I Have a Destination Now

「There hasn’t been a case like this before so the reward assessment will take some time. Can I hold on to this horn? It’s a monster that hasn’t been taken down before so we don’t have rules on which part will serve as proof of the kill. Then again, for a dragon, it’s normally the horn. I’ll return it at a later time, of course.」

「Sure.」

「Thank you for defeating the S-rank monster, the root cause of the possible Stampede, and for protecting the town. I believe this feat is worth a promotion to A…no, S-rank. Unfortunately I don’t have the authority to promote you to rank S. You’ll have to wait for the executives’ meeting.」the manager said, bowing his head to Mylia.

With this, I succeeded in making Mylia take the credit. I want her to become a noble as soon as possible.

◇

「Good job out there. Looks like it went well.」

「I felt extremely guilty taking credit for what you did though.」

「No one would’ve believed me if I took credit anyway. The Heaven-Rending Lightning Dragon will rest in peace knowing that we didn’t just kill it for nothing.」

「I suppose… Anyway, I think it’s strange that you’re only rank D. You can kill an S-rank monster on your own.」

「It’s probably because I’m treated as a Novice. I got a recommendation to rank C though, but I have to wait for the results. If only they’d recognize my real job class. For now I just have to go up the ranks the old-fashioned way.」

Mylia went silent for a moment.

「What’s your next plan?」she asked.

「Let’s see… I want to get stronger. It would be great to find a place with moderately strong monsters. The Forest of Death fit that criteria perfectly.」

Once a Raid Boss is defeated, monsters will not show up around the area for a while. It would be safe to assume that I can’t use the Forest of Death for now.

「I’ve never met anyone who says the Forest of Death has “moderately strong” monsters. There’s almost none of those in that danger zone.」

「But you’re starting to think the same, aren’t you?」

She once again went silent.

「…You may be right.」 she muttered.

「If you learned how to fight properly and use your Skills, it’s a walk in the park…But there’s still room to get stronger.」

Right now, I’m level 25. I should at least be able to fight decently now, but this world is perilous.

If something happens, I’m not sure I can handle it with the way I am right now. The only reason I was able to kill the Dragon was because despite its power, it was a monster that was easy to take down. If an actual powerful enemy by BBO’s standards show up, I don’t think I can do anything with my current power.

「Hmm… So basically, you want to go somewhere with strong enemies?」

「Yeah.」

For a while, Mylia was deep in thought. Then it appeared as though she recalled something.

「In that case, how about the Great Forest of Elia?」

「The Great Forest of Elia? Is it a danger zone like the Forest of Death?」

「No. It’s just a normal huge forest. But lots of strong monsters have shown up recently so it’s become a problem.」

An abnormal monster outbreak.
Depending on its cause, it could be too dangerous that it’s best to stay away. I might not even be able to fight with my current level.

「It’s not a matter of emergency?」

「The monsters are strong, but they don’t go out of the forest so it’s safe for now. If they’re just staying inside, we can just let them be.」

「Incidentally, what kind of monsters have been appearing?」

You can guess what the cause of the outbreak is from the type of monster that appeared. If I have no idea what it is, then I just have to assume that it could be too dangerous so I’m definitely staying away.

「Hungry Ogres. They’re a bit stronger than the monsters in the Forest of Death. There were lots of fatalities when the outbreak started, but there’s no casualty now that no one enters the forest anymore.」

I felt relief. The cause of a Hunger Ogre outbreak is easy to guess. Most likely, there’s an ogre-type Boss in the forest. In that case, it’s either a King Ogre or an Emperor Ogre.

With my current level, I should be able to defeat a King Ogre… but an Emperor Ogre is a little bit too much for me. An Emperor Ogre is a demon-type monster. Its stats are not that high, but in exchange, it’s very intelligent and cautiousl. The complete opposite of a Heaven-Rending Lightning Dragon.

It’s a type of enemy I’m weak against right now. If I fought it out head-on with a Boss-level monster, I’ll lose.

In any case, it’s not the type to leave the forest. Hungry Ogres give tons of exp. If the Boss is a King Ogre, then I can get the material I want the most right now. Two birds with one stone.

「Do you know the scale of the outbreak?」

「According to the guild report, their number is estimated to be around 500.」

That definitely sounds like a King Ogre. If it were an Emperor Ogre, there would normally be more than 5,000 Hungry Ogres around.

「All right, it’s settled. I’m going to the Great Forest of Elia next.」