WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 24: Swarm (1)

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'Still... is it really okay to keep carrying this around?'

It had ultimately bestowed a blessing on him, but the process by which the god's blessing had been engraved into the key was anything but normal.

'It felt like twisted affection.'

The goddess's bizarre “affection,” which he had felt when receiving the blessing and waking from the dream, filled Gerik with an indescribable dread. He wondered whether he should keep the key away from his body.

'...It gives me the creeps, but am I really going to leave a legendary-grade magic item behind?'

After giving it some thought, Gerik realized how foolish it would be to part with such a rare treasure and eventually abandoned the idea.

'If I can't accept this much risk, I might as well quit being an adventurer.'

Having sorted out his thoughts, Gerik set aside his unease and headed to the Adventurers’ Guild.

When he arrived at the Guild early in the morning, the receptionist appeared to have been waiting for him. They briefly paused their work and led him up to the second floor.

'Oh... Is this the place only Silver Plate adventurers and above are allowed to enter...?'

Still, the place Gerik had been brought to seemed to be only the entrance, not the main area.

The Skillbook he had been curious about was likely located farther inside, behind the reception desk.

"This is our deputy branch manager. I'll be on my way now."

The receptionist introduced the man before him in a businesslike tone, then immediately headed downstairs.

"Good to see you. We met briefly yesterday, didn't we? Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Ruben, deputy branch manager of the Stonecreek Adventurers’ Guild. As the staff explained, you're Gerik, the Wood Plate adventurer who first reported this Rat Man outbreak, correct?"

"Yes. That's right."

Ruben lavished praise on Gerik. As a reward for the report, he gave Gerik the considerable sum of five silver coins and said his adventurer rank would receive a special promotion from rank 8 to rank 7.

"Uh... Thank you, but is it really okay to promote me that easily?"

Gerik asked cautiously. He had no desire to be branded as someone who got promoted through connections, only for it to cause trouble in his future life as an adventurer.

"What does it matter? It's only Wood Plate rank 7... Besides, hunting Rat Men and reporting an outbreak is normally a mission only lower Copper Plate adventurers and above can take on. Considering the rank contribution points, some might even say a promotion to rank 7 is a stingy reward."

Reassured by Ruben's explanation that there would be no disadvantages, Gerik let out a relieved breath and readily accepted the favor.

"I'm glad you're grateful. In that case, I have a proposal for you."

Once Ruben saw that Gerik understood, he brought up another matter. He said that the Guild had hastily organized a scouting party to investigate the Rat Men infesting the Sewer, then asked Gerik to guide the team.

"It consists of four Copper Plate rank 3 adventurers. They're all experienced. You won't have to fight, either. Just show them the way. What do you think? The reward will be generous. You'll receive the same pay as a Copper Plate adventurer, five silver coins and Copper Plate contribution points."

Gerik had barely made it back alive from that dangerous Sewer, so being told to return there left him dumbfounded.

"No... I went through all that, and you want me to go back? And with only four people?"

He disliked the thought of returning to a danger zone in the first place, and the idea of exploring it with only five people, including himself, bothered him as well.

"Ha ha... You must not know the level of Copper Plate adventurers very well since you're still new. Only four people? Do you know how much work it took for us to gather four Copper Plate adventurers within a single day? Even Copper Plate adventurers are valuable talent!"

Seeing Gerik's unease, Ruben gave a faint scoff.

For Gerik's benefit, since he clearly did not know much about the world, Ruben explained that Wood Plate and Copper Plate adventurers were not even comparable. A Copper Plate rank 3 adventurer was an elite capable of doing the work of ten lower Wood Plate adventurers.

"I can assure you, unless something seriously unexpected happens, the Copper Plate party we assembled can easily kill fifteen or so Rat Men."

Ruben also emphasized that this mission was only a reconnaissance operation meant to assess the scale of the outbreak.

"And... aren't you an adventurer? When a good opportunity comes along, an adventurer should seize it. Hesitation isn't an adventurer's virtue. When will a lower Wood Plate adventurer get another chance to handle this much money? If you want stability, why not be a farmer instead of an adventurer?"

"Mm..."

The rest of Ruben's words did not particularly move Gerik, but he did agree that an adventurer should seize a chance for profit when it came.

'I am curious about the skills of elite adventurers who can kill fifteen Rat Men when the Rat Men I struggled against gave me such a hard time.'

When Gerik finally agreed, Ruben clapped happily as though things had worked out perfectly. He had one of his subordinates call someone over.

"Whew, so this is the precious place only Silver Plate big shots and above can enter? Pretty amazing, huh?"

A short while later, a heavily armored human Warrior appeared before Gerik.

Nearly 190 centimeters tall, the man wore a gambeson, a kind of thick padded cloth armor, beneath chainmail and a steel helmet. His equipment looked incredibly sturdy.

'...With armor like that, Rat Men probably can't do anything unless they strike a vital spot.'

Rat Man claws were fairly sharp, but they likely could not even scratch the Warrior's armor.

'Maybe their incisors could land a meaningful hit if they aimed for vital spots or joints?'

As Gerik studied the man's equipment, Ruben introduced Gerik to the man, explaining that Gerik had been the first to discover the Rat Man outbreak.

"That is why this young man will serve as your guide. Mr. Bruno, please explore the Sewer and determine the severity of the outbreak."

"Hm... What if we solve the problem ourselves?"

Bruno's eyes lit up upon hearing that the reconnaissance mission paid a base reward of five silver coins per person. He asked about additional compensation.

