Chapter 30: Ranking Up

Author's Note:

We're at 30 chapters now . This is all thanks to the support of everyone;

it's my main motivation!

In addition, I changed the Status view in Chapter 29 because it was difficult to see the improvements . I also revised her HP, because a value of 20 is Low, so it now looks like the following:

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

After the incident with the Goblins, we rushed back to Aressa and finally arrived . I had wanted to repair Fran's protective gear, but it seems like it'll have to wait until after we finish business at the Guild .

I removed dirt and stains from the gear with Purification Magic as an act of etiquette, but its severely damaged appearance hasn't changed . None of the Adventurers nearby seem to mind it, however .

「Herbent, how was it?」

「Ou . We need to report to the Guild Master . 」

「I'll notify him, please wait a moment . 」

Seeing the serious face of Herbent, the fact that the situation is dire was clear . Nell rushes towards the back in a hurry .

Several minutes later, Nell comes back and calls for Fran and the dispatch .

「The Guild Master sent for you . This way . 」

When we entered the Guild Master's office, both he and Donna were present .

「Let's hear the report . 」

「Aah . We headed to the scene with Kral, which is where we met Fran . 」

「At that point the battle was already over . 」

「I see . Then I'd like request that Fran......」

The Guild Master sighs lightly — likely because he understands Fran's taciturn nature . 『How should I have her talk?』is the face he's making . Well, should I lend my suppor here? It seems to be quite the urgent situation, after all .

「Can you report what happened?」

『Fran, take out the Horns . 』

「Nn . This . 」

Fran takes a Hobgoblin Horn out of Dimensional Storage, and brings it out of dummy bag .

「This is...... A Hobgoblin Horn?」

When the Guild Master understands what it is through Appraisal, he makes a stern expression .

「Mixed among the Goblins there were Hobgoblins?! How many Goblins were there? And how many Hobgoblins as well?」

Donna picks up the horn and becomes astonished as well .

「A lot . 」

「Er... In a bit more detail, please . 」

『There were around 130 of them . 』

「Around 130 . 」

『Within them were 4 Hobgoblins, and around 20 Highbreeds . 』

「Hobgoblins: 4, Highbreeds: around 20 . 」

「Impossible!」

Donna stands up unintentionally .

「This is definitely a sign that a Goblin stampede is coming!」

「Calm down Donna . 」

「E-Excuse me . 」

「Now then, Fran, a question . What happened to the Goblins? Did you withdraw?」

「Defeated them . 」

「So you didn't withdraw, then . 」

「Nn . Fought to the end . 」

「This is bad . 」

What's bad?

The Guild Master explains that the Goblins Fran defeated were most likely the ones kicked out of the den when there were too many mouths to feed . As breeding was continually ordered by the King, the low-class Goblins would no longer be able to match up to their children, so they were sent to battle Fran with the resolution to die .

Furthermore, the fact that there were Hobgoblins and Highbreeds mixed among them could only mean that the den already consists of purely Hobgoblins .

「The scale of the Goblin stampede will be large . 」

「We should put an emergency summon out to the Adventurers immediately . 」

「We'll prepare today and tomorrow, and attempt to exterminate the den the day after . Will it be that sort of plan?」

「Yeah . The first step would be getting Adventurers with Thief-like Jobs locate the den . That should be made into a special request . 」

「I'll secure some Potions . 」

It's become quite busy . Receptionists (excluding Nell who was already present) were called in and given various instructions .

「Now then, Herbent . I'd like to assign more work to you, is that alright?」

「Is it guidance to the battleground?」

「It is . I'd like you to return there with Thief Adventurers . 」

「Got it . This situation is serious for all of Aressa, so I'll do everything I can . 」

At the words of Herbent, the other Adventurers nod vigorously a well . They seem like they want to stick with Fran as well, but I won't permit it .

We have to repair her protective gear, and after that she needs time to rest . I won't concede on that .

「Fran...... Please take a rest for today . Asking you to work with your protective gear would be unreasonable . 」

「...... Nn . 」

Fran nods regretfully . Guild Master, good job!

Herbert gives his affirmation, too .

「Then . 」

「Aah, wait a minute . Before you leave, go by the Receptionists and apply to rank up to F . 」

「? Haven't completed 5 requests . 」

「There's no reason for an Adventurer who could take out an army of Goblins alone to do that . There's also the fact that G Ranks won't be able to join this subjugation, so the timing'll be convenient . 」

「Gahahaha! Even just one more strong Adventurer'd be better at this point!」

「It's a pretty last-minute request, so we don't know how many Adventurers will be participating . Considering that, anyone with combat potential is valuable . 」

「The request to participate in the subjugation should be posted tomorrow, so be sure to accept it!」

「Nn . Make sure . 」

「We're saved . 」

「Then...」

Following the words of the Guild Master, we do the Rank Up procedure at the reception desk . It was simple, so there weren't any particular problems . The time taken would be less than a minute, too . After completing it, the letter F appeared on our Guild Card .

「Went up!」

She seems happy . The evaluations of others doesn't matter, but when the Rank actually raises visibly she takes interest, it seems . It's just like Levels . Well, it's a measure of her strength, after all .

『Alright, our participation is assured . Now, we should go repair your gear . Will the money we have on-hand suffice, I wonder?』

「Sell weapons . 」

『To the Guild?』

When we inquired about it, we received the reply that the Guild didn't purchase anything other than Materials and things like Herbs .

『Well, let's take them to Gallus then . 』

The problem is whether a skilled Blacksmith like Gallus would be willing to take in such bad weapons or not...

