15 times
First mission. Accomplished! Aftermath… Success?
015 –
“Fuck, I don’t know!”
Hot.
The first thing I felt when I picked up the statue was a strange feeling. What is this? Why is it so soft?
Unlike its black and cold appearance, the stone statue was softer than expected. It felt more like a large gummy jelly than a stone statue. Anyway, that was it.
However, without any time to lose your sense of appreciation, a strange sensation like an electric current runs through your peripheral nerves and into your head all at once. It is exactly the feeling of your brain being twisted, as Malko described.
“Eww!”
“Hey, young man! He’s cursed after all! What are we going to do!? If that big Samaritan goes berserk, we won’t be able to stop him! Everyone, pick up some rocks!”
“Ugh, wait a minute! Wait a minute!”
I hold out my palm as if to dissuade the group from hitting me on the head with a rock. Everyone frowns as if they have seen something unbelievable.
“You seem to be of sound mind! A savage like you really has the grace of the sun god? This is incredible. This is the first time in my seventy years of life that I have seen anything like this!”
The tongue-sticking out Platan inspiration. Of course, I couldn’t help but be surprised. What was most surprising was not the touch of the stone statue or the tingling sensation, but the letters that appeared before my eyes.
Deering-.
『You can spend 100 task values to strengthen the value of one item by 1.』
『1. Strength + 』
『2. Agility + 』
『3. Stamina + 』
These were unbelievable words, but for boys living in the 21st century whose brains have been trained by playing various games, they felt strangely familiar.
Consuming task values to strengthen item values. Isn’t this an ability that can be raised after leveling up completely?
Now I understand where the number ‘task’, which I didn’t know where it was used until now and had no one to ask about, is used.
It feels like I’ve uncovered a secret of the world, and my mind, which had been a bit tangled, feels clearer.
“Brothers, why, why are you silent! Everyone, prepare to throw the stones!”
“Fuck, wait a minute, kid!”
“Got it! But you might be affected by the curse, so if you still stay like that after 30 seconds, I’ll hit your brother’s head with this rock! For your brother!”
You little bastard. Didn’t you just say you didn’t believe in curses just a moment ago?
The guy was holding a large rock in his hand and was fully prepared to hit me in the head with it.
Maybe I just want to hit my head with a rock. Everyone has a destructive desire to hit others with rocks.
Anyway, my colleagues were watching me with suspicious eyes, so I had no time to relax.
I don’t have the confidence to explain the words that come to mind and my situation in a logical manner, and I’m also quite bewildered, so I just put a finger on the number of my strength with a feeling of “I don’t know what to do.”
Deering-.
Then, a strangely artificial sound effect was heard and the letters disappeared. Is this the end? I was wondering that.
Pass-.
The soft obsidian statue that I was holding in my palm was turning to dust and slipping through my fingers as if it was corroding. What is this? It can’t be wrong, right? It’s just frightening.
But the feeling of the electric current flowing through my head disappeared, the strange tension that had been spreading throughout my body was relieved, and my body felt incredibly refreshed.
Contrary to my worries, I feel like I’m actually running in perfect condition.
“It’s, it’s gone… It’s turned to dust… .”
Luna mutters something soft behind her mask. Malko, the musician who was holding a stone next to her, speaks to me.
“Brother, are you of sound mind? Can you recognize us?”
“Yeah, nothing much happened. It looks like the sealing was completed successfully.”
“Young man, it was more like an act of annihilation than a seal. But just in case, let’s watch for about five more minutes. Don’t come near, and stay still!”
The old doctor’s worries were perfectly reasonable, so we watched the situation until the musician’s two songs were over.
… .
… .
“How long do I have to wait for inspiration? It seems like nothing is going to happen.”
“I don’t know right away, but there are curses that slowly eat away at your spirit. I think it’s over for now. Let’s go back before the sun sets!”
Anyway, that’s how my first debut quest as an adventurer came to an end.
*
adjustment!
1 live cockroach, +30 copper.
Temple cleaning request fee, +30 copper.
20 Goblin Fangs, + 20 Copper.
Torn clothes? 10-30 copper.
Wounds of the mind and body +- 0 Cooper.
And the strength value increases by 1.
Is this just so-so? Anyway, compared to when I was a slave, it is a world-changing change in how I make money.
My steps as I walk back home after finishing work are light. The wounds that were stinging and tingling have subsided somewhat.
“Inspiration, that epic relic I was talking about earlier. That pen nib.”
“Are you talking about the needle of emotions? Why are you asking?”
“There are numbers that are emotional. Why do you say strength or something like that? Do those numbers go up or down easily?”
“Even though you are a young man from a foreign land, you still don’t know much. If it were that easy, the world’s order would be destroyed.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. It usually takes at least one year to raise the value by 1, and up to five years. Based on consistent training, discipline, and devout prayer… .”