"If you completely wipe out a medium-sized or larger Colony, you will receive thirty silver coins per person."

Ruben strongly advised them to stop the extermination if they encountered a large Colony.

"I don't believe there will be a large Colony, but if there is, a Giant Rat Man may appear. Even Copper Plate adventurers could be in danger then, so I ask that you retreat immediately and report it."

"Of course. We know our lives are precious too."

Money was nice, but Bruno had no intention of losing his life by overreaching. He agreed to Ruben's words without objection.

"Hey, kid. Ready?"

"I can go right now. I'm only guiding you, after all."

"Excellent!"

Bruno and his companions had been enjoying a vacation in Stonecreek after completing a long mission when they suddenly received the Guild's summons, so they were already on edge.

Fortunately, the rookie before them was acting with a fair bit of sense, and Bruno was quietly satisfied.

"Hey! Gather up! I'll explain the mission."

When they went down to the first floor, three Copper Plate adventurers who seemed to be Bruno's companions gathered around their leader.

Interestingly, unlike Bruno in steel armor, all three wore leather armor.

Their weapons varied. The aloof-looking female Half-elf carried a longbow and spear. The huge Half-orc wore thick studded leather armor and carried a bastard sword. Lastly, the Gnome with a gloomy air used a crossbow and shortsword as his main weapons, much like Wilber, but also carried a sturdy wooden buckler.

'If Wilber's equipment were upgraded, he'd look exactly like that Gnome.'

Their gear was embarrassing to compare with that of the companions who had died the day before. Combined with their seasoned air and solid builds, the Copper Plate adventurers felt like beings from an entirely different world than Wood Plate adventurers.

"Arrived day before yesterday! Why not rest more? Bruno lied? Bruno tricked Kagosh?"

"Kagosh, I told you yesterday. The Guild urgently asked us to help, so we had no choice. It will make things difficult if we antagonize the Guild."

As if soothing a dim-witted younger brother, Bruno reminded Kagosh that the mission had a high base reward and even additional performance pay.

"Oh! Five silver coins base pay? Mission ends in one day? Bonus pay too? Good! Very good. Kagosh works one more day!"

Apparently quite greedy for money, Kagosh broke into a broad smile the moment he heard the reward, as if he had never been annoyed at all.

Once Kagosh was satisfied, Bruno continued explaining the job to his other companions.

"We're exploring the depths of the Sewer. The Guild wants to know whether the damned rat bastards have multiplied. We'll follow this kid from the place he reached yesterday and go farther inside to find out the Colony's size. If it's small, we deal with it ourselves. If it's medium, we deal with it if we want money, or return if we don't. A large Colony means we return no matter what. Simple, right?"

"Not bad for something that can be finished in a day."

Jensen, the Gnome who had quietly listened to his leader, agreed in a cynical tone.

The Half-elf also nodded, apparently having no complaints.

"Then let's get going. They're only Rat Men. There's no reason to drag this out."

Bruno and his companions told Gerik to lead the way. Seeing them treat enemies he had fought for his life against as though they were mere Goblins left Gerik feeling strange.

"This is it? How long did it take to reach the place where you fought?"

"About two hours. We fought along the way and stopped by unexplored areas, though, so it should take less than an hour if we go straight there."

"Really? You went pretty deep, then."

Bruno's party followed Gerik with practiced ease. Despite being armed far more heavily than Gerik, they easily kept pace with him.

"Mm... It's been a while since I smelled this damned Sewer stink."

"Kagosh annoyed. Kagosh tears apart annoying Goblins."

Bruno charged at a Goblin that sprang out at them and crushed its skull with his mace, chatting casually with Kagosh as though they were taking a stroll.

The Goblin shrieked and desperately swung its crude weapon, but it could not even scratch Bruno's sturdy armor.

'...Once I have enough money, I should upgrade my equipment first.'

Even Kagosh's leather armor, which offered comparatively less protection, seemed to have been properly hardened. The Goblin's crude weapon bounced off it with a metallic clang.

Bruno's party tore apart a group of Goblins in an instant, as though they were playing with them. The Half-elf and Gnome had not even joined in, apparently because they could not be bothered.

'What kind of stamina is that...?'

They marched through the Sewer at a fast pace for over thirty minutes without resting, yet showed no sign of fatigue. Gerik was astonished.

Thanks to that terrifying marching speed, Bruno's party crossed the Sewer at more than twice Wilber's party's pace. Before long, they arrived at the plaza where Gerik had encountered the Rat Men.

"Hm? There's nothing here. Hey, kid. Are you sure this is the right place?"

When they found no trace of anything at the place Gerik had described, Bruno frowned.

Flustered, Gerik looked around and checked again to make sure he had not made a mistake.

"This is the place..."

Gerik was certain this was the plaza where he and his companions had fought.

Yet for some reason, the signs of the fierce battle from the previous day had vanished, leaving Gerik bewildered.

Troubled, Gerik searched for any trace that could serve as evidence. Then Tarian, the Half-elf who had remained silent until then, spoke first.

"Rat Men eat anything they can. Their companions must have come here after the battle and dragged the corpses back to their nest. That's why it's clean. Look here."

Tarian raised a torch and held it near the wall of the Sewer plaza. The party then found bloodstains on the wall.

"Ah, so this really is the place. Good work, kid. You guided us well, and I gave you trouble for no reason. Sorry about that!"

Footnotes:

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