Translator: Charlotte
I got on Zangetsu and hurried towards Remut.
I killed any active monsters that attacked me, but I made no effort of my own to hunt and put getting to Remut as fast as possible first.
From today onwards, I"ll be in the care of the Guild Leader.
I wonder how it"ll go.
Of course, I could go very quickly on horseback and in no time at all, I arrived in Remut.
Since I made a stop at Legias first, I had a late start.
But with Zangetsu"s speed, I could cancel out some of that and arrived still relatively early.
Praise mobility.
It"s all thanks to Zangetsu.
At the Adventurer"s Guild, I went straight to a counter. I wasn"t familiar with the staff member.
When I introduced myself as Keith, I was let into a different room.
It was a room I"d never gone into before, and inside were the guild leader Lugran and the middle aged male staff member that I"ve become familiar with.
It looked like they were having a difficult talk but when they saw me, they stopped talking.
I wonder what that was all about.
「Oh! You came quite early」
「Yes」
「Well, I"ve heard a lot about you from Aurnier. Although I"d like to see your skills in person on the battlefield, if you know what I mean」
Battlefield?
It"s got a kind of ominous sound to it.
「Well, I"ll entrust you with this light matter」
After saying that, the middle aged staff member pulled out a piece of parchment paper and handed it to me.
Looking at the request I read,「Livestock-eating Wild Dog Kill Quest」.
The time limit was four days, and in that time I would have to kill 100.
What"s this? Do I just have to complete this?
《You have been a.s.signed a quest by the Adventurer"s Guild. Will you accept it?》
「Got it, I"ll accept the quest」
《The guild"s a.s.signed quest was accepted! Please kill 100 Wild Dogs in the next four days》
A kill quest huh?
A lot of other players took these kinds of quests too, it was nothing weird.
「I"ve accepted the quest, but could I ask something? Do these kinds of quests come by often?」
「Yeah, there are a lot of Horn Rabbits ruining the crops in the fields, so if you look at the notice board you"ll find some of those pretty quickly」
Hmm?
The staff member was acting kind of strange.
「Wild Dog kill quests aren"t popular though, since they"re not very profitable」
Ah, is that so.
Out of all the Wild Dogs I"ve defeated so far, none of them have ever dropped anything.
If I tried to dig my survival knife into them, their bodies would simply disappear.
「Well then, I"ll give you this Communication Stone too. If you put it in your bag, it will count the number of Wild Dogs you"ve killed for you」
Saying that, he handed me a red, smooth and shiny stone.
I threw it into my bag.
「This is just a sort of preliminary test. I"ll be counting on you」
「Alright」
「For the time being, try your best to show up here every morning」
「Got it」
Preliminary test, huh.
I wonder if that was actually the case.
If anything, it looks like he was stuck with Master and forced to deal with me.
There was something really strange about the Guild Leader.
There was still some time until lunch.
But I purposely bought some lunch and stored it in my《Item Box》for later.
I also filled up my water bottle.
This way I could have a meal on horseback if I had to.
Today I"m planning on spending the whole day hunting Wild Dogs.
I can"t believe I"m saying this, but let"s ignore Wild Rabbits for now.
Just for today, I"ll be the Wild Dog"s grim reaper.
Hunting was going well.
In fact, it was going great. There were a lot of Wild Dogs around.
There were a lot of other players hunting in the outskirts of Remut, but all of them were aiming for Horn Rabbits.
Well that was to be expected, after all, Wild Dogs didn"t drop anything. Kind of an important difference.
It was a good chance.
A good chance for me to test out my new Kaya Wood Rod.
I used【Physical Enchant: Aqua】and rode into battle on horseback.
I had some new skills too, so if I had the MP to spare, I"d love to test out【Wind Cutter】.
It was fun, testing out all sorts of new things.
Genuinely fun.
Well, let"s get hunting.
The Kaya Wood Rod was very nice.
Compared to the Beginner"s Rod, its Attack Power was only a +2, but that +2 made a huge difference.
I threw my Beginner"s Rod into an Item Box to use as a spare, but I pulled it back out to compare it to the Kaya Wood Rod.
The difference was obvious.
But the biggest difference was the Kaya Wood Rod"s ease of use.
It fit really well in my hand.
Well, all I was really doing was holding on to one end while I swung it around on horseback, but it felt like I was swinging around nothing at all!
It felt like some sort of game.
Polo, I believe it was called.
Wild Dogs, whether they were heading towards me, or running away from me, got a full swing from horseback.
It seemed easy on paper, but in reality it was quite difficult
《【Identify】 Level Up!》
After defeating G.o.d knows how many Wild Dogs, my【Identify】skill leveled up.
What good fortune.
I could take out several Wild Dogs at a time with no problem.
I could also rely on Zangetsu and Helix.
