Episode 41
Hassan, a local from the swamp
041 – Swamp Local Hassan #8
“Whoaaah!”
Screams are heard here and there, and the noise of wet mud splashing and the howls of wild beasts spreads in all directions.
“S, SAVE ME!”
Gerrrrr!
Crocodiles with their mouths wide open bit and tore at the body of a bronze tier adventurer, spewing blood like a fountain.
The crocodiles, driven mad by the overwhelming smell of blood, swarm the carcass and devour all the remaining flesh and debris in one bite, tearing at it and tearing it apart.
What the heck, an alligator!
The back of my neck sank calmly at the sight of that horrific sight. Damn, is it okay for someone to die so easily?
First of all, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone die in front of my eyes, so my heart is pounding so hard I can’t control it.
“Fuck, run, run away!”
“Don’t run away! If you are a warrior of Mars, stand up and fight!”
Sling, sling – Hippolyta and the maidens drew their swords. The girls began to swing their swords with all their might at the crocodiles that were half-submerged in the wet mud.
“Eyes and neck! Aim for the eyes and neck-!”
Sgung-.
Hippolyte, who had shown no sign of weakness the night before, split the thick-skinned swamp crocodile in two with one blow. She is so strong that she is very trustworthy. Silver Tier indeed!
The other sword maidens are also diligently following Hippolyte’s lead.
“Hee, eek!”
Gerrrrr!
The skin of crocodiles is usually not very tough, so it only adds to the confusion as you may not be able to pull out your sword after stabbing it, or you may fall and get injured by your own sword.
Of course I understand. The bottom is swampy, so it’s difficult to move around, and this is the crocodiles’ home ground.
These baby crocodiles are truly ferocious beasts. They are ruthless killing machines of nature, incomparable to the likes of swamp goblins.
Swish!
I felt like a huge crocodile was rushing at me and my mind went blank. As I was falling backwards, a dozen crocodiles flew at me and pounced on me.
Kkwaddeok-.
The bastard soon got to the point where he was biting the protective gear on my wrist and shaking it around. Damn, if it hadn’t been for the expensive armor I bought, my arm would have been a tasty meal by now.
“시발놈이! 놔, 십새끼야!”
Thanks to that, I missed my longsword, so I immediately pulled out my dagger from my waist and swung it with all my might towards the center of the baby crocodile’s forehead.
Kwajik!
The crocodile’s body goes limp with the sound of something sharp piercing its hide. Luckily, it seems to have pierced its skull and damaged its brain.
What the heck!? I’m killing a ruthless and ferocious reptile! I’m the Dragon Slayer Hassan!?
My heart was filled with such emotion and excitement, but there were so many crocodiles around that I didn’t have time to lose myself in the experience.
While I was suffering like this, I was so worried about what would happen to the other guys, especially Luna, that I turned my head away.
Swish-, swish-.
Luna raised both arms high in the air like a scarecrow towards the crocodiles surrounding her. Soon, she began to run wildly in a zigzag pattern, with an odd gait.
“Kioooooooh, Hiyaaaa!”
His mouth was wide open and he let out a strange scream, which made me really worried that he might be crazy and unable to overcome the fear of death.
Of course, I couldn’t say anything to Luna because I thought I was going crazy.
Shit, Luna’s broken anyway. Can a massage fix her broken mind? Should I just press on her brain directly?
But at that moment, something amazing happened.
Crab, gerrrr!
Barrrrr!
The crocodiles that had been surrounding Luna fiercely turned around and quickly disappeared somewhere like lizards running on water!
“What the heck!?”
My head seems to be going crazy over a scene that I can’t understand.
“Hatsan, what are you doing! You too, hurry up and follow suit! Swamp crocodiles are afraid of creatures that jump in a zigzag pattern and make loud noises!”
“What the fuck!?”
“hurry!”
What Luna was saying was filtered through my rational filter and I didn’t understand a single thing. What the hell, I’ve lost. Didn’t Luna actually chase away the crocodiles with that ridiculous appearance?
“Hatsan, if you’re your size, the crocodiles will be more scared! Come on, do it!”
“Fuck!”
Gerrrrr-.
Sirrrrrr-.
I felt like I had no more time to relax as the crocodiles closed in on me, so I raised both my arms high and took a deep breath.
Clank, clank-!
And I run in a zigzag pattern! My zigzag evasion maneuvers, which I’ve trained while playing countless FPS games and avoiding Elfriede’s whip, are honestly more dazzling than others.
In addition to simply dodging in a zigzag pattern, he also shakes his body this way and that, twisting his body in all directions like a balloon at an event.
“Hoeeeeeeeeeeee-!!!!!!”
Crab, crab!
Shivarr!
The crocodiles, mere insignificant beasts, were so surprised by my majesty that they began to run away in all directions, showing their long backs and tails.
