Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26: C-rank Monsters, A-rank Antidote
The next day, sunlight filtered through the curtains and fell across Ryan’s face.
Ryan woke from his sleep.
After taking a moment to clear his head, he got himself ready and went down to the first floor of the inn.
The inn provided breakfast.
After finishing his meal there, Ryan headed to the Adventurers’ Guild once more.
“Excuse me, are you Lord Ryan?”
The moment Ryan stepped into the Adventurers’ Guild, a staff member came forward to greet him.
“That’s right. I’m Ryan.”
“It’s like this. Because you hunted down 170 Deadleaf Wolves in a single day yesterday, the Adventurers’ Guild has directly promoted you to C-rank.”
“If you want to continue raising your adventurer rank, you’ll need to defeat even more monsters.”
“Huh? Is it really that easy to rank up as an adventurer?”
Ryan asked.
“How could it be? Advancing an adventurer rank is not that easy. For any other D-rank adventurer, they would first have to complete ten D-rank missions, and then the Adventurers’ Guild would arrange a promotion exam. Only after passing that exam could they advance to become a C-rank adventurer.”
“But because you defeated 170 Deadleaf Wolves yesterday and even broke the highest hunt record, the guild made an exception and promoted your adventurer rank.”
“So that’s how it is.”
“That’s right. You’re also the fastest person to become a C-rank adventurer since the Adventurers’ Guild was founded.”
“In that case, does that mean I can start accepting C-rank missions from today onward?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then please help me check which C-rank missions involve hunting monsters.”
“If you’re hunting D-rank monsters alone, that would be fine. But if you’re going after C-rank monsters, are you sure you still want to do it by yourself?”
The staff member asked with obvious concern.
“Yes. Do you have any good suggestions?”
“My suggestion is that you find a few adventurers of the same rank and form a party to complete the mission together. That would greatly improve not only your efficiency, but also your safety to a certain extent.”
Ryan fell silent.
Efficiency? Safety?
He was not some ignorant fool.
As far as hunting efficiency went, he had firearms in his hands. Their efficiency far surpassed that of ordinary weapons by who knew how many times.
And as for safety?
Out in the wild, the most dangerous thing was often one’s companions.
Because you never knew what kind of people your companions really were.
If they happened to come across some treasure while hunting monsters, the ones most likely to strike ruthlessly were often the very people traveling beside you.
“I’ll pass on teaming up with other adventurers. I’m not very fond of that.”
Ryan shook his head and refused.
“In that case, how about buying a few slaves to help you fight?”
The staff member offered another suggestion.
“Is it common for adventurers to buy slaves for combat?”
“That’s right. Because slaves won’t betray or sell out their masters, many adventurers buy slaves to assist them in battle. That way, there won’t be any disputes over the division of loot from hunting monsters, because everything the slaves have belongs to their master.”
“I see. That does sound pretty good.”
“If you want to buy slaves, please go to a Slave Merchant Guild designated by the Adventurers’ Guild. That way, the slaves you buy will at least come with some assurance, and you won’t end up purchasing substandard goods.”
“All right. Thank you.”
Ryan nodded.
He understood what the staff member meant.
The slave trade was full of murky dealings.
A Slave Merchant Guild backed by the Adventurers’ Guild was naturally more reliable.
Otherwise, who knew how badly the other slave guilds might swindle him?
“Before I go buy slaves, tell me about the C-rank monster-hunting missions first.”
“Of course. I’ll introduce the C-rank monster-hunting missions for you now.”
“Ironback Boars, which inhabit the hilly regions at the edge of the Monster Forest. Thirty Silver Coins each.”
“Shadow Flying Mice, which dwell among the treetops in the middle layers of the forest. Ten Silver Coins each.”
“Venomspike Lizards, which live in the cracks between rocks inside the forest. Fifty Silver Coins each.”
“Rotsoil Worms, which inhabit the wetlands where decaying leaves accumulate. Fifteen Silver Coins each.”
“Windhowl Wolves, which are active in the open areas around the outskirts of the forest. Sixty Silver Coins each.”
These were the C-rank monsters that lived in the Monster Forest.
Ryan checked the Adventurer’s Handbook for detailed information on the five monsters.
Ironback Boar: Its hide was thick, and the hardness of its spine was close to iron plating. When in a group, they took turns keeping watch. The difficulty of hunting one alone was moderate, but hunting them in groups was considerably harder.
Their attacks consisted mainly of charges, and once they launched a straight-line rush, they were hard to dodge.
Shadow Flying Mouse: Small in size and agile in movement, they often appeared in groups at night. The difficulty of hunting one alone was low, but hunting them in groups was moderately difficult.
They excelled at climbing and gliding, and often launched surprise attacks from above.
Venomspike Lizard: Its scales could withstand light slashes from blades, and the spikes on its tail could shoot out rapidly. The difficulty of hunting one alone was moderate.
It moved slowly, and its attack range was limited, making it easy to suppress with ranged attacks.
Rotsoil Worm: Its body was soft, but the surface of its skin was covered in slime that could reduce damage from physical attacks. The difficulty of hunting one alone was moderate.
It was difficult to detect while lying in ambush, but once it emerged to attack, its position would be exposed. Sustained attacks could kill it.
Windhowl Wolf: It had quick reflexes and sharp hearing, allowing it to sense danger in advance and evade it. The difficulty of hunting one alone was moderate.
When attacking, it would circle around in search of an opening, making it difficult to keep it locked on while it was constantly moving.
