Chapter 22

7/15 This is my second post of the day.

While on the way, I bought a slightly longer knife that can be used for both attacking and disassembling at the only weapon shop in the town of Bezart, and I stood in front of the request board.

The knife was listed at 70,000 beke, but I bought it for 50,000 beke.

The old man at the weapon shop was crying, but I reserved a 550,000 beke short sword that I had been interested in the other day, saying, "I'll buy this weapon next!" So there shouldn't be any problem.

Of course, I didn't say a word about buying it for 550,000 beke, but I don't think he would sell it at a loss.

In that case, it's a win-win relationship, so I think I'll aim for the short sword to be under 500,000 beke.

The Hunter's Guild usually starts moving with the sound of the morning bell.

It seems that the good requests are quickly taken, and by noon, the guild is quiet, with the requests on the board being a bit sparse.

In other words, there are only leftover requests or standing requests, but for me, who has no sense of the market on my first day as a hunter, even the leftovers are fine.

On the contrary, if I actively choose better requests from tomorrow onwards, the content of the requests hanging now will be a good yardstick.

Besides, the main purpose today is not to take requests.

First, I need to confirm whether I can take "exceptional F-rank requests."

Then, I plan to move around the entrance of the Palmera Great Forest and try my hand at disassembling with the new knife I bought.

(Hmm... G-rank requests are 1,000 beke for cleaning the house and 3,500 beke for changing the fence around the perimeter, and E-rank requests are 30,000 beke for a two-day carriage escort to the town of Malta...

It seems that the leftovers are mostly odd jobs in town and carriage escorts. The carriage escort might seem good at first glance, but it's 30,000 beke for two days, and you're left behind at the destination, so unless you want to go to that town or have another purpose, it's not worth it.

In that case, I can only take urgent monster hunting requests if they're available, or earn money with the standing requests in the Palmera Great Forest if they're not.

However, the 800 beke per Horn Rabbit, 1,000 beke per Goblin, and 1,500 beke per Furi Mole, as Amanda said, do feel a bit cheap...)

Considering the information I heard from Amanda beforehand:

Horn Rabbit: 800 beke per standing request + 4,000 to 5,000 beke for meat, magic stones, and materials like horns and fur. It's recommended to just drain the blood and bring it back. The kill part is the ear.

Goblin: 1,000 beke per standing request. The only thing that can be exchanged for money is the 1,500 beke magic stone, so disassembly is recommended. The kill part is the right hand.

Furi Mole: 1,500 beke per standing request. The only thing that can be exchanged for money is the 2,000 beke magic stone, so disassembly is recommended. The kill part is the head.

In the first layer of the Palmera Great Forest, it would be like this.

As Jin-kun said, the Horn Rabbit indeed makes the most money...

The problem is the weight. The basket I carried instead of Potta-kun felt as heavy as the 30 kg of rice that my grandmother sends every year. I think there were about 4 to 5 Horn Rabbits hanging from it, but honestly, carrying more than that is not realistic.

Even if I could carry it, hunting while carrying it would be impossible.

It might improve as my level goes up, but...

While calculating the efficiency in my head, Amanda called out to me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. The master has given special permission, so you're allowed to take F-rank requests!"

"Wow! Thank you, I really appreciate it!"

"However! Since you're still a beginner, try to form a party as much as possible! You might end up dying if you're alone in an unexpected situation."

"...I'll handle it."

There's nothing I can say to that.

I understand what she's saying, but this is a choice made because there are no concepts like levels or skill experience points.

If I knew that forming a party would lower my level experience points and that only the last attacker gets skill experience points, I would probably make a different choice.

For example, in Jin-kun's party, Jin-kun, who takes on all the monster hunting, gives experience points to Potta-kun and Mei-chan, and in return, the reward for the herbs they collect, which is an unknown amount, increases, and the burden of carrying is reduced by Potta-kun.

When Jin-kun hunted alone, he could only return to town after killing one or two Horn Rabbits, which was very inefficient. He said that he only started hunting seriously after Potta-kun became a hunter, so it's probably easier now.

However, as a result, the reward is divided three ways, so the income per person is less.

Forming a party means a triple decrease in level experience points, skill experience points, and income... This is something I can't accept given my personality.

The upper hunting ground, the Ruru Forest, might be a good place for a party, but for the Palmera Great Forest, it seems better to solo.

I heard from Amanda that the guild lends out baskets, so I told them I wanted to borrow one and went to the guild's reference room while they were preparing it.

"I'm going to study a bit to avoid dying, so please put the basket somewhere it won't get in the way!"