Shit, the crocodiles are scared of me!
“Hehehe, you can’t go! You can’t go past!!”
Got it!
I took the lives of those guys by stabbing them in the back of the head and the back of the neck with my long sword. Who knew there was such an easy way to hunt crocodiles!
“What the hell is that! Those baby crocodiles are running away! Is that the Samaritan’s way of hunting!?”
“Wow, I think I’ve heard somewhere that swamp natives hunt crocodiles like that!”
“What are you guys doing! Then let’s hurry up and join in!”
Thus, the swamps in the fog were filled with Fiddlesticks pups, moving around awkwardly and making strange screams.
Crab, gerrur… .
In it, the weak crocodile, which was just a jungle monster, could not survive.
* * *
“Wow, look at this. I got some really good leather. I didn’t know there was an easy way to catch an alligator.”
“It’s just the dead kids that are getting pitiful.”
After a few wild jungler parties, the scattered crocodiles and dead bodies were cleared out.
I also cleverly cut the skins of the two crocodiles I caught with my dagger, and several adventurers who were watching me were amazed and stuck out their tongues.
“You can easily separate that thick leather with just one short knife.”
“As expected from someone who lives in the harsh wilderness, you are very dexterous, aren’t you?”
In fact, skinning, or removing the skin from the carcasses of killed animals, was one of my few special skills.
Because my father ran a health center and had a habit of making medicine with strange ingredients, I occasionally learned how to groom animals from over his shoulders.
Also, after living as a slave under Elfriede for almost two years, I guess I got used to it naturally.
Now that you have a look at the exterior and have a rough feel of it, you can get a rough idea of how to handle it.
Jooaaaahh …
Of course, the fact that I can peel off the crocodile skin better than I thought is probably due to my newfound clumsy dexterity and the increase in my Strength stat.
As I had previously anticipated, my newfound grace seems to be something of a compensation that increases my efficiency in my manual actions and overall work.
It was a more useful grace than I thought. But damn it, I shouldn’t be bald.
“Wow, you skinned two animals in a matter of minutes. That’s impressive. Samaritan, would you skin the alligator I caught for me too? I’ll give you 10% of the expected selling price for the skins.”
“I’ll ask for mine too. If you can remove them without damaging them, I can easily get five silver per head. I can’t get any crocodile skin, though…”
“Fuck!”
“Why, why not?”
“Please wait in line!”
So I also skinned four more crocodiles, making a profit of two silver.
Quick takeaway!
The estimated selling price of the two crocodile skins I own is 10 silver.
And when you complete this mission, you will receive 10 silver.
Swamp Goblin Tooth and Crocodile Hide Bracers cost 2 Silver and 44 Copper.
I currently have 5 silver and 30 copper.
Once this is almost over, I will have 30 silver coins, which is the amount I had saved for the past two years.
Damn, there are so many different ways to make money!?
I feel like I understand why adventurers like Elfriede could afford to spend so much money on equipment. Slaves were no different from real livestock or beasts.
The leather did make the backpack a little heavier, but it still felt so light that I felt like I could fly.
“Where on earth do you learn such things? They are so cleanly drawn.”
A middle-aged bronze tier adventurer nods with satisfaction as he looks at his own hide. I was about to say something to him.
“Don’t they say that the Samaritans wear the skins of their victims? This foreign brother has been making clothes from the skins of his victims since ancient times, so he is skilled in this.”
“Oh my god, this is so surprising.”
It was Malko who answered for me. He looked like a swamp crocodile with mud all over his body, and I almost swung my dagger at him.
This kid, he was alive. He was a tough kid. His lifeline was tougher than crocodile skin. How did he survive in that pack of crocodiles, where even armed adventurers were dying one by one?
“Hey, brother. I’ve seen your dance, brother. Hassan, the Samaritan of the swamp. You’ll pick a good tune.”
“Fuck, if you exaggerate and spread it again, I’ll be prepared.”
“But when did I say I was exaggerating? I was just adding artistic inspiration.”
“Malko-kun! Where are you? Come here and give me the crocodile skin I caught!”
“Whew-. But these days, I’m starting to feel doubtful about my artistic path. Should I go back home?”
Malco returns to the officer with his shoulders hunched. The pack he carries on his back is filled with four heavy crocodile skins and, even heavier, the officer’s affection.
Anyway, that’s the rough outline of it all.
I looked around while carrying my bag. Then I saw Luna throwing coins on the floor.
Oh my, even if he is a rich man, he throws money on the ground! I was so shocked that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Luna, I was alive earlier thanks to you. How on earth did you know how to deal with crocodiles?”
“Ah-. There are a lot of swamps in Ideopae. When crocodiles get bored, they come out. The bigger they are, the better. Why, crocodiles have eyes on the low ground. I guess they have a habit of seeing things that are high up as bigger.”
