CH 22

Base Setup

“These rings are for slightly boosting DEX and fire resistance. And the bracelet boosts STR. If you want to sell them, I can give you 1 gold and 50 silver for the DEX ring, 80 silver for the fire resistance ring, and 2 gold for the bracelet.”

“I’ll sell just the rings.”

I had gone to a magic tool shop to appraise what I stole…no, what I recycled. And they turned out to be magical. After all, the men had not looked like the types who would wear rings for fashion purposes. While the bracelet simply raised your STR, there was little point in raising my DEX now, and I had never encountered any elemental attacks.

Though I had gained some extra income, I still didn’t have much to spare.

As I waited for my armor to be completed, I moved to a cheaper inn and visited the library.

Geography, Politics, Religion, Finance, Monsters, Weaponry, Skills, Magic.

I tried my best to read as much as I could, but there was simply not enough time.

And to my surprise, the library wasn’t even free. While the two gold deposit upon entering would be given back when you left, there was still a separate 1 silver fee.

It would be like visiting a manga cafe every day. It took time and money.

The problem was lodging and the stable. If I continued to do G Rank quests, I would continue to lose money.

I could think of two ways to escape this disastrous spiral.

1. Sell Emma and continue doing G Rank quests while staying at a cheap inn.

2. Go back to being a villager until I had more saved up.

First, solution 1.

It sounded like a steady and safe way, but it was actually a dangerous option.

G Rank Adventurers were at the bottom of this society. And I was 36 years old on top of that. These people liked preying on the weak, and it would be like asking them to eat me alive.

And so if that wasn’t going to work, that only left option 2.

The right village had to be:

– Less than half a day’s journey to the nearest town by horse.

– Away from the main road.

– A place where monsters appeared.

That was it. I had a few candidates already. In the Ilrak guild, I had seen an orc hunt request from a village called Kijidor. And the hunt difficulty for orcs was E.

I intended to spend the next few days reading at the library, and soon as I could, I would pick up my armor and head to the village.

When the day arrived, I got my armor and bought some carpentry tools as well as a tent. I would likely need the tools if I stayed at the village for a long time.

Kijidor village was slightly less than half a day’s journey by horse. It was on the edge of a thick forest, and there was a moat and fencing surrounding the lands outside. I could see fields and farms within that were also protected by sturdy walls. The place almost felt impregnable.

There was a guard on the turret, and he saw me as I headed towards the gate. I dismounted right in front of the gate and raised my hand at the guard.

“Who goes there? What business do you have in the village?”

“My name is Ajifu. I’m a G Rank Adventurer. I would like to ask the village chief for permission to stay here.”

“Stay? For what purpose?”

“To hunt monsters and gather herbs.”

“Hmm. Wait here for a moment.”

The guard climbed down from the turret, and after some time, returned with who I assumed was the chief.

“Is it you then? The Adventurer who wants to hunt monsters?”

“Yes. I’m Ajifu, a G Ranker.”

I handed over my Adventurers plate, which was inspected and then returned.

“You can’t hunt monsters at G Rank. Besides, if you came to hunt the orcs, other Adventurers already did that two days ago.”

“It just means any that I hunt won’t be counted as a quest, that’s all. And I didn’t come here to hunt orcs. I came because I wanted a place to stay for a while and gather herbs and exterminate monsters.”

“We have no inns in this village, and I don’t like the idea of a stranger wandering about. I think you better leave.”

“I won’t cause any trouble. I don’t even mind staying outside of the village. However, if I could just keep my horse in the stables, I will pay whatever it costs.”

“…Hmm. If you insist, I suppose we could at least look after a horse. Yes, you can take the horse to the farm then. However, you must stay out of the village.”

I could see what the chief was thinking. ‘This G Rank Adventurer will likely die outside of the village, and then we’ll get a free horse.’ While I felt bad for Emma, she would have to be held hostage for now.

“Thank you! It would really help if you could tell the villagers that an Adventurer will be camping outside of the fences. Especially the hunters.”

I was then guided to the farm and left Emma in their hands. After some negotiating, they had agreed to care for her for thirty bronze a day.

Now, since I was not able to sleep in the village, I would have to secure a different place to sleep. A place that was far enough from the village but near a water source. But being too close to the water would also be dangerous.

Since there was a forest close to the water, I found three trees with sturdy branches that were next to each other. And so connected them with logs and rope until I had a triangular platform. I had acquired the logs through cutting down the surrounding trees. Then I trimmed off the excess branches so that it was at least flat enough to lie on my side.

But I didn’t have enough rope and I couldn’t make a fire up there. What to do…

I had already spent the whole day working on it, and so I decided to make a fire and eat on the ground. After that, I stayed up most of the night woodworking. A goblin did try to climb up once, but I stabbed it while it couldn’t use its hands, and so it fell back down.

When the sun rose, I ate, and then used the last of my rope to make a simple clapper, and then tied myself with a rope to prevent me from falling. And then I slept through the day.

Once the sun started to sink, I rose and began the work of cutting down the rest of the surrounding trees. I seemed to be only working the night shift these days. But I had once worked the night shit in a factory, and so my eyes were perfectly clear.

While the sounds of my axe echoed through the night forest, I didn’t mind, as there was no one around. However, the sounds seemed to attract monsters, as I was attacked regularly. And so I shone my magic lamp up above so that I could fight even during the night.

I carved grooves into the logs and lined them up evenly. And once the unnecessary branches and surrounding trees were removed, my tree ‘floor’ that was in the middle of a clearing in the forest was complete. It was about three meters above ground.

As I had taken the night shift again, I slept during the day. The floor wasn’t quite smooth enough to pitch a tent, and so I slept on my bag and cape. But it still hurt my back.

I think it happened just as I had drifted off to sleep.

“Hey!”

A voice sounded from below.

When I looked down, I saw someone that looked like a hunter from the village. Still, I grabbed my weapon as I went down, just in case.

“What is it?”

“What is it!? I heard noises coming from the forest in the night, and so I came to see what it was. And this is what I find! You’re the Adventurer that came to the village, aren’t you? What is going on here?”

“Ah, was I too loud? I am very sorry. I am Ajifu, an Adventurer. As I wasn’t able to stay in the village, I decided to make my own base here.”

“No, it was just that it echoed from far away, which was rather eerie. You shouldn’t do it during the night. However, what is this thing? It looks like one of those elven houses you hear stories about.”

An elf’s tree house! Now that’s something I would like to see!

“Oh, it is nothing so fancy as that. It is really just a watch platform. Would you like to come up and see?”

“Are you sure? Oh! Well…it does seem quite exciting.”

It does!? But no matter your age, every guy likes the idea of a secret base! Apparently, it was something we had in common, even if we were from different worlds.

“So you understand?”

I offered my hand.

“Of course.”

He shook it firmly.

“So, is it finished?”

“I would actually like to smoothen out the floor and put some boards over it. But I don’t have the materials. Though, I do plan on making a ladder.”

“…I’ll get you some boards from the village. But you’ll have to help.”

“I would really like some rope and a box as well. I can pay for them. However, I have been told to avoid going into the village.”

“I’ll speak to the chief for you. I’m Naki. A hunter. And don’t talk in that stiff manner of yours.”

“Uh…really? Alright, then let’s do this again. I’m Ajifu, an Adventurer. Nice to meet you.”

And so we shook hands once again.