Chapter 204 : Chapter 204
Chapter 204- Tornava Continent (5)
Our first day at the Lion tribe's village.
The only thing that was satisfactory was the meal.
Perhaps because I had been sick of eating only carrots for an entire day yesterday (though I had no memory of it), the taste of chewing meat was quite good.
The sight of all kinds of meat served in large chunks was appetizing, and the appropriately added spices enhanced the flavor.
The Chamryongdan members were in the middle of emptying their plates voraciously while mingling with the Lion tribe.
The disappointing thing about this meal was that there were no vegetables at all on the table.
The Lion tribe bastards are not actual lions, but these fellows seemed to eat only meat.
And Choi Ho-joong was already finishing his third plate.
"Are you not going to eat more, Unit Leader?"
"I am finished here."
"You are finishing already? This literally melts in the mouth; is this not a taste we could not even see on Earth?"
At that, one of the Lion tribe bastards who was listening spoke up.
"It is the thigh meat of a Krakes. I suppose it does not exist in the world you lived in."
"Krakes?"
"Yes. It is something that comes out of the dungeons near the Lion tribe village."
At those words, Choi Ho-joong's expression stiffened slightly.
"......A dungeon? Then does Krakes mean it is a monster?"
"Of course."
At the same time the Lion tribe bastard nodded, Choi Ho-joong put down his fork.
Other Chamryongdan members also seemed to lose their appetite as they began to stop eating one by one.
"The outworlders who came before had the same reaction. What on earth is wrong with eating a monster?"
"It is not a problem, but I will ask one thing. What does a Krakes look like?"
It would have been better not to check, but Choi Ho-joong stubbornly tried to open Pandora's box.
"It is a reptile-type monster; have you heard of Lizardmen? You can think of it as looking similar to those."
At those words, some of the Chamryongdan members' eyes shook.
Choi Ho-joong also looked shocked.
He whispered to me in a low voice.
"Are you all right, Unit Leader?"
However, I nonchalantly put a piece of meat into my mouth.
"U-Unit Leader!"
Krakes thigh meat was a dish I used to enjoy even during my time as Johan Raven.
The meat was tender, and the taste was even better than back then.
"Stop making a fuss."
Not every world can be like Earth.
Sometimes, one needs to adapt to a world where monsters are eaten.
The Abyss does not always lead only to flowery paths.
"In all my life, I never thought the day would come when I would eat a monster."
"Then, how would it be to eat only carrots three times a day?"
"Carrots all of a sudden? We are not rabbits."
"I heard we did that yesterday."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
Choi Ho-joong looked like he had no idea what I was talking about.
After the meal, I called Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon to my room separately.
Since there was no longer any worry about memory erasure, I thought it would be fine to tell them.
"What do you two think is our current day in Tornava?"
"Unit Leader. Is this a nonsense quiz?"
Choi Ho-joong reacted as if he had no idea, with his eyes wide like a rabbit's.
"As expected, you have no sense."
Click.
When I played the recorder, the first day in Tornava, which had been completely deleted, unfolded.
The gatekeeper of the Rabbit tribe who greeted us first. And the day spent there.
After listening to it all, both of them had stunned looks in their eyes.
"I cannot believe it, Unit Leader. Memory erasure."
"I am also honestly doubtful. I have absolutely no memory."
It was the same for me as well.
However, I was prepared to some extent.
And it was just that my grasp of the situation was completed quickly with the help of the recorder.
"But how did you foresee this situation and prepare for it......"
"Would I be a unit leader for nothing? I have to do at least this much to take responsibility for the members under me."
"If you put it that way, you are probably the only person in the world who should be a unit leader."
After that, neither of them expressed any further doubt.
This was the part I liked most about them.
"Unit Leader. Shall I go and cut the necks of those Rabbit tribe bastards right now?"
Choi Ho-joong stepped forward, suddenly overreacting.
"Forget it. If I sent you alone, you would just be an amnesiac stray after having your memory erased."
"Oh, come on."
"Wait. My plan is not fully organized yet. We can take our time getting revenge on those rabbit bastards."
Of course, they would pay 100 times the price for mocking me.
"But Unit Leader. If what you say is true, does that mean we cannot trust the Lion tribe bastards right in front of us either?"
As expected, Shin Ah-yeon was sharper than Choi Ho-joong in these matters.
"Of course. They must be in collusion with those rabbit bastards in some way."
"And this village is probably not suitable for performing the quest either."
"You are quite good."
Looking at what the Lion Chieftain bastard said earlier, he was ready to use us as salt farm slaves—no, dungeon slaves—using the quest as bait.
His logic was that since our starting point was the Lion tribe village, a quest would be generated only if we hunted in the dungeons around here.
If not for the recorder, I might have fallen for his plausible words for a while.
"Fortunately, they did not play any tricks with the food today."
"Tricks?"
"For instance, spreading a poison that requires an antidote to keep us here."
They might do such a thing someday, but it did not matter since I intended to leave this place tomorrow.
"Unit Leader. Those rabbit bastards are one thing, but what about the Lion tribe bastards right in front of us? Should we not show them a lesson?"
"You, Ho-joong?"
