༺ First Quest Accomplished! After Party… for Succeeding? ༻
“Oh fuck it, I don’t give a damn!”
Grab-
The first thing I felt when I grabbed the statuette was a weird feeling. Why is it so soft?
Unlike its dark and cold appearance, the statuette was softer than I expected, it was reminiscent of gummy jellies rather than stone or marble. That’s how it seemed to me.
I felt a strange and peculiar sensation going through my nerves directly to my brain as if an electric current was flowing through them. Very similar to what Marco said, I feel like my brain is being twisted.
“Euagh.”
“Young lad! As expected, you’re cursed. What should we do? We aren’t strong enough to stop this Samaritan from going wild! Everyone pick up rocks from the ground!”
“Argh, hey, hey! Hold on!”
I raised my palms and tried to dissuade the group from trying to strike my head with a stone. Soon they frowned as if they saw something incredible.
“You look fine! A savage like you really does have the blessing of the ancient sun god? What a surprise. I’ve never seen anything like this in the seventy years of my life!”
This old man is so annoying. Anyway, I couldn’t help but be surprised. The sensation wasn’t caused because I touched the statuette nor was it caused due to the weird feeling when I touched it, rather it was because of the letters that appeared before my eyes.
Ding—
『You can increase the value of one of the following attributes by 1 after consuming 100 task points.』
『1. Strength +』
『2. Agility +』
『3. Stamina +』
Weird characters were displayed in front of me, but they gave a very familiar feeling to the 21st-century boy whose brain was accustomed to video games.
Using task points to raise the value of an attribute. Isn’t this what usually happens after leveling up?
I didn’t know what its use was nor did I know where to ask, but now I was very aware of how these ‘Task points’ could be utilized.
I feel like I have figured out a secret of the world, and my mind, which had previously been muddled, became clear.
“Brother, wh-why are you silent? Everyone, prepare to throw stones!”
“Damn it, give me a fucking moment you bastard!”
“All right! But your mind might still be getting eroded by the curse. If you stay still for 30 seconds, I’ll smash your head with this stone! I’m doing this for your sake brother!”
Big-nosed punk. Didn’t he say he never believed in curses just a moment ago?
He was fully prepared to strike me with that big stone in his hand.
Or maybe he just wants to grind my head with a stone. Everyone has the destructive urge to hit someone with a stone sometimes.
Anyway, I had no time to relax since my companions were staring at me with burning eyes.
I’m not confident in explaining the letters that appeared in my sight coherently. I was also confused, so I just clicked on ‘Strength’ with my finger.
Ding-
Then, a strangely artificial sound resounded, and the letters disappeared. Is that it? Just when doubts filled my head.
Rustle-
The soft obsidian statuette in my hand soon dissolved and turned into dust, then sipped through my fingers. Wait, what’s wrong? This is freaking me out.
However, the feeling of the electric current zapping my head disappeared, and my body was also relieved of its strange tension. Overall, I felt pretty refreshed.
Contrary to what I was worried about, it seems like I am in perfect shape.
“G-Gone, it’s gone… it was reduced to powder…”
Luna quietly murmured behind her mask. Marco, the bard, was still holding his stone, then spoke to me.
“Brother, are you fine now? Can you recognize us?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It seems the sealing has been successful.”
“Young man, it was more like an eradication rather than a sealing. Let’s wait another five minutes, just in case. Don’t come near me! Stand where you are!”
Old man Plato’s worry was perfectly understandable, so we waited until Marco, the bard, was done with two songs.
♪–
♪–
“How long do I have to wait, old man? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me.”
“I don’t know. Curses slowly erode the mind. It seems like this has ended well. Let’s return before the sun sets!”
Anyway, my first quest as an adventurer finally ended.
****
『Money Earned!』
– One wheel bee, +30 coppers.
– Remuneration for cleaning the temple, +30 coppers.
– Goblin fangs, +20 coppers.
– Ripped clothes, -10 to -30 coppers.
– Mental and physical wounds, +- 0 coppers.
– Increment in ‘Strength’ attribute, +1.
Was this satisfactory? Anyway, compared to when I was a slave, this difference in monetary gains has been the same as the difference between heaven and earth.
I could feel my body relax and even my tingling wounds subsided. My steps were very light coming back from work.
“Old man, about the epic-grade relic I was talking about earlier. That pen.”
“The needle of appraisal? Why are you asking about it?”
“I wanted to ask about the numbers it shows. One of them was Strength, I think? Is it easy to increase or even decrease them?”
“Ah, even if you come from a foreign land, you’re still a little too ignorant, young man. If it was that easy, the world would be in chaos.”
