WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
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◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈
Chapter 8: The Raiders (1)
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“You... You don't seem to know much about the one that priest ‘served,’ do you?”
Though his words were murderous, the man did not seem to be the type to mistreat his own men. Keeping his anger in check, he began explaining Num.
“The one that priest served has strict doctrines and practices that are brutally demanding, so there are very few followers and priests.”
“...”
“That is why the One cherishes their followers and priests more dearly than most gods do. A priest like the one we met earlier would have experienced the One's will firsthand, without a doubt.”
“Eek...”
The man who had been spouting off was horrified by the thought that the priest they had killed was likely favored by Num, a powerful intermediate god.
The other raiders who had joined in attacking the priest also flinched, fear showing on their faces.
“...Still, don't worry too much.”
The leader told them that they, too, had the backing of the Great One. As long as they did not openly provoke Num any further, they would not have to face Num’s wrath directly.
“So don't say that kind of garbage. If Num really singles us out, it won't do us any good. Understood?”
“Y-Yes... I'm sorry.”
Realizing he had acted recklessly based on nothing more than past experience, the raider hastily apologized to his leader.
“Then search the monastery as carefully as possible so you don't provoke the One. Understood?”
“Yes!”
The raiders gave a short reply in low but disciplined voices.
Hearing them, Gerik realized that at least ten raiders had taken up positions nearby. Terror seized him.
‘Am I going to die again like this?’
The thought that he might die less than two months after being reincarnated into another world sent Gerik into a panic, and his body began to shake.
Still, having experienced cancer in his previous life, he managed not to do anything foolish in his panic that would draw the raiders’ attention.
“...We're not really going to face the revenge of the one that priest served, are we?”
Perhaps he was the second-in-command. Uneasy after hearing the leader's explanation, the man asked carefully.
“We just have to stay within bounds. There are many gods in this world, and each has their own rules. For what we've done so far, the worst that will happen is their Holy Knight Order being deployed to hunt us down.”
“F-For one intermediate priest, they'll send the Holy Knight Order?!”
The second-in-command had come during the day to capture a veteran adventurer named Lugos, only to unexpectedly fight one of Num's intermediate battle priests and suffer heavy losses. At the mention of Num's holy knight force, he looked horrified.
“They're only mortal means. Since we haven't crossed the line, the One would likely only have discreetly issued an order. Don't worry.”
The leader said that since they, too, had a god backing them, they could easily escape even a minor expression of Num's wrath through their own abilities.
Somewhat reassured by the leader's attitude, the second-in-command nodded.
“Yes. Red D...”
“Shut your mouth!”
When the second-in-command dared to mention the nickname of the god they worshiped in front of Num's monastery, the leader grabbed him by the collar and glared at him furiously.
“S-Sorry. I'm sorry.”
Realizing his mistake, the second-in-command broke into a cold sweat and kept apologizing.
‘Red... D? Going by the sound, maybe Dena or Dae...’
Eavesdropping nearby, Gerik realized that the word the second-in-command had almost said was an important clue to uncovering their identities. He repeated it in his mind, committing it to memory.
“There is nothing inside the monastery. Only everyday supplies and items for clergy.”
“Damn it... Where the hell did they hide them?”
‘Don't tell me...?’
The leader's furious words made Gerik realize why the raiders had attacked the village. They believed Lugos had the delivery items.
“Are you sure they aren't there?”
“Yes, sir. They're not.”
“And you're certain the other four had only three between them?”
“Yes... We recovered the items from them, but two were definitely missing.”
“Damn it... Where did the other two disappear to?”
Listening to the leader and his subordinate, Gerik realized that one of the items the raiders sought was missing. Without thinking, he reached down and touched Lugos's pack beneath his feet.
“Should we release the hunting dogs? Since he came with the priest at the end, he may have asked the priest to hide the items somewhere nearby.”
“That is possible. Release the dogs and search the area! But...”
