The forest felt a lot deeper than the one Hikaru entered into where he searched for poisonous glimmering plants, all the while starving. Above him was a roof made of thick leaves, underneath was a leafy mulch of the forest floor. Moss covered the surfaces of the trees and faint haze hung in the air in places.
A Green Wolf. They can be found here too, huh…
Hikaru spotted a green wolf far ahead, yawning and prowling about unwarily.
The chirping of birds rang loud in his ears. At times he spotted birds flying from one branch to another. The Green Wolf shot glances at them too.
「…?!」
The next moment, the Green Wolf's vision grew dark before falling over with a thud.
「Ha…」
A dagger was thrust deep into its neck up all the way to the grip. One stroke was all it took to sever the creature's spine.
Normally, it was an unlikely spot to get stabbed. One would have to get close first. Green Wolves were said to be extremely perceptive and could sense anything within 200 meters. There was no way it wouldn't notice a human just right beside it.
「…It's over… 」
With his hand on his chest, Hikaru breathed a sigh.
「I didn't expect to rank up with just one kill.」
The impulse – no, the recoil from ranking up struck him. I'm saving my points. For his plan to work, he needed to have three points available at hand.
「…I can't take the meat home. I'm sorry for simply killing you.」
If I get away from here, the effect of my Stealth should weaken. The smell of the Green Wolf's blood and flesh would then spread through the forest, attracting other animals and insects to devour the corpse. Hikaru pulled his Dagger of Strength out and wiped the blood off it before heading deeper into the forest.
It's too powerful.
Thanks to his Stealth, he was able to get close and kill his target without it noticing. Hikaru was getting stronger too.
After killing two more Green Wolves, his rank went up once again, up to 7. It was a fast pace. For a moment he wondered why other adventurers couldn't just stop dawdling around, and instead work hard to increase their ranks. Then he recalled Unken saying that Green Wolves were strong and he was right.
There were other monsters as well: rodents, smaller than Red-horned Rabbits, almost like a brown mouse, blue locusts about thirty centimeters long, and a man-eating plant that attacked by launching pollen.
They weren't much of a threat. Even without his Stealth, Hikaru could take them on one by one. They tended to group up, however.
Those kinds of monsters must give small amounts of exp.
People would have to kill a lot just to rank up. There was a bigger problem. There was no way for ordinary citizens – not just adventurers – to confirm that their rank had increased. They couldn't sense that they've suddenly powered up or quantify their strength either. That's why they didn't have much motivation to level up.
Ignoring the smaller monsters, Hikaru hunted for Green Wolves. Monsters would be on alert if the area was filled with the smell of blood. His Detection Skills were still weak. It would take much effort to find monsters that were hiding.
「…What was that?」
It was noon. The sun sat at its highest point and Hikaru was having his lunch when he heard a scream in the distance.
＊ ＊
Paula wanted to yell "I told you so!"
Paula was a novice adventurer who came from a poor village. Together with her childhood friends and some youth from the neighboring village, they formed a party – a group with an average age of seventeen years.
The two boys only knew how to swing their swords. They wanted to be great heroes… not exactly. But they dreamed of earning lots of money, buying a mansion and live their lives being served by women.
The other three girls had different ways of thinking.
Pia was the daughter of the village chief and as expected from someone of her status, she had a strong sense of responsibility. Yet she was the type to focus on outward appearance – cutting her hair short so she would look like an actual adventurer and even using rougher language.
「I'll protect you, Paula!」she said while swinging a great sword with both her hands.
When they were still back in the village, Pia would be like「Paula-chan, what are we having for dinner tonight?」.
Priscilla was a genuine hunter born from hunter parents. It wasn't unusual for her to be gone for days out in the mountains. Perhaps because of that, she was the silent type – a girl of few words. Actually it was more like her mind was somewhere else and she always had this blank expression on her face. However she had huge breasts, to say the least, and as such, men were unable to keep their eyes off them.
Paula was completely different from the other four. She was born and raised in the church. While it was a church in the sticks, proper etiquette was hammered into her head. As such she looked neat and clean – both her appearance as well as her clothes.
"Calm and collected." "If I get injured, Paula will heal me."
That was how she was seen by people around her. Paula could use healing magic. Plenty of people who worked for the church for many years gained the ability, but in her case, she developed her powers early.
That's why Pia invited her to become an adventurer. Their village was on the verge of crisis. To put it short, they had no money.
「I'm sure pops will be overjoyed if we sent lots of money to the village!」is what she would always say, but Paula knew she cried herself to bed every night, muttering 「I want to go home.」
We should've gone home! Paula screamed in her mind. Who wouldn't want to scream out in the situation they were in?