I opened the door to where I was heading and found a very small space, about 3 tatami mats, with a table and one chair.

There were only two books chained to an iron pole... It was a rather bleak space.

When I opened one of the books, I found it was a book about the guild's overview, which I had already heard in the orientation.

Since I didn't need this one, I opened the other thin book.

While flipping through it, thinking that the brown paper must be parchment, I found that it contained information about the monsters within the range the guild can move.

It included information about the monsters in the first layer of the Palmera Great Forest, the E-rank recommended Ruru Forest to the northeast of the town, and the Locker Plain, which is also to the northeast.

(Amanda didn't tell me much, probably thinking I would go immediately if she gave me detailed information... This is really wonderful!)

If this town has it, other towns probably do too, and it's something I should check as soon as I move.

I'll take a closer look at the content right away.

The first layer of the Palmera Great Forest is full of information I already know.

The monsters that appear are only three types: Horn Rabbits, Goblins, and Furi Moles. Be careful, as Goblins sometimes appear with wooden sticks as weapons.

Also, Goblins have the habit of picking up and using weapons, so if you see a Goblin with a sword or spear, report it to the guild.

So, the most troublesome in the Palmera Great Forest might be the weapon-wielding Goblins?

From the feel of the one I killed before, I think I could handle a sword or spear, but I don't know how to deal with a Goblin with a bow.

But without arrows, they can't shoot, and I don't think Goblins can make arrows... So, they might just hit me with the bow, which is probably a very rare case, so there's no point in worrying about it.

In that case, the one I need to be most careful about is the Furi Mole. If I keep my senses alert and make noise while hunting, I should be fine.

And the Ruru Forest...

Wow! Orcs! The illustration is a slightly hunched pigman!!

They are about 2 meters tall and can swing logs... This is bad.

But they are for meat. It's a monster that can be turned into money, though it's hard to carry.

There are also Rig Spiders, about 50 cm long. They release sticky threads, so be especially careful in multiple battles. But the demand for the threads is high.

Small Wolves, about 1 meter long, are small among the Wolf species, but they act in groups, so be careful of attacks from behind. There is demand for their fur...

Yeah, that's bad.

I thought about going there, but with just a knife, I can't imagine being able to tackle it solo.

Actually, if I went now, I would probably be killed, eaten alive, or bitten all over... In any case, I would die.

Sure enough, it's recommended for E-rank, so it's out of place.

The Locker Plain is a place where large rats, about 50 cm long, often appear and destroy crops, so emergency extermination requests are common.

As the name Poison Mouse suggests, they can poison you if you get bitten, so you don't want to get too close to them.

There is demand for the poison sacs in their heads, so it's recommended to bring back only the head.

There don't seem to be as many as Poison Mice, but from the illustration... Mantises, about 30 to 40 cm long.

The Air Mantis, a monster with sharp arms that can use wind magic by swinging them, seems quite vicious.

However, since the movement of the grass on the plain can be seen when the wind magic is activated, it should be relatively easy to avoid if you pay attention...

Both monsters are designated as F-rank, so the order would be to go to the Locker Plain after the Palmera Great Forest, and then to the Ruru Forest.

However, it's tough that the strength of the monsters is only indicated by their rank, without the concept of levels.

When to move to the next hunting ground...

If I make a mistake in judgment, the possibility of death increases dramatically, so it might be better to take a significant safety margin before moving to a higher hunting ground.

In games, a penalty for death would erase days of effort, and I would go crazy every time I made a mistake, but even then, a penalty would be better than dying.

For now, this much information is enough.

Since I confirmed that the Palmera Great Forest is fine with my current method, I returned to the reception.

The basket was already placed next to the counter, so I thanked them, put it on my back, and went to say hello to the skewer lady.

I bought one and started gnawing on it while heading to the Palmera Great Forest.

The gatekeeper, who had been admiring my sword, called out, "Make sure to come back when the sun starts to set!" I replied, "Of course!" and continued walking.

I never thought I would return to the forest I wanted to go to so much.

But for the sake of living, there's no choice.

Since I can only earn money here, I'll keep killing monsters without getting too involved.

---

About an hour later.

I was on all fours, feeling nauseous.

I already had one Horn Rabbit in the basket.

Without using the jacket strategy, I was able to handle the Horn Rabbit's charge thanks to my level increase, cut off its head, and put it in the basket.

Blood was dripping from the gaps in the basket, but since I wasn't gathering herbs, I thought it would be fine as long as the blood was drained efficiently.

However, the problem was the Goblin in front of me...

This was tough.

I knew from Amanda that the magic stone was in the center of the body, about the height of