After some distance from the Black Forest.
"Village chief, Mr. Elio, said he had a last name..." Reeve asked the village chief with a slightly concerned expression.
"Well... about that, it's better to think about it later." Avlis, the village chief, responded to Reeve's question casually. "Since this morning, I've had a bad feeling.".
"We had better hurry back to the village." The village chief added.
After walking for several hours, the group finally arrived at a place close to the village. It was late evening, and the group saw something in the distance.
A thick column of black smoke was rising from the direction of the village.
"Village chief, that's..." Reeve pointed towards the village, where he saw the thick black smoke.
"Yep, I saw it too," Avlis, the village chief, also looked worried. "Alright, come on, everyone, let's speed up our way."
They quickened their pace to the village. They had to quickly find the smoke's origin and what had happened in the village.
As they got closer to the village, they began to smell blood and several dead monster bodies.
"Village chief, I will go first." Reeve immediately ran faster towards the village.
It wasn't long before he saw two people fighting with a bunch of goblins.
"Instant Strike"
Reeve immediately rushed toward the group of goblins. With lightning movements, he cut down several goblins.
Some of the other remaining goblins looked scared and retreated after seeing this. Of course, the average level of normal goblins is only between level 15 to level 25. Meanwhile, Reeve's current level is level 60.
Seeing that, Reeve took this opportunity to kill all the remaining goblins immediately.
After killing all the remaining goblins, Reeve approached the adventurer he saw.
"Are you okay?" Reeve asked one of the adventurers.
The adventurer appeared to have minor injuries with scratches on his light armor. Also, some parts of his clothes were torn.
"Thank you, Captain Reeve; yeah, I guess, just a few minor scratches." Said the adventurer.
"Huh... captain, am I...?" Reeve was surprised when the adventurer called him captain.
"Gifford made the decision." The adventurer explained. "Under these circumstances, he said the village needed a leading figure. And since you are the highest leveled adventurer in the village, naturally, this position was given to you."
"That person is really... Huft..." Reeve sighed.
"Alright, where's that Gifford?" Reeve asked, inquiring about Gifford's whereabouts.
"He's at the defense post--."
Before the adventurer could finish speaking, Avlis, the village chief, and the others finally arrived.
"Ah, the village chief and the others finally arrived," Reeve said with relief. "Well, please take us to Gifford."
The adventurer led the village chief, Reeve, and Hakan to Gifford. Meanwhile, Drest was escorted by another adventurer to a safer place.
"Gifford, the village chief, and Captain Reeve have returned." An adventurer shouted from outside the defense post tent.
"What? They're back?" Tired of looking at a paper containing data records, Gifford changed his expression to excitement.
"Gifford, what is the situation?" Avlis, the village chief, asked Gifford upon entering the defense post tent with a curious look.
"This afternoon, suddenly, a monster outbreak seems to have occurred, with several monsters starting to attack the village," Gifford explained. "Luckily, this defense post was completed in time. Well, even if it's just a small tent and some crossbars made of wooden planks."
"Then what about the villagers?" This time it was Reeve's turn to ask Gifford.
"As for the villagers, don't worry. They have taken refuge in the basement of the village chief's house." Gifford said reassuringly to Reeve, who looked a little uneasy about the news of how the villagers were being managed.
"Gifford, have you reported this and called for help to the nearest town?" Asked Avlis, the village chief, trying to confirm something to Gifford.
"Yes, chief," Gifford replied. "Because there was a previous warning that there would be a monster outbreak, so the help of several forces has been prepared; I estimate that tomorrow afternoon they will reach here."
"Then, about other adventurers, how are they doing?" Avlis asked Gifford again.
"So far, there have been no casualties." Gifford replied, "Only one adventurer is injured quite a bit, the others are just ordinary scratches, and I think tomorrow they will also be ready to fight again."
"But chief, doesn't this seem strange?" Hakan suddenly interrupted the conversation. "Well, I mean, that thing, the monster outbreak, isn't supposed to happen in a few coming weeks, is it?"
"Yes, the village chief. I also feel something is wrong." Reeve agreed with Hakan's words and added. "Although the monster outbreak warning did not mention the exact details of when it will occur, the warning only came out a few days ago, and today, the monster outbreak has already happened."
"Hhhmm... you guys have a point too." Avlis, the village chief, seemed to ponder something for a moment. "But the first thing we must do is survive this monster outbreak first, right?"
Reeve and Hakan, who heard the chief's words, were somewhat stunned and looked at each other.
"Alright then, all of you, let's do it," Reeve shouted to all the adventurers inside the defense post tent.
"Oouu..." In unison, the other adventurers cheered in agreement and enthusiasm.
***
*In the late night
Reeve was sitting in front of the campfire. He wore a blanket to cover his body from the cold night wind.
Suddenly there was someone's voice from behind him.
"Heyy, Reeve, what are you doing?" This person slapped Reeve on the back and sat down next to him.
Reeve then looked next to him and found that this person was Gifford.
"'Nope, nothing Gifford," Reeve replied briefly
"I heard that the person still didn't come to the village with the village chief, huh?" Asked Gifford curiously.
"Oh, you mean Mr. Elio?" Reeve again responded shortly. "Yep, he's not coming here."
"Reeve, are you okay?" This time both Gifford's expression and voice became more serious. "You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you?"
Reeve then glanced back at Gifford.
"What's with that look in your eyes?" Gifford looked somewhat displeased. "Take it easy, man; you're not who you were ten years ago. There's Hakan and me, after all."
"This isn't the first time you've faced a monster outbreak, is it? Now you're the highest level adventurer in this village." Gifford said encouragingly to Reeve, "So I guess everything will be fine."
"Yeah, I hope so," Reeve responded to Gifford with a bit of sentimentality. He looked up at the distant night sky with a hopeful gaze.