A small ray of light from the mana lamp cut through the darkness that surrounded the barren roads. "Clink clink," the sound of wheels and the fastening footsteps of the bull horse rang through the silent night. Four adults and a small child of 6 or 7 years old sat on the bullhorse wagon, driven by a weary cart driver. They had been driving for at least 5 hours now. It was tough to see clearly with the help of the little light from the lamp, and there was also a need to stay alert for potential dangers. If Bowen hadn't agreed to pay double the amount for the wagon, the cart driver wouldn't have taken such a risk. Moreover, he could rest assured that two of those customers were adventurers of F rank.
"Hee soo daalk soo niceee iam flyiinhg flyy flyy…" Mason's babbling was a notch higher as he had just finished three bottles of strong alcohol.
"Boy, can you tell that drunkard to shut his mouth?" shouted the male adventurer named Akim.
"Yes, he is really annoying. I haven't slept a wink yet," added the female adventurer Rona with a disgusted face.
"If they had known the other companion with Bowen would be a drunkard, they would have changed their plans. Now they have to deal with him until the end. As they were in a hurry, Bowen decided to give the fruit of the wasted to Mason later when they reached Aswalt. Who knows if there will be any side effects after eating the herb," he thought.
"I am sorry. My uncle is usually not this noisy. Please put up with him. How about I pay you another small silver for the inconvenience?" said Bowen and took out another silver, surprising the adventurer couple.
The girl quickly grabbed the coin from Bowen's hand. "We will let this go for now. If he keeps blabbering the whole night, you'll have to pay us more, understand?" she warned.
"Yes, we are the ones who take care of your safety after all, so you must pay us a security fee additionally," the man chimed in, not hiding his greed.
"Yes, yes, I will. You guys really have a big heart," said Bowen, smiling. "By the way, do you guys mind if I ask you some questions?"
"What?"
"Well, can you tell me about this adventurer job? What you do? Types of work and how you get paid?" asked Bowen, trying to pry for some information.
"Haaaaahaaaa," the male adventurer burst out laughing. "I knew it, kid, I knew it from the first time you sat at the table."
"What do you know?" Bowen asked, confused.
"That you are fascinated looking at us, aren't you? It's normal. Many kids from rural towns like you aspire to be adventurers in the future. That's why you kept following us, right?"
"Brother, is that true?" asked Rona with wide eyes.
"Yes, it's true. It's common for us city dwellers to see adventurers day-to-day, but there are not many adventurers in villages and towns. Moreover, we are F rankers. That must be the reason that boy is so fascinated with us," said Akim proudly.
"Oh! You are right, sir. I really admire adventurers. Moreover, you should be pretty strong being F rank. That's why I want to become like you in the future. If you tell me about your work, it will be helpful for me."
"Hehe, see Rona? I am right, ain't I? Anyway, kid, it's no use for you to learn about this job."
"Umm, why do you say so, sir?"
"Why? Look at you. Do you think with a thin body like that you can become an adventurer? I can tell just by seeing you that you are not fit enough. At your age, do you know how strong I was? Ha! Have you ever seen blood, kid? You will be scared shitless when you look at the monsters. You need to grow up a lot. Eat more, train more, alright? Run at least 20 kms a day. Do body-stabilizing exercises. Ah! I totally forgot, without talent, you can never dream of becoming an adventurer. You at least need to be awakened to stay alive against a monster. Ok?" Akim poured a string of advice.
"Wow, brother Akim, you know so much. You could really become a trainer. Your advice is eye-opening. You heard that little boy. Listen to brother Akim and train your butt off, only then you will be half as good as him when you grow up," Rona sugar-coated to Akim.
"Come on, Rona, don't overpraise me."
"Big brother, don't say that. You are really too humble. How many people can reach F rank at the age of 21? You are really a great talent. Anyone would be awestruck seeing you wield the sword. You will be a famous adventurer in the future," said Rona, praising Akim.