Zangetsu could take them out in one attack by trampling them.
A single【Ambush】from Helix wasn"t enough to kill them, but it would take out a large chunk out of their HP bar.
Helix would also finish off the Wild Dogs I couldn"t get in one hit.
Getting off the horse and finishing the job with my Survival Knife after was annoying, but I had to do it.
Well, not really, it was just kind of a ritual at this point.
At that time, I realised a monster I"d never seen before got mixed in.
My sixteenth enemy.
It was certainly a dog.
A Wild Dog.
A Wild Dog, but…
It felt a lot tougher.
I used Identify on it and like I thought, it was a different monster.
Wild Dog Leader Lv2
Monster Enemy Target Active
Leader?
Naming-wise the difference was a lot more apparent than the Horned Rabbit. It was definitely a special monster!
I wonder if this one counts in the Wild Dog kill quest.
Leaving that thought for later, as expected, they were stronger than normal Wild Dogs.
Even after receiving a few hits it still wouldn"t go down.
On top of that, it jumped at me while I was on horseback. Its speed and ferociousness was really something else.
Even after attacking with the Kaya Wood Rod, it still had enough vigour and toughness for a counterattack.
I tried Wind Cutter too, but since I shot it from afar, it was easily dodged.
On top of its movements being very agile, it could use its head too, predicting my attacks and preparing counterattacks.
All while remaining on guard for attacks from Helix and Zangetsu.
It was a strong enemy.
But I had a strategy.
As long as it was on the ground it could dodge any magic attack I threw at it.
And it would always aim at me.
I cast【Force Bullet】, but without releasing it, saved it for a while. I waited for it to jump and then shot it.
A hit.
I did the same with【Wind Cutter】.
This one hit without any issues either.
When the【Wind Cutter】spell hit it, the Wild Dog Leader fell over, defeated.
Wind cutter took out a few times the amount Force Bullet did out of its HP bar.
I wonder how strong the fire elemental version would be.
When I dug into the Wild Dog Leader with my Survival Knife, something interesting was left behind.
【Treasure】Magic Stone Magic Item Grade D- Rarity 2 Weight 0+
Magical energy that dwells within monsters and turns into a core when gathered.
A Magic Stone.
This was the second time I found one of these.
I"ve heard it could be used in equipment repair, but I haven"t used it for that purpose.
Well I"ll be taking it anyway.
After that, my Wild Dog hunt continued.
I completely ran past and ignored even the active Wild Rabbits that attacked me.
It"s not like Wild Rabbits could chase after Zangetsu anyway, so I could take it easy running away.
I set Helix to prefer searching out Wild Dogs and leading me to them.
My hunt moved along efficiently.
I ran into another Wild Dog Leader. This time it was Lv.1.
It was my 32nd Wild Dog.
But since it was my second time fighting them, I had a strategy in mind.
I took some damage, but it was nothing compared to the damage I could dish out. I defeated it in no time.
I fully healed all the damage I took with a potion.
《【Horsemanship】Level Up!》
Yeah.
Even if I"m struggling in a fight, it seemed that as long as I used the skill for a long period of time, its level would increase.
I got a Magic Stone from this Wild Dog Leader too.
It was only my second kill, but I wonder if this was a fixed item drop?
I"ll find out in a while if I hunt a little longer.
After I defeated my 45th Wild Dog, I decided to go get lunch.
I planned to do it on horseback, but I figured that was pretty dumb, so I picked a nice hill and rested there for a while.
I got Helix to watch my surroundings.
In the middle of my meal, some active Wild Rabbits came to pick a fight, so I ran away.
I finished the rest on horseback.
Ah, that was a good meal.
Let"s get back to hunting.
I"m facing my 48th enemy.
It was a Wild Dog Leader, a Lv.3 this time. Looked pretty strong.
Is it alright if I use this one to confirm my theory?
I"ve noticed that I"m encountering them in multiples of 16.
The next one would be enemy number 64?
The 64th wild dog.
I think I can confirm it at this point.
Again, it was a Wild Dog Leader. Lv.3 this time too.
The fight was a little tough but no real issue.
At this rate I might get 100 by evening.
The real tough fight came from the Horn Rabbits.
That"s because avoiding fights and running away started becoming pretty annoying.
With the occasional Horned Rabbit mixed in, the problem got even worse.
It was especially difficult, running away from those guys.
I a.s.sumed that if you squeezed in rabbit kills, the Wild Dog Leaders wouldn"t show up.
No reason to pa.s.s up my chance to get some Magic Stones.
Number 80.
The situation took a rather unexpected turn.
The monster I encountered wasn"t a Wild Dog Leader.
Wild Dog Boss Lv.4
Monster Enemy Target Active
I used【Identify】on it and… Boss?
What"s a Boss?
Looked a lot stronger than a Leader.
