Thirty minutes later.
『Almost done.』
“I got a lot.”
『Yeah. My Magic Crystal Count went up by almost 200.』
There were many high rank ones and over a hundred small fry goblins.
『But no more demonic beasts came near here.』
“Un. It was easy.”
There was no way demonic beasts didn’t smell this place when it was reeking of blood.
But all demonic beasts that approached this place would suddenly change directions and leave.
Despite having low intelligence, maybe they felt afraid after seeing such a horrible scene.
Like Fran said, it was a relief that we were able to collect everything without incident.
『I also got a few new skills. They look like they’d be fun to use.』
The greatest pay off from this fight was obviously Fran’s growth.
And beyond that, there were multiple benefits as well.
Excluding any that were broken or rusty, we collected fifty steel and bronze weapons.
There was even some armor. Well, they smelled and were dirty so we had to throw away the majority of them.
We also found some items imbued with mana so it was a huge find.
And these were our new skills:
Quick Casting, Acrobatics, Kicking Techniques, Kicking, Necromancy, Poison Absorption, Poison Magic, Axe Techniques, Unrelenting Spirit.
I got these skills from a Hobgoblin Dark Mage, Hobgoblin Necromancer, Hobgoblin Grappler, and Hobgoblin Gladiator.
Well, there was a problem.
『So there were hobgoblins here.』
“Un.”
These new skills came from the new types of hobgoblin.
Their stats were on the same level as the Goblin King that I killed a while ago.
Then does that mean the Goblin Queen was already born and is sp.a.w.ning hobgoblins?
『Hey, do goblins grow quickly?』
“Un. Apparently they mature in ten days.”
『They’re just like insects. Doesn’t that make them dangerous?』
『We should go back to the Adventurer’s Guild and report this. I’d like for just us to hunt them, but there might be a lot more damage if we leave the situation as is.』
“Un.”
I was going to store only the hobgoblin corpses when——.
I sensed a human approaching.
『Fran!』
“Un.”
It’d be dangerous if someone saw me floating, so I quickly returned to Fran. She grabbed onto my handle without batting an eye and put me on her back.
After a few seconds, several adventurers appeared from the far end of the forest.
The one leading them may have been a dwarf. He was moving unimaginably fast for someone with such a stocky body type. I also saw the beginners from before that we saved.
“Over there!”
“Hey, aren’t these all goblins?”
“What the h.e.l.l happened here…?!”
『That saves us some trouble.』
Krall’s party reported the goblins’ activity, and a number of people were dispatched.
“Young lady! Are you okay?!”
“Are you injured?”
“I’m fine.”
“This is…did you do all this?”
“Un.”
Fran nodded her head and all ten of the adventurers’ faces showed shocked expressions.
“You defeated all of these goblins…by yourself?”
“If that’s true then that means you’re at the level of a rank E…no, if it was in a wide open place like this where they came at you all at once and not a narrow den, then you’re on par with a rank D adventurer.”
“What?! Rank D?”
“For real?”
They were getting all excited for some reason.
Adventurers’ ranks correlate with monsters’ threat levels, right?
Adventurers can take down demonic beasts of the same level if they prepare enough and work together in a party. And adventurers can solo demonic beasts that are one rank beneath them.
In other words, a rank E adventurer can hunt threat level E demonic beasts when in a party of four to six other adventurers. And a rank E adventurer has to be able to take out a rank F demonic beast by him or herself.
『Let’s see, a single goblin is threat level G, ten of them are level F, and a hundred are rank E.』
At the very least, Fran who killed a hundred goblins by herself was as strong as a rank D adventurer. In addition, there were over a hundred goblins with a dozen high rank goblins mixed in, and on top of all that, she took them all on in the forest where the goblins had the advantage. The adventurers seemed to evaluate her more highly because of all that.
The dwarf who seemed to be their leader was giving an explanation to his comrades.
That’s right, that’s right. It felt nice to hear them compliment Fran. You can compliment her more.
Fran didn’t seem to care much, and she ignored the dwarf to drop a hobgoblin corpse at their feet.
“Here.”
“This is a hobgoblin?”
“There’s some over there, too.”
“And you mean there were four of them?”
“We’re already at the point where hobgoblins are leaving their den!”
This seemed to be quite the serious situation.
If left like alone for ten days, there would be a goblin stampede, or more properly, an invasion.