Bowen was disappointed as the topic took a completely different turn. [They are talking nonsense instead of giving me the info. Wish I could punch a hole through that proud-looking face of yours] he thought. He kept silent, maintaining his innocent smile.
"Sisrrr..sirrsss, help! HELLP!" The driver suddenly started shouting. The wagon also stopped abruptly.
"What happened?" shouted Rona, nervous.
"Monsters…! There seem to be monsters ahead," said the driver as everyone except Mason got down from the cart.
They could see some big rat-like monsters with red eyes staring at them, hiding in the bushes. They had single-pointed horns on their heads.
[So, these are alpha rodents? Seems pretty weak] thought Bowen.
"CAREFUL, those are monsters of G+ rank, called alpha rodents. There must be at least 10-12 monsters," said Akim with all seriousness.
"Brother Akim, I thought there would only be 5 of them. This, I didn't expect…" Rona said, swallowing hard.
"I know, Rona. Don't worry, just try distracting them with your magic. I will take care of them," he said.
"Are…are you sure? Umm…I'm scared, brother. Maybe we should just escape."
"Don't be scared, Rona. I am an F ranker, remember? Those monsters are nothing to me. Here, keep this," said Akim, giving a vial of red liquid. "This is the blood of a higher-tier monster, Gore rabbits. Apply it on your body. Those alpha rodents will hesitate to approach you. I will use that time to kill those pests," he said, determined.
Rona applied some blood on herself and gave the remaining vial to the carriage driver and Bowen.
"No, I'm good," said Bowen, promptly rejecting the vial, shocking the others.
"Kid, this is not the time to play. Your life will be in danger if you don't apply this," said Rona.
"Yes, yes, take that, little boy. Be thankful that the adventurers are ready to share their stuff with you," said the driver.
"Nope, you guys use it," said Bowen and stood there coolly, folding his arms.
"Kid, YOUUU…" Rona decided to shout at Bowen in anger.
"Leave him be. He is too full of himself. Once he knows how dangerous those beasts are, he will beg you to give that to him," said Akim. "Now, Rona, leave him and come assist me."
It was not because Bowen was overconfident that the monsters wouldn't approach him. It was completely the opposite. It's because he didn't want the rodents to get repelled by the smell that he rejected the blood vial. In fact, he would be happy if all the monsters came at him at the same time.
Akim started to run towards the monsters ahead, having Rona stay behind. She was an earth magician and she began moving small pebbles from the ground and striking them at the monsters. Her control of the element was so-so due to being only a G+ magician.
The closest monster suddenly jumped at Akim. He dodged it by sidestepping and struck it on its neck. SPLASH! The head of the rodent separated from its body.
"EASY! Wow, go, big brother, kill them all with a single strike of your sword!" cheered Rona from behind. Even the driver was in high spirits.
Akim had a dopamine rush knowing he was only dealing with weak monsters. He rushed towards the herd and started one-striking them, one by one. Most of them died in a single strike of the sword, while some needed a couple of hits. Rona stayed behind, distracting and hitting any rodents that tried to sneak attack Akim from the sides or behind.
"This is bad. How can I have my turn if they kill all of them? At this point, it's not even a decent fight. It's completely one-sided. Should I just dive in?" Bowen took a step forward, suddenly… The remaining rodents started to disperse and ran into the bushes.
"Great! Mr. Adventurer, look how they're running. They must have become scared of you," said the driver happily.
"Right, big brother, how talented you are. But it's really a shame we cannot kill those remaining rodents. We could have sold them for big money. Right? Hey, brother, why are you so silent? What happened?" said Rona confused.
"Something's wrong," said Akim, nervousness evident on his face.
"What's wrong? Aren't we safe now? Why are you…" BZZZZZZZ! Rona stopped talking, hearing a buzzing sound.
"Umm, hmm…what's that, big brother?" she asked, interlinking her arm with Akim's.
"Bzzz, bzzzzzz, bzzzz…" Before Akim could answer, the sound amplified. From one of the bushes, there seemed to be some rustling disturbance. Soon, a shadow could be seen. Within minutes, the source of the noise made it's presence clear. With a small head, stout belly, sharp stinger on its tail end , green compound eyes, and transparent set of wings, a mosquito the size of a football levitated in the air, making a buzzing noise and slowly nearing the group.
"BU..BU..BUZZER!" SAID AKIM in disbelief. "What, what, big brother? What is that?" asked Rona in fear.
"F rank monsters. Those only feed on rabbit flesh. They normally don't attack humans. How did they… Aah!" Akim came to a realization.
"The blood vial!"
"My god, the thing we used to deter alpha rodents has now attracted this insect," said Akim, gritting his teeth.
"Brother, can you handle it? You can, right? Tell me you can," said Rona, tearing up.
(Gulp) "I…I will try my best," said Akim. Of course, he can only do that. Humans are no match for monsters of the same rank, so adventurers only hunt monsters one rank lower than them. Moreover, this monster is quick to escape by flying. It also has a considerable defense.
He slowly inched towards the insect with his sword, taking a defensive position trying to make the first hit. Suddenly, the mosquito started flying quickly and changed its direction towards the driver.
"AAAAAAAA!" Instead of the stinger, a sharp set of teeth gnawed on the driver's hand. Two of his fingers quickly separated from his body. "NONOOO..MY HANNND…MYHAAANNNND…" the driver wailed in pain.
Rona's eyes were filled with fear when she saw that the insect's next target was herself. "Kyaaaaaa!" She started using magic to move the stones and strike the insect. Akim couldn't stand idle. He rushed quickly with his sword and made a slash.
Green blood oozed out of the insect from the small cut on its body. The sword was not strong enough to deliver a deadly strike, so it didn't die. It turned around and started attacking Akim. Rona's aim was half-assed; she missed several shots due to panic.
"Get it together, Rona. Attack its head. Don't panic now!" shouted Akim. He kept slashing his sword left and right. Even though he was skilled at dealing with land monsters, this one swiftly escaped by changing direction in mid-air. Only when it lowered itself to attack could he strike at the same time.
It's almost 5 minutes since the fight started. Rona's mana was almost depleted, and even Akim was tired. He seemed to have sustained some injuries, with bloody wounds all over his body. "STAB!" Finally, luck was in Akim's favor. One of his strikes squarely landed on the monster's head, and the sword impaled its brain. Slowly, the wings lowered, and the insect came to a standstill.
"PHEW! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE DOWN THERE!" said Akim, relieved.
Both the driver and Rona were also happy that they somehow got out of it alive.
"Really? Do you think it's over?" said Bowen, slowly walking to the front, startling everyone. He had been silent all this time, wanting to know how strong the monster was.
"What do you mean Kid? Don't blabber some nonsense. You're giving me a bad feeling," said Rona, looking at Bowen with hatred.
"I'm blabbering? Look there," he said.
"Look what?"
"It's starting," he said with a smile, still standing with folded arms.
"Start wha...BUZZZZ... BUZZZZZZ."
"BUZZZZZZZZ BZUUZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZBUZZZZZZZBUZZZ BZUZZZZ BZZUZUZUZUZUUZUZUZUZZZZZZZZZZZ..."
The echoing buzzing sound was so loud that it made everyone except Bowen cover their ears. It felt like their heads were spinning. Soon their eyes caught on several shadows of mosquitoes surrounding them from all sides.
There were at least 20-30 of them. Akim's body slumped, and he knelt on the floor, losing all hope. The driver's face was filled with fear, unable to believe the sight before him. Rona started crying loudly, her hands suppressing the noise from her mouth. Her face was pale, and she evidently knew they would be facing a painful death.
"Nice! This is exactly what I want!" said Bowen excitedly, loud enough for Rona, Akim, and the driver to hear him.