My strategy didn"t change, but the fact that I managed to take it down eventually was really a miracle.
That"s because this monster, after reaching its final stage, jumped up and rammed at me, knocking me off the horse and unto the ground.
Even though it took a【Wind Cutter】hit in the process.
Well in actuality, maybe that was a stroke of good luck for me.
As I was struggling for my life, holding its neck to the side and using my whole body weight to keep it away, Zangetsu stepped it on it thrice with its front legs. The Wild Dog Boss finally went down.
Thrice! Three times!
I would have died in one.
I don"t think anyone would blame me for taking a breather after that one.
Zangetsu, Helix and I recovered our health with potions. We didn"t reach full HP but I made up the rest using【Wind Heal】.
My MP bar went down by about 20%.
《【Water Magic】Level Up!》
《You have acquired the【Water Magic】spell【Resist Aqua】!》
《You have acquired the【Water Magic】spell【Aqua Heal】!》
《You have acquired the【Water Magic】spell【Water Needle】!》
《【Precise Manipulation】Level Up!》
Looks like I leveled up some skills too.
A lot of new water magic spells, huh.
No I"m grateful, it"s just that these would have come in handy just a little earlier!
After checking the Wild Dog Boss with my survival knife, I found a pretty nice-looking item.
【Treasure】Mana Crystal Magic Item Grade C Rarity 3 Weight 0+
Magical energy that dwells within monsters and turns into a core when gathered.
Contains magical energy exceeding that of a Magic Stone.
《【Appraise】Level Up!》
Ah, finally my【Appraise】skill leveled up too.
I raised a lot of skills today, huh.
So the 80th enemy was a boss.
Means I won"t have to fight it again, right?
My hunt continued.
Evening was coming close, but I was yet to get bored.
I ran into some trouble at the 96th enemy.
It was a Wild Dog Leader.
That"s unfortunate, no more interesting enemies.
But that"s good for me too, I guess.
《Summon Monster『Zangetsu』Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
Zangetsu leveled up too. Well it was to be expected, with what I"ve been doing.
The stat that increased during the level-up was VIT.
I chose to raise the AGI stat.
Summon Monster Zangetsu Horse Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 7
AGI 20（↑1）
INT 7
STR 20
VIT 23（↑1）
SPI 7
Skills:
Trample Dash Endurance Run Wild Gallop Stampede Kick
Looks like Zangetsu"s getting stronger.
Looks like I can expect even better mobility from now on.
Let"s move on.
My surroundings were bathed in the orange glow of the evening.
I"ve reached this far, might as well finish it all in one day.
I continued hunting.
Next was a group of three Wild Dogs. I defeated them with no problem.
As evening closed in, Wild Dogs liked to form groups. I should hurry.
The next one was a group of five Wild Dogs. I defeated them all.
I defeated 104 in total.
Subtracting the Wild Dog Leaders and the Wild Dog Boss, I defeated 98.
Just in case, let"s hunt a little while longer.
The next group was a pack of seven.
And they were active too, and ran over to attack me.
Zangetsu and I took a little damage, but we still took them out without any issue.
What I was worried about was my MP bar.
The next group was a pack of eight.
And this time a Wild Dog Leader was mixed in too.
I somehow managed to defeat them all.
Groups were scary.
They would gather around me, trying to knock me off the horse. They had a sense of teamwork too, and would take turns ramming into Zangetsu.
It was obvious that the Wild Dog Leader was giving them ideas.
Their cooperation was really something to admire.
After that, I tried to avoid any fights.
After all, my MP bar had dropped to under 10%
I got Helix to watch my surroundings and dodging all monsters, I made it back to Remut.
I"m done with hunting for today.
Even at night, the Adventurer"s guild was open and running.
Although the number of staff decreased by quite a bit.
But I found the usual middle aged male staff member.
I had to wait a bit, but the line wasn"t so long so it quickly became my turn.
「Huh? Oh, Good evening, Keith」
「Good evening, it"s about the quest I received this morning, here」
I pulled out the Communication Stone and had it checked.
The staff member couldn"t hide the shock on his face.
「119. Did you hunt all this today?」
「It would"ve been impossible on my own. I had some splendid partners」
Yeah.
Looks like the Wild Dog Leaders and the Wild Dog Boss were counted in.
The staff member looked at me with a very careful look in his eyes.
Looked like there was a problem.
「Wow, that"s wonderful. Here is your compensation」
He handed me a little bag. 9 100 Dyn coins were inside.
I managed to earn a respectable amount.
《Adventurer"s Guild"s a.s.signed Quest Clear!》
《5 Bonus Points and 1 Extra Rating Point awarded! You now have 17 Points!》
I managed to earn some bonus points too.
Looks like guild a.s.signed quests gave a lot of bonus points.
Yesterday"s gla.s.s working quest got me some money, but no bonus points.
