The sparse population of farmers with their dirtied fabric laced with mud appeared to be a part of the earth. Their quiet and humble figures elegantly and skillfully dealing with the crops were a sight to behold.
But...
Why would the adventurers be working on the farmlands?
Scratching his head clueless, Adam stepped towards the bunch of people assisting the farmers.
Just as he was about to raise his voice and query about what they are doing, an image flashed in his mind.
'Ah, yes. There was a quest seeking help for farming!'
At once, he retraced his steps and redirected his course without making a clown out of him.
Yesterday, while skimming through the quests on the board, there were multiple menial job requests pinned for adventurers to accept. Fortunately, he had read the word 'farming' while swinging his sight over them.
Gazing through the corners of his eyes, Adam heaved a sigh.
Good thing they didn't notice.
The adventurers were absorbed in their missions that they didn't hear the footsteps of a stranger. It was only after when Adam redirected his course did a farmer took notice of his presence.
...
Walking through the path paved by the hardened brown mud, Adam felt refreshed for some reason. The lack of trees enabled him with a far and wide field of sight.
Soon, he reached his destination.
"Farmer's settlement."
Staring at the paper and shuttling his eyes to the nameplate in front of him. Adam confirmed the names are similar. Just as he was wondering whom should he talk with, an elder in his late sixties walked to the entrance of the settlement and received the stranger.
"We were notified that an adventurer had accepted our request. Please follow me."
The old man earnestly guided Adam to his house. He provided tea and dumplings to alleviate the fatigue and hunger that might have accumulated from the travel.
As Adam almost finished sipping the fragrant hot tea, the elder entered the room with a small money pouch.
"Please accept the reward money." The man politely extended the pouch to Adam who was visibly perplexed.
"Shouldn't I finish the quest first?" His voice had confusion brimming in it.
Hearing the words, the old man explained the past incidents where almost a dozen adventurers lost their lives. Upon realising that the young man is a Copper-rank rookie, the old man insisted on escaping as soon as the situation turns grim.
Listening to his words, Adam couldn't accept the advice the old man put forward and shook his head in disagreement.
"We can speak about the money later. Why don't you take me to the affected area?"
Adam rose from his seat and walked to the door as he spoke. The old man followed him and guided the earthling to the outside of the settlement.
A minute later, the duo arrived at a place that seemed to be ransacked by a storm.
"Two months ago, the Porcupine-Hogs came by in a few dozens and run amok through the fields. The loss was not much to take into consideration, so we re-cultivated the crops. As soon as the new sprouts emerged, the pack numbering in hundreds came and despoiled the area. In the latter days, these beasts made our farmland their turf."
Pointing at the quills scattered all over the ground, the old man continued. "These quills shed by the beasts disintegrates and makes the soil infertile. Thus they'll move to another area with fertility and plants, only to leave it barren. We don't have many days before the pack invade the remaining farmlands."
The plight looming over the old man's face reflected in his words. As the narration near the end, his voice was faintly trembling.
"Even though the king generously helps us financially, the kingdom doesn't have soldiers to spare to protect the farmlands. The status of the kingdom is only in the words as they are actually city-states. Thus we could only resort to depending upon the guild"
As soon as the narration ended, something patted the old man's shoulder. The elder who was absorbed in describing the situation turned around and saw the young man in full armour. He was dumbstruck to see the transformation and staggered backwards upon witnessing a change of expression on the man's face.
"The pack, where do they live?" Adam asked as he flicked his wrist and a spear materialised in his grasp. The query that left his lips had a completely different demeanour.
The elder went blank for a second before turning to point at the nearby forest. "The pack comes from the depth of the woods. They usually come out to scout for any potential food source at noon. There is still time-"
The words were forced to halt as the elder saw the young man in armour walking past him. With the spear in one arm, Adam's silhouette was reminiscent of a war god stepping into the battlefield.
Before the old man realised, Adam had disappeared.
...
Unbeknownst to the old man, Adam wasn't triggered by the gloomy narration but by Endevil's words.
