Chapter 27
A month had already passed since I started training.
Now, the mace in my hand somehow felt more natural than a staff.
My win rate in sparring had noticeably increased. My body was stronger than before, too.
Of course, I still got crushed whenever I went up against guys like Tral or Geminic. I still had a long way to go.
Even so, this was a satisfying result.
'By the way, what should I do today?'
Old Man Brigan was away today.
He said he had somewhere to be, or something like that. He didn't really explain.
Thanks to that, I had some free time for the first time in a while.
But now that I was free, I had no idea what to do.
'The weather is nice... Maybe I should go to that lake.'
I suddenly remembered the lake Milen had mentioned before.
"The lake? Just follow the East Forest path and you'll find it."
"East Forest... Understood."
After asking the owner lady, it seemed the location wasn't too far away.
Thinking of making a quick trip, I only packed my pouch and staff.
Walking along the East Forest, the cabin I had seen before came into view.
Tsk. I felt uneasy for no reason. Nothing was going to happen, but I was tense anyway.
It must just be my imagination. I quickened my pace a little.
After walking quite a while past the cabin, a large lake finally appeared through the trees.
'Is this it.'
It definitely looked like the lake Milen had talked about.
I approached the water's edge and carefully looked around.
It was desolate and quiet.
The lake looked to be about the size of three or four school playing fields.
Clear, calm water. The sunlight glided over the ripples.
'Hmm, I don't really... see anything.'
Milen had said there was a monster around here, but there was nothing.
By the water, a deer was quenching its thirst, and little birds were flying overhead.
The lake sitting right in the middle of the forest was incredibly peaceful.
'Since I'm here, I might as well practice some magic before I go.'
Just as I was about to take out my staff.
The surrounding animals simultaneously bolted away, as if they were being chased by something.
The deer scrambled into the forest, and the birds flew off like arrows.
...What is it?
At that moment, right in the middle of the lake.
A black shape began to slowly surface from beneath the water.
Ripples spread across the quiet lake.
Splash!
What shot up, cutting through the waves, was a formless blue mass.
Its shape was blurry, but I could feel a strangely alien movement within it.
It had no eyes.
Yet, it was definitely looking at me.
More precisely... it was glaring at me.
"A-A real monster?"
My heart skipped a beat only after those words popped out.
My body froze, my feet refusing to move as if glued to the ground.
Whir... Whir...
It was then.
A vibration started ringing from my inner pouch.
At first, I thought I was imagining it, but the vibration grew stronger.
Whir... Whir... Whir... Whir...
Sticking my hand into the pouch and rummaging around, my fingers hooked onto a ring.
The blue jewel ring I had obtained from the request I did with Drek and Baldic before.
That thing I had forgotten about was now trembling like crazy.
The ring placed on my palm still wouldn't stop vibrating.
A reaction as if it were sensing something.
'No way... Because of that monster?'
Suddenly turning my gaze, the blue monster was looking at the ring.
It had no expression, but I could definitely feel it.
Whir... Whir... Whir... Whir...
The monster momentarily stopped moving, as if panicked.
An atmosphere... almost as if it recognized the ring.
'What am I supposed to do with this?'
A ring, and a monster.
It was a completely mismatched combination.
Suppressing my confusion, I carefully poured mana into it.
Whir—
The ring, which hadn't stopped vibrating, soon quieted down as soon as the mana touched it.
Whir-
The next moment, a blue light shot out from the ring.
The streak of light flew toward the monster, and the monster twisted its body and flailed as soon as it was hit.
At first, I thought it was a simple reaction.
But as time passed, the monster's size gradually shrank.
Whirrr-
A pressure that felt as if they were pushing against each other.
The monster resisted, and the ring pulled it in.
I instinctively transferred more mana into the ring.
Only after pushing my mana to the limit.
The monster distorted like a streak of moisture, then vanished as if seeping into the ring.
"...What on earth..."
I muttered to myself with a dejected sigh.
A monster had popped out, and a ring had sucked it up.
If I told someone about this situation... would anyone even believe me.
I carefully peered into the ring.
The thing that had just swallowed the monster...
Was now as quiet as an ordinary ring, as if nothing had happened.
'...So it wasn't just an ordinary ring.'
Come to think of it, it makes sense why that guy tried to pay such a generous commission.