Old Platan was talking nonsense, as if he was happy that I gave him a chance to show off his knowledge. Anyway, it seems like it was quite special that I raised my strength level.
Since it was a change in numbers that had not changed for two years since I came to this world, I had vaguely expected that it would be something great.
It’s so amazing that it gives me goosebumps. What the hell is going on?
“Anyway, try hard. Young people have endless potential. Don’t be fooled by numbers. These days, young people seem to be obsessed with numbers, but that’s just for show. Experience, knowledge, wisdom, skills. Those things aren’t even visible-.”
“Oh! Brother, I see the wall over there! It looks like we’ve arrived at the right place!”
Contrary to his fears, the map-holding Platan found his way back quite well.
So we arrived at the west gate of Sodomora before the sun went down.
Because we arrived just as the guards were about to close the gate, we were able to avoid having to sleep or camp out in front of the walls until the gate opened the next day.
“From now on, please go a little faster. Those worthless iron-class people are the slowest. They look like beggars who met goblins…”
My group and I returned to the west gate of Sodomora, leaving behind the guards who were making noises. I don’t know what my group is thinking.
As someone who had spent a night sleeping rough, been stung by strange beasts, cursed relics, and bee stings, I couldn’t help but feel welcome in this cesspool of a city.
Even the thick, acrid smoke and smell that lingers throughout the city feels so cozy. It’s nice to see you again, my sweet city.
“Then, as the party leader, I will report to the guild on their behalf. There’s the goblin’s strange behavior, and the cursed relic. No one can speak as coherently as I can.”
It was fortunate that the affable Platan inspiration personally took on the troublesome role. When I thought that the request was over, a musician in a ridiculous cone-shaped hat opened his mouth.
“So, how about we all get together for a drink tonight? It seems like we’ll get some nice extra income in addition to the mission rewards. How about meeting in front of the inn we promised after we settle up this and that?”
“I’m fine with that. How about you, Hassan?”
Luna, who wears a giant mask. As expected, even after spending a day here, she still can’t get used to this bizarre behavior.
It’s evening, after all.
It was common for adventurers to have a party after completing a quest. Elfriede and her companions also filled their bellies with meat and alcohol at a tavern after making a fortune. Of course, as a slave, I couldn’t get involved.
“Let’s go! Hassan, you worked the hardest! We’ll pay for your drinks!”
“Oh, ahem, sister, could it be that I am also joining us?”
“Then what will Hassan do to me?”
“My instrument broke down, so I have to buy a new one, and the cost is… Ha, yes, this is also a fateful meeting. Let’s split the drinking bill between the brothers. How about Nokong? If Nokong joins, we can split the drinking bill between the foreign brothers by one-third!”
“Me? I’m fine. I’m not even that lazy to get involved in the drinking of young people. And I’m busy. Time is even more precious to old people.”
Contrary to his image as an old fart, he seems to be an old man who knows when to get in and when to leave. Come to think of it, it seems like that old man was the most helpful among this group.
The more knowledge and wisdom you have, the better.
“If we are destined to meet, let’s meet again next time. And young man, you should definitely visit the temple. You might have been cursed.”
The old man, half a torn piece of wood, waves his hand and disappears. As I look at his back, illuminated by the sunset, I feel a tingle in my nose, perhaps because I had grown attached to him during the short time we spent camping together.
“Then, which bar should we meet at?”
“Sister, I know that well. Let’s meet at the Nymph Wing Inn until 8 o’clock. The food and drinks there are the best in terms of price and quality.”
“Okay, see you all then!”
Luna and Malko both turned their backs and went their separate ways. It was probably around 5 o’clock now.
There are about three hours left until the dinner meeting, so there’s plenty of time to get things done.
So what should I do now? First, I want to wash off the dust and goblin blood on my body. Should I go to the bathhouse first? And I also need to do something about my torn clothes.
There’s a lot to do, and most of it costs money.
So I decided to start by dealing with this giant bee that was making a lot of noise inside my leather water bottle. I might as well get my money first!
But I have no idea where to sell this money. If I had known this would happen, I would have followed that shaman and asked him.
What did you say it was used for as a medicine?
If there were such a thing as a health center in this world, it would probably be an alchemist’s shop that creates questionable potions.
As I was wandering through the slum streets near the west gate, I stopped in front of a store with a wooden sign engraved with the shape of a beaker and a potion.
The smoke from the chimney continues to pour out, and the musty, damp smell makes me feel like I’m flashing back to my childhood. The smell of everything boiling, boiling, and bubbling.
To be honest, I don’t really want to go into it.
Just-.
“Welcome-.”
