Chapter 8

"Well, I managed to get fifteen gold coins in total."

As soon as I woke up in the morning, I headed to a shop on a quiet backstreet.

In the store, which was a jumble of weapons and materials, the middle-aged, bearded shopkeeper looked at the five orcs and the skeleton ogre bones on the floor and said this.

By the way, goblins were not for sale.

(Quite different from what I heard...)

I had been told that ogre bones were sturdy and, having once been undead, carried magical properties, making them quite valuable. But it seems that wasn't the case in reality.

I don't really have any plans to use a lot of money right now, but when I sold the materials from the killing bear, I got a hundred gold coins.

Thinking about that, it feels a bit, or rather, quite cheap.

"If I say fifteen, then it's fifteen. If you have a problem with it, you can go elsewhere. I won't be bothered at all."

Perhaps sensing my thoughts, the shopkeeper said this, folding his arms and grinning at me.

Usually, adventurers can sell materials at a fair market price through the guild.

Unless they have some connection with merchants on the main street, most would do it this way.

But I can't use the guild.

Furthermore, this shop is probably not well-connected to the public world.

I suspect it deals with items that can't be sold in regular stores.

For example, stolen goods.

In my case, I didn't come to sell such items, but since this shop only gets customers like that, it's assumed that they will try to take advantage of them.

Still, since I can't go to the guild, I had no choice but to use this shop.

"Alright, that's fine."

"Then we have a deal."

The shopkeeper immediately started moving the bones and orcs behind the counter.

(There are really a lot of items here.)

While the shopkeeper was smiling and moving the items, I looked around the store.

Suddenly, something caught my eye.

It was a pitch-black cloak.

It was casually hung on a shelf, so it probably wasn't that valuable.

The fabric seemed sturdy, and it had a hood to cover the head.

It was likely an adventurer's equipment.

The condition also looked quite good.

I remembered that an adventurer I met in the upper levels of the dungeon yesterday had commented on my appearance.

"What about that cloak?"

Pointing at the cloak, I asked, and the shopkeeper paused his work and turned to me.

"Huh? This black one? Sure... since it's just leftovers, I'll throw it in for free."

The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter, picked up the cloak, and threw it to me.

"Is that okay?"

"Don't worry about it. It's just a cheap cloak for new adventurers... So, this is the amount. Thanks for your business."

The shopkeeper placed the gold coins on the counter. Fifteen in total.

I put them in a leather bag and opened the door to step out onto the backstreet.

To my surprise, the shopkeeper followed me.

"Is there something else?"

"Huh? I'm closing the shop today to go drink. This will keep me going for a while. Just so you know, no refunds."

The shopkeeper started locking up the shop.

"This town is full of adventurers, which is a big help. It makes business easier."

"Did you come from another town?"

"Pretty much. There are a lot of dungeons nearby, so monster materials circulate easily. That's why it's thriving. On the other hand, Cretia itself is quite dangerous."

Cretia, as the shopkeeper mentioned, is the name of the kingdom where the town of Voltana is located.

"The king of Cretia relies heavily on adventurers to defeat monsters. He even meets S-rank adventurers personally to give them special treatment."

That must be Allen and Balzak.

So, they are staying in this town because they were asked by the king of Cretia to defeat monsters.

However, while Allen might, I can definitively say that Balzak wouldn't.

He's the kind of person who treats people like trash. It's hard to imagine him helping others.

If that's the case, there must be something else.

What could it be?

"Anyway, try not to die and make some money. See you around."

The shopkeeper waved and walked down the backstreet.

(No point in thinking about it.)

More importantly, I need to level up.

I waited until the streets were empty at night, then left Voltana and entered the nearby forest, heading for the dungeon.

The forest was pitch black, with only occasional moonlight piercing the darkness.

"Death"

*Gwoh!!*

I defeated a group of orcs in the forest. They were probably targeting travelers at night.

I had bought a decent portable lantern from a tool shop during the day and attached it to my waist.

Torches are better for lighting, but they make movement difficult by occupying one hand.

Even though I had gone deep into the forest, I hadn't encountered any big monsters yet.

The killing bear must have been a rare find. This forest might not have many strong monsters.

Suddenly, I heard rustling from ahead, getting closer.

A new monster, perhaps.

I extended my right arm, ready to cast the instant death spell at any moment.

Then, something emerged from the darkness ahead.

"Help! Anyone!!"

It was a beastwoman, a female wolf person, with animal ears on her head.

Her clothes were tattered, and she had numerous scratches and cuts all over her body, illuminated by the lantern.

"Monsters..."

The woman was trembling and hiding behind me, not looking relieved to have escaped.

(Something is here...)

I scanned the darkness but couldn't see anything suspicious.

*Grrr...*

No, something was there.

A low growl echoed through the darkness.

Something was definitely nearby.

"Death"

I deliberately cast the spell from outside its effective range.

The black wave hit something and disappeared.

It definitely hit, but it vanished.

This means there's something ahead that the instant death spell can't easily affect.

But I couldn't see it. It seemed to blend into the darkness.

I focused my senses, trying to locate it by its presence and sound.

(Should I try it?)

I used the new ability I gained from the skeleton ogre, "Quadruple Death."

"Quadruple Death"

A larger wave with more skulls was released from my right hand.

With a fourfold effective range, it should reach anything that's not too far away.

*Shriek!!*

Suddenly, a snake-like scream echoed through the forest.

At the same time, a ground-shaking tremor spread, and the sound gradually moved away.

(That's strange. I definitely felt it hit...)

The "Death" spell should have worked. Yet the monster fled.

So, there must have been more than one.

"Aah..."

The wolf woman, who had been hiding, almost collapsed, and I caught her with both arms.

"Hang in there, I'll give you a potion."

I opened the cap of a potion bottle and slowly fed it to her.

"Ugh..."

After drinking the potion, she closed her eyes and seemed to have fainted.

"Can't level up like this."

I couldn't fight in this state.

Deciding to return to town with her, despite being concerned about the monster, I carried her back to the town.