"Well, after pushing hard, fifteen gold coins total sounds about right."
Right after waking up in the morning, I headed to a shop in the quiet back alleys.
The place was some kind of general store crammed with weapons, materials, and all sorts of random goods. The bearded middle-aged shopkeeper looked over the five orc corpses and the Skeleton Ogre bones I had placed on the floor and said that.
Goblins, by the way, were not accepted for purchase.
(This is way off from what I heard…)
I had been told ogre bones were sturdy, and since they had been undead and infused with mana, they would fetch a high price. But apparently not.
I did not particularly need a lot of money right now, but when I sold the Killing Bear materials, it was one hundred gold coins.
Compared to that, this felt cheap—very cheap.
"If I say fifteen, it's fifteen. Got a problem? Feel free to go somewhere else. I won't miss you."
The shopkeeper must have sensed my thoughts. He crossed his arms and grinned at me.
Normally, adventurers would sell materials through the guild at fair market prices.
Unless they had connections with merchants on the main street, most did it that way.
But I could not use the guild.
This shop probably had little connection to the legitimate world.
It was just a guess, but they likely dealt in items that could not be sold openly.
Stolen goods, for example.
I had not come to sell anything like that, but most of their customers probably did. So taking advantage of desperate sellers was built into the business.
Still, since I could not use the guild, this shop was my only option.
"Fine. That works."
"Then we have a deal."
The shopkeeper immediately started carrying the bones and orcs behind the counter.
(There really is a ton of stuff here.)
While he moved the goods with a smile, I browsed the shop's inventory.
Then something caught my eye.
A jet-black cloak.
It was casually draped over a shelf, so probably not anything particularly valuable.
The fabric looked sturdy enough, and it had a hood to cover the head completely.
Likely adventurer gear.
It appeared to be in good condition.
I remembered what the adventurer from yesterday in the dungeon upper layers had said about my appearance.
"What about that cloak?"
When I pointed and asked, the shopkeeper paused his work and turned.
"Hm? The black one? Yeah… well, it's just leftover stock anyway. I'll throw it in as a bonus."
He came out from behind the counter, grabbed the cloak, and tossed it to me.
"You sure?"
"Don't worry about it. It's cheap stuff meant for newbie adventurers anyway… Here's the purchase money. Come back anytime."
The shopkeeper placed the gold coins on the counter—fifteen in total.
I put them in my leather pouch, opened the door, and stepped into the back alley.
For some reason, the shopkeeper followed me out.
"Something else?"
"Hm? Nah, I'm closing up shop early today to go drink. This haul means I won't have to worry about living for a while. Just so you know, I'm not giving any back."
He started locking up as he spoke.
"This town's overflowing with adventurers, so business is great."
"You from another town?"
"Something like that. Boltana has lots of nearby dungeons, so monster materials flow easily. That keeps things profitable. Though I hear the kingdom of Cretia itself is pretty dangerous."
Cretia was the name of the kingdom where Boltana was located.
"The king of Cretia relies heavily on adventurers to exterminate monsters. That's why even S-rank ones get personal audiences and special treatment."
He must mean Allen and Balzaak.
So they were staying in this town because the Cretian king had requested them to hunt monsters.
But while Allen might accept such a request, I could say with certainty that Balzaak would not.
A man who casually treated people like trash would never obediently follow a king's orders.
He did not seem the type to help others at all.
If that was the case, there had to be some ulterior motive.
What could it be?
"Anyway, try not to die while you're making money. See ya."
The shopkeeper waved and walked off down the alley.
(No point thinking about it now.)
More importantly, I needed to level up.
I waited quietly until night fell and the streets emptied, then left Boltana and entered the nearby forest. I was heading toward the dungeon.
The forest was pitch black, with only occasional moonlight breaking through—no other light sources.
""Death""
『Guvo!!』
I killed an orc that had been part of a pack in the forest.
It had probably been targeting travelers at night.
During the day, I had bought a decent portable lantern from the general store and tied it to my waist.
A torch gave better light, but it occupied one hand and restricted movement.
Even so, I had gone quite deep into the forest, yet I still had not encountered anything big.
The Killing Bear might have been a rare case. Perhaps this forest did not have many strong monsters.
Then, suddenly, I heard the sound of grass being pushed aside from ahead.
Something was approaching.
Another monster?
I extended my right arm forward, ready to fire Instant Death Magic at any moment.
From the darkness right in front of me, something emerged.
"Help! Someone!!"
It was a beastkin woman with wolf ears.
Her clothes were torn to shreds under the lantern light, and her body was covered in countless scrapes and cuts.
"M-monsters…"
She hid behind me, trembling.
She did not look relieved at having escaped.
(Is something still there…?)
I scanned the darkness, but no obvious shadow appeared.
『Grrrr…』
No—it was there.
A low growl reached my ears.
Something was definitely nearby.
""Death""
I deliberately fired from outside the effective range.
The jet-black wave flew into the darkness and vanished upon impact.
It had hit something, but the effect faded away.
Meaning there was a target ahead that Instant Death Magic did not easily affect.
But I could not see it. It blended perfectly into the dark.
I focused, relying on presence and sound to locate the direction.
(Let's try it.)
I decided to use the new ability gained from yesterday's Skeleton Ogre defeat—"Quadruple".
""Quadruple Death""
From my right hand erupted a much larger wave than normal "Death", with even more skulls swirling within it.
If the effective range was quadrupled, it should reach unless the target was extremely far.
『Kishaaaaaaa!!』
At that moment, a snake-like hiss echoed through the forest.
Simultaneously, the ground shook with vibrations, and the sound gradually moved away from us.
(That's strange. I definitely felt it connect…)
"Death" should have worked.
Yet the monster fled.
Perhaps there were multiple.
"Ah…"
The wolf-eared woman, who had been hiding, suddenly swayed and nearly collapsed. I caught her with both arms.
"Stay with me. I'll give you a potion now."
I spoke while opening a potion bottle from my pouch and slowly helped her drink.
"Ugh…"
After finishing the potion, she closed her eyes.
She had fainted.
"No leveling up tonight, huh."
I could not keep fighting like this.
With that thought, still concerned about the earlier monster, I carried her and headed back toward town.