As I opened the creaking wooden door and went inside, a bell rang and a soft voice came from deep inside the store. It seemed to be a woman’s voice. It was probably a store run by a woman, or a waiter, or something.
What the fuck, what is all this…?
As I cautiously stepped into the store, my legs began to tremble at the sight of the dark interior.
Because the creatures, stuffed and dissected in foam and immersed in a formalin-like solution, looked so bizarre.
The smell was also very similar to that strange and unpleasant smell of preservatives that could be smelled before dissecting a human body a long time ago.
“Oh my-. Who is this-. It’s a handsome Samaritan-.”
At that moment, a rustling sound is heard, and someone appears inside the store, feet shaking. The first thing you see is a cone-shaped hat and very large breasts.
Yes, it is the heart.
Her bust swaying as if she’s bursting in the airy off-shoulder frilled fabric dress steals my gaze.
Below that is a navy blue skirt. It has slits at the sides like a Chinese dress, revealing her firm thighs and calves, which makes her look so ripe.
“Your eyes are fierce, Samaritan. Have you come to take the head of this witch, Nemea?”
The dot on the lower left corner of his mouth shook strangely along with the sticky voice.
witch.
This woman was a difficult being to explain, other than the fact that she was a witch, as she herself had described.
She must be in her late twenties. She has long, fiery red hair and a sensual aura that is so out of the ordinary that it makes Juji feel gloomy.
There are times when a person is too pretty or has an amazing vibe, and there is an aura that rejects and blocks men, and that is exactly the case right now.
Above all, I am infinitely weak to Elfriede and other races that can be called witches.
This is an area that has been engraved on my soul after being a slave for two years, so it can’t be helped, so you could say that the witch and I have a clear superior-subordinate relationship like magma and fire.
“I… . Well, what is it, anyway, I came here to sell some stuff.”
“thing-?”
“Rather than an object, it’s closer to a, well, a living thing, but that’s….”
“creature-?”
A languid and beautiful witch. I wasn’t clever enough to have my mind spinning in fear when I saw such a being in front of me. It would be funny to say that I came to sell some more.
Crunch, crunch-.
As I was hesitating, the witch approached me and stood before my eyes.
She was shorter than me, but still quite tall for a woman. She also wore heels and a cone-shaped hat, making her look even bigger.
The cone-shaped hat that the little bastard wore was ridiculous, but the real thing is different!
“Biological objects, things-. Indeed. What a friend who has wonderful things-.”
The witch smiled brightly. Soon, her soft fingers were pointed at my lower body. Is this real? I was so surprised that I was trembling like a gazelle frozen in front of a lioness.
Swish.
“Is this what you’re talking about?”
The witch cleverly snatched the leather water bottle from my waistband and held it up to her face. Then, as she opened the lid, a long-imprisoned, angry cockroach flew into the air with a whoosh.
Shit, the bees are out! It’s dangerous!
I almost jumped up with that thought, but the bee settled on the witch’s index finger so quietly that my excitement seemed insignificant.
It looks more like a butterfly sitting on a flower than a ferocious bee. Even bees recognize pretty women. That baby is definitely a male.
“Indeed, it’s a wonderful wheelbarrow. It’s full of life. It’s black and solid, and it’s great. I can give you about 30 coppers for this.”
30 Cooper.
I already had a rough idea of the price, but once I got it confirmed, I forgot how overwhelmed I was by the atmosphere and became extremely excited.
With those 30 coppers, I should be able to pay for a bath and get new clothes, hehe! While I was thinking that, the witch said.
“But it’s nice to have a young Samaritan come to the store. I’m more interested in other things my friend has than cockroaches.”
“What else do I have…?”
“Yes, depending on your friend’s skills, I can give you more than 30 coppers. To be exact, what should I say about what your friend will do in the future? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? That should be enough time-.”
Hohoho- The laughing witch. Her eyes were a sinister red, just like Elfriede’s, and I couldn’t help but get goosebumps.
You shouldn’t get entangled in the witch thing. That’s common sense that people in this world have.
They say that most wizards and witches in this world are crazy. Just like Elfriede was a magician who could control fire, so she was crazy like fire. This woman was definitely crazy too!!
I pictured myself being peeled off, my skin and fingernails peeled off, placed in a beaker to be used as a tool for a wizard’s experiments.
But on the other hand, I’m curious to know what this beautiful woman wants from me. Damn, sadly, it’s a male creature… .
So, even though I had a gut feeling that I was stepping into a spider’s web, I couldn’t help but open my mouth and ask.
“… What should I do…?”
“A strong friend can do it, Samaritan.”
[Work review] Thank you always for your suggestions and recommendations ㅠㅠ..
And I got an anonymous manuscript fee coupon! I don’t know who you are, but I’m sending my thanks in the direction of the rising sun.
