Chapter 102: Chapter 102
When the party was in full swing, a concerning topic came out .
“There’s a monster on the highway?” [Ryouma]
“Yes . We came here through the southern plains, but before leaving Kereban, we heard sightings of an ‘ant’ in the plains . Because of that we were on alert the entire trip . It was really exhausting . ” [Prenence]
Ant is the universal term for all ant-type monsters . There are all sorts, but in general, they all possess a hard carapace that protects their whole body, as well as an inclination to swarm their enemies . How dangerous an ant actually is . however, depends on the variant .
“Could it be a murder ant?” [Ryouma]
Murder Ants possess a hard carapace and a sturdy pair of jaws . They are carnivorous and they love to fight other living creatures . A swarm of such ants is undoubtedly a threat . Depending on the size of the nest, the Adventurers Guild would rank an extermination job for them as Rank C or above .
“Oh, no . If that were the case, we would’ve surely chosen a different route . It should be a tunnel ant . ” [Prenence]
“Hmm… Sorry . Can you tell me more about that variant?” [Ryouma]
“Let’s see… First of all it has the same hard carapace that ants are known for, but their jaws, claws, and overall strength is weaker compared to the other ants variants . They also don’t have any venom . Overall, their attacking power is low, but they’re also more gentle compared to the other ants and won’t attack other monsters or people .
They specialize in digging soft ground and are known to expand their nest proactively . The problem is that if you accidentally pass over one of their nests without knowing, their nests will cave and your carriage will fall with it . ” [Prenence]
The tunnel ant nests are reinforced by their bodily liquids, so it won’t cave in if it’s just a Peron walking over it, but a carriage filled with luggage plus passengers is simply too heavy .
Tunnel ants aren’t very dangerous, but they’re considered to be annoying pests for people traveling on carriages .
“They must be a headache to the transportation industry . ” [Ryouma]
“Hopefully it doesn’t affect the number of customers and the preparations for the festival…” [Serge]
Serge-san, who was quietly listening beside us, seemed to be concerned as well .
…In that case, why don’t I pay them a visit tomorrow?
“You, Ryoumdono?” [Prenence]
Prenence-san made an odd face when I said that, so I explained to him that I was an adventurer . I also told him that I was planning to go to the Great Forest of Shurus .
“I see . So, that’s why you asked if it was a murder ant . ” [Prenence]
In the great forest, other than the murder ants, there are also other ant-type monsters, so seeing those tunnel ants should prove to be good reference .
“They might affect the flow of goods too, so I’m thinking of checking them out just in case . ” [Ryouma]
“That would put me at ease . ” [Serge]
“It would be a great help to us too . ” [Prenence]
Not just Serge-san but Prenence-san too?
“We can’t afford to show a poorly practiced show to the audience, so I was thinking of using the plains near Gimuru as a practice area . ” [Prenence]
Itinerant entertainers like themselves have to travel from one town to another, so oftentimes they do not have a designated practice area . Moreover, their performances are the products that they sell . They cannot afford to show them when still unrehearsed, so they can’t practice in a place where other people can see them .
Unfortunately, tunnel ants have recently been sighted in the plains . Although there’s only a chance that they might happen into one, that’s still enough to make them want to avoid it . That’s probably why it would be a great help to them if I could do something about the tunnel ants .
“…In that case, why don’t you use my place for your practice?” [Ryouma]
If they just need a place away from the public, then the Abandoned Mine should be good enough . The duke’s family did tell me to use the place as I saw fit, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I lent it to some people to use for their rehearsal . There also won’t be any dangerous monsters there . And in the rare case that a monster does appear, it will be weak enough that Soldio-san can deal with it himself . He looks strong, after all .
“Are you sure? The rumors about itinerant entertainers like ourselves aren’t exactly flattering . Many of them say that we steal from other people and kidnap children . Of course, we don’t do such thing nor plan to, but…” [Prenence]
“Ah, don’t worry about it . It’s not like I have anything worthwhile in my house . ” [Ryouma]
Most of my stuff are inside my Item Box, so it really doesn’t matter if I lend the place . Besides, it’s actually more dangerous for them if they try to enter my house . There are plenty of stuff there that could cause a person a world of pain if handled poorly . All the more so if there are still some uncured soap or caustic soda left .
“It’s fine . Really . ” [Ryouma]
“In that case, thank you . ” [Prenence]
“When will you be starting?” [Ryouma]
“If you’re alright with it, we’d like to start as soon as tomorrow morning . ” [Prenence]
I’m pretty sure they just arrived . Are they really alright with that?
“Alright . I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning then . The place is straight from the northern exit of Gimuru . I don’t think you’ll miss it . ” [Ryouma]
Like this we made plans for tomorrow and concluded the social gathering .
Volume 3 Chapter 102 part2The next day .
The Semroid Troupe visited my house, and I provided them a place to practice . I didn’t really do anything special, though . I just told them not to go inside because it’s dangerous, and prepared some water for them . The rest I left to Prenence-san . When I got to the adventurers guild just before noon, there were fewer people than usual .
It’s nice not having to wait, but…
“Oh, Ryoumkun . ” [Maelyn-san]
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“Good day . I hear that Tunnel Ants have recently been sighted in the southern plains . ” [Ryouma]
“I see word got to you quickly . If you’re looking for work relating to that, I’ve got some here . ” [Maelyn]
I just thought I’d mention it, but before I knew it, several job requests have already been piled up on the desk .