「Well, I"ll be counting on you tomorrow too」
Sounds like he"s expecting me to do something, but maybe that was just my imagination.
I did a deep bow, and left the place.
I had no confidence travelling through the pitch black plains and forest at night with an empty MP bar.
I"ll have to wait a bit for my MP to recover.
An MP potion was 500 Dyn. Pretty expensive.
An inn could cost anywhere between 100 Dyn and 120 Dyn.
A difficult situation.
A really troubling situation.
But before that, let"s eat something.
「Yo! What a coincidence!」
When I finished eating my set meal and came back to return the tray, I heard a voice from someone filling his mouth with skewers.
It was the gla.s.sworker Fay.
As handsome as usual.
He was wearing a different outfit today. Leather armour with a small sword hanging from his hip.
Looked like he was about to go hunting.
「Hey, nice seeing you! Something cool happened today, someone new joined the workshop」
「Hey, nice. Was it a player?」
「Of course」
「I wonder if another summoner would ever join…」
「There probably will be another summoner at some point. There are players taking a wait-and-see approach after all」
「Wait-and-see approach?」
「I mean, other players aiming to go solo definitely exist, and I think it"s natural for those not in a party to check out those places」
「You think so?」
「Yeah」
After that we continued our conversation on a table outside the building.
We talked about how the potion bottle demand had gone nowhere but up.
How requests were being given to the guild to collect the raw materials for these bottles.
How there was a limestone cavern to the south of here, but it was blocked up somewhere along the middle.
As I expected, Wild Dogs weren"t very popular.
「If you formed a party I think you could hunt Wild Dogs」
「Huh?」
「I can"t prove it to you, but I tried hunting nothing but Wild Dogs today」
I told him about the Wild Dog Leader and the Wild Dog Boss
Fay made a pretty surprised face.
「Hey, I"ve never heard of that before」
「Yeah, I thought so」
「Are you going to tell the forums about that?」
「You think I should?」
Ah shoot, I answered a question with a question.
「I mean, this is how I"m thinking about it: It"s not something you can really bring up in a conversation, and it"s not really something that takes control of the flow, you know?」
「Yeah, you"re right. It really doesn"t」
「Well in that case, wouldn"t it be a lot better if you just wrote it down in a thread somewhere?」
「Yeah, I"ll do that」
I pulled up a relevant thread just like how Fiona taught me before.
But that one was already full of posts, mine would just get buried. I moved through others, but the situation was similar.
I sorted by "most recent" and posted in the newest thread.
That"ll do fine.
「Well, I"ll be going hunting now」
While saying that, Fay got up from the table.
A few players with green markers were walking towards us. Looks like this was their meetup spot.
I gave them a nod of greeting and left the place.
Looks like that long conversation did me good.
Looks like that food did me good.
My MP bar was now over 20%
But I didn"t want to risk anything.
I"ll stay in Remut for today.
I walked into a random inn and asked for an empty room.
I recalled Helix and Zangetsu and went into the room.
Using【Alchemy】, I turned some healgra.s.s into potion liquid, which I used to fill my empty bottles.
I also managed to create one recovery pill.
I filled up all my empty bottles, and I was left with only 2 pieces of healgra.s.s.
Pretty unreliable.
I wonder what kind of quest I"ll get tomorrow.
Maybe I"ll make some time and do some gathering in the forest.
Comparing the inn"s bed to my bed in Master"s house, the inn"s bed was definitely less comfortable.
Well, there was nothing I could do about that.
I got into the bed and logged out, coming back to reality.
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv4
Job Summoner Lv3
Bonus Points Remaining 17
Skill Sets:
Staff Lv3 Punch Lv2 Kick Lv2 Joint Lock Lv3 Throw Lv2 Evade Lv2 Block Lv2 Summon Magic Lv4
Light Magic Lv2 Wind Magic Lv3 Earth Magic Lv2 Water Magic Lv3（↑1） Alchemy Lv3 Pharmacy Lv2 Gla.s.smaking Lv1
Cooperation Lv4 Appraise Lv4（↑1） Identify Lv4（↑1） Cold Resistance Lv2 Grab Lv3（↑1） Horsemanship Lv3（↑1） Precise Manipulation Lv3（↑1） Jump Lv1 Heat Resistance Lv1
Equipment:
Kaya Wood Rod Wild Rabbit Breastplate+ Series Snow Ape Armguard Cloth Shoes Rucksack Item Box x2
Items:
Survival Knife
t.i.tle:
Old Summoner"s Temporary Pupil
Monster Summons:
Volff Wolf Lv3
Zangetsu Horse Lv3（↑1）
DEX 7
AGI 20（↑1）
INT 7
STR 20
VIT 23（↑1）
SPI 7
Helix Hawk Lv2
Obsidian Owl Lv2