Chapter 29: Spoils from the Goblins

『Most of it's been collected . 』

「Lots . 」

『Ou . My Magic Stone Status reached almost 200 in one go . 』

Even though there were a bunch of Highbreeds, there were surely more than 100 small fries .

『However, it seems that no Demonic Beasts are approaching . 』

「Nn . Pleasant . 」

I had thought that the surrounding Demonic Beasts would be attracted to the smell of so much blood, but... They change direction suddenly as soon as they come near . Perhaps even with low intelligence they can still learn to fear the sight of such a disastrous scene . Well, collecting materials was easy because of that as Fran said .

『I obtained some new Skills, too . Moreover, it seems to only be interesting ones . 』

Of the spoils obtained from the war against the Goblins, the largest is of course Fran's growth . She's improved in a variety of ways physically .

Also, with the exception of those that were broken or rusted, we've obtained 50 weapons made of Iron and Bronze . There were a couple of forageable suits of Armor as well, but... Well... Because they smelt terrible, most of them had to be discarded . We found a couple of Magic Items as well, which is a good harvest . I'll have to examine them in detail later .

As for the new Skills:

I received Chant Shortening, Acrobatics, Retainer's Contract, Kicking Techniques, Kicking Arts, Ghost Magic, Poison Absorption, Poison Magic, Axe Techniques, and Imperturbability .

These Skills came from a Hobgoblin Dark Mage, a Hobgoblin Necromancer, a Hobgoblin Grappler, and Hobgoblin Gladiator .

But that brings about a problem .

『There were Hobgoblins among them, huh . 』

「Nn . 」

The Four individuals which offered new Skills came from Hobgoblins — which have statuses exceeding the Goblin King from a while back . That can only mean that the Goblin Queen was already born, and breeding has already begin .

『Are the Goblins quick to grow?』

「Un . 10 days: becomes adult . 」

『They're seriously on the same level as insects... Anyways, in that case this could be quite dangerous, couldn't it?』

There's the possibility of Hobgoblins being bred in large numbers as we speak .

『It would be best to report back to the Adventurers Guild . I would have liked to hunt them all down with just us, but leaving the situation alone could lead to heavy damage . 』

「Nn . 」

For now, we should collect the Hobgoblin corpses —

『Fran!』

「Nn . 」

I snap up and rush towards Fran, and she calmly catches me with a firm grasp .

「Over there!」

「Oi, are these all Goblins?」

「What is this devastation......?!」

『It seems like we were spared the trouble . 』

The new arrivals are Adventurers . Among them are the figures of the novices we had helped a couple of hours ago, so they seem to have completed their report of the Goblins and successfully got the Guild to send a dispatch .

Dangerous, dangerous . I was almost seen moving about freely .

「Lass, are you alright?!」

「Are you injured?」

「Alright . 」

「This...... Was this all done by you?」

「Nn . 」

The 10 Adventurers have looks of surprise as Fran nods her head .

「This many...... With just one person?」

「If that's true, Rank E...... No, Rank D . A Rank D Adventurer could take care of an army of this size . It doesn't seem like a small den, though... No, it's far, far larger . 」

「Eh?! Rank D?!」

「Seriously...?」

They seem to have come to that conclusion at their own convenience . Certainly an Adventurer's Rank is associated with monsters' Threat Levels, but...

The same Rank as the Demonic Beast is usually only given if a well-prepared party can face off without suffering any fatalities . At the same time, the power of an Adventurer fighting alone would be lower than a Demonic Beast of the same Rank .

In other words, if Adventurers of Rank E create a party of ~4-6 people, their combat potential will allow them to hunt a single Demonic Beast of Threat Level E . At the same time, every member of the party would be able to fight equally with Demonic Beasts of Rank F .

『Hmm~, one Goblin is G, 10 is F, and 100 is E, so...』

To Fran who defeated 100 Goblins singlehandedly, Rank D would be a bit low, wouldn't it? Moreover, the Goblins had the environmental advantage of the forest, and even had a large number of Highbreeds mixed within their numbers . That should also raise the evaluation, even if only a little .

A Dwarven man who seems like the leader of the dispatch explains that to the group . Mh, mhh! It's nice hearing Fran be praised! Praise her more!

However, it seems that Fran doesn't care much for their evaluation . Interrupting the Dwarf, she places the body of a Hobgoblin in front of the group with a *thud*[1] .

「This . 」

「This is... A Hobgoblin?」

「There . 」

「Moreover, four of them?」

「They're already at stage where Hobgoblins are leaving the den...?!」

This situation seems to quite last-minute . If left alone, chances are a Goblin invasion will occur in less than 10 days .

