Chapter 365

And then they both go out and go back to the Adventurers’ Guild, where they find some people who just tell them, “Yeah, sure. Come with us. But just so you know, the Hunters’ Guild is always riled up around this period. This year they think that we are a bunch of amateurs.”

“They are really the most arrogant assholes you could ever picture, the Hunters,” one of the adventurers who watched their test says. “They think that just because they hunt any monster instead of taking contracts and quests, they’re better than us. They often call us sellswords.”

“What?” Taya frowns. “But why? Like, why the rivalry?”

“It’s not rivalry. We don’t really think about them that much. They must feel like they are superior, because instead of looking for money, they just go and exterminate as many monsters as possible. So they shit on us all the time.”

“I see,” Jacob says.

Then they take some carriages with the other adventurers, and after about an hour, they reach the Valley of the Beasts — which has been renamed exactly because of its constant swarmings.

Jacob sees an encampment set up where they left the carriages, and asks one of the adventurers, “So do we just go there and participate?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” the man replies. “The beasts are often too many, and we try to clean them off the best we can, but the rest is up to the city guard of Kamengrad to deal with. We usually come here, uh, a week before the Stone Golem Dungeon, to get a few Skill levels in, some gear crafted from all the materials these monsters drop.”

“Do they drop a lot of good materials?”

“If they didn’t, trust me, even the Hunters would be chasing down every single entrance of these Dungeons and finding a way to permanently destroy them. Nobody likes to do actual free work.”

Jacob is mid-laugh when a woman comes out of the encampment and says, “What did you just say?”

“Here we go,” the adventurer sighs. “Nothing. Mind your own business, Hunter.”

“My name is not Hunter, you piece of shit adventurer.”

Jacob cringes at that exchange.

“My name is Yelena.” And the woman lets out an Early Adamantite Rank aura.

The man that Jacob was talking to is just an Early Imperium Rank fighter. And so he now shrinks away.

“Sorry, sorry. I really didn’t mean any harm. I was just saying…”

“Well, I’m sure that people like you always think about money. Hunters are meant to protect people from monsters, no matter the price. And yes, we do need equipment, which is why we also handle hordes like the ones here.”

She then turns to Jacob and Taya, and Jacob feels a small prickle on his skin.

“Two Diamond Ranks,” she says with a disgusted face. “What are you two doing here?”

Both Jacob and Taya have been keeping their auras to themselves, trying not to gather any more attention than they already did. But that also means that they now appear much weaker than they actually are.

A note for careful readers: this chapter appears on from its author, but this copy was not authorized.

“Um, uh, we can actually fight an Intermediate Imperium Rank,” Jacob says, letting out his aura.

“Well, maybe a couple of beasts. But most of the monsters here are actually true Intermediate Imperium Rank creatures, and they don’t compare with humans. They are ruthless and extremely powerful, and crazed by the lack of Mana in their own Dungeons. The entire valley is swarming with them. So you better go home, kid. We don’t want to see young men and women like you two die here.”

“What about me?” the adventurer beside Jacob and Taya says.

“You’re not a young kid. If you want to go die in a ditch, be my guest.”

Jacob raises his hands and says, “Don’t worry. We’re just gonna mind our own business. We’re going out by ourselves, if you can point us toward a good spot.”

But the woman, Yelena, sighs. “There is no good spot for you two. I mean it, and I’m not gonna repeat myself. You two should go home. You’re too young to die here.”

“We really appreciate the advice,” Taya says with a genuine smile, “and we’re not trying to create any trouble, so we’ll figure it out on our own. Thank you very much.”

Taya walks forward, bowing slightly to Yelena, and Jacob follows her.

The Hunters have set up several bounty boards around the encampment. There’s no reward for the monsters, but it gives a good idea of what they can find in the valley, and especially which monsters are the most dangerous.

As Jacob and Taya browse the listings, Jacob looks at the sketch of a humanoid giant pig and says, “These things look exactly like my Squire before he lost all the weight.”

Suddenly, Taya slaps his arm — and not weakly. Jacob feels his bones creak and says, “Ouch! What was that for?”

“Don’t be mean to your Squire,” Taya says. “Don’t compare him to some pig monsters.”

Jacob looks at the pig monster sketch and thinks that, aside from the nose, Lancelot used to look exactly like one of these. But they look—

Taya slaps his arm again.

“Ow! You’re gonna break a bone here.”

“Jacob,” Taya says in a low voice. “Never be mean. Even if he’s a little chubby — or if he was a little chubby — you shouldn’t say things like this. They’re insensitive.”

“Even if they’re true?” Jacob replies.

“Yeah. Just because something is true, you don’t need to say it like that.”

“I guess.” Jacob frowns.

“It’s not a stranger we’re talking about. It’s your Squire. Aren’t you two friends? Anyway, if it was a stranger — badmouthing random strangers is not really the greatest pastime. It reflects poorly on your soul.”

“I mean… I guess.” Jacob keeps being confused. “Um, what about if I call a criminal a criminal, though?”

“That’s different. Why are you comparing two totally different things? It’s one thing to call someone so fat and ugly that they resemble a literal monster, and to call a thief a thief.”

“I guess.” Jacob frowns. “Right.”

“Be nice to the people around you,” Taya says, and then keeps looking at the humanoid pig. “And these things are very valuable. Apparently their innards are natural artifacts for traps. Even though they’re not Mithril Rank, we can probably gather a bunch of them. So what do you say? That we hunt them?”

Jacob looks at the sky, holding the thought that he would almost feel guilty about hunting something that looks like Lancelot used to be — when Taya smacks his arm again.

“Ouch! What was that for? I didn’t say anything.”

“Well, I heard your thought,” Taya says with a big smile. “So, let’s go. There’s a rough map position on this.”

Two Hunters that were nearby, looking at bounties themselves, snort and say, “You’re going to hunt the Boar People?”

“Yes,” Taya replies with a smile.

“What Rank are you?”

“We can fight at Intermediate Imperium Rank,” she says.

And the man suddenly snorts. “Pfft. You two are out of your mind. They might be Intermediate Imperium Rank, but these monsters, the Boar People, are way stronger than they might have you believe. Their hides are thick and more resistant than enchanted armor, and they always travel in packs. They are one of the most dangerous monsters below Adamantite Rank.”

The two Hunters making those comments draw a commotion, with many people coming to see what’s happening. And when they hear that Jacob and Taya — the young man and the young woman — want to hunt down the Boar People, they all start laughing.

One of them even says, “You two are going to die. And we don’t want to fetch bodies out of the valley again.”

It’s Hunter policy to try and return the corpses to their families.

“Well, I don’t really have a family here,” Jacob smiles, “so don’t worry if I die. Same thing applies.”

And they start walking out of the camp, with the Hunters laughing after them.