(3 days later~~)
_________________
Three days had passed since I joined the party. During that time, we hadn't taken many quests—the only one we completed was exterminating wolves.
Well, according to Herald, we wouldn't accept any quest if even one member didn't want to. Basically, this party truly prioritized its members.
Yes, I was genuinely grateful to have joined.
Even so, during those three days, I took more solo quests, because unlike the others, I needed money.
Especially since I wanted to upgrade my equipment as soon as possible.
Well… I guess I'll just go with the flow for now…
...
Walking along the city streets in the morning, a faint smile formed on my face.
I felt a little happy today. Even though, in reality, nothing had really changed.
But I decided that didn't matter for now.
With that feeling, I walked past the many stalls that had already begun to open.
There were a few people who seemed to be adventurers like me walking along the same road.
Some civilians were probably just passing by.
And the shops had started opening as well.
Yes—this was morning in this city.
—
After walking for a while, I finally arrived in front of the guild.
Opening the door, I noticed the atmosphere inside was still quite quiet, though there were already a few adventurers leaving early.
I entered the guild building and walked toward the board where quests were posted.
Then I started looking for a quest I could take today.
Unlike before, when I was truly weak, now I felt at least a little more capable—at least in my own opinion.
Still, I wouldn't take anything dangerous. At most, I would only accept small monster extermination quests.
"..."
After searching for quite some time, I found a quest that seemed suitable.
Exterminating a wild boar.
Yes, it was the same monster I encountered when I first arrived in this world.
Honestly, I had a bad impression of that creature.
But—wasn't this my chance to get revenge?
That was why I took the quest.
Then I walked toward the reception desk to accept it.
As I approached, the woman standing behind the counter seemed to notice me.
She smiled and said, "Hardworking as always, Clement-san."
Well, rather than hardworking, it was more accurate to say I was doing this out of necessity.
"Yeah… I guess so," I said, scratching my head.
I handed the request sheet to the receptionist. By the way, her name was Flora—the receptionist at this guild.
I didn't have to wait long before she returned the paper to me.
"Alright, here you go, Clement-san. Please be careful!"
I nodded. "Mm, of course."
With that, I left the guild and walked toward the city gate, ready to carry out the quest.
...
It didn't take long to reach the gate. Since it was still early morning, the area was quiet.
There wasn't a single person entering or leaving. Even the guards hadn't arrived yet, it seemed.
Because of that, I simply left the city and headed toward the forest.
—
As usual, before reaching the forest, I passed through a wide stretch of grassland.
There was no wind blowing, but the air still felt cold—well, it was still morning, after all.
I walked leisurely across the field. I spotted monsters like slimes, horned rabbits, and some insect-type creatures.
They weren't dangerous to me anymore, so I wasn't particularly worried.
Even so, it felt genuinely pleasant.
Being able to live like this.
...
After a long walk, I finally reached the boundary between the grassland and the great jura forest.
That meant I had arrived at my destination. All that remained was to find my prey.
With that thought, I entered the outer area of the forest.
—
It was just as I remembered from a few days ago—countless trees and plants everywhere.
I had already memorized the paths around this area.
So I didn't need to worry about getting lost.
To find my target, I planned to search around the place where I first woke up in this world.
I had encountered one there before—but that one had been killed by Viola at the time.
Still, it wasn't impossible that there were others. In fact, it was very likely.
After all, this forest was inhabited by many different kinds of monsters.
So I walked toward that place.
—
After arriving, I didn't immediately search the surroundings. Instead, I just stood there quietly, observing.
Yes… this was where I first came to this world.
Honestly, all of this still felt like a dream—it didn't feel real to me.
But if this really was a dream, then I wanted to keep dreaming forever.
—
After that, I began searching the area.
And you know what? It seemed I was a bit lucky this time.
Among the trees, quite far ahead, I spotted one—and it was larger than the one I had encountered before.
So—I drew my dagger, activated Stealth, and quietly approached it.
Once I was close enough—
"Effect — Slow."
With my dagger acting as an extension of myself, I slashed its body, immediately applying the effect of my skill.
Then I quickly jumped back as the monster's attention shifted toward me.
"Alright… let's do this."
With that, I dashed forward, running around the monster.
Remember one thing—the wild boar monster couldn't attack in complex patterns.
So if I kept circling it, it would have trouble responding.
Not long after that, I lunged at it.
"Effect — Weakness."
I stabbed my dagger into its body, then pulled it out and leaped back.
Basically, this was a hit-and-run tactic I was testing.
But honestly, it was exhausting—probably because I was using more stamina running around it.
As I started getting tired, the monster finally retaliated, charging straight at me like a bull.
But I dodged easily.
And yes—I even managed to land a strike infused with poison.
Of course, all my effects had the same duration since I set them that way.
Everything only lasted five minutes.
So I had to finish this quickly.
Once again, the monster attacked.
I dodged and struck it again—this time using Exhaust.
That would be useful.
For the next few moments, nothing particularly special happened—just me dodging attacks and countering them.
—
Eventually, the monster grew tired.
It simply stood there for a moment.
I took advantage of that opportunity, climbing onto its large body.
Then I began stabbing repeatedly with my dagger until it threw me off its back.
"Ah—damn it."
I landed quite far from the monster.
And you know what? It used that chance to start running away.
So even though it hurt, I stood up and chased after it.
And yes—its escape was ultimately meaningless.
Once I got close, I leaped toward it, aiming my dagger at its body.
The moment the blade pierced its flesh—
"Execute."
It collapsed instantly.
And I immediately dropped down, sitting beside the monster's corpse.
"Huff… I'm tired…"
....