"Do you not believe in me?"
If the Rabbit tribe had bizarre abilities, the Lion tribe was a race specialized in combat.
I am sorry to say this to Ho-joong, but there was a high chance he would be counterattacked if he moved alone.
Specifically, the Lion Chieftain was at a level where it was not guaranteed even if he and Shin Ah-yeon attacked together.
Besides the Chieftain, there were several others who appeared to be superior to the two of them.
"This too, wait. I intend to leave this village as quietly as possible tomorrow."
"Tomorrow already?"
"Yes. After leaving for a dungeon hunt, I intend to go somewhere other than the Lion tribe village."
"Do you have a place in mind?"
"The Monkey tribe village."
Politically, it was a race in confrontation with the Lion tribe.
Also, distance-wise, it was a village located relatively close to here.
But regardless of these things, there was one most decisive reason.
The Monkey tribe's sacred relic is known even on Earth.
It was because of the 'Ring of Truth.'
Unlike the sacred relics of other races, it is said that this ring is often used because of its practicality.
While wearing this ring, a restraint against lies is activated, causing one to speak only the truth.
I intended to borrow this sacred relic somehow.
Because there was something I needed to find out by using it on those Rabbit tribe bastards.
'While also clearing the quest.'
Of course, the biggest problem would be whether I could borrow this sacred relic.
***
Jemba-jemba, a warrior of the Lion tribe.
Although he had only recently reached adulthood, he was a promising warrior being discussed as a future chieftain.
He had a height well over two meters and a solid, muscular body.
The brilliant mane standing stiffly all over his face was something everyone in the Lion tribe envied.
'The outworlders who came this time are quite peculiar.'
It was the first time experiencing such a large-scale arrival of outworlders, but more strange than that was the leader fellow they followed.
Despite being the leader, the energy felt from the outside was the weakest.
Since the Lion tribe's characteristic intuition for gauging an opponent's strength was rarely wrong, Jemba-jemba could not quite understand the behavior of the outworlders.
They seemed to go beyond following the leader and were almost worshipping him.
'Such a thing cannot be tolerated in our Lion tribe.'
A hierarchy is something that must be determined by strength.
Things like innate lineage or wealth are secondary means.
He intended to change the hierarchy of these outworlders today.
[You have entered the dungeon.]
Today, Jemba-jemba participated in the dungeon raid with the outworlders.
The outworlders would become faithful slaves for the Lion tribe in the future.
For the sake of the future, he could personally be a guide for today's first raid.
"Krakes mostly appear in this dungeon. Do you remember the meat you ate yesterday?"
At these words, the outworlders again wore slightly nauseated expressions.
He did not like these things either.
To have such an attitude toward the best food.
"You had better not think of being lazy. If you do, a quest will not be generated even if you wait a lifetime."
The Rabbit tribe had certainly said this threat would work.
They said the outworlders would become anxious about the quest not being generated as time passed.
Since they were cunning rabbit bastards, those words were surely correct.
Kererrrek!
And soon, a group of Krakes was approaching while surrounding them.
At that sight, Jemba-jemba smiled.
He felt good at the thought of feasting on meat again today.
"Since you said it is your first time with Krakes, I shall teach you the knack of hunting them first."
Jemba-jemba strode toward the Krakes that was approaching fastest.
This Krakes was approximately two meters long from head to tail.
It was a large individual, but there was no burden.
Kererrre!
Jemba-jemba quickly wrapped his arms around the body of the creature as it suddenly leaped.
The strength with which it flailed even while caught was considerable, but Jemba-jemba pressed down with even stronger force.
He had no reason to lose in a contest of strength.
While squeezing the body with both arms, Jemba-jemba slowly strangled the Krakes' neck with his two hands.
The sensation in his hands was very thrilling.
Using a weapon like a sword was something only weak humans did.
THWACK!
Jemba-jemba threw the Krakes, whose resistance had weakened, straight to the floor.
The monster died instantly.
Jemba-jemba wore a triumphant expression as he looked at the outworlders.
"You hunt Krakes like this."
However, the outworlder leader's response was unexpected.
"It is a cumbersome method."
For a moment, he thought he had misheard.
"Hey, human, what did you just say?"
"To put it differently, one could say you act according to your appearance."
The nuance of his speech was clearly sarcastic.
Jemba-jemba was flabbergasted.
Especially since it was said by the outworlder leader who looked the weakest.
"Human. That is enough bluffing."
"......"
"If you intend to have your subordinates hunt, I will not stand for it. Our Lion tribe is a race where the leader always stands at the forefront. You outworlders must also follow this tradition!"
Jemba-jemba gave a warning.
He needed to completely break the leader fellow's spirit first.
It would be easier to use the outworlders in the future if their hierarchical relationship was shattered.
"Fine."
Surprisingly, the outworlder leader did not back down.
However, it was certain that he would be humiliated soon.
It was impossible to hunt a Krakes with this frail strength where not even a grain of mana was felt.
No matter how great a sword he possessed.
SWISH.
The outworlder leader drew his sword and walked leisurely toward the group of Krakes.
It was as if he were taking a stroll.
Then, he was about to swing his sword toward the air.