“Oh dear, my apologies. I have yet to introduce myself. I’m Alibont. A D rank adventurer in Alessa. Could you tell me your name?”
“Fran.”
“Are you a traveler? Thank you for stopping all these goblins here.”
“Un? I’m an adventurer in Alessa.”
“What? No, but I’ve lived in Alessa for over ten years and I’ve never seen you before…”
His face showed his disbelief that he could have missed such a small, pretty, and strong girl like Fran.
The three other men who seemed to be Alibont’s party members nodded their heads.
The beastfolk who formed their own separate party reacted the same way.
“I registered yesterday.”
“What?”
“No way! Then what’s your rank?”
“G.”
“What? You’re only a G rank despite being this strong? That’s completely ridiculous!”
“No, rank and strength aren’t necessarily perfectly linked. There’s an elf who lived in a forest for a long time, entered human society, and became a G rank adventurer despite having the skill of a D rank one.”
“I-I see.”
“Makes sense.”
“In any case, Fran-san seems to have pulled one one us!”
Ahh, so they ended up with that explanation.
They concluded that Fran must be a member of a long-lived race that grows slowly, meaning Fran actually had decades of years of experience.
『They seem to have convinced themselves of something, so how about we don’t correct them? They think that because you look so young, you must be older than you look.』
‘I don’t really care.’
To a refres.h.i.+ng degree, Fran didn’t care what others thought of her. That’s too bad. I wanted to seem even more surprised.
Well, it’d be a pain to explain everything, so I should just let this go.
“A-Anyway, we can’t handle a goblin den with a Queen by ourselves. Let’s go back to the guild for now!”
“That’s right. Sorry, but would it be okay if you came with us, Fran-san?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks. Time is of the essence so let’s go now.”
“Nice!”
Name: Fran Age: 12 years old
Race: Beastfolk. Black Cat
Job: Spellsword
Lv: 12
HP: 113 MP: 66 Strength: 89 Agility: 91
t.i.tles: Dismantling Master, Healing Arts User, Skill Collector, Flame Arts User, Cooking Master, Veteran of Insurmountable Odds, Goblin Killer, Patron of SlaughterThis was Fran’s status. Her stats went up by a lot. And she also gained three t.i.tles!
Veteran of Insurmountable Odds: A t.i.tle granted to those who have faced over a hundred enemies in a single battle by themselves.
Effects: HP up by 40, Strength up by 20. The skill Indomitable Spirit gained.
Goblin Killer: A t.i.tle granted to those who have slain over a hundred goblins in a single battle.
Effects: Skill Goblin Killer gained.
Patron of Slaughter: A t.i.tle granted to those who have slain over a hundred living beings by themselves.
Effects: Agility up by 10. The skill Calm Mind gained.
Skills
Indomitable Spirit: Immune to the effects of fear in times of stress, Recovery Speed Boost [large] added.
Goblin Killer: Deal increased damage to goblins.
Calm Mind: Relieves mental impairment caused by insanity. After this, calms the mind of the user.
These t.i.tles looked awesome. I wanted them too. But maybe it was because I was a sword that I couldn’t get t.i.tles.
That aside, Indomitable Spirit was impressive. It was difficult to obtain, and I thought to myself that its effects seemed to be a little cheat-like.
And I noticed something important.
I only just now found out that any skills Fran gains on her own weren’t added to me as well.
Since I wouldn’t have to add any skills that both of us had to Set Skills, this would allow us to have more options.
I told Fran about her status while we were walking to the city with the adventurers.
‘Veteran of Insurmountable Odds? That’s incredibly rare!’
『Really?』
‘It’s a hero’s t.i.tle!’
Fran was ecstatic. She was just that happy.
“Hey, young lady. Are you not going to make a party?”
“Party?”
“Yeah. If you haven’t entered a party yet, then how about you join ours?”
Surprisingly, Alibont invited us into his party. It looked like he was serious.
“Wait. We were thinking about that too.”
“Taking the initiative like that is quite troubling. Any party would want an outstanding adventurer like her.”
The two other parties seemed to be having the exact same thoughts.
I was glad to hear Fran was so recognized for her strength.
『So, what do you think? Do you want to join one?』
‘I only need Master in my party.’
『You can also keep me hidden and join a party.』
‘It’s fine. I have Master, after all.’
『Is that so?』
Well, I couldn’t exactly show off my abilities, so making a party with me would be difficult.
For now.