Chapter 202
Jack of all Trades – 202
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POSTED 3 HOURS AGO
Farewell, Yukka
PAGE 2
Some time had now passed since the guild master of Yukka summoned us .
In fact, Daniela and I were currently on a quest to escort a merchant who was headed to the imperial capital . I had gone searching for a quest after Daniela’s suggestion and had discovered that a small merchant caravan was departing on the same day as us . It would make things easy when leaving the inn, and all we had to do to make some money was guard two wagons . And so we set off after restocking on supplies, including our food, which Daniela had eaten too much of .
Kiralika wrote us a letter of recommendation for entering the Imperial Sword Tournament . Daniela had become rather passionate about it .
“I want to enlist . It should be amusing . ”
She would say it in the sweetest voice . I didn’t have the courage to say no . Besides, I shuddered to think of how she might retaliate if I rejected the notion .
After we finished preparing for our journey, we visited a few people to say goodbye . Rami, Saragi, Kanatsuki, and Nanaya from the guild . There was also the Adventurer, Aeneus . And lastly, Shiki, who had sold me my spear .
When I told Aeneus that we were off to the imperial capital, he said that he also wanted to enter the tournament . So, perhaps we would meet again?
One thing I hadn’t forgotten about, was the Adventurers that had attacked us when we first arrived . The ones that Daniela and I beat into the ground . They had apparently seen us meeting the guild master and receiving the letter of recommendation . Perhaps that had put a certain fear into them, because they came and apologized to us . And hey, I wasn’t the devil, alright? I readily forgave them .
“But if you try anything like that again, I may have to string you up naked over the entrance of the guild . ”
“Yes, and I may have to take a knife and carve you up . ”
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Such promises were made as we reconciled .
In the short time we had left, I was forced to go around and search for a replacement for my wind dragon trousers which were now wind dragon shorts .
There were a few stores that specialized in trousers, but none had anything that was worthy of my glasses .
This, of course, meaning that I searched while wearing the appraisal glasses . It was no use . I would have settled for a mere AGI boost, but I could not find that either . I couldn’t just grab a random pair and go to Rachel and say, ‘add an enchantment!’ She would kill me .
The effect of Matsumoto’s dragon stampede hadn’t reached the empire . In fact, I couldn’t even find any dragon armor . And what materials we had were already used for Daniela’s clothes… There was really nothing I could do .
And so I was ultimately forced to wear trousers of merely decent materials and go on the quest .
Two days had now passed since we left Yukka’s east gate . There were a number of monsters and bandit attacks, but nothing had happened to force a delay . Well, that was due to Daniela and me . Yes, no pair of disappointing trousers were going to keep me down .
On the third day of our leisurely journey, we encountered a large pack of monsters . They had come out of the forest and seemed uncertain at first, but attacked us anyway . The merchant shrieked and hid in his wagon . Daniela and I sighed and began to work on the rush of goblins, forest wolves and even kobolds .
It really only took about thirty seconds for the monsters to realize that they could not get passed us, and so they turned and fled back into the forest .
“I don’t get it . ”
“…Yes, I have a bad feeling about this . ”
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It was the kind of scenario where you could count on a larger monster making an appearance . Daniela assured me of this .
“…Uh, shouldn’t we get out of here then?”
“Yes . ”
But Daniela continued to stare into the forest . Just as I activated Presence Detection for myself, the merchant boss poked his head out from the wagon . We called him Mister . He dealt in antiques and art .
“…Uh, Mister Asagi, Miss Daniela . Is it finished…?”
“No, you might want to stay in there, Mister . ”
“It might even be better for you to go on ahead . ”
He must have seen that we were more tense than usual . He nodded seriously . I told him to be prepared to make a run for it . Then I increased the range of Presence Detection . My skill level had gone up recently, which allowed me to cover a wider area . It was probably just a little shy of Daniela’s now .
“…Can you tell?”
“Yeah . I can tell that we’re in big trouble…”
While things seemed clear to her, they were still foggy to me . Still, I was still glad that I was able to detect that there was something at nearly the same time as her .
“It is coming straight towards us . Be careful, Asagi . ”
“I’m always careful . However, I’m going to be using this weapon . ”
I said as I gripped my spear tightly . I had intended on using this escort quest as a time to train with the spear, and so had equipped it as soon as we left Yukka . The Cocytus Lance proved to be quite good against monsters and bandits . Whether they were small, beastlike or humanoid . Still, it was hard to get accustomed to fighting humans with them . But I was improving quite a lot…
Hopefully, it would be enough .
“Here they come!”
“!!”
For a second I thought about the bandits I had killed . My grip tightened .
“GRRRRR…RRRRRRAAAAAAGHHH!!!”
What appeared with a roar was a four-legged…what was it? A wolf? A dragon? No…human?
“Grendel!!”
“Grendel!? What!?”
“A type of giant! The result of giants recklessly consorting with other races and living too long!”
“I see . So that’s why it looks like that!’
It had the arms and legs of a human but the posture of a beast . Its body was covered in hair and yet there was a dorsal fin, horns and also scales . It was like a chimera…
“I will lure it away . Mister, you drive away when I give the signal . We will catch up to you, so do not worry about going too far . ”
“Ye-yes!”
“Asagi, you can stay with me . Happy?”
“Yeah . I could just cry!”
Mister sat in the driver’s seat and tried to soothe the horses . The wagon in the back also seemed to be ready .
Grendel hesitated over who to attack first . It was enough time for Daniela to unleash an arrow . It was more to distract it than to do any damage, and so we were not too disappointed when it bounced off the creature’s shoulder . Either the scales were incredibly strong or Daniela had no put much force behind it .
However, the purpose was served . Grendel chose Daniela as his target . He howled loudly and then shot forward towards her . Daniela cooly stepped out of the way and shouted .
“Go!!”
“May luck be with you two!”
Mister and the other driver wished us luck . And with that, I sent deep blue magic into my spear . The white, semi-translucent weapon started to turn opaque . The blade grew and a handguard and ribbon appeared . Diamond dust filled the air . The Cocytus Lance . This was its true worth .
“Now, let us finish this before we are left behind . ”
“We’ll catch up in no time on my feet . ”
Daniela chuckled .
“Well, I suppose we can take our time with this one then . ”
“Got it!”
Daniela dashed forward at the howling Grendel, and I followed after her .
I hadn’t imagined such a battle would occur, but this was part of the job . Besides, it meant more money!