It sounded like a swindler selling medicine. But since Luna actually showed us her track record, I started listening with the feeling that it was true. Anyway, that’s not really what I was trying to ask.
“Why are you throwing coins on the floor? If you’re going to throw away money, give it to me.”
“Oh, I’m not throwing this away. It’s not even my money. I’m just taking Caron’s pocket money from these people’s pockets. One copper each.”
Luna put a copper in each of the dead bodies’ mouths with their eyes wide open in a horrible way. Could this be considered a funeral etiquette unique to this world?
Come to think of it, when I was following Elfriede around, there were often deaths, and I would leave money on the bodies like this.
Because the people of this world firmly believe that there is an afterlife, they have no doubt about it. Of course, I just thought it was like that. I didn’t have anything else to ask or say.
* * *
“Five dead before we even met the cultists. Two escaped. The damage is severe. Are there only thirteen left?”
“Yes. Lady Hippolyte, shall we continue? The Sword Maidens also appear to have suffered many injuries.”
“Your Majesty, it’s good that you’re worried, but as you know, there’s no retreat. When things get tough, you and I alone are enough.”
“Really? I don’t mind, but Miss Hippolyte doesn’t look too well. Is there an injury?”
“… None. Then let’s go.”
Without even offering condolences to the dead, the group once again packs their belongings and sets out across the muddy ground.
The mood is different for everyone: some are very excited to get the crocodile skin, while others are very scared due to the shock from the previous attack.
Hooooo-.
Meuuuuu-.
“Shit, shit.”
“Hey kid, you’re so annoying. You’re the sound of a bird.”
However, it was clear that I was more nervous and tired than before. I had to be on edge at the slightest sound, wondering if it was an attack by crocodiles or other beasts of a similar size, or even by baby monsters.
“Damn, I wish this fog would just clear up a bit.”
“Was it always foggy here? I don’t remember it that way.”
“I don’t know, kid. Look straight ahead or to the side.”
As I walked in silence and listened to the adventurers’ stories, it seemed that this fog was not a unique characteristic of this swamp, but rather a rather suspicious weather anomaly.
Since most of a person’s senses rely on sight, this fog that blocks vision had a corner that drove people crazy.
The air is starting to get warmer and warmer, almost like walking through a giant steamer.
“Hassan, you caught two crocodiles!”
However, Luna was strangely excited, as if in a very good mood.
Ideopa’s weather was similar to this or something. Still, I feel a little better because there’s this cheerful guy next to me.
Luna giggles as she looks at the crocodile skin in my backpack.
“I can make clothes out of leather!”
“clothes?”
“You got bitten by goblins last time, right? When you were cleaning the temple.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
He was covering himself with a cheap 10-coupon raincoat, but in fact, the leather clothes he was wearing underneath were closer to rags than clothes.
Since I bought the armor, I haven’t been able to buy proper clothes because I don’t have money. I’ll have to change my clothes when I get the chance to earn some money.
As Luna said, making clothes out of crocodile skin wouldn’t be a bad idea. If I supply the materials, will they lower the price a bit?
Clothes made of crocodile skin. I never thought I would ever wear something so luxurious in my life!
As I was imagining myself looking quite luxurious, Hippolyta, who was walking at the front of the group, stopped walking again.
Shit, what the hell is going to pop out this time? At that moment when I was so nervous, Silver Tier Adventurer Hippolyte spoke with a firm voice as if she had made up her mind about something.
“This won’t work. If we don’t somehow deal with this fog, our journey will be difficult. According to reports, there is a cultist camp nearby.”
“Miss Hippolyte, is there any way?”
At the question of the department head, several adventurers’ eyes turned to Hippolyte’s face. It was because they expected that an adventurer of Silver Tier level would somehow solve this fog.
Because right now, imaginations were running through my head like I was going to blow it away with a gust of wind.
Hippolyte said.
“I can’t, but some of us can. Priestess of Delphi. Let me borrow some grace from your god. Light is the best for dispelling fog.”
Cassandra, whose name was called, appeared among the group. She then shook her head slightly as if looking around and spoke quietly and calmly.
“The yin energy here is strong, so my feeble prayers may not reach heaven. Instead of me, how about asking the person over there for help…?”
Then he pointed his finger among the adventurers. Everyone’s gaze began to follow that slender finger, and eventually they all headed to one place.
I was like, who the hell is that, and it was me.
“Who is it me?”
[Work Review] It started serializing on May 5th and reached episode 40 today, the 17th.. Episode 40 on the 13th… It feels like I’ve done it 3 times at least..!! It’s fun to write because so many people read and support it!!!!
P.S…. at the end of this episode… what you’ve all been waiting for… is definitely coming… child… making… productive… activity… I swear… on the River Styx… until it comes out… Michuri… hold… my… breath… sob… crackle… crackle…
