Chapter 6

Fonsie, a country boy, found everything in the big city to be novel and strange.

The houses were made of brick or were apartment buildings, completely different from the makeshift huts in Konaria Village.

Everywhere was bustling, and scenes of people having lunch at various shops could be seen.

However, Fonsie did not have the means to spend money on meals.

After all, in the countryside, self-sufficiency was the norm, and it was hard to say that currency was widely used.

Moreover, he hadn’t expected to stay in the city for a long time without finding work.

To suppress his hunger, he bought a cheap, hard loaf of bread from a nearby shop and nibbled on it as he walked down the street.

He had a vague idea that there would be a chapel on a major street.

(There’s no sign of any monster influence here at all.)

Fonsie couldn’t help but think this.

The people here lived without knowing anything about the outside world, protected by the city walls.

Of course, if monsters appeared and a hunting party was formed, taxes would increase, and they would be indirectly affected.

From Fonsie’s experience in a small village, where the entire village would band together to fight when monsters appeared, the people here seemed rather carefree.

Soon, a large building came into view.

A sign read "Citizens' Guild."

Various people, from wealthy women to old, poor men, were coming and going.

Fonsie stepped inside, and the spacious hall was filled with bulletin boards.

It seemed that requests from citizens were posted there.

Those who scanned them quickly were likely contractors.

The requests were categorized by the time required, type of work, amount of money, and recruitment details, and different people looked at different sections.

Fonsie decided to go to the reception to complete the necessary procedures.

"Excuse me, I’m looking for work."

"Yes. Which guild do you belong to?"

"No, I don’t belong to any guild."

"In that case, it might be a bit difficult to find work..."

The receptionist frowned in confusion.

However, it didn’t seem that there was no work at all. Most of the available jobs had poor conditions and were underpriced.

"Then, please register. It will be quick."

When the documents were handed to him, Fonsie filled out the required fields with a pen.

Once that was done, he immediately started looking for work.

Most of the postings were for tasks like repairing a shed or taking care of livestock.

It seemed that requests involving monsters were not very common. If there were too many monsters, the city would send troops.

As he was looking, one request caught his eye.

It was to slay a Kobold Leader that had taken up residence in a private forest. The presence of these creatures was preventing the collection of resources, causing trouble.

Kobolds are dog-faced monsters. Their strength is similar to that of goblins, but with a higher-level Kobold Leader, they could be well-organized.

(But, this is quite convenient.)

If there were many monsters, Fonsie could level up quickly.

For someone who could level up even with weak monsters, a situation with a large number of kobolds was desirable.

The reward was negligible. It would be dangerous to go alone, and if he went with a group, it wouldn’t be worth it.

That’s why this request had remained unclaimed for a long time.

(A party. No one will team up with me, I suppose.)

Although he felt a sense of resignation, he could level up without deliberately seeking out strong opponents. Considering the time it would take, it was better to go alone.

Besides, he didn’t feel like fighting alongside anyone other than Feertia.

"I’ll take this one. How do I proceed?"

"We will handle everything without involving the client. Could you sign here?"

Fonsie did as he was told and immediately set out to start the job.

But before that,

"Excuse me, could you tell me if there’s a chapel nearby?"

"Yes. If you go straight down the street, you’ll find a small one."

"Thank you. I’ll go there right away."

Following the directions, he found a small chapel.

If he hadn’t asked, he might have missed it.

He entered the empty chapel and began to pray.

Level 1.30, Skill Points 80

He had only defeated an orc on the way, but his level had increased somewhat.

The next skill to acquire should be one useful in group battles.

However, skills suited for fighting multiple opponents required a high number of skill points and often had prerequisite skills.

In that case, a skill that could be used from a distance would be better.

A Hunter’s skill would allow him to use a bow to take down enemies from a distance, but carrying both a sword and a bow would be cumbersome.

Moreover, to aim carefully, he would need a considerable distance and time, which wouldn’t be suitable for fighting multiple opponents.

(I’ll become a Mage.)

While there were equipment items to amplify magical power, he could still cast spells without them.

The range wasn’t great, but if he could use magic while wielding a sword, it would be convenient.

Fonsie immediately acquired the Mage’s skill.

Taking "Elemental Magic: Fire" cost 50 skill points, leaving him with 30 points.

He then looked for a skill that would slightly increase his physical abilities. The Martial Artist’s skill "Hand-to-Hand Combat" seemed to improve physical abilities and close-quarters combat skills.

Considering his defeat by a hobgoblin, it was a good choice.

Fonsie acquired the skill without hesitation.

(Alright, let’s do this...!)

He didn’t know how powerful his magic would be, but in the worst case, he could rely on sword skills alone.

As he walked through the city and out the gate, he headed toward the forest he had previously checked.

Although there were monster attacks, the farmland couldn’t be surrounded by city walls, so the farmers were only protected by flimsy fences.

He arrived at the forest on the outskirts, which, despite being called a private forest, was much larger than he had imagined. It made sense that no one would take on the request for such a small reward.

The owner of this land must be quite wealthy, but also rather stingy.

Fonsie increased his vigilance as he entered the forest.

He tried a fire spell when he was out of sight.

He felt a force being drained from his body.

Using magic required the consumption of a power called mana.

A fireball floated near his palm.

Unlike regular fire, it wouldn’t spread, so it could be used safely in the forest.

Focusing his mind, he released the fireball, which flew away and hit the ground, causing a small explosion of dirt.

It was quite powerful, but due to lack of practice, his aim was poor.

Moreover, at level 1, his mana was limited, and he couldn’t use it frequently.

If he ran out of mana, he could use physical strength to cast spells, but that would be counterproductive.

With these considerations in mind, he continued forward and soon spotted a patrolling kobold.

It seemed to be on guard, so Fonsie quickly moved to a hidden position.

Using the Stealth skill, he approached the kobold undetected and swung his sword.

He had become quite adept at this tactic and no longer made mistakes. However, he still felt tense every time he gripped his sword.

He then collected a part of the kobold’s body and its magic stone as proof and moved on to the next target.

As he continued to defeat enemies and moved toward where more kobolds were concentrated, he eventually saw a group of over ten kobolds.

In the center of the group was a large kobold, the Kobold Leader, sitting and holding a spear.

(I found them, but there are quite a few.)

However, he couldn’t run away.

Fonsie thought of a plan and immediately put it into action.