「Oops, sorry . I've forgotten self-introductions . The name's Herbent[2] . I'm a D Rank Adventurer from Aressa . What's your name, lass?」

「Fran . 」

「Are you on a journey? Thanks for stopping the Goblins here . 」

「? Adventurer from Aressa too . 」

「Muh? No, I've been in Aressa for over 10 years, but I have no memory of seeing you, lass......」

It would be hard to miss the expressionless Fran who's small, beautiful, and strong besides . The 3 men who seem to be party members of Herbent nod as well . Another party, this one consisting of Beastmen, show a similar reaction .

「Registered yesterday . 」

「Ha?」

「No way! What Rank are you, then?」

「G . 」

「Haaa? You're this strong yet you're Rank G? What kind of joke is that?!」

「No, strength and Rank don't always match up . For example, Elves can train for many years in the woods . If they come out to the rest of the world and register as an Adventurer, they'd be Rank G even though their power would match Rank D . 」

「I-I see . 」

「That's right, isn't it~」

「Ahh, we were in the wrong for doubting you, Fran!」

Aah, it ended up like this after all . For long-lived races, young aged appearances mean nothing . The setting of having several years of experience would be far easier to understand than the truth .

『These guys are making a big misunderstanding all on their own, is it alright not to correct them? Surely they're thinking that Fran looks young but is actually a middle-aged woman . 』

(Different[3] . )

She seems so uninterested in their evaluation that it's refreshing . Regrettable . I wanted to see these guys' surprised faces when the truth was revealed . Well, it would be troublesome to explain, so it's fine .

「A-Anyways, we have to find the Queen's Den before the situation gets out of hand . We should return to the Guild at once!」

「Yeah . It's selfish, but I'd like the young lass to come with us as well . 」

「Understood . 」

「That takes a load off our shoulders . Alright, let's head back! It's a race against time!」

「Ou!」

Name :Fran Age :12 Race :Black Cat Beastman Job :Magic Swordsman State :Contracted Status:Level :6→12 HP :80→189 MP :71→115 STR :45→92 END :34→74 AGI :46→82 INT :30→50 MGC :36→62 DEX :47→63 Titles[4]:King of Dismantling, Master of Recovery, Skill Collector, Master of Fire, King of Cooking 〈New〉Match for a Thousand, Goblin Slayer, One who Slaughters[5]

Fran's Status looks like this . The increase in Status is extremely good . Furthermore, she gained three more Titles!

Match for a Thousand: A Title awarded to individuals who stood their ground against 100 or more opponents on equal footing alone, and lived to tell the tale . Effects: HP +20, STR +20, END + 20The Skill: Indomitable Resolve will be acquired . Goblin Slayer: A Title awarded to individuals who fell 100 or more Goblins on the same battlefield . Effect:The Skill: Goblin Slayer will be acquired . One who Slaughters:A Title awarded to individuals who harvested the lives of 100 individuals on the same battlefield . Effects:AGI +10The Skill: Mental Stability will be acquired .

For the Skills:

Indomitable Resolve:In adverse circumstances: Fear is invalidated Recovery Speed ↑ HighGoblin Slayer:Damage against Goblins ↑Mental Stability:Mental hurdle against bloodshed ↓Stabilizing effect on the user's mind

They're good Titles . I want them too, but because I'm a sword, I don't seem to be able to obtain any Titles . Anyways, Match for a Thousand is amazing . The conditions for acquiring it are difficult, but isn't it a slight cheat? Its Effects, that is .

I noticed something important, too . The Skills that Fran obtained independently aren't included with my Set Skills .

Because of this, if Fran obtains useful Skills on her own, I can change my Set Skills in more useful ways .

While we head towards town with the Adventurers, I tell Fran about her Status .

(Match for a Thousand? Rare . )

『Is that so?』

(Hero's Titles!)

Fran shows slight excitement . I'm glad .

「Hey, have you not joined a Party yet, lass?」

「Party?」

「Ou . If you haven't, why not join ours?」

Herbent is soliciting us into his party, huh . Moreover, his eyes show that he's completely serious . Hearing what he said, the other two parties also raised their voices .

「- Wait just a minute, you're not the only one aiming for that!」

「Don't try to steal the lead . Any Party would want such an excellent Adventurer among them . 」

This is somewhat pleasant, hearing that Fran was accepted by the Adventurers

『Well? What shall you do?』

(My Party: Teacher)

『It's possible to hide my identity even if you join other parties, you know?』

(It's alright . Teacher: here . )

『Is that so...』

Well, we can't afford for my abilities to be seen, so it would be difficult to join a party .

For now, at least .