Chapter 16 (1/2)

Published

at 10th of November 2019 09:26:42 AM

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Chapter 16

Translator: Kell

Editor: Weasalopes

Escape Preparations

Hikaru woke up early the next morning . He didn’t have enough sleep and the fatigue from walking all over the place yesterday hadn’t been alleviated .

「…I made the right choice in moving to a hotel . I can relax in my own room and my body feels a lot more comfortable on a bed . 」

He had never stayed in a hotel once when he was in j.a.pan, but he had some knowledge about it . When Hikaru first entered his room, his first thought was “I see . So it’s like this . ”

There weren’t, however, any modular bathrooms or television . The corridors didn’t have vending machines – card or not – and laundromats, either .

「Have a good day~!」the cat-eared receptionist said as she waved goodbye .

…Is she here 24/7? Hikaru thought, but it was really none of his concern so he simply strode out of the hotel .

He was about to head for breakfast when…

「……… . 」

「……… . 」

Not again .  The hotdog stand owner was staring at him once again .

「It’s 30 gilans . 」

「Your hotdog better be good this time . 」

It had red ketchup and mustard with no grains .  Here goes nothing… Hikaru took a bite .

His eyes grew wide .

「W-Well?! How’s the taste?!」

「…Bland」

「What?」

「Why’s the ketchup watery?! This is worse than just being a bit mild!」

The hotdog tasted extremely bland . While fully disappointed, he already bought it . After finis.h.i.+ng it, Hikaru left the hotdog stand . The owner had a sullen look on his face as his shoulders dropped despondently .

Hikaru made his way outside town, not the Adventurers Guild . He knew what he had to do .

First I need money .

It was always good to have money . He might need to spend some to save Lavia . His problem now was: it was the King that pinned the murder on her . While it was only her guess, Hikaru thought it held some weight . It was certainly plausible . After all, it was a Count that was killed . The murder of one of the top thirty influential people in the kingdom of Ponsonia . The culprit was found in just two to three days . Lavia couldn’t have confessed to it herself, so it must’ve been someone’s idea – someone from those thirty people .

It doesn’t really matter who we’re up against . I swear I’ll let her escape .

The truth is Hikaru had a chance to succeed . She will be transported the day after tomorrow . It would all come down to his preparations today and tomorrow . One of those is to make some money .

There you are .

The fastest way to make money was to hunt Red-horned Rabbits . Fifteen minutes after leaving town, he spotted one . One thrust from Hikaru’s Dagger of Strength took the creature’s life away . He felt a lot less guilt than yesterday .

I guess it’s all about getting used to it .

He stared at the blood-stained dagger, its blade covered in fat which he wiped off with a rag .

I’m sure killing humans is the same . You need to have a strong mind to control yourself .

Because of his blunder last night, he thought about killing the knights . It was pure luck that it all worked out fine in the end, but there was no guarantee that he’d be as lucky next time . In fact, he had to consider the possibility of ending up in a much tougher situation . After a lot of pondering, he made a few rules for himself .

1 . If he concluded that someone must be killed, then he would do it without hesitation .

2 . He should be fully prepared before Stealth infiltrations . There was no such thing as being too prepared .

3 . Perform simulations of plans . He would not use the words “play it by ear” .

This was where his Stealth Skill came in – perfect for gathering information without much risk . How could he not put it to good use?

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It’s my best weapon, after all…

「Hmm?!」

By the time Hikaru killed his third Red-horned Rabbit for the day, he felt something .

「Wh-What’s going on?!」

His body was getting hotter . He trembled so much he wanted to just run .

「This is… the same sensation from when I killed the Count . 」

It settled down after about ten seconds . Hikaru opened his Soul Board .

【Soul Board】Hikaru

Age: 15 Count Rank: 5

1

「I knew it . My soul’s rank increased . 」

He didn’t know how many living things he had to kill before his rank increased . From what he’d gathered so far, novice adventurers in their teens had a rank below ten . Those in their twenties had ranks between ten and twenty and people in their thirties had at most twenty-five . So Unken’s 51 was quite high .  It most likely gets tougher to increase rank the higher you go, but I guess that makes sense .

「…So even killing Red-horned Rabbits increases one’s rank, huh? I wonder how much higher I can go in these two days…」

As part of his preparations, he had other things to in the next two days: Gather information about the adventurers part of the convoy and getting levels . A person got one point every time their rank went up . Depending on how they use it, even one point could hold much power .

「I’ve already made up my mind to put the first point on this . 」

Hikaru navigated through his Soul Board .

【Physical Strength】

【Strength】1

【Weapons Mastery】

「How’s this?」

Hikaru’s sack with two Red-horned Rabbits was too heavy for him . He already struggled to carry one that didn’t have its innards removed . But going to the guild and back every time he killed one would be a waste of time . Every second counted right now . If there was a shortcut to efficiency, it would be to increase his Strength .

「…Wait, what?」

The Red-horned Rabbit he killed just now was short and round, as big as two watermelons put together . Yet he managed to lift it with just one hand .

「It’s light… holy cow…」

One point gives this much difference, huh? He recalled Zernenko’s Soul Board which had 3 points in Strength . Jill mentioned he was quite strong . It made sense now .

「Unken had 9 points I think…」

What kind of a world is this?

「Uh, now’s not the time to think about that . Let’s head back . 」

It was already nearing noon . Carrying three Red-horned Rabbits, Hikaru headed back to town .

The gatekeeper stopped him to check his huge sack and was surprised . Shocked, even . When Hikaru told him someone taught him how to efficiently hunt rabbits, the gatekeeper was satisfied .

Hikaru remembered his idea of bringing a present to the guard who stood up for him . The guard was overjoyed when he gave him one of the Red-horned Rabbits . He said he’ll make stew out of it with his colleagues . Apparently the meat was quite delicious and could usually be eaten at big celebrations .

He had one less rabbit now, but he need only hunt more . After having lunch at a food cart, he carried the sack with the two Red-horned Rabbits to the guild .

「Hmm?」

His ears caught the voices of young people . He turned to look and saw a bunch of teenage adventurers gathered around . Two boys and three girls . They were having fun scanning the request board .

A party, huh? Definitely not for me .

It would be difficult to use Stealth if he were at a party . The other party members won’t be able to see him .

If I was reincarnated differently, would I have chosen a different Skill?

「What’s that?」

「Apparently a party of kids from the sticks . 」

「Oh, the sticks, you say? A senior’s gotta teach them stuff, then . 」

「There’s five people other than you who are thinking the same thing . Hehehe . 」

A few adventurers approached the kids’ party .

Looks like they’re up to something again . The adventurers in this place sure are horrible . Maybe that’s why Jill keeps turning them down over and over again .

With a sigh, Hikaru made his way to the counter – to where Gloria was . Jill was already off duty .

「h.e.l.lo . If it isn’t Hikaru-kun . 」

「Please call old man Unken for me . And you better pay attention to those kids . They might fall victim to the games of those seasoned adventurers . 」

「Thank you for the advice . Yes…」

Gloria shot a glance at them . The kids and older men were having a friendly conversation – on the surface, that is .

「I’ll keep an eye on them . So about Unken-san…」she said, turning her attention to the sack Hikaru was carrying .

「The old man personally a.s.sesses the value of Red-horned Rabbits, right?」he said casually .

There was a stir among the adventurers . Jill was right . It seemed Red-horned Rabbits were a lot rarer than Hikaru initially thought . He let out a small sigh .

I’m in a bit too much of a hurry . I shouldn’t let others hear about it . I’ll be more careful .

There were plenty of other ways to communicate, like writing . Nothing good would come out of being marked by the other adventurers .