[The forest is a good place to execute Evolution. The presence of a beast pack will deter any potential wanderers. Furthermore, the Porcupine-Hogs will act as the ingredient to the experiment.]
'I was thinking the same.'
Thus, Adam suited up and paced at the forest.
'Endevil, always be on the lookout. Notify when a beast comes in range.'
[Ok.]
Tiptoeing into the wilderness, there was silence in the air. Rarely, a random cicada broke the serenity and cried out loud.
'Endevil, spill all the information you have on the Giza Alliance.'
[Giza Alliance is one of the three encapsulated political powers that are located south of the Prime Celestial Preserve. Logos Alliance lying south-west to Giza is one of the two alliances formed by the coalition of city-states but calls themselves kingdoms. South-east to Giza lies the popular kingdom duos, the Emeralkine and Ferread kingdoms.
The four city-states in the Giza Alliance are small and have sufficient military strength. The mechanical knights and flying vessels you saw that day belongs to one of the city-states in the alliance. Although they are prototypes, it can be considered that they are the fruits of rigorous experiments spanning almost a decade.
Additionally, the Giza Alliance is not on friendly terms with the neighbours. The Aquila Empire and the Barbarian Kingdom also share their boundaries with the alliance. There have been several skirmishes in the past but the current situation seems stable and less violent. The vast amount of unexplored jungle is the breeding ground of the beasts and no one knows where and when a dungeon might manifests. The presence of bandits are a pain in the ass for merchants.]
Endevil conveyed the information in a very hushed manner. It was as if Adam was recollecting his memories.
After a few minutes of silence, the armour alerted. [15 Porcupine-Hogs approaching.]
The headgear instantly materialised around his head. A quick sidestep and Adam's figure disappeared behind a tree.
'Release the seal.'
[Done.]
'What's my strength and agility?'
[125 and 77.]
Peeking behind from the tree, a dozen quadrupedal beasts entered the scene. As large as a wild hog and equipped with a dense array of porcupine quills, they had an imposing demeanour.
[Porcupine-Hogs don't have a fixed ranking. Their prowess extends from F-grade to B-grade. What we have here are 11 E-grade scouts and 4 D-grade soldiers.]
Adam silently listened to the information while observing the pack.
The scouts were slightly smaller than the soldiers. Although they had arrogance running through their blood, they were unusually silent. Their footsteps were light and made a minimal sound.
'As soon as they pass, I'll silently chase and slice them down one by one.'
[What's that?] Endevil raised his confusion to Adam's mental murmuring.
'My plan.'
[Oh, you should have said so. I thought it was a random blabbering. Carry on then.] The mockery was evident in the mechanical voice.
Sensing Adam's twitching lips, Endevil conveyed. [You're a berserker. It literally means one who runs amok. Then why should you resort to plans and strategies? Plus I'm with you. Then what's to worry about?]
The mechanical impassive mechanical voice made clear of its intentions and Adam swiftly stored his spear. His expression suddenly calmed down and became as serene as a cloudless day. 'Thank you.'
As if enlightened about something, Adam stepped out of his hiding spot. His faint smirk was veiled by the headgear, so the hogs didn't notice his face. What they saw was an armoured individual stepping out of the shadow of a tree.
Buhi~
With a peculiar warcry, the four soldier beasts dashed at the stranger. Emitting intense killing intent, they were truly D-grade beasts.
But...
Thwack!!
A dull thud with a crisp noise of shattering bones was perceived by the pack as the scouts saw one of the four soldiers being thrown away.
Padak! Splurt!!
Another two soldier hogs lost their life in the hands of a menacing entity.
Buhi~
This time, it wasn't a cry to charge but to retreat. Promptly, the 11 scouts dashed their way back into the woods.
[You were purposely sloppy. Why did you let them go?] Endevil can administer every action Adam executes and could tell when he exerts and pulls the punches.
'Didn't you tell me that I'm a berserker?'
[Yup. So what?]
'How can I go berserk if there are no overwhelming numbers of enemies?'