“That bad?”
“Yes, it usually takes a year to raise any attribute by 1. At most, it takes 5 years. And that’s also on the basis of steady training, discipline, and devout prayers…”
Old man Plato was once again happy for the occasion to show off his vast knowledge. Anyway, the fact that I was able to raise my physical strength seemed quite special.
It was the first time I had seen such a change in my two years in this world, so I did expect it to be a great thing.
It was so great that it gave me goosebumps. Damn it, what’s happening?
“Anyway, work hard. Young people have endless possibilities. Don’t be misled by numbers. Young people these days are crazy about attributes, but that’s just for show. Experience. Knowledge. Wisdom. That’s the real deal.”
“Oh, brother, I see the city wall over there on the right track!”
Contrary to what I had feared, Plato, who was holding the map, found the way back easily.
So we reached the west gate of Sodomora before sunset.
We arrived just as the guards were about to close the gates. Fortunately, we had avoided having to sleep in front of the city entrance for the night.
“Please hurry up next time. These Iron-ranked adventurers always return late. They look like a bunch of vagrants or beggars that faced some goblins…”
Leaving behind the grumbling guard, we finally reached the west gate of Sodomora. I didn’t know what my party members were thinking then.
As for me, after having to sleep outside, getting bitten by weird creatures, finding a cursed relic, and getting stung by bees, this gutter-like city couldn’t be any more welcoming.
The thick smoke and the pungent stench that permeated the whole city only made me look at it fondly. Nice to see you again, my sweet city.
“Then I, the party leader, will represent the party and report to the guild. There is also the case of the weird behavior of goblins that needs to be reported. And even the cursed relic. No one can speak as elegantly as I do.”
It was fortunate that Plato, the old man, wanted to take care of the troublesome work by his own initiative. Is this the end of the quest? Then the conical-hat-wearing bard opened his mouth.
“Well, what do you guys think about drinking together tonight? The additional gains during this quest have been pretty substantial. Why don’t we meet in front of an inn after settling this affair and freshening up?”
“I’m fine with it. How about you, Hassan?”
Luna was wearing her giant mask again. I can’t get used to her weird behavior even after a day of interacting with her.
It was dusk already.
It was common for adventurers to have an after-party after they were done with their work. Elfriede and her party members would usually fill their stomachs with meat and alcohol at a tavern after hitting it big. I obviously couldn’t take part in those as I was still a slave back then.
“Let’s go! Hassan, you’ve suffered the most so I’ll pay for your drinks!”
“Oh, can I join too, sister?”
“Are you going to pay for Hassan’s drink as well?”
“My instrument is broken, so I have to buy a new one… Yeah, this can be considered a fateful encounter. Let’s split the price of brother’s drinks. How about you, old man? With you, we’ll be able to split the price in three!”
“Me? No, I’m fine. I’m not shameless enough to meddle in the youngsters’ affairs. I’m also busy. Time is extremely precious to an old man.”
Unlike his old-fashioned appearance, the old man seemed to know when to join in and when to take his leave. Come to think of it, this old man was the most helpful of the bunch earlier.
The more knowledge and wisdom one has, the better.
“We’ll meet again if fate allows us. Don’t forget to visit the temple, young man. You might have been cursed.”
The halfling old man disappeared while waving his hands. The sight of his back walking toward the setting sun left me a little downcast. I think I got a little attached to him after camping together, even though it was for such a short time.
“Well, what tavern should we meet at then?”
“Let this Marco take care of this, sister! Let’s meet at the Nymph’s Wings by 8 o’clock. The drinks and food there are the best in terms of price and quality.”
“Okay, see you all then!”
Luna and Marco turned their backs and went in their separate ways. I think it’s about 5 o’clock right now.
I had about 3 hours until the promised meeting time, it was enough to get some things done.
So, what should I do first? One thing I want to do the most right now is to wash off the dirt and the goblin blood on my body. Should I go to a bathhouse first then? Well, I also need to take care of my tattered clothes.
I have a lot to do, and all of it will cost money.
Since that’s how it is, I need to take care of the huge bee that was bouncing around in my canteen first. It’s better to get the money before deciding anything!
The issue was that I had no idea where to sell this bee. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have asked that pseudo-voodoo shaman earlier.
What did she say it was used for?
If there’s such a thing as a clinic in this world, it’s probably alchemist workshops that make those shady potions…
While wandering the streets near the west gate, I stopped in front of a shop that had a sign with beakers and potions engraved on it.
A chimney was continuously emitting smoke, the musty and damp smell brought back childhood memories. It was the smell of cooking, boiling, and bubbling.
