Chapter 21

Riding the crescent moon, I hurried to Remto.

I hunted the monsters that actively attacked me, but I prioritized movement and did not go out of my way to hunt.

From today on, I am under the care of the guild master.

I wonder what will happen.

Sure enough, it was fast on horseback; I arrived at the town of Remto without much time passing.

I had been delayed by going to the village of Legias.

However, the speed of the crescent moon had managed to make up for it.

Long live mobility.

And I am grateful to the crescent moon.

When I went to the Adventurer's Guild, I was directed to a different room after giving my name as Keith.

I had never been to this room before, but inside were the guild master, Lugran, and the usual middle-aged male staff member.

They seemed to be having a serious conversation, which stopped when I entered.

I wonder what it was about.

"Ah! You came right away."

"Yes."

"Well, I've heard most of the details from Orenew. Ideally, I would like to see your skills at the training ground."

Training ground?

It feels a bit ominous.

"Well, let's try this one lightly."

Saying this, the middle-aged staff member handed me what looked like a piece of parchment.

The request read, "Eliminate wild dogs targeting livestock." The deadline was four days, and the minimum number to eliminate was 100.

What is this?

《A guild-designated request has come in. Do you accept it?》

"I understand, I'll accept it."

《You have accepted a guild-designated request! Please eliminate 100 wild dogs within four days.》

An elimination request.

It wouldn't be strange if other players had also accepted it.

"Although I accepted it, are these kinds of elimination requests common?"

"Yeah, if it's horned rabbits destroying fields, the requests are filled as soon as they're posted."

Huh?

The staff member's behavior seemed a bit off.

"Eliminating wild dogs isn't popular because there's no profit in it."

Ah, I see.

I've hunted them before, but wild dogs don't drop anything.

I've been making the corpses disappear by sticking a skinning knife into them after killing them.

"Here, I'll also give you this reactive stone. If you put it in a bag, it will count the number of wild dogs you've eliminated."

I received a smooth, red stone.

I threw it into my backpack.

"First, let's see how you do. I'm looking forward to it."

"Yes."

"Try to show up here in the morning for now."

"I understand."

A preliminary test, huh?

Is that really what it is?

After all, it's that master and a person with a rotten relationship.

It wouldn't be strange if this guild master also had something unusual about him.

It was still quite early for lunch.

But I deliberately bought lunch and stored it in the Item Box.

I also filled my water bottle with water.

I can eat on horseback.

I intend to continue hunting wild dogs until evening.

I'll ignore the rabbits.

Today, I will become the grim reaper for wild dogs.

The hunt was going smoothly.

There were a lot of wild dogs.

There are quite a few players hunting around Remto, but they're all after horned rabbits.

Of course, there's a big difference between getting something and getting nothing after defeating them.

This is a good opportunity.

I can also test out my new weapon, the Kay's Rod.

I cast Physical Enchantment Aqua on myself to prepare for combat on horseback.

I have new spells, but if I have enough MP, I'd like to try Wind Cutter.

It's fun to have a lot of things to try.

It's really fun.

Well, let's hunt.

Kay's Rod is really good.

Compared to a beginner's rod, the attack power is only +2, but that +2 makes a big difference.

I compared it with the beginner's rod I had in the Item Box.

It's clearly different.

But the biggest difference is how easy it is to use.

It's just swinging the end of the rod while on horseback, so there's not much to it!

It's like a sport.

Yes, polo.

Swinging the rod from horseback to hit a dog that's coming at you or running away is harder than it looks.

《Your identification skill has leveled up with this battle victory!》

After defeating some wild dogs, my identification skill leveled up.

It's a stroke of luck.

Even a few wild dogs at a time are no problem.

The crescent moon and Helix are very reliable.

If a wild dog is trampled by the crescent moon, it's finished in one hit.

If it's hit by Helix's surprise attack, it won't die in one hit, but it will take a big chunk out of its HP.

Even if I fail to finish off a wild dog with my attack, they'll finish it off for me.

I was getting tired of getting off the horse to stick the skinning knife into the wild dogs, but I did it anyway.

It's like a ritual.

Just then, an unexpected monster mixed in.

It would be the 16th target.

It was indeed a dog.

A wild dog.

But it was a very tough one that had mixed in.

When I identified it, it was indeed a different monster.

Wild Dog Leader Level 2

Monster, Elimination Target, Active

A leader?

Unlike the Horned Rabbit, it's easy to tell, so I won't make a mistake!

Is this also part of the wild dog elimination target?

I'll think about that later, but this leader was indeed stronger than a regular wild dog.