To avoid Num's wrath, the leader ordered them to release the hunting dogs, while making sure neither the monastery nor the surrounding area was damaged by the dogs or his men.
‘Damn it...’
Hearing that, Gerik felt as though he could not breathe from hyperventilating again.
With shaking hands, he pulled the longsword Lugos had told him to use for self-defense to his chest and held it tight.
Grrr...
The growls of savage beasts began filling the forest. As they wandered around the monastery, barking, sniffing, and growling over and over, Gerik felt as if fear would drive him insane.
‘Go away... Please go away... Just go away...!!’
Crouched there, unable to do anything, Gerik sweated profusely as he kept begging for the hunting dogs to pass him by.
Yet he knew all too well from his previous life how sensitive a dog's sense of smell was. He instinctively knew that a second unavoidable death was closing in on him.
Whine...?
A familiar animal sound came from near the makeshift hideout where he lay.
Realizing that the inevitable had finally come, Gerik swallowed as quietly as he could and gripped the hilt of the longsword Lugos had given him.
‘If I'm going to die anyway, should I at least use Slash once before I do...?’
He had barely begun as a novice, and now he was about to die for such a ridiculous reason. Gerik wondered if he should at least use a skill before dying, so he would feel less cheated.
Sniff, sniff...
‘...!!’
As he panicked and let his thoughts run wild, a hunting dog pressed its nose to the entrance of Gerik's hideout and began sniffing. Gerik was debating whether to draw his sword when it happened.
Hack? Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!!
Perhaps dust had gotten into its nose, because the hunting dog began sneezing.
After sneezing several times, it brought its nose back to Gerik's hideout. But when something irritating once again tormented its nose, it sneezed a few more times, then turned away and moved elsewhere.
‘The Orksh tree... It's because of the Orksh tree...!’
Gerik realized why the hunting dog had failed to catch his scent. If not for the survival method Lugos had taught him, the dog would have exposed his location long ago, and he would have become a cold corpse at the raiders’ hands.
As that thought sank in, cold sweat poured down Gerik's forehead despite the dead of winter. He wiped his brow with trembling hands and pulled the longsword closer to his chest.
After that, hunting dogs brought by other raiders came near Gerik's hideout several times, but they reacted just like the first one before turning around and leaving.
“...Nothing.”
“Damn it...”
They had searched the forest around the monastery for a long time but found nothing. At his subordinate's report, the leader swore under his breath.
“We'll get chewed out when we return... Still, it can't be helped. We're pulling out!”
“Yes!”
‘I lived...’
Hearing the raiders’ conversation, Gerik let out a sigh of relief. He had truly come within a hair's breadth of the afterlife and survived.
Before long, the sounds of people began moving away from the monastery, and Gerik gradually began to relax.
“...Damn it.”
Once the tension faded enough for him to take stock of himself, Gerik realized that his crotch was wet and cursed.
‘What do I do...?’
He had wet his pants out of fear and wanted to leave immediately, but he could not bring himself to go outside when the raiders might still be nearby.
‘I have to endure it. What else can I do?’
Remembering drills from his military service in his previous life, Gerik desperately tried to bear the discomfort.
At the same time, he took out a waterskin from Lugos's pack and drank a little water. He chewed dried meat and fruit that Baron and his wife had packed for Lugos, easing his hunger.
‘They were all alive and well just a little while ago...’
As he chewed the dried meat, Gerik felt an emotion he could not put into words well up inside him. It did not last long. He knew that eating was essential if he was going to endure the cold, so he forced the food down.
He was cold and uncomfortable, but once the danger passed and his stomach was a little fuller, strength began draining from his whole body.
‘I don't snore... Right? Definitely...’
He knew he did not snore from sharing a room with his brothers, but once the tension left him, an unbearable wave of sleep crashed over him. Gerik closed his heavy eyelids and fell asleep as though he had passed out.
Footnotes:
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