「There's no end to them no matter how many we kill! What's going on here?!」
「There's an opening! The Goblins will charge us!」
「Freakin' Goblins! How could they be so disciplined?!」
「You idiot! "A piece of cake," my ass!」
「Gloria-chan warned us!」
「I don't give a damn!」
They were surrounded by a hundred goblins. A "hundred" was something Paula just came up with. In reality there were a lot more of them. In other words, there were too many of them that she couldn't give an exact number.
It was a deep forest. Four veteran adventurers approached them yesterday, telling them about some rare plants that could be found in the forest and that they could make a lot of money.
The two boys immediately latched on to the idea and so did Pia saying「Fine, I guess.」They wanted money and the majority of the party was on board. Pia and the others were happy when the veterans said it was their job to guide promising adventurers. It was only Paula who saw through the obvious flattery. Priscilla's mind was somewhere else.
It was probably only Paula who considered that perhaps the men were after their bodies. Before they left the guild, however, the veterans were called by the receptionist and "warned" them. Perhaps because of that, they refrained from touching the girls in a suggestive manner. They couldn't keep their eyes off Priscilla's bouncing bosoms, however.
They held a meeting at a bar while having dinner. Having drunk too much, the sun was already high by the time they left. They somehow managed to arrive in the forest just before noon. Things were fine until then.
The veterans tried so hard to attract the attention of the girls, showing off their sword skills and firing spells. They managed to kill ten smaller monsters. But Priscilla's face gradually turned grim. It was unusual for her to have any other expression than a blank one.
–This is bad. Paula.
–What do you mean?
–Too much noise will attract bigger monsters.
Hearing their exchange, a veteran adventurer laughed.
–There aren't any big monsters in this forest. If there were, I will protect you!
He was right. There weren't any big monsters in the forest. That's why the veterans were able to take down monsters easily. Not to be outdone, Pia and the others struck the monsters as well.
If he says so, I guess we should be all right, Paula thought. But she couldn't shake off the bad feeling in her gut. She always had sharp instincts. A number of times Paula tried to secretly tell Pia that they should go back, but every time she did, her friend only said「I'll protect you, Paula!」
Her hunch was right. There weren't any big monsters – true, but there were smaller monsters. Goblins. They said if you found one, you might as well have found three hundred.
「Guaahh?!」
One of the men was struck by an arrow.
「A bow?! You damned Goblins!」
Goblins were monsters less than a hundred centimeters tall, with big heads. Despite the size of their head, they weren't really intelligent. The color of their skin was similar to humans, just a tad bit yellowish. Though easy to defeat one on one, they were a troublesome bunch when grouped up.
「If they're using bows, that means we have a Goblin family on our hands!」
A what? Family? Paula thought.
「Then there's a huge one leading them…」
「Can we kill it?」
「No way in hell! We're gonna have trouble just dealing with all these bastards!」
The veterans were in an uproar. Apparently these Goblins were bad news. They had a Boss with them and it was something that even they couldn't handle.
「?!」
The veterans' turned their attention to Paula. She saw something terrible in their eyes. Not obscenity or hostility – but rather it seemed like they were looking at a "tool".
「Young lady, do you know what the Goblins are after?」
「I, uhh… I don't know.」
The veterans inched closer. Pia, who said she'd protect Paula, was out in front, fighting.
「Breeding.」
「…Bree…ding?」
She didn't grasp the meaning of the word right away.
「They're going to grab a human girl and make her give birth. In other words, they're after you, not us.」
「Wha—」
A chill ran down her spine. Blood seemed to have drained from head; she couldn't think properly. The Goblins are after me? They're not going to kill me, but rather, they want to violate me?
「You understand, right?」
「No…」
「If we toss you to them, we might make it out alive. All right?」
「No!!!」
The men grabbed her arms.
「Paula!」
Priscilla, who was firing arrows, came running towards her. The other men stopped her, though.
「No, no, nooooooooo!」
「You can save everyone! That's the duty of the healer, right?!」
Grabbed from both sides, they forcibly dragged her. Pia seemed to have noticed that something was going on, but the other guy tried to hide it. The two boys were idiots. They had no idea what was going on.
「Off you go!」
Both her arms pulled, Paula stumbled forward. Ten meters ahead of her was a group of drooling Goblins. They looked primitive with their rusty knives, wooden clubs, and stones. Kicked from behind, Paula tumbled three meters away.
「Ah…」
For a moment, the Goblins were surprised, but they soon realized what they've been "given" and came running. Through Paula's tear-filled eyes, the Goblins looked to be moving in slow motion.
We shouldn't have come here.
But it was too late for that. Perhaps they shouldn't have left the village to become adventurers. Pia might've talked her into it, but in the end, she herself made the decision.