To be frank, I don’t want to go there anymore.
Trink-
“Welcome.”
I heard a chime and a soft voice as I slowly opened the creaking door and entered.
Damn, what the fuck is this…?
I carefully stepped into the store as my legs seemed to shake at the sight of the store submerged in darkness.
This was because of the multiple kinds of creatures that were either stored in a foamy formalin-like solution or were either stuffed or dissected.
The smell was also strange, reminiscent of the smell of preservatives before dissecting a human body.
“Oh my goodness~ What do we have here~? It’s a dashing Samaritan.”
At that time, I heard a creaking sound of footsteps from inside the store and soon someone appeared. The first thing that entered my field of vision was a conical hat and voluptuous bosom.
Yes, her chest.
The light off-shoulder frill-shaped outfit shook my heart so much that I thought it was going to explode.
Underneath was a navy skirt. Just like Chinese dresses, its sides were open, revealing thick thighs and calves.
“Your eyes are burning Samaritan. Did you come here to take the throat of this Nemea the witch?”
The mole stamped on the lower-left corner of her glistening lips and her seducing voice made this sight very enchanting.
Witch.
This woman didn’t explain much besides the fact that she called herself a witch.
Was she in her mid to late twenties? She had fiery crimson hair and an unusual air about her, which didn’t excite my sullen little brother at all.
If someone is too pretty or if the atmosphere around them is too strong, an aura that blocks and rejects men is formed and that’s exactly what was happening here.
Above all, I was infinitely weaker to persons such as Elfriede and other people who could be called Witches.
This was a fear that had been carved into my brain after having been enslaved for two years. So it could be said that witches and I were in a hierarchical relationship, like flare and burning magma.
“Well… I’m here to sell some things.”
“Things?”
“Well, it’s more like living being rather than things…”
“Livi-?”
She seemed more like a lazy beautiful witch. I wasn’t clever enough to have a witty back-and-forth conversation with her. It would be funny if I said that I came here to sell bees.
Step- Step-
The witch slowly approached me and stood up in front of my hesitant self.
Although she wasn’t taller than me, she was still quite tall for a woman. In addition, she seemed taller because of the heels and the conical hat she was wearing.
The conical hat the bard was wearing looked ridiculous, but this one felt like the real deal.
“Living being, rather than a thing~ Indeed. You’ve got great things, my friend~”
The smiling witch’s finger slowly turned to my lower body. Is this for real? I was so surprised that I started trembling like a frozen gazelle in front of a lioness.
Plink-
“You mean this, right?”
The witch nimbly grasped the leather water pouch from my waist and raised it to her face. Then, as the lid opened, the trapped bee angrily soared into the air.
Damn it, the bee is released! It’s dangerous!
I almost jumped up realizing that. The bee, however, calmy settled on the witch’s raised index finger. This sight was surprising enough to instantly drive away all my worries.
Rather than a fierce bee, it looked like a gentle butterfly landing on a flower. Do bees know how to distinguish pretty girls? I’m sure this bastard is a male too.
“That’s a nice wheel bee~ Full of vitality. Its shape is black and hard, great~ I can give you 30 coppers for it~”
30 coppers.
I already knew the price, but hearing it made me excited as I forgot about the overwhelming atmosphere.
With those 30 coppers, I’ll be able to get a bath and new clothes, hehe! Just as I immersed myself in such merry thoughts, the witch said something ominous.
“However, a young samaritan came to visit my shop. I’m more interested in other things this friend has rather than wheel bees.”
“So-Something else I have?”
“Yes, depending on this friend’s skills, you can get way more than 30 coppers. It completely depends on how well you’re going to do. Five minutes? Ten minutes? How about it~”
Whoo-hoo. The witch was smiling. Her red eyes were just like Elfriede’s. I felt a chill down my spine without even realizing it.
Don’t get involved with a witch. It was common sense in this new world I was living in.
It is said that most wizards and witches in this world were lunatics. Like Elfriede was a flame wizard and was as aggressive as flames. This woman must be crazy too!!!
I imagined, in my head, a scene where my nails and skin were peeled off and placed in a beaker as I became this witch’s lab rat.
On the other hand, I really looked forward to what this beauty wanted from me. Sadly, I’m still a creature known as man…
So, while I intuitively felt like I was hanging on a spider’s web, I still had no choice but to ask.
“…What do you need me to do…?
“It’s something only a strong friend like yourself can do, Samaritan…”
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Hello again, new chapter, new weird shenanigans. What do you guys think of Nemea? She’s hella sus… Any guess on what’ll happen :)? It’s definitely something that necessitates a big… and rough Samaritan. See you in a few days lol.
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