Chapter 333: Doubt ; The Great Forest of Tob (1/2)

A short while passes, and the wagon gets much closer to the village.

”Hey, hey, don't tell me those kids are the adventurers?” a middle-aged man expresses his skepticism.

”Seriously? We're talking about the Great Forest of Tob here, not just any forest. They couldn't really be planning to head inside by themselves, could they?” Another man of around the same age responds.

As I suspected, this forest is not an ordinary one. First, there is the fact that Nazarick isn't exactly that far from here. Since we concluded earlier that the tomb has been transported elsewhere, I doubt the location would be anything ordinary.

Something that supports this notion even further is the objective I received yesterday - securing the territory. At first, I thought that it meant getting rid of all foreign beings and getting the area control, but now, I feel like there is more to it than just that.

Why? I don't know. I just feel like that's the case.

”Hello!” the voice of a young guy suddenly reverberates within my ears as the fellow on the wagon jumps off and cheerfully waves at the crowd.

”We are the adventurer party sent by the guild to deal with goblins here!” he exclaims with a hint of confidence in his voice.

”Stop it,” the voice of a girl follows as the one dressed like a witch gets up and says, ”We're just here to investigate not fight.”

Once the girl's voice fades, a relieved look appears on the faces of a few of the villagers as some begin muttering among themselves.

”Welcome young ones,” the man that was speaking to Emmot says with an amicable smile plastered to his lips, ”Our Carne Village doesn't have much to offer, but we could help you by sending someone with experience in the forest with you.”

Seemingly happy with the offer, the guy energetically nods his head and says, ”That would be great! We're going to begin investigating as soon as possible, so please make it quick.”

Seeing how impatient the fellow is, I shake my head slightly before shifting my focus over to the girl with the holy vibe.

Coincidentally, the girl also looks my way for some reason, resulting in our eyes meeting.

This doesn't last long as she quickly turns her head away with a trace of fear on her face.

Hey now, am I really that scary? Or, did she notice something?

Either way, this girl seems to be slightly afraid of me.

”Village Chief,” a familiar voice comes from behind me as a man walks to my side and says, ”I believe I should be the one to go with them.”

While saying so, the man, who is none other than Opilio, casts a glance at me.

”I will be going as well,” I state with a smile, ”There should be no problem with that, right?”

The muscular man, who is the village chief, gazes at me and Opilio for a few seconds before nodding his head in confirmation.

”Wait a moment!” the 'adventurer' kid exclaims, ”Even if our targets for this time are goblins, they're not something ordinary villagers can deal with!”

Upon hearing his words, an idea pops up in my head, causing the corner of my lips to raise slightly.

Such an opportunity was just presented to me by this guy, it would be a shame to not advantage of it.

”Are you saying that we're too weak for this and would be nothing a burden if we came with you?” I ask bluntly, not bothering to sugar-coat my words.

Startled by my bluntness, the guy stares at me dazedly for a few seconds before nodding his head once and nervously muttering, ”I am only saying this because I don't want you to get hurt.”

”Sure, sure,” I say as a grin forms on my face, ”How about this... You take that sword of yours and swing it at me as much as you can. If you manage to graze me, we will let you do as you please while we remain here.”

”Huh?” he utters with a dumbfounded look on his face.

”You heard me,” I state as I lift my left arm and pat Opilio's shoulder.

Understanding my intentions, Opilio nods his head before stepping back and exclaiming, ”Everyone, please get back!”

The villagers take a moment to process what's going on before they all move back with curious expressions on their faces. All of them apart from the village chief and Emmot.

”Mr. Vincent,” Emmot says in a solemn tone, ”If your strength is truly at the level Opilio described, I hope you go easy on the kid.”

Heh. I can clearly tell his intentions for saying this. He's worried that if I, 'an ordinary villager', were to defeat him too badly, his spirit would be broken, and he might just give up being an 'adventurer'.

Now that I think about it, what exactly is an adventurer? From the name, I can infer that it's a job classification for those who venture out into the wild and explore the unknown.

Apart from that, they have a ranking through which they're judged, with the lowest most likely being copper, hence the villagers' worries.

Anyway, I wasn't planning to take the guy seriously from the start.

”Mr. Vincent, do you need a sword?” Opilio's voice brings a halt to my train of thoughts.

Turning my head to face Opilio, I notice that he has the same sword from yesterday in his hands.

”That would be unnecessary,” I casually state as I turn my head back to face the adventurer guy.

This little skirmish might seem like something I am doing to prove my strength to the 'experienced' adventurers, so we can tag along, but the truth of the matter is far different from that.

The main reason I am doing this is to increase my status in the eyes of the villagers by demonstrating my prowess. Aside from that, I would display just enough skill to cause the fellow in front of me to succumb to me.

From what I have seen so far, he is acting as the leader of this party. So, if I were to get him under control, there is a high chance that the rest will listen to me as well.

”You...” the adventurer mutters while shaking and pointing his finger at me, ”Are you looking down on me?!”

”Yes, what of it?” I respond with a mocking smile on my lips.

”Fine,” he says as he glares at me fiercely, ”I will show you what being an adventurer is.”

”Calm down!” the girl dressed like a witch exclaims, while the other two stand by the side with concerned looks on their faces.

Ignoring her, the fellow wields his sword and moves to an optimal position at the center of the space created by the crowd.

”You're not planning to fight me with your bare hands are you?” he asks while frowning.

”Fight?” I repeat before chuckling and stepping forth with a confident expression on my face.

”You!” he exclaims furiously before dashing at me, raising his sword, and swinging it down as hard as he can.

Alas, with his speed, he can only dream of getting near me, let alone graze me with his sword.

Just as the blade seems to reach me, time appears to slow down as I effortlessly make use of my absurd speed to move slightly to the left.

To the others, I simply blinked from my location a little, causing the sword to completely miss me.

”What?” mutters my opponent with a baffled look on his face.

”That was a little too slow, no? Are you perhaps going easy on me because I am a mere villager?” I mock him nonchalantly.