Paula grew up in the church. Unlike the other members of the party, she had plenty of opportunities to read books – not only holy scriptures or manuals, but romance novels as well. Only a few villagers could read so there were different kinds of books stored in the church.
Paula was engrossed in these romantic stories. She wished that if she left the village and went to a big town, she'd find a handsome boy. Fated to meet, they would fall in love. There were plenty of nights when she couldn't sleep, feeling high from her delusions. She even wrote a story about it, with Polaria as its main character, clearly named after her.
I'm such an idiot… I'm so stupid for having fantasies…
Not one book told her about a story where the girl ended up being raped by Goblins. She'd rather die than suffer a horrible fate at the hands of these monsters. Her only regret was that her novel was still in the church. She couldn't throw it away after the effort she put into writing it. I should've burned it and buried the ashes into the ground.
She squeezed her eyes shut. The Goblins were swooping down on her.
「...…?」
Still trembling, Paula forced her mind to think. Wait. The Goblins are not coming.
「…Get up.」
「What?」
Confused, she opened her eyes. A boy, with black hair and equally black eyes, wearing a black cloak, stood there. He was pulling out a dagger from the back of a Goblin's head.
He appeared out of nowhere. Paula had no idea where he came from. Even the Goblins were stunned.
It's real…
There was one thing Paula knew, though.
A fateful encounter!
＊ ＊
Man, that was close, Hikaru thought. A rear guard by the looks of it. Her only weapon was a dagger similar to Hikaru's. A few seconds later and the girl would've been hurt. A few minutes and she'd be either dead or worse.
「...…」
「Stay back. You're in the way.」
「...…」
「Are you listening?」
「…A handsome boy.」
「What?」
「I'll have you now— ugh!」
She threw herself at him all of a sudden and Hikaru delivered a punch right to the girl's face.
「Wh-What is wrong with you?!」
「Haa… A treat from a pretty boy…」
Hikaru quickly realized that she was bad news. And he saved her. Rolling over and trembling, she stared at him with a grin on her face. Hikaru felt danger that belied her neat, nun-like appearance.
「Y-You fuckin' idiot! Why are you interfering, you brat?!」yelled one adventurer.
「…Interfering?」
「By sacrificing one girl, we could've all escaped! We're up against Goblins!」
「Ah, I see what's going on here. I was wondering why you kicked her. You wanted to use her as bait so you could escape.」
「…A-And what's so wrong with that?」the adventurer answered back defiantly, albeit flustered.
「What?! Did I hear that right?! How dare you do that to Paula!」Pia said.
「…You'll pay.」Priscilla muttered.
「What?」
「What's going on?」
The two girls seemed to have grasped the situation, while the two boys were completely clueless. The other older adventurers were in with the plan as well.
It's the young party I saw at the guild yesterday. I knew something like this was gonna happen.
Deep inside, Hikaru felt disgust. Using them as bait was still better than tricking them into being sold to kidnappers, but as far as nasty stunts go, it was a close second.
「What do you want us to do then, huh?! We're up against hundreds of Goblins!」
「They will withdraw soon.」Hikaru said.
「What?」
「Look.」
Suddenly the peculiar sound of a flute echoed from out of nowhere. Hearing this, the goblins looked at each other and scattered in all directions. It was just as Hikaru said.
「Wh-Wh-Wh-What…?」
「You should go home right away. It's dangerous here.」
「He's right! Let's go!」
The girl with the great sword had barely finished her words before the four older adventurers started making a run for it, with the two boys right on their heels. The only ones left were the girl with the sword, another one with a bow, and the one by his feet happily rubbing her cheeks.
「…Thank you. You saved us.」
「Don't mention it. Take her and go.」
「You're not coming?」
Hikaru gave a shrug.
「…You sure are strong.」
「Be careful of those guys on your way back. They might harm you.」
「What?」
「They tried to use your friend as bait. If news spreads, they'll lose their jobs. But that's only if you tell others about it.」
「…What do you mean?」
「Silence us.」the girl with the bow said to her friend.
「Whaaat?!」
「Pretty much. Small fries like those guys… We don't really know what they'll do when cornered.」
「…Our other two members ran off. They're idiots so they get tricked.」
「Your friends?」
「Not really friends… More like just young people from the neighboring village, I guess.」
「You can go after them, or you can just let them be. Either way, I don't really care.」
「E-Excuse me!」the dangerous girl by his feet said, raising her voice.
「M-My name is Paula! Paula Nohra! Please tell me your name!」
「…Hikaru.」
Paula, who seemed to have snapped out of her frenzy, stood up. Looks like she can speak properly.
