WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 35: Loot (4)

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"???"

Ruben let out a laugh at the old-man-like line coming from such a young brat.

Ignoring him, Gerik took his certificate and headed to the bathhouse he had visited before.

"Ahh... This is nice..."

Having used the baths the day before, Gerik easily found the Adventurers’ Guild’s bathhouse.

After washing the blood from his body with warm water, he sank into the tub and let his fatigue melt away.

"Charge or Strength Enhancement... Which one should I learn...?"

He thought about it for a long time, but no answer came. Gerik decided to get some proper rest and clear his head before making his choice back at the inn.

The next morning.

Gerik headed to the Adventurers’ Guild again to collect his reward and guide them to the scene.

As he stood in line at reception as usual, the receptionist waved him over, sparing him the wait.

With her help, Gerik reached the second floor, which had become fairly familiar to him by now. Ruben was there with more than ten well-armed guild staff members.

"Hey. You made it?"

"Yes... There are that many people?"

Startled by their numbers, Gerik spoke up. Ruben said that since they had found an evil artifact, it was only natural to deploy an appropriate force.

"Before we leave... Take this."

"Hm...?"

Ruben suddenly handed him another paper certificate. Puzzled, Gerik examined it and realized from its contents that it was a kind of bill of exchange.

"You weren't paying me in cash?"

"What nonsense... Who pays that much in cash?"

Ruben explained that it was a bill issued by the Adventurers’ Guild, a highly reliable document that could be exchanged at any bank in the Baskaar Kingdom.

"For reference, you can collect small amounts immediately at any Guild branch. But withdrawing the full amount will take some time."

Keeping large sums of money at the Guild would pose a security risk, so this was apparently the safer arrangement.

The reasoning made perfect sense, so Gerik quietly tucked the bill into his clothes without objection.

With Gerik and Ruben at the head, the group set off for the scene. It was an unusual sight in Stonecreek, and adventurers and passersby alike watched them go.

"Ah, did that mad mage happen to have any other magic items on him?"

As they walked, Ruben asked about additional magic items. Gerik, who had recovered a component of Skyler's Quintet, felt his heart skip a beat.

Still, he had practiced how to respond if the subject came up, so he answered with a calm expression.

"No. It looked like he was preparing sacrifices for the altar. He had plenty of cash, but no magic items."

"...So you did find a decent amount of cash?"

"I won't deny it. Hehe..."

Gerik gave Ruben a shameless grin, making it clear that his haul had been substantial.

Still, it was an unwritten rule that adventurers kept the Spoils acquired during a mission unless they were problematic, like the Plague God’s Rat Skull. Ruben did not make an issue of it.

Click...!!

When Gerik opened the workshop door, the belongings of the 'companions' he had piled up the day before were there at the entrance.

"You remember what I told you yesterday, right? These are my 'Spoils.'"

"We won't take them, so don't worry."

They were clearly ordinary weapons and armor with no issues, so the guild staff did not raise any objections as they passed by. Before long, Gerik led them to the hidden underground passage.

"That's the altar. Be careful."

"Good heavens."

The moment they descended the passage, Ruben let out a horrified cry at the sight of the evil altar.

Gerik told him that he had considered smashing it himself the day before, but sinister whispers had filled his ears whenever he approached, so he had not dared touch it.

"You did well. That altar has consumed many sacrifices, so it's quite dangerous. If you'd tried to destroy it carelessly, you would've been cursed."

Ruben explained that the altar before them had already become more than a simple altar. It was a kind of sanctuary where a portion of an evil god’s power had manifested.

To destroy it safely, they would need to borrow the power of another god.

"You. Return to the Guild at once and find the priest we can summon most quickly from nearby. Don't forget to explain the altar in detail."

"Understood!"

Given the seriousness of the matter, Ruben seemed determined to summon a priest of a good god and destroy the altar as quickly as possible.

After making arrangements for the altar, he followed Gerik into the mage’s workshop.

Monster body parts lay scattered throughout the room. Just as Gerik had expected, Ruben said they were likely offerings meant for the evil god’s altar.

After ordering several subordinates to gather the corpses and burn them, the group followed Gerik once more to the Sewer plaza.

Bruno’s body, numerous Rat Man corpses, and traces of a fierce battle greeted Ruben’s group there.

"...Aside from that dead Gnome friend over there, everyone else was killed by Rat Men and the mage?"

"Yes. Jensen ended up like that after we argued over what to do with the cursed item and got into a fight."

The sight of the Gnome, brutally hacked to death, seemed to disturb even the experienced Adventurers’ Guild staff.

One staff member, who had remained silent until then, asked why Gerik had killed Jensen so horribly.

The other guild staff appeared to be wondering the same thing. They all looked at Gerik, waiting for his answer.

"That bastard pretended to repent, then threw this into my eyes. I lost my vision for a moment, so I had no choice but to swing my sword wildly. I didn't do that out of any particular malice."

