WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 5: Priest and Adventurer (4)

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Lugos told him that a primary weapon could break at any moment in the heat of battle, and that having his hands empty at such a moment meant death.

That was why any proper adventurer needed to carry at least one backup weapon for emergencies.

“And unlike a longsword, this shortsword is closer to a multipurpose tool than a weapon meant for combat.”

As he spoke, Lugos skillfully sharpened the shortsword with a whetstone. He then used it to carefully cut a piece of leather from his pack.

Next, with practiced hands, he spread an unidentified ointment over the leather, pressed it against a torn section of his armor, and bore down hard.

“What’s that liquid?”

“It’s a kind of glue made by mixing crushed Tereng Butterfly larvae with Nogong Tree sap. It lets you repair damaged leather armor, at least temporarily.”

Interestingly, when the coated leather touched the armor, it began to adhere with a sizzling sound as heat rose from it.

Before long, the damaged area had been patched with fresh leather. It was rough work, but serviceable enough.

“Wow, that would make repairing leather armor easy.”

“It’s still only a temporary fix. Leather armor repaired this way usually has to be thrown out after about a month. Over time, it rots from the inside.”

Lugos explained that it could still retain around eighty percent of an intact suit’s effectiveness before the month was up, which was why adventurers sometimes used this repair method in desperate situations.

“Kid. Want to try sharpening a blade? If you do the work I give you properly for a while, I’ll give you a silver coin when I leave.”

Normally, Lugos would never entrust weapon and armor maintenance to someone else, much less an inexperienced kid. Still, the lingering effects of his injury made his right shoulder ache, so he decided to let Gerik try.

“I’ll do it!”

The silver coin tempted him, but Lugos’s offer was even more welcome to Gerik, who planned to leave the village someday and become an adventurer. He would be paid while learning valuable knowledge.

“A little slower. Good, like that. And when it comes to leather...”

Lugos sat beside Gerik, watching him maintain the equipment and occasionally pointing out what needed correcting.

Since it was equipment he would use himself, Lugos taught him with painstaking care and held nothing back. Thanks to that, Gerik, who had known nothing about bladed weapons, easily gained essential and valuable knowledge for an adventurer.

“Is there anything else you need me to do today?”

“There is, but wait a moment. Let me warm up, then we’ll do it after I see the priest.”

“Yes!”

After Lugos had stayed in Baron’s house for around ten days, the family had lowered their guard around him to some extent.

That allowed Lugos to come down to the family’s living area during the day, warm himself by the fireplace, and recover his strength.

“...Aren’t you scared of him?”

Even though they had grown less wary, Lugos’s intimidating build, scars, and the sharp killing intent ingrained in him through years as an adventurer still frightened the family.

They often watched Gerik with strange looks. He was the only one who fearlessly clung to Lugos every day, chattering away at him.

“Me? Not really...”

Gerik had already made up his mind to leave this place someday and become an adventurer, so he answered his eldest brother’s question as if it were nothing.

There was no way he would shrink back in fear when he still had so much knowledge to pry out of Lugos. With that thought, he followed Lugos after he warmed up and headed to see Priest Osrik for treatment.

“You really are interested in becoming an adventurer, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I told you I was really going to become one.”

“...Becoming an adventurer isn’t all good.”

Over the past ten days, Lugos had come to realize that Gerik sincerely dreamed of becoming an adventurer.

At first, he had laughed it off as a young boy’s reckless curiosity. But after watching Gerik for quite some time, his interest had far exceeded Lugos’s expectations.

Worried about the boy he had grown fond of, Lugos offered him some advice.

“Adventurers look glamorous. It seems like they make a lot of money, too. But did you know that for every adventuring party that starts making money, more than ten rookie adventurers suffer in poverty or die?”

For the sake of the youth before him, Lugos began telling stories from his own early days, when he had known nothing of the world.

“People laugh at monsters like goblins and kobolds because they’re small and weak. But plenty of rookies end up crippled after falling for the dung-smeared traps they set, their toes rotting away or their eyes going blind.”

After saying that, Lugos showed him the scar beneath his thick forearm.

“When I was a clueless rookie, I laughed at those nasty little runts and swung my weapon around. Then I got poisoned. I had to cut out a whole chunk of flesh from my forearm and cauterize it with fire. So? Do you still want to become an adventurer?”

“...What if I still do?”

“Hm....”

Gerik did not lose heart even after Lugos showed him the scars scattered across his body as a not-quite-threat. Lugos let out a soft sigh and continued.

“Then remember three things.”

First, Lugos advised him to thoroughly prepare food, equipment, and supplies, no matter how easy the mission seemed.

He stressed that trouble could strike without warning anywhere adventurers operated, even on the outskirts.

“Idiot rookies who don’t know a thing only worry about weapons and armor. They ignore the importance of maps, rope, oilcloth, and clean bandages.”

Lugos emphasized that if someone got unlucky enough to lose their way or fall behind due to an injury, such items would save an adventurer more often than a sharp blade or sturdy armor.

“Second, never underestimate an enemy. Plenty of fools think they’ll always win as long as they aren’t fighting trolls or ogres, but in reality, many die after being ambushed by goblins weaker than themselves.”

Lugos explained that the unexplored regions where adventurers operated were unexplored in name only. In truth, they were lands ruled by monsters.

