Getting deeper into the forest, I started to find the herbs one by one. After collecting the herbs, I walked around the forest for a few while, looking for the bugs. But so far, nothing came out.

Then I spotted it, one single bigger tree that stood taller than others. 

That tree has a giant hole in the middle, nearly at the size of a human.

FWOOSSHH!!!!

I leaped towards the hole to look inside. As I looked inside, I smelled... an extremely unpleasant smell. It's like something died there.

But, that's not all.

CRICK!! CRICK!!

The sound of bugs. 

It's coming from down there, inside the hole. And judging from the nearby scratch marks around the hole, it seems like the demon bugs... are human sized.

"Oh, mother fu-"

FWWWUUUUNNNGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!