“…Destroy the tunnel ants, look for nests… And dig? The first two I get, but what am I supposed to dig?” [Ryouma]
“That mission is to dig out the nests . Just destroying the eggs isn’t thorough enough, as there’s a chance they might still come back later . ” [Maelyn]
“I see… Is this why there are so few guild members here today?” [Ryouma]
“Correct . We’ve already found several nests . There’s a people out there hunting right now . ” [Maelyn]
“…How much damage have the tunnel ants caused so far?” [Ryouma]
“Not much right now . But…” [Maelyn]
Maelyn-san’s expression turned dark . I wonder if something happened .
“I told you we found several nests, right? There’s a high probability that the tunnel ants either came from somewhere to breed or they came here after breeding to look for a new home . Because of that the guild thinks it’s still likely to find new nests, making the odds for casualties on our side higher .
That’s why the guild wants to allocate more people into searching for nests . The Tamer Guild is also cooperating with us to some extent, so we’ve been making progress . ” [Maelyn]
The tamer guild?
“Can you tell me more about that?” [Ryouma]
“There’s not much more to it . Guilds can work together too depending on the problem . One such example is the tunnel ant infestation, which we’d all like to be dealt with sooner rather than later . Besides, this town is close to the mines,
so there are a lot of people on the Tamer Guild’s side to help us out . ” [Maelyn]
“…I don’t know if it’s okay to ask this from you, but is it also possible to get the job from the Tamer Guild?” [Ryouma]
“Probably . Are you planning to take the job from there?” [Maelyn]
Uu, that look in her eyes…
“Actually, I’m also a member of the Tamer Guild, and its guild master has helped me out quite a bit, but given my monsters, there’s not really a lot of jobs I could accept from the Tamer Guild . So, I was thinking of going there to accept the job . ” [Ryouma]
“So you want to return a favor? Alright . You don’t have to make that face . It’s up to a member whether he wants to accept a job or not . ” [Maelyn]
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She laughed as she said that . Looks like I didn’t offend her .
“That’s good to hear . Still, though, I’m sorry I couldn’t accept the job here . ” [Ryouma]
“I hear you . Feel free to accept a job from here when you feel like it . ” [Maelyn]
“Thank you very much . ” [Ryouma]
I thanked Maelyn-san and left the Adventurers Guild .
“Take care!” [Guard]
The guard at the southern gate saw me off as I left for the southern plains . I almost never dropped by the Tamer Guild, so when I went there, I was mistaken for a new applicant . There were no problems after clearing up that misunderstanding, however, and I was able to accept a job normally .
“Let’s go!” [Ryouma]
“KURURURU!” [Rimel Birds]
As I yelled that out loud, the rimel birds I took with me flied up in the sky and assumed a formation shaped like the letter ‘V’ . I’m having them look for tunnel ant nests in places likely to have one .
According to the Tamer Guild, the tunnel ants have a disposition to eject earth and sand to their surroundings when digging out their nests . In other words, while they may not make a mound when digging out a nest, any area with signs of having been recently dug could possibly be a tunnel ant nest .
“KE!” [Rimel Bird]
“Oh, found one?” [Ryouma]
I used Shared Perception to see the world through Eins’ eyes, who was currently flying still in the air . When I did, I saw a patchy area of earth within the verdant plains . With just my bare eyes, the plains seemed endless, but from up above, everything was a lot clearer .
I have no business with places that others have already started to dig or places where people have already started hunting .
I used Dimension Magic and left the empty road .
Let’s take a look around here then…
“Dimension Home . ” [Ryouma]
I brought the iron and metal slimes with me from the abandoned mine, so I released them and had them line up . There were about 400 of them all in all .
I fed them a lot because I wanted to make a big slime, but I fed them a bit too much and now they’re too many . Just 100 is enough to make a big slime, but now I have 200 iron slimes and 200 metal slimes . Still, with this many, there are also more things that I can do .
I ordered the slime most skilled in transformation to turn itself into a katana, then I gave out an order to the rest of the slimes .
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“The rest of you don’t have to transform . Just proceed carefully . ” [Ryouma]
At that, a line of metal and iron balls pushed their way through the grass .
A few minutes later .
“Found anything?” [Ryouma]
Although the slimes were weak, they had a strong sense for danger . That sense might have weakened after evolving, but the iron slimes were still able to detect something . There seemed to be something just a little up ahead . The slimes were cautious in their own way . So even if it were just something that stopped their movements, they would still proceed carefully .
One step, two steps, three steps… When we reached the place the Iron Slime was pointing at, in that moment—
“!” [Ryouma]
An antenna peeked out of the ground . After which came several eyes . A giant ant that was big enough to reach my chest had appeared .
Its appearance resembled that of cave mantises, but before it could fully come out of the ground, I lopped off its neck with a swing from my katana .
“PIKI…” [Tunnel Ant]
“So this is a tunnel ant . ” [Ryouma]
Two more came out after the first one . I hunted them in the same way .
After that no more appeared .
According to the information of the tamer guild, the tunnel ants move in the night in order to avoid the time period when most of their enemies are active . Hence, they rarely left their nest in the morning and just slept inside . Because of that only a few guards would be found in the entrance . Unless the guards come back, there won’t be any more .
The guards for this nest happens to be those three ants I just killed .
“With this, I’ve managed to find one nest… Oops . ‘Earth Needle’ . ” [Ryouma]
My job today is just to look for the nest, not exterminate them, so I just need to record the location and leave a mark somewhere nearby . There’s no need to needlessly alert the nest, so I left with my slimes and went to look for another entrance . I went to the next likely location .
“Might as well let them roll . ” [Ryouma]
The iron and metal slimes usually don’t have any opportunities to roll other than in the abandoned mine, so I took this opportunity to let them roll through the plains . When I told them that, a happy atmosphere began to emanate from the two types of slimes . As soon as I gave them the signal, they all started to roll .
Wow . They’re fast . Recently, they’ve been getting faster and faster like some kind of a speed demon .
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