Chapter 79

"Hey, wait a moment. Take a look at this."

The three were about to start the task of dismantling and skinning the Mutashidora, but Madoc, who had been checking the surroundings, called out after peering into the thicket where the Mutashidora had been hiding.

"What's wrong?"

Orson and Nijela hurried over to him. When they saw what he was pointing at, they gasped in surprise.

"What is it? It doesn't look like a monster came out."

Al, who had been near the campfire, also rushed over and understood the situation. Two human skulls were lying side by side in the thicket. Upon closer inspection, a considerable amount of bones were scattered nearby, including those of humans, barbarians, and others.

"It seems this thing was hiding here and attacking various people. We would have been in trouble if we had just gone on."

"Wow, it's a good thing we took it down."

Al also let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Al, you have holy water, right? Let's pray for the peace of the souls resting in the thicket."

In the case of adventurers, they sometimes encounter human remains as part of their job. It was said that unburied remains could turn into undead creatures like zombies or ghosts if left alone. Ideally, a priest would pray for the souls' peace, but that wasn't always possible. In such cases, holy water was used. Holy water was special water blessed by a priest or bishop in a church, which could be obtained by making a donation. Al had prepared it at Orson's suggestion.

Al nodded and entered the thicket with Orson, Madoc, and Nijela. Despite being covered in moss, pieces of clothing and bones were scattered around. How many people had fallen victim here?

"Souls of the departed, rest in peace..."

Al and the others uncorked their bottles of holy water and slowly poured them onto the ground, praying for the peace of the victims. At that moment, Al noticed a part of a sword hilt protruding from the soil. It might have belonged to one of the dead. If it had any distinctive features, it could help identify the deceased.

"Did you find something?"

"Yeah, this."

Al gently dug around the hilt. The sword was about 1 meter long and broad. Though rusted, it was elaborately decorated, and a large red gem on the scabbard still gleamed.

"That's a pretty good one. Can you pull it out?"

At Orson's suggestion, Al carefully dug the sword out of the soil and tried to draw it from the scabbard. Contrary to expectations, it slid out smoothly. The blade was free of rust and gleamed like new. When Al used a magic detection spell as a precaution, it reacted.

"Even though it was buried for a long time, it's not rusted at all. It must be protected by magic. That means it's a pretty famous sword. But, since someone might be looking for it, it's best to report it to the Adventurer's Guild if you take it. If you neglect this, it could be treated as stolen goods, which would be troublesome."

Al nodded at Orson's words.

"That means the remains near this sword might belong to someone of high status."

"We can only carry a limited amount. The skin will be quite heavy, so it's impossible to carry the remains back."

Al nodded at Orson's words but thought it would be best to search the area for anything that could identify the deceased and take it back if possible.

"Then let's get back to the skinning. Madoc, Nijela, let's do our best."

"Wait a moment, Al. If your dizziness has cleared up, can you use a spell to flip these remains over?"

As Orson and the others were about to return to work, Madoc asked Al. The Mutashidora was enormous, and it would be almost impossible to move it even with the three of them working together.

"Sure. The only thing I can do is a physical enhancement spell. Can you try moving it with that?"

"You can use a physical enhancement spell? Having Al around really helps."

Nijela sighed in admiration. After a short rest, it was possible for the three to use the physical enhancement spell. They managed to complete the dismantling task with great effort.

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After that, it took them two more days to obtain about 100 Raindrops and return to the border city of Lester. They encountered a stray Ishinagebongo during the journey, but fortunately, they did not run into the Ishinagebongo herd or other Mutashidoras.

"Four of you together is rare."

When they visited the Adventurer's Guild, Quinta was at the counter. She had also been the one to assist Al when he first visited this guild.

"Everyone stayed at the same inn. We decided to go together."

The oldest, Orson, answered on behalf of the group.

"Are you here to sell materials? Or do you have something to consult about?"

"Both, actually."

Orson started by discussing the sale of the Raindrops and Mutashidora fangs. He didn't mention the skin, probably intending to take it to the tanner, Cody. She appraised the items Orson brought.

"It's 70 gold coins in total. That's 17 gold coins and 50 silver coins per person. You've made quite a bit."

Quinta said in amazement and handed each of them the money.

"Actually, we have something to consult about. We found this."

Orson gestured to Al, who nodded and placed the sword and ring he found in the thicket where the Mutashidora was hiding on her desk.

"Wow... It's quite a magnificent sword despite the rust. Oh, I can see a faint crest engraved on it. Is the ring a magical item?"

Quinta carefully examined the sword and ring Al handed over.

"The sword glowed blue with the magic detection spell, so it might be a magical item or protected from rust. The ring also reacted, so it might be a magical item."

"I see. What do you want to do with them?"

Quinta looked at Al intently.

"I think these are valuable items, and the owner might be looking for them. Has the guild received any requests for such items?"

Quinta smiled and nodded at Al's words.

"I see, that's very considerate. I thought you might want to keep them for yourself. Well, you're a mage, and even if it's a magical sword, Nijela would be the one to use it, but it might be too short for her main weapon. With four of you and two magical items, it would be hard to distribute them fairly."

Quinta glanced at Nijela, who nodded in agreement.

"Alright. It will take some time to investigate, but can I keep them for now? I'll give you a receipt."

Al glanced at Orson, who smiled reassuringly, indicating it was fine. He probably trusted her.

"Alright, Quinta. Please take care of it."

"Leave it to me."

Al and the others carefully received the receipt from Quinta and left the Adventurer's Guild.

"Next, we'll go to Cody. If everything goes well, we might get around 20 gold coins. Combined with what we just got, that's about 22 gold coins and a bit per person. That's quite a sum."

"Sure, Orson. If you have any good jobs, let me know."

Madoc nodded happily at Orson's words and patted Al on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Al. When we first met, you were still a beginner, but now you're a full-fledged adventurer."

"Thanks..."

Al's response was somewhat absent-minded. He was thinking about buying one or two more spell books with this money.

"From the look on your face, you're thinking about buying more spell books. Make sure to save some money for emergencies, okay?"

Seeing his expression, Orson couldn't help but worry.

That's the end of this story. The next one will be a new tale.

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I will add the characters from Chapter 7 one hour later, at 11:00 AM.

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