Chapter 22

I discovered a reaction that seemed to be from thieves.

First, I need to determine if they are really thieves. It would be no laughing matter if I attacked and it turned out to be an innocent person, and I ended up becoming the thief.

On the other hand, if I approached them friendly and they turned out to be real thieves, I would only be giving them the first move.

As I was thinking about this, I realized that the group was about to leave the range of the touchpad. I hurriedly chased after them.

While chasing, I prepared six pressure magic spells. The convenience of pressure magic lies in the fact that, by pre-infusing them with magic power, I can immediately strike the enemy's position directly even if they are far away. However, this increases the magic power consumption.

I haven't received any special training, and I don't know how to get close enough to secretly appraise them.

So, what I did was jump and appraise them in the gap. It's like what I used against the Metal Lizards.

When I jumped, I saw the men. As expected, one of them, who looked young, was being carried. It was probably a girl.

When I appraised one of them, I found out he was a thief. His stats were about the same as a regular adventurer.

Thinking of the image of a "thief," I jumped again, and a ▼ appeared above the heads of all the men. It looked like an FPS game.

Once I knew they were thieves, there was no need to hold back. I decided to take them down quickly.

If I hesitated, I might be too late to cast the spell. Also, I couldn't think of a part that would definitely kill them with just pressure. So, my plan was this:

Approach quickly and target a part that, while unlikely to kill, would have a high suppression effect when pressure was applied. That's it.

So, which part would have the highest suppression effect when pressure was applied, while also being unlikely to kill?

—Of course, the vital points.

From what I saw, all the people who looked like thieves were men. If they were hit there, they wouldn't be able to counterattack.

I had accumulated enough magic power, so I decided to start the attack.

I dashed to within 3 meters and cast the spell at the vital points of the six men.

It hit the vital points!

At that moment, the part of the men's bodies that symbolized their vital points caved in. Physically.

It must have been more than just painful. The power was so high that it seemed to have sunk into their abdomens, and they were writhing, holding their crotches.

One of the men, groaning, caught the girl they were about to drop.

She looked around 17 years old, with brown hair tinged with red and a short stature.

I carried the girl and put some distance between us and the men. Even if they pretended to be defeated and attacked, I could handle it if I kept my distance.

Thinking this, I appraised each of them from a distance, but they were all dead. Their internal organs must have been damaged.

I didn't feel much guilt for killing people. Maybe it was because I was used to killing in FPS games, or maybe it was because I had already killed other animals.

In any case, what to do with this girl? If there was a bounty for the thieves, I could just take the guild card and there would be no problem. I didn't feel like carrying a head, and I didn't think these thieves would have much equipment.

I decided to appraise the girl.

Name: Sumisa

Age/Race/Gender: 18/Dwarf/Female

Level: 7

HP: 36/36

MP: 9/9

STR: 16

INT: 12

AGI: 8

DEX: 63

Skill: Life Magic

Status: Forced Hypnosis

High DEX!! She must be very dexterous!!

Is it because she's a Dwarf?

No, that's not important now. She seems to be under forced hypnosis. Can it be cured with healing magic?

...No, healing my own body, especially the extremities, is different from healing the whole body when it's in a life-threatening situation. If I messed up, it could be disastrous.

Fortunately, her HP hasn't decreased, so the forced hypnosis probably doesn't immediately affect her health.

She's likely a Dwarf and was probably kidnapped from Eleera. I'll carry her princess-style to Eleera.

I slowed down a bit, returned to the road, and started climbing the hill. Still, it was faster than a horse.

Just before I left the forest, I detected a response from someone on horseback on the road, but they had already passed by the time I left the forest.

After running for about an hour, the scenery changed. It was a barren mountain.

All the trees had been cut down, leaving only stumps.

While wondering what had happened, I continued climbing and, after about 10 minutes, I saw a gate.

The gate read "Eleera." I was about to be checked with my guild card, but I realized I was surrounded by guards.

"Hey, isn't that Sumisa, who was kidnapped? It looks like you've defeated the thieves, but were they the ones who took her?"

They weren't pointing weapons at me. They must have confirmed I wasn't a thief.

"Yes, I found her being carried by the thieves. I defeated the thieves and brought her here. She seems to be under forced hypnosis. Where should I take her?"

"Forced hypnosis. It can be easily cured with medicine, but we can't entrust her to someone we don't know, even if they helped. We can take care of her. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine. By the way, where can I go to have weapons made?"

"It depends on the materials and what you want to make, but I think it's better to go to the broker's office rather than directly to the workshop. If you go straight down this road, you'll find it at the end. Also, come to the station when the evening bell rings. I think there will be some kind of reward."

"Thank you."

I handed Sumisa over to the guard and decided to go to the broker's office. Would I be kicked out by the Dwarves again?

While thinking about this, I moved to the broker's office and opened the door, but what I saw was unexpected.

There were no Dwarves. At the counter on the right, there were three human men, one at each of the three sections.

There was also a door on the opposite side from where I came in, and it seemed you could enter from there as well.

I decided to talk to the nearest person.

"I want to process Metal Lizard armor into a sword, armor, and shield. Where should I go?"

"Ah, for Metal Lizard Metal, I think you should go to Sumizu's workshop..."

He seemed hesitant. Is it related to Sumisa's name?

"My daughter was kidnapped, so I went out to search for her. Even if she returns, I don't think the workshop will take on the job."

It was related. Of course, it's not unusual for parents and children to have similar names.

"In that case, it seems your daughter was rescued just now. She was under hypnosis but seems to be fine."

"Ah, that's good luck. It seems people were searching the roads and the area around the city, but it was hard to find her recently. If she wasn't on the road and had traveled some distance, she might have entered the forest, making it very difficult to find her..."

So, I encountered the scene. It was more like I discovered it unilaterally.

I didn't intend to say that. If I told the person brokering the weapon processing, they would just be confused.

"Right. By the way, where is the workshop and how much will it cost?"

Even if I helped save his daughter, I can't expect to get the weapon processing for free. It would be too much to ask for free processing when she wouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place and I wouldn't have had to search for her.

So, I don't intend to do that.

"It depends on the sword and shield, but a practical, undecorated one-handed sword would cost about 1 million gold. A two-handed sword would be about 1.3 million. The workshop is number 5 on this map."

He pointed to a board with a map of the buildings in the area.

I take back my previous statement. That's expensive. I only have a little over 100,000 gold, which is not enough.

"Um... Is there a place where I can sell some of the armor I have?"

"Workshops that do processing often buy materials. Metal Lizard Metal has been in short supply recently, so there are many people who want it. It's about 3 million gold per kilogram."

What? I have a whole Metal Lizard. How many kilograms is that? Could I buy a sub-dragon sword?

But I also need to make armor, and even though I got it quickly, it would be a waste to use it up so easily. My current sword is not inconvenient, and its durability is excellent. I can manage with magic even without special effects.

"I see. Thank you."

It seems I won't have to extort them. Saying "I saved your daughter, so do the weapon processing for free" would make me the thief.

I need to confirm if I can really sell it, so I decided to go to the workshop. When I entered, a human man nearby approached and spoke to me.

"Do you have some business with Sumin's workshop?"

Sumin's workshop. The name is similar, so maybe it's related to Sumizu's ancestors.

"Yes. I want to process Metal Lizard Metal and sell the excess Metal Lizard Metal."

"Oh, Metal Lizard Metal. Metal Lizards haven't appeared recently, so we've been short on supply. How many kilograms do you have?"

"Um... I have a whole Metal Lizard in my item box. How many kilograms can you get from one Metal Lizard?"

The man looked at me suspiciously.

"A whole Metal Lizard in an item box? Metal Lizards are about 10 meters long. I'm not very familiar with item boxes, but can they really hold something that big?"

"Ah, I don't know why, but my item box has a large capacity, and it can hold things that shouldn't fit."

"Ah, I see... In any case, if it's a whole Metal Lizard, about 10 meters long, I think it would be around 1,400 kilograms. I don't think we have enough funds to buy it all at once. Also, we received word that Sumisa was found, so the boss won't be working today. We can start tomorrow..."

Just as he said that, a person with a slightly softer demeanor than Doveler's entered, accompanied by a seemingly awakened Sumisa.