It wouldn't go down no matter how many hits I landed.

It even had the ferocity and speed to jump and attack me on horseback.

It was tough enough to counterattack even when I hit it directly with Kay's Rod.

I tried Wind Cutter, but it was dodged when I aimed from a distance.

Not only was it agile, but it also watched my movements and launched attacks.

It was also vigilant against the movements of the crescent moon and Helix.

It was a formidable opponent.

But I had a strategy.

Casting attack spells from the ground would only be dodged.

This monster would always target me.

I tried to hold back the Force Bullet after completing the spell and release it when the wild dog jumped.

This would hit.

I tried the same with Wind Cutter.

It also hit without any problems.

It was the Wind Cutter that finished off the Wild Dog Leader.

It cut the HP bar in half compared to the Force Bullet.

It had quite a bit of firepower.

And this wild dog left behind an interesting item when I stuck the skinning knife into it.

【Treasure】Magic Stone, Magic Item, Quality D-, Rarity 2, Weight 0+

A material that has become a core of concentrated magical power residing in a monster.

A magic stone.

This is my second one.

It can be used to repair equipment, but I haven't had to use it yet.

I'll gratefully take it.

I continued hunting wild dogs.

I ignored the active horned rabbits that attacked me, and it was easy to run away from them since the crescent moon couldn't catch up.

I had Helix prioritize searching for and guiding me to wild dogs.

The hunt progressed very efficiently.

I encountered another Wild Dog Leader. This time it was a Level 1.

It was the 32nd target.

But since it was the second one, I knew how to fight it.

I defeated it relatively easily, even though I took some damage.

I used a potion to fully recover from the damage.

《Your riding skill has leveled up with this battle victory!》

Hmm.

If my skills grow even when I struggle against tough opponents, it's worth it.

And I also got a magic stone from this Wild Dog Leader.

It's only the second one, but is it an item that can be consistently obtained?

I'll know if I hunt a bit more.

I took a break for lunch after hunting the 45th target.

I thought about eating on horseback, but I decided against it and rested on a hill.

Helix was on guard around me.

I ran away from a horned rabbit that became active halfway through.

I finished the remaining meal on horseback.

My stomach was full.

Should I go back to hunting?

And the 48th target.

It was a Wild Dog Leader. This time it was a Level 3 and seemed a bit stronger.

Is this a sure thing?

It seems I fight a Wild Dog Leader every 16th target.

The next one would be the 64th, right?

64th target.

This might be a sure-thing.

I ended up fighting a Wild Dog Leader again. This time it was also a Level 3.

Although it was a tough fight, it wasn't a problem to defeat it.

I might be able to reach 100 by evening.

The tough fight was with the horned rabbits.

It becomes a hassle to avoid combat.

Sometimes there are horned rabbits, which makes it difficult.

I wonder if inserting a rabbit hunt in between prevents the appearance of a Wild Dog Leader.

If not, there's no reason not to target an opponent that gives me a magic stone.

80th target.

An unexpected situation occurred.

The monster I encountered was not a Wild Dog Leader.

Wild Dog Boss Level 4

Monster, Elimination Target, Active

When I identified it, it was a boss.

What is a boss?

It seems stronger than a leader.

I didn't change my fighting style.

I think it was the right choice, but defeating it was almost a miracle.

This monster, in the final stages, knocked me off my horse with a body slam.

Even after taking a direct hit from Wind Cutter.

But it might have been a stroke of luck.

While holding the wild dog's neck under my right armpit and pressing it down with my weight, it was finally finished off with three stomps from the crescent moon's front hooves.

Three stomps, three stomps!

I would probably die from one stomp.

I was exhausted.

I tried to recover Keith, the crescent moon, and Helix with potions, but we didn't fully recover, so I also used Wind Heal.

My MP bar was quickly reduced to about 20%.

《Your water magic skill has leveled up with this battle victory!》

《You have obtained the Resist Aqua spell in water magic!》

《You have obtained the Aqua Heal spell in water magic!》

《You have obtained the Water Needle spell in water magic!》

《Your precision operation skill has leveled up with this battle victory!》

My skills also leveled up.

I gained more water magic spells.

I'm happy, but I didn't have the leisure to enjoy it because the battle was too tough!

When I skinned it, I got a slightly good item.

【Treasure】Magic Crystal, Magic Item, Quality C, Rarity 3, Weight 0+

A material that has become a core of concentrated magical power residing in a monster.

《Your appraisal skill has leveled up due to your actions so far!》

My appraisal skill also leveled up.

Today, various skills are leveling up.

