I Was Stopped by a Guard

「That was quick. Are Hungry Ogres really that good of a target?」

「No. Sure, they give lots of exp… but the one I want most is their Boss, the King Ogre. There’s no doubt it’s the cause of the outbreak.」

Mylia’s eyes widened. She then drew close to me, panicking.

「B-Boss?! The Hungry Ogres are plenty strong already. There’s no way you can defeat their Boss…」

She thought things over and after a bit…

「That’s right, you just killed an S-rank solo. I don’t think there’s any monster you can’t defeat.」

「There are monsters even I can’t defeat. In fact, it’s actually the opposite. I don’t stand a chance against most of the monsters around. That’s why I need to get stronger. And for that, I need a part from the King Ogre.」

The part I want is the King Ogre’s heart. The heart of some Boss monsters can be processed to make an item called a『Wisdom Stone』. If I used that, I can power-up my Skills which will make me stronger overall. It’s a very valuable item and my Skills’ power would go up a lot if I used it right at the outset. I have to get a Wisdom Stone somehow.

Incidentally, the heart of a Heaven-Rending Lightning Dragon can be made into a Divine Stone. It’s used after getting your Skills powered-up by the Wisdom Stone. But I won’t use it right now and I don’t have the necessary Skill to process it either. I’ll just have to get to the Divine Stone later.

「Materials from a King Ogre… I don’t know what you’re going to make out of it, but if it’s something you deem necessary then I’m sure it’s something amazing. I’ll be cheering you on!」

「You’re not coming?」

「I have to wait for the results of the guild report.」

Right. The guild just sent a report of the killing of a dragon and there hasn’t been a case like this before. It would indeed be better to stay put and wait. It’s possible they’ll ask her questions.

So I guess we part ways here.

「All right. Till next time, then.」

「Yeah. I’ll become a noble quick and pay you back.」

「I’ll contact you if there’s another matter I want you to take credit for. I hope you’ll help me out then.」

With my current level, no one would believe me if I said I killed an S-rank monster. There’s my track record from the Forest of Death so a B-rank monster they might believe. But an S-rank is out of the question.

If there will come a time when I’ll have to kill another S-rank monster, I’ll just ask Mylia to take the credit. But I can’t do that unless she’s actually in the area.

「If possible, I don’t want to rely on your efforts…」

「I’ll work hard so I can get promoted faster. Until then, I’ll have to count on you.」

「…All right. By the way, it’s best if you stand out a bit if you want to get promoted. If you achieve an incredible feat, they might be forced to consider your promotion even though you’re just a Novice.」

With that, we parted ways. My next destination is the Great Forest of Elia.

◇

「Uhh… This way.」

The next day.
I was walking down the road that led to the Great Forest of Elia.

The geography is different than in BBO so I have to rely on maps. Perhaps due to this world’s underdeveloped surveying technology, the maps are not precise and I’m having a hard time just reading them. I feel like if I go off the path just once, I’d get lost.

As I walked on while double-checking my path, I spotted a guard standing by the road. I didn’t do anything wrong so I doubt he’d arrest me or something… but it’s still discomforting. So I tried to just walk past the guards without stopping.

「The adventurer over there! Stop!」

Oh crap, they had to stop me. Maybe it’s just some random questioning.

「Is there something wrong?」

「Where are you headed? Elias?」

The Great Forest of Elias is located near the town of Elias. If I’m gonna take requests that’ll take me to the forest, I should head to Elias first.

「Yeah. I’m going to Elias. I heard there’s a lot of great requests there.」

The guard regarded my gear.

「Your gear looks new. What rank are you?」

…Oh, he noticed my new gear. I suppose some people might assume I’m a beginner when they see what I’m equipped with. After all, they’re as good as new.

「I’m rank D. I have combat experience, though.」

「…Here’s some friendly advice: you should turn back. You know about the Hungry Ogre outbreak in the Great Forest of Elias, right?」

I see. So they’re standing guard here to stop reckless adventurers from heading there. In that case, I shouldn’t mention anything about going there to kill Hungry Ogres. He might stop me.