All things considered, the most suitable monster for Ryan to hunt was the Shadow Flying Mouse.
His P90 submachine gun had a high rate of fire, and its bullet spread was moderate, making it capable of dealing with swarms of flying mice.
The flying mice had weak defenses and would die quickly after being hit by bullets. Moreover, a submachine gun was easy to fire while moving, making it well suited to dealing with their gliding and climbing ambushes.
As for the other monsters, the Ironback Boar and Venomspike Lizard had fairly strong defenses, so the penetrating power of submachine gun bullets might not be enough. Rotsoil Worms were difficult to attack while lying in ambush, and Windhowl Wolves were too agile for a submachine gun to keep locked onto them consistently.
“Please register me for the mission to hunt Shadow Flying Mice.”
“Understood. Your registration is complete. Wishing you victory at the very start!”
Ryan nodded, then turned and left the Adventurers’ Guild.
After that, he went to a potion shop.
The shop sold not only healing potions, but also antidotes.
He had not brought any antidotes with him on his previous trip to the Monster Forest.
Now that he knew many C-rank monsters carried venom, antidotes had become a necessity.
Ryan had always liked to prepare ahead of time.
After arriving at the potion shop, Ryan discovered that antidotes alone were divided into many categories.
Some antidotes were for snake venom, while others were for spider venom.
The wide variety of poisons left Ryan dazzled.
He had no desire to carry that many different antidotes.
What if he were poisoned and could not tell which antidote he was supposed to use?
So Ryan asked the shopkeeper whether there was an antidote capable of curing every kind of poison.
The shopkeeper replied that there was, of course, but it was extremely expensive.
The moment Ryan heard that, he immediately felt displeased.
Expensive?
Did this man even hear himself?
Was a mere shopkeeper really saying that to the holder of a Black-Gold Card from the Imperial Merchant Bank?
The moment Ryan pulled out his Black-Gold Card and slapped it onto the counter, the shopkeeper’s attitude changed at once.
He hurriedly brought out the universal antidote kept in the shop.
Ryan asked about the price.
The shopkeeper said that one bottle of this universal antidote cost ten Gold Coins.
This universal antidote was made by combining a variety of rare medicinal ingredients, and on top of that, an A-rank Mage had added detoxification magic to it. That was why it was so expensive.
A single bottle could neutralize all poisons from A-rank monsters and below, including A-rank monsters themselves.
Only poisons from S-rank monsters could not be cured.
As for antidotes of an even higher grade, namely S-rank antidotes, none were circulating on the market.
That was because they required an S-rank Mage to cast the necessary magic. Ordinary people would never even get to see one, much less buy one.
Ryan waved his hand grandly and bought twenty bottles of A-rank antidote on the spot.
Two hundred Gold Coins was pocket change.
Antidotes were the kind of thing every adventurer needed to keep on hand.
If Ryan was going to buy them, then he would buy the best.
If S-rank antidotes had been available, he would even have wanted to buy a few of those to keep in reserve.
The shopkeeper was delighted to see Ryan spending so lavishly.
A-rank antidotes were excellent, but they were consumables, and under normal circumstances they hardly sold at all.
Now, after all this time, a wealthy patron had finally come to buy them, and not just one or two, but twenty bottles at once—almost the entirety of the shop’s stock.
From this single transaction alone, he would earn quite a few Gold Coins. Of course he was happy.
After leaving the potion shop, Ryan headed straight for the Slave Merchant Guild.
It did not take long before he arrived.
Just as Ryan was about to enter, a man came hurrying over from the side.
“Hello, sir. Are you here to buy slaves? I think I can help you.”
Ryan looked at the other man.
He was under one meter sixty in height, with narrow shoulders, a thick waist, and a protruding belly.
He wore an ill-fitting gray cloth shirt, the hem stained with grime, and he kept rubbing his hands together from time to time.
“Hm? Who are you?”
“This is our first meeting. My name is Gram, and I am a slave merchant.”
“A slave merchant?”
Ryan was somewhat surprised by the introduction.
Was the competition in this business really this intense?
Were slave merchants actually soliciting customers right outside someone else’s guild?
Ryan thought for a moment, but in the end, he still decided to buy from the Slave Merchant Guild.
There were two reasons for that.
The first was that this Slave Merchant Guild had been recommended by a staff member of the Adventurers’ Guild, so it carried a certain degree of credibility.
The second was that this man called Gram gave Ryan a rather bad feeling.
Ryan could not quite explain why. Perhaps his first impression of the man had simply been too poor.
“Forget it. I’d rather go to the Slave Merchant Guild.”
Ryan shook his head and turned to leave.
“Ah, don’t be in such a hurry, sir. If you buy slaves from me, I can offer them at a lower price.”
Seeing that Ryan wanted to leave, Gram hurriedly tried to stop him.
But no matter how much Gram tried to persuade him, Ryan had no intention of stopping.
Cheaper?
Did he look like he was short on money?
He did not need cheap.
Cheap goods were rarely good, and good goods were never cheap.
Ryan understood that principle well.
He was not lacking in money, so naturally he intended to choose the better option.
The expensive choice was not necessarily the best.
But if it was expensive, then it was unlikely to be all that bad.
He had many secrets. If buying cheap slaves from Gram led to those secrets being exposed, then what awaited him would be endless trouble.
After figuring that out, Ryan did not linger. He walked straight into the Slave Merchant Guild.
Leaving Gram behind, watching Ryan’s back with a dark expression.