“True... Even a mangy dog has the advantage on its own turf.”

“Exactly. To monsters, unexplored lands like the Demonwild Forest or Endless Swamp are the homes they’ve lived in their whole lives. Underestimate them and act cocky in a place like that, and you’ll be dead in one blow.”

Gerik was not especially knowledgeable about strategy or tactics, but he had served in the military and had read military texts like The Art of War as general learning. He quickly understood Lugos’s point.

“What’s the third thing?”

“Never trust people.”

“Huh?”

“I mean exactly that. Humans are a hundred times more dangerous than monsters. Did you know that about thirty percent of rookies in this line of work die within a year, and around sixty percent within three years?”

“...No.”

“For more than half of them, the cause of death is being attacked by other adventurers who covet their money or spoils, or internal conflict and betrayal over dividing the loot.”

After saying that, Lugos looked down at his hands with a bitter expression, as if they were covered in blood.

“Until you have absolute confidence in your abilities, don’t flaunt valuable equipment or demand too much priority from your companions when you get valuable loot. Even if you do, make sure you’re somewhere safe first. Understand?”

“...Yes.”

Gerik swallowed dryly and agreed with Lugos’s realistic, bloodstained advice.

Just as he resolved never to forget the three iron rules Lugos had taught him that day, they arrived at Osrik’s temple, which had already become familiar.

“I’ll go get treated.”

“Yes. I’ll clean the monastery.”

“Alright.”

Lugos entered the monastery with a relieved expression, as though he was heading in for his final treatment. Yet he soon came back outside.

“Aren’t you getting treated today?”

“No. I’m sorry, but he asked me to wait about an hour while he prays. He treated some villagers yesterday, so his divine power hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

“Ah....”

Lugos sat down on a stone beneath a large tree near the monastery and watched Gerik clean.

Perhaps the wait bored him, because once Gerik finished sweeping and picked up a shovel to clean the drainage ditch, Lugos spoke.

“Kid. You’re pretty good with a shovel. You look like you have a talent for digging, so want me to teach you something useful?”

“...Something useful?”

“Yeah. It’ll come in handy if you get lost or fall behind in a forest or swamp.”

“Oh....”

Gerik did not want to miss even a scrap of adventurer knowledge, so he hurried over to Lugos with a delighted look.

“Give me the shovel.”

After taking it, Lugos pointed to a particular spot near the tree where he was sitting.

“This spot. Remember it.”

It was not close to the tree, but not especially far away either, so there was a little shade. Lugos began digging there and continued speaking.

“If you dig too close to a tree, the roots will keep you from digging deep. But if you dig around here, there are fewer roots in the way, and when night comes, there’ll be just enough shade from the tree for cover and concealment.”

After explaining why, Lugos handed the shovel to Gerik and told him to try digging, offering various tips along the way.

“The soil should be dark brown like this if possible. It’s made from decayed leaves, so there’s a good chance there won’t be rocks underneath. And there’s no need to dig the hole too deep....”

As they talked, they eventually finished a hole just large enough for one adult to lie down in. It was not quite deep enough to hide an entire body, though.

“It would be nice to dig deeper, but that takes too much time and leaves you exposed to outside threats. This deep is enough. And then...”

Near the shallow hole, Lugos made a simple frame out of branches and stones before scattering leaves over it.

“After that, see that brown tree? It’s an Orksh Shortwood. Break off some of its branches and rub them together...”

Lugos drew sap from the tree and began sprinkling it over the makeshift shelter. A strange scent soon filled it.

“The smell is strong at first, but after a while, the scent of the sap settles and completely wipes away the human smell. Even monsters like dog-headed gnolls won’t be able to find us then. Try this if you’re injured or fall behind and need to hide after dark.”

“Wow.... That’s good.”

“Glad you think so. And when you need to use the bathroom badly...”

Gerik’s eyes gleamed as Lugos taught him tricks that only a seasoned adventurer would know.

Just then, Osrik came out after finishing his prayers and called Lugos over. Lugos quickly got to his feet and headed for the priest.

“How did it go?”

“The priest says I’ve fully recovered now. I can leave tomorrow.”

“What? You’re not going to wait for your companions?”

Lugos said that it bothered him that his companions, who should have finished their mission and returned long ago, still had not come back.

“It’s possible that the companions who left earlier were attacked by the Raiders. If they’re looking for me, I need to leave for the sake of your village, too.”

“Ah...”

Gerik grew solemn at Lugos’s words that he would leave for the villagers’ sake.

Perhaps he felt a little sorry that the kid who usually chattered away and bombarded him with questions about adventurers had become so downcast. Lugos looked at Gerik and spoke.

“Want me to show you something that can make you a real adventurer?”

“...Something that can make me a real adventurer?”

“Yeah. The sort of riffraff who call themselves adventurers never have one. It’s valuable.”

When Lugos said he would reveal the secret of a true adventurer, Gerik felt his heart race.

Gerik begged him to show it to him, his voice trembling slightly. Lugos burst into laughter and nodded.

“Come with me first. I left it in the attic.”

“Yes!”

Gerik returned home with Lugos, his face a little flushed, and watched him rummage through a pack in the corner of the attic before taking something out.

“...A piece of paper?”

Footnotes:

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