Grinding his teeth, Gerik took out a pouch he had recovered from Jensen the day before and showed it to the guild staff member who had asked.

"Tch... Fire-Eye Herb Powder. Are your eyes all right? If you don't wash it out quickly, it can damage your vision."

The guild staff member recognized the powder at once. Gerik said he was fine, then asked about the Fire-Eye Herb Powder.

"Adventurers like using it as tear gas and a smoke screen. Creatures with sensitive sight and smell, like Rat Men, can't think straight if they take a proper hit from that stuff. It's quite useful for escaping or causing confusion."

That wasn't a bad use for it. Gerik would be spending plenty of time in the Demonwild Forest and encountering wild beasts and monsters, so he decided to try the Fire-Eye Herb Powder he had found among Jensen’s belongings in a real fight.

"By the way, the mage’s journal mentioned a passage connected to the outside... Did you check it?"

Gerik answered Ruben’s question by saying he had not found the passage himself. Still, based on Tarian and Jensen’s argument the day before, he had an idea where it might be.

"So... you found signs related to Rat Men in two places near where your companions died the day before yesterday?"

"Yes. We explored one of them and ended up here."

"Then that is most likely the passage connected to the outside."

Ruben apologized and asked Gerik to guide them there. It was not a difficult request, so Gerik agreed without complaint.

"Wilson! Dorian..."

Ruben ordered only around four members of the group to follow him and told the rest to clean up the Sewer site. Then, with Gerik leading the way, they began exploring the Sewer again.

"It's over there."

"I see. Dorian!"

At Ruben’s call, a guild staff member who gave off the distinct air of a Ranger stepped forward and began examining the area. Not long after, they found a hole cleverly concealed within the collapsed wall.

"We can barely get through if we crawl. Let's go!"

"...Me too?"

Gerik asked with a reluctant expression when Ruben told him to crawl through the hole where filth flowed.

"An adventurer's virtue is seeing things through once they've started. Come with us."

"Ugh..."

Ruben had made quite a few concessions for him the day before, so Gerik could not bring himself to refuse him so bluntly.

In the end, Gerik carefully crawled through the Sewer with Ruben, struggling to endure the foul stench.

"Just as I thought... This is how they crawled in?"

Not long after crawling through the hole, the group discovered a passage leading outside.

"Wilson. Gather some workers and seal this place up. Make sure it can't be used again. Understood?"

"Yes!"

Fortunately, Ruben apparently did not want to crawl through the Sewer again either. He decided they would return to Stonecreek by going outside rather than back through the Sewer, much to Gerik’s relief.

"Excuse me, Ruben."

"Hm?"

Gerik spoke to Ruben as they returned in silence. He had been agonizing over the matter since the day before, but he finally decided to ask.

"You're asking which one I think would be better? Hmm..."

When Ruben heard that Gerik was still unsure between Charge and Strength Enhancement, he studied Gerik’s body with a thoughtful expression.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Gerik naturally gave the age of the body he currently inhabited. Ruben thought for a moment after hearing that, then spoke.

"If it were me, I'd choose Charge."

"...Why?"

"You haven't finished growing yet."

Ruben explained that Strength Enhancement was certainly powerful, but it might be an awkward choice for Gerik, who still had room to grow physically.

"If you were a Warrior with a small build and insufficient strength, learning Strength Enhancement would make sense. But even at your age, your physical abilities are already quite good. If you eat well and train, you can increase your strength on your own without a skill's help. Charge is different."

Unlike strength, which could be improved through innate talent and hard work, Charge was an ability that could only be learned through a Skillbook.

That was why Ruben said that if he were in Gerik’s position, he would learn Charge.

"Um... Since I helped you all finish exploring the Sewer, could you help carry some of the Spoils to the smithy?"

Once they returned to Stonecreek, Gerik shamelessly asked the Adventurers’ Guild staff, with whom he had become slightly acquainted during their brief time together, for help.

The guild staff looked dumbfounded, but they did not seem to dislike Gerik’s boldness. They burst out laughing and agreed to help.

With Gerik and the guild staff carrying the 'belongings' of his former 'companions' together, Gerik soon arrived at Steelbeard's Anvil.

"What is this? Why are so many Adventurers’ Guild folks here?"

Having worked in Stonecreek for a long time, the blacksmith Grimdal seemed to recognize the people accompanying Gerik. Gerik explained the situation, then said he had come to sell the equipment.

"Is that so? Let's have a look..."

Grimdal carefully examined the equipment laid out on the floor. Then he flinched when he saw Bruno’s chain mail and tower shield.

"...I made these."

Unlike his other companions, it seemed all of Bruno’s equipment had been made at this smithy. Grimdal looked bitter as he stared at Bruno’s badly damaged chain mail.

"Hey, young man. You said you carried out a mission with this fellow, right?"

"Yes."

"...Did he die because of a flaw in his equipment?"

As a blacksmith, Grimdal seemed worried that a defect in equipment he had made might have led to Bruno’s death.

Footnotes:

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