『No, wait . There's still one other person, a Merchant we're acquainted with!』

「 ? 」

『Oi, oi... Well, his presence was thin, so I suppose it can't be helped . It's Randell . 』

「Aah . 」

Stop with the「There was a person like that, wasn't there...」reaction... Well, I don't really know him that well either .

『He had said that he's located along the Western side of main street, I think . 』

「Search . 」

◇◆◇

I was worried about whether we'd be able to find Randell's shop in a big town like Aressa, but it was found quite quickly; it was right near the entrance to the street . Randell can be seen standing out front .

「Oh, if it isn't Fran! By any chance, were you looking for my shop?」

「Nn . Came to sell . 」

「Wonderful! Come, come, right this way . 」

And so Randell invites us into his shop .

『It's very disorderly, isn't it...』

In the small shop, the shelves are crammed with products . Honey and poison are lined side by side, weapons are neighbors to miscellaneous goods... But it's not consistently like that .

「Dirty . 」

『Oou... Even though I was going out of my way to be silent about, you went right out and said it!』

When I look over to Randell, I see a wry smile plastered across his face .

「Haha... You said it well . Even though I just organize them by what seems to sell...」

Even so, aren't there a bit too many products? Well, it's not my place to say so, so I keep that to myself . For the average person, this place would be hard to approach, however .

「This: buy . 」

「Uwa... You had an Item Bag, huh!」

「More or less . 」

Equipment is taken out one after another, some of which draw Randell's attention .

「Still, this is......! What an amazing amount!」

「Still more . About the same . 」

「Ehh? Wait a minute . I'm sorry about this, but could you display them on the floor?」

「Understood . 」

「It must be pretty high-quality to store so much... Mine's pretty small and hard to use, so I'm a bit envious . 」

Just like a pro, he makes small talk while assessing the arms . His eyes are sharp; it's the face of a merchant .

「Hmm, most of them aren't in good condition . 」

「From Goblins . 」

「Aah, so that's where you got them . Some are made from Steel, so they'd be worth a little more...... It'd be about 13,000 Gorudo total, I suppose?」

(Alright?)

『They're worth about 200 Gorudo on average, huh...... Looking at their state, it seems like it'd be a good price?』

「Understood . That's fine . 」

Randell takes out some coins from what must be is Item Bag .

「Here you go then . 」

「Nn . 」

All of the money was tucked away in Dimensional Storage . Because they're easy to take out, it makes a good substitute for a wallet .

「Thank you very much . And please, come again . 」

There're a lot of interesting products, so we'll probably come again . At that time, let's buy something .

With money in hand, we head to old man Gallus' shop . Merchants are assembled around the square as always, so we enter from the back door we used the other day .

「Helloー . 」

「Ooh, it's you! What happened? The Sheath isn't done yet . 」

「Nn, different . 」

『I'd like you to repair the Equipment you sold earlier......』

Showing him the protective gear「W-What the hell-?!」was his reaction .

「Wait a minute, it's only been a day...... What in the world happened?」

「Fought Goblins . 」

「Goblins?」

『To be exact: a large army of Goblins numbering over 100 . 』

「Hobgoblins, too . 」

「Haa? Isn't that really serious?! A stampede's going to occur!」

『It's already been reported to the Adventurer's Guild . 』

「Ah, is that so . Well, that's fine then . 」

「Teacher: benevolent . 」

「Teacher?」

『That would be my name . 』

That reminds me, I didn't tell Gallus my name, did I? But I have a bad premonition...

「Haa? Why such a strange -」

『Isn't it such a good name? Fran thought of it!』

Notice, Gallus!

「O-Ooh . It's... A good name . Really . 」

『Right? Isn't that right?』

「It's the best name! It's an excellent name for a sword!」

Pheーw... That was close . Gallus continues praising my name while looking over at Fran frequently . ... It's unnatural .

「T-That reminds me, you came to get your gear fixed, right?」

『That's right! Can it be fixed? We have to go assist in the Goblin subjugation the day after tomorrow . 』

「No problem . Repairs can be finished immediately . 」

「Cost?」

「Right...... 10,000 Gorudo . 」

『That's quite cheap . 』

「Well, that's the price of the Magic Crystal . 」

『Magic Crystal?』

「Yeah, unlike Magic Stones, Magic Crystals are a mined from the ground . After storing enough magic power they can be used as catalysts . 」

『This is the first time I've heard of it . 』

「It's not needed for regular repairs, but it's necessary to use one for Smithing Magic . 」

『Then you'll be repairing the gear through Magic?』

「Ou . Want to watch?」

『Is that alright?』

In the end I decide to take up old man Gallus' offer, and watch him repair Fran's gear .

First he places the gear on top of a workbench with a Magic formation drawn on it, then he puts a yellow Magic Crystal onto a what seems to be a pedestal .

After that, he proceeds to cast a spell with a long chant .

「- Repair!」

With the sound of Gallus' voice, the magic formation shines bright . Once the light is completely settled, protective gear that seems as though it's brand new is all that's left on the workbench .

「Amazing . 」

『Aah . They're as good as new . 』

「It's pretty convenient for stuff like this, but its effect falls when it's used on gear too many times . I got off with a small Magic Crystal this time, but next time I'll have to use one a bit bigger . The fee'll be 30,000 when that happens . 」

If that's the case, it might be cheaper to buy a new set later... I'll make sure to consider that when the time comes .

「Thank you . 」

「No problem . I've got to do well so that you can do your best fighting against Hobgoblins!」

「Leave it to me . 」

『We'll defeat both the King and the Queen!』

「Nn . Our prey . 」

「Hahahaha! How reliable!」