He wasn't being generous for no reason. Or maybe, his intuition was just that good.
Well, I don't know what kind of value this holds yet either.
Just in case, I flowed a tiny bit of mana into it again.
Whir—
The vibration started again, and the ring spewed out blue light into the air this time as well.
The light quietly swirled around, then suddenly formed a small condensation.
Plop.
Something dropped to the ground.
I reflexively lowered my head.
"A blue... crab?"
The small, round thing was undoubtedly a crab.
The very same crab used in soy sauce marinated crab and spicy marinated crab.
No, looking at its size, it also seemed like the kind often used for frying.
"...What kind of situation is this...?"
There was absolutely no way to explain the situation unfolding before my eyes.
A ring that sucks up a monster, and seafood that suddenly pops out.
Furthermore, the crab was alive.
Click. Click.
It slowly crawled around in front of me, twitching its small pincers.
I looked back and forth between the ring and the crab, thinking to myself for a long time.
'Is this perhaps... a MonXter Ball?'
Suddenly, I remembered that game that people of all ages supposedly love.
It sucks in a monster and summons it. Isn't it way too similar?
I couldn't know for sure.
But one thing was clear, this ring definitely wasn't an ordinary item.
Click. Click.
The crab looked at me for a moment, then slowly approached and tapped the top of my foot.
"...Are you following me, by any chance?"
It was something I said as a joke, but,
The crab stopped still at my feet as if to answer.
The way it lightly clacked its pincers twice felt strangely like an affirmation.
'...Don't tell me, it understands me?'
I glanced down at the ring with anxious eyes.
Strangely enough, however, the energy I had felt from inside the ring until just now had completely disappeared.
As if it had finished its one-time job.
"...Don't tell me, is this thing single-use?"
If that were true, I had just invested an unknown relic into a crab.
Of course, considering its first appearance, it might actually be an incredible being.
Right now, its outward appearance is just a crab.
It has the kind of visual that wouldn't look out of place in a neighborhood seafood restaurant's water tank.
"...Well, it's still better than nothing. Yeah. ...Right?"
I smiled awkwardly and carefully picked up the crab, placing it on top of my pouch.
The crab sat on the pouch without a word, clattering its pincers.
...It's kind of cute, though.
Will this actually... be a benefit or a loss to me.
I felt like I needed to keep watching it a bit longer.
Sitting down with a thud on the dirt ground by the lake, I tried talking to the crab.
"Hey kid, what can you do?"
At those words, the crab sitting on the pouch raised its pincers as if shrugging its shoulders.
Does it mean it doesn't know either? How sly.
This guy, it's definitely not a normal crab.
"It seems you do understand."
Hmm. Does it really have no abilities at all?
Even so, I couldn't experiment anymore. Because my mana was depleted.
"Since it turned out like this, should I at least give you a name."
As I said that, the crab stared intently at my mouth.
...Is it anticipating something?
But when it actually came down to giving it a name, it wasn't easy.
Maybe because of the crab's appearance, only mouth-watering names kept coming to mind.
"Spicy is a bit much... and Soy Sauce is definitely a no..."
Smacking my lips, I tossed out a suggestion.
"Then... Gerang. Let's just go with Gerangi for now."
It wasn't a name with any grand meaning.
It was a name taken from that crab-shaped snack.
It's a rule that names are best kept simple.
The crab brought its pincers together with a single 'clack'. It sounded like it liked it.
"...Do you really like it?"
A small laugh leaked out without me realizing.
"Alright. Gerangi. Since it's come to this, let's get along well."
Gerangi thumped my pouch in time with my words.
As if, it had been waiting for that.
Yeah. Why would its usefulness matter.
Let's just think of it as getting a pet. This ring wasn't mine anyway.
Just like that, I returned to the inn with a pet and companion in tow.
***
"What? You took care of the monster at the lake?"
Milen couldn't hide his surprise upon hearing my words.
Why is he so surprised?
"Yes. It just kind of happened."
"I-I see. Actually, I saw it too when I was quite young. So I was surprised."
Ah, was it because of trauma.
If that's the case, I understand.
"Anyway, thank you. I don't have anything grand to give you... but hold on a moment."
"Ah, okay."
After saying that, Milen stepped away.
What is he trying to give me? Honestly, I wasn't expecting much.
In truth, just having Gerangi sleeping in my pouch was a pretty big harvest for me.