「Hikaru-sama, I have a request. Would you be so kind as to take us to the lake?」
「Yeah. We'd like to ask that of you as well. Right, Priscilla?」
「Yeah.」
Hikaru heaved a sigh. He had a feeling they were going to say that. He'd be uneasy leaving them. Worse, he'd feel awful if they died in some kind of an accident right after he saved them. But if Hikaru escorted them, he wouldn't be able to use his Skills.
「…All right. I'll keep an eye on you girls from a distance so just walk at your own pace.」
「You won't be accompanying us?」Paula asked with teary eyes, her hands clasped together.
Her eyes were hidden slightly behind her greenish hair. Like this, she seemed refined, but…
「I said I'll be watching from a distance. And… it's too late to be acting so innocent.」
「Uh…」
「He's right, Paula. We didn't say anything before, but Priscilla and I both know you're a bit weird.」
「What…?」
「For example, that novel you're writing…」
Paula let out a shriek like a chicken being strangled to death before fainting.
Hikaru let the girl with the sword, Pia, take care of Paula, and moved farther away. It was only about thirty meters. The girls wouldn't see him once he activated his Stealth from that distance.
Unforeseen circumstances took a bit of my time. Then again, I was getting ranks a lot faster than expected, so I guess it's all right.
Hikaru's rank was already at 12. There was a reason for this. He had rose to rank 9 after going around killing Green Wolves. That was when the battle broke out. At first, Hikaru thought about going straight to where Paula and the others were, but there were over a hundred Goblins in the way. It was the worst possible scenario for him. He could kill an opponent one on one without them noticing at all, but Goblins operated in groups so his Stealth was useless. It would be difficult to assassinate a hundred Goblins without being seen even once. Trying out something new without prior rehearsal wasn't an option either. Perhaps with the Snipe Skill he'd be able to work something out, but he didn't have neither bow nor arrows.
Fortune seemed to be smiling on Hikaru, however. The Goblins' leader showed up. It was more than twice the height of the other Goblins – over two meters tall. By his side was a Goblin with a horn who looked to be the leader's messenger.
If they group up, killing their boss should cause some chaos.
Hikaru approached the Boss from behind. With the creature completely unaware of him, he thrust his Dagger of Strength into its back.
The Boss wore chainmail which scared him for a bit, but perhaps because of Assassination's effect, or the fact that he put one point on Strength, he managed to kill the creature with the dagger.
What happened next was shocking.
An unbearable itch struck his whole body. He felt his core burn. Try as he might, he couldn't stop himself from groaning. He knew that it was the effects of his rank going up, but the excruciating experience was a first for him. One Boss Goblin made him go up three ranks.
Because of that, the other Goblins noticed him, but they seemed to be afraid of him after killing their leader. As soon as the recoil from ranking up subsided, he left the spot with a smirk.
From behind came the keening wail of a horn. It was sounded either to convey the Boss's death, or to retreat. Either way, the group would collapse soon. But if someone died before that happened, all his efforts would have been for naught. Reluctantly, Hikaru put one point into his Power Burst.
His sprinting speed increased greatly. Hikaru had a classmate back in middle school who participated in a sprinting event for a national athletic meet. He thought he could overtake the guy now. However it did consume a great deal of stamina. And so, he managed to save Paula and the girls.
Now I have six points left. I need at least three points for the plan tomorrow…
He thought about it for a moment.
I'm gonna save my points, he decided.
Soon Hikaru and the girls reached the lake. He saw the girls off to the road, trying his best to ignore Paula's heated gaze. Many peddlers passed by the road so there was only a remote chance of them being attacked.
「All right. Back to hunting monsters.」
That evening, he met the dandy-looking guy who gave him a ride to the lake, got on his horse, and managed to get back to town.
「What's up? Did you get a good catch? Or perhaps a good harvest?」the man asked.
「I didn't get anything.」Hikaru answered.
「Really? Well you seem to be in a great mood.」
He was right on the money. Hikaru felt great. He killed over thirty monsters; half of them Green Wolves. Apart from the Boss Goblin and the ordinary one he killed when saving Paula, he went around killing the ones that dispersed as well, one after another. As the sun was sinking and it was starting to get dark, he finally met a Guardian of the Woods – a Forest Barbarian.
「Something good happened, that's all.」
One strike was all it took. Hikaru killed the Forest Barbarian in one shot with his Stealth and Assassination combo. He went up two ranks from one kill.
「Is that so? Okay, then. You best hold on cause we're going fast.」
「All right. I want to get back as soon as possible to wash off all the dirt.」
The horse galloped through the meadows that glowed in the twilight. That day Hikaru's Soul Rank increased all the way to sixteen.