Still, a boss at the 80th target.

The next one won't be a boss, right?

I continued hunting.

Evening was approaching, but my interest was greater.

The 96th target.

It was a Wild Dog Leader.

A bit disappointing.

But there are good things too.

《Your summoned monster 'Crescent Moon' has leveled up with this battle victory!》

《Please add one point to any of the status values.》

Crescent Moon also leveled up. Well, it performed brilliantly, so it's natural.

The status value that had already increased for Crescent Moon was vitality.

I specified agility for the optional status increase.

Summoned Monster Crescent Moon Horse Level 2 → Level 3 (↑1)

Dexterity: 7

Agility: 20 (↑1)

Intelligence: 7

Strength: 20

Vitality: 23 (↑1)

Spirit: 7

Skills:

Stomp, Gallop, Endurance Run, Sprint, Trample, Kick Up

I think it's getting stronger in a good way.

I can expect even higher mobility.

Next.

It was already evening.

I want to complete this in one day since I've come this far.

I continued hunting.

The next one was a group of three. I hunted them without any problems.

As evening approached, the wild dogs started forming groups. I wanted to hurry.

The next one was a small group of five that I trampled and hunted all of them.

This brought the total to 104.

Excluding the Wild Dog Leader and Boss, it was 98.

I decided to hunt a bit more just to be safe.

The next group was seven.

They were active and attacked us from the group.

Keith and Crescent Moon took some damage, but we hunted them without any problems with our HP.

The only concern was my MP.

The next group was eight.

One of them was a Wild Dog Leader.

Somehow, somehow, I managed to eliminate them all.

Groups are scary.

The wild dogs, under the clear command of the leader, launched wave attacks to knock me off my horse.

Their coordination was impressive, even for monsters.

I really wanted to avoid combat at this point.

My MP was already below 10%.

I had Helix look around and avoid monsters while returning to Remto.

I don't want to hunt anymore today.

The Remto Adventurer's Guild had its window open even at night.

The number of staff was somewhat reduced.

But the usual middle-aged male staff member was still there.

I had to wait in line a bit, but my turn came without much waiting.

"Huh? Good evening, Keith."

"Hello. Regarding the request, here it is."

I took out the reactive stone for confirmation.

The staff member's face showed surprise.

"119. You hunted this many in one day?"

"I couldn't have done it alone. I had a reliable partner."

Hmm.

The Wild Dog Leader and Boss were also counted.

The staff member was looking at me carefully.

Is there a problem?

"No, it's impressive. Here's your reward."

The reward in the small bag was 100 silver coins and 9 dene.

I think I earned a decent amount.

《You have completed the guild-designated request!》

《You have gained 5 bonus points and 1 extra evaluation point, for a total of 17 bonus points!》

It seems I also earned bonus points.

It seems that guild-designated requests tend to give bonuses.

I completed the glassworker's request yesterday, but I didn't get any bonus points from the reward alone.

"See you tomorrow."

I heard a line that made it seem like he was expecting something, but I must have imagined it.

I bowed deeply and left the area.

I don't have the confidence to traverse the night grassland and forest with my MP almost depleted.

I need to wait for it to recover naturally.

A mana potion to recover MP costs about 500 dene, which is quite expensive.

An inn would cost between 100 and 120 dene.

It's a dilemma.

A real dilemma.

But first, I need to eat.

"Hey! What a coincidence!"

I was eating a regular meal at a small restaurant and eating skewers I bought from a stall when I was called out.

It was Faye, the glassworker.

He's still as handsome as ever.

He was wearing leather armor and had a small sword on his waist.

Is he going hunting?

"I had a good day today. A new player joined."

"Really? A player, right?"

"Of course."

"Is this the second summoner?"

"I think so, but there should be a player observing the situation."

"Observing the situation?"

"Yes. There will always be a certain number of players aiming for solo play. They're probably checking out the situation of the early players."

"Really?"

"Really."

We continued chatting at the outdoor table.

He said that the demand for potion bottles is still high.

A new request for bottle material gathering has been posted at the Adventurer's Guild.

He said that he has free time for half a day since he only does bottle making, so he is continuing the rabbit hunting request.

Wild dogs are still unpopular, huh.

"If you can form a party, hunting wild dogs might be good."

"Huh?"

"I haven't verified it yet, but I hunted only wild dogs continuously today."

I told him about the Wild Dog Leader and Boss I encountered today.

Faye looked quite surprised.

"That's the first I've heard of it."

"Really?"

"Will you report it on the information board?"

"Should I report it?"

Oops, I answered a question with a question.

"It depends on