A moment later, Milen returned in a rush, holding something.
It was a pair of rather heavy-looking leather boots.
"This is... something the late Mister Carl left behind. There's no one to use them now, so please take them if you don't mind."
Milen carefully handed over the boots.
They were sturdy leather boots with a slightly faded black hue.
They looked old on the outside, but looking closely, there were almost no signs of wear.
They had been well-maintained, and the soles were solid.
"These are pretty good, aren't they?"
"Yes. They're really good. They're made of calfskin, no less."
Milen smiled shyly.
Calfskin? When I tilted my head, he added an explanation.
"Ah, it means leather from a miscarried calf. It's something only nobles wear, but it was left in the cabin."
In a word, it meant they were verified luxury goods.
I hesitated for a moment while holding the boots.
It bothered me a bit since it was an item left behind by the deceased, but...
With my current shoes wearing out, is there any reason to turn this down.
"Good shoes are rare, after all. I'll put them to good use."
"Yes. Mister Carl would probably want that, too."
"...I hope so."
We silently took a moment of silence for the late Carl.
I just hope he went to a better place....
***
With nothing else to do, I returned to the inn.
Upon entering, a few members of the Barret Mercenary Group were sitting around a table, emptying their liquor glasses.
The sound of their grumbling and chattering was quite loud.
"Hey, today was another bust. Where are all those Goblin bastards hiding?"
"They said the north was completely empty. Not even a single Rat to be seen, right?"
"Damn it... Do we have to search the forest floor?"
I plopped down in an empty seat near the kitchen and changed my shoes.
Fortunately, the leather boots I just received fit perfectly.
They weren't heavy, and the feeling of them softly wrapping my feet with every step was quite nice.
Is this why everyone looks for expensive shoes.
"Oh, your new shoes look great."
'Coward Piren' from the next table looked at my feet and said with a smile.
Lately, I had gotten quite close with the people of the mercenary group.
Staying in the same village, sparring every day, and sharing useless small talk, it had just ended up that way.
Anyway, Piren supposedly screamed after seeing a Rabbit pop out while looking for a Goblin in the forest this time.
Because of that incident, everyone calls him 'Coward Piren'.
Well.
Seeing his still-boyish face and his lackluster performance during sparring, it makes sense.
"I got lucky."
I laughed it off and asked Piren.
"How's the Goblin subjugation request going?"
"Ah, we're still tracking them. We caught a few, but it seems their main base is somewhere else."
Piren's answer put me deep in thought for a moment.
The request had already been going on for a month.
Every day, someone would go out to the forest, and someone else would return with an exhausted face.
Progress was slow. They said the Goblins were more meticulous and united than expected.
There were even talks that there might be a higher-tier entity.
Considering the village people had risked their lives to put up the request, there was no way it would end easily.
Perhaps it was only natural.
By the way, a higher-tier Goblin entity...
'Something like a Hobgoblin?'
The only monsters I had encountered were Goblins and Mimics, so there was no way I could guess properly.
So when I casually asked, they said there were things like Goblin Shamans and Goblin Chieftains, not to mention Hobgoblins.
'Just like last time, those Goblin bastards are incredibly annoying.'
The time I was chased by a horde of Goblins faintly came to mind.
If I ever get the chance, I should properly teach them a lesson.
"Do you perhaps have any thoughts of exploring with us starting tomorrow?"
The chubby Charlie beside me carefully struck up a conversation.
He's a mercenary who newly joined from Mondak.
He supposedly came up from a boondock called Marils like Tral, but Charlie was still on the polite side.
As you can tell just from his nickname, he was so huge he could practically roll around.
"...Together?"
"Yes. The more people, the better. It will be mainly reconnaissance, so it won't be dangerous."
"Shouldn't we ask Mister Barret?"
When I said that, the mercenaries giggled.
"The Commander will definitely welcome it. He sings Riv's praises day in and day out."
"...."
Barret, why on earth is this guy like this.
Well, since things had turned out this way, moving my body a bit didn't seem like a bad idea.
Living in the village didn't cost a lot of money, but it wasn't like I had plenty either.
"Then tomorrow at dawn, could you go with us?"
"Yes. Understood."
I answered briefly and emptied my water glass.
I'll be busy again starting tomorrow.
